Future Petrol, (Already In France) Warning

ProjectPuma

Help Support ProjectPuma:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

YOG

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 26, 2008
Messages
2,502
Location
West Sussex
The following is reproduced by kind permission of Citroen Car Club (CCC).

Two main points to note:
1. The Puma has a metal fuel tank.
2. Although it says "can damage cars registered before 2000", the Puma remained basically the same throughout production.


Sans Plomb 95-EIO

I expect most of you have already been aware of the 95-E10 biofuel addition to pumps in France, but I have to date had 14 e-mails from members asking for clarification. The petrol called '95-E10' is a mixture of regular unleaded fuel and ethanol. It is suitable for new cars, but can damage vehicles registered before the year 2000, motoring bodies have warned. The biofuel sits alongside the commonly used and similarly named unleaded Euro 95 in many garages across France and while a public awareness campaign in the country has avoided confusion amongst the French, British holidaymakers face the prospect of unwittingly picking the wrong pump. Motoring associations, including the RAC, warned those preparing to travel to France to be aware of the biofuel which is 90 per cent regular unleaded and 10 per cent ethanol.

Ethanol is highly corrosive and can wear away the metal fuel tanks common in cars registered before 2000, leading to leaks. Most new cars have plastic tanks and are therefore not affected by corrosion. The E10, which has been gradually distributed across stations in France since 1 April and which the French government has admitted is incompatible with 40 per cent of vehicles on the road, can damage engines of cars registered before the year 2000, according to Holland's national automobile association, the ANWB. Almost one third of cars on the roads in the UK today were registered before 2000. According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders there are 9,579,000 cars out of 31,105,988 which pre-date the year 2000.

Filling up just a few tanks of the new biofuel may not lead to serious problems with pipes and connectors but regular use could leave long-lasting damage. A spokeswoman for the RAC said: "There is some concern that some, particularly older vehicles, might have problems - particularly materials compatibility i.e. flexible hoses leaking. If drivers can confuse diesel and petrol at the pumps, as they often do, then they could just as easily confuse ordinary unleaded with unleaded containing 10 per cent ethanol in France, so be more aware as to what is written on the pump. It is always clearly marked. Look for any signage, such as E10, or the letters 'bio' to guide you in making a choice of which fuel to use. The petrol's introduction follows an EU directive relating to the quality of fuels which states that all petrol must include between 5 and 10 per cent of ethanol by 2013.

When I use the various classics I have, I always tend to use 98 fuel anyway, as I have found that even the normal 95 fuel in France doesn't help with smooth running and as yet this isn't affected. In my area particularly and so far where I have travelled of late, I have not had a problem finding the right fuel. It may just take a bit of diligence to make sure you are using the correct pump.
 
Useful info for sure. Didnt know modern cars had plastic tanks though, dont like the sound of that!
 
Less chance of a potentially dangerous spark from a plastic tank I'd have thought.
 
But surely its not as strong, and goes brittle with age/cold etc? We used to have those plastic garden chairs in the hotel where i used to work, the first time someone sat on them after the winter they had got so brittle over the winter they just collapsed. The guy sued the hotel too incidently.
 
There's plastic and then there's plastic! Also, the tank being underneath the car does not get exposed to UV/Sunlight. My old Citroen Xantia had a plastic tank, you'll be suprised what cars already do.
 
My old man used to work in a place where they Produced the chemicals for plastic making detail. and just like YOG said, theres plastic then theres plastic! i don't think for one second that its '' made in china '' kinda gear. Not that theres anything wrong with china's plastic...........i'll shurrup! :p
 
Sorry to revive an old thread, but I understand that E10 petrol is going to happen in the UK in the not too distant future. I'm intending to purchase a 1.7 hopefully in the next few months and wondering if there is anything that can be done to reduce the risk of potential problems with E10 petrol. I've heard of E5 petrol dissolving old fuel hoses on older vehicle's.
I've just sold my classic Mini !275 and had already replaced all the "rubber" fuel pipes with ones rated as being suitable for E10.
 
The Government is proposing to introduce E10 petrol as the 95 octane “Premium” grade, whilst intending to keep E5 petrol available in "Super" grade. So, if you want to ensure the petrol you use in your Puma is "OK", switch to the more expensive "Super", once (or before) E10 becomes available. I've always run mine on "Super", as I don't do many miles annually.
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/introducing-e10-petrol
 
I agree about using "Super unleaded", but eventually E10 "Super" will be difficult to find, remember how LRP was supposed to continue for older cars, but after a couple of years it disappeared off the forecourts. Maybe somebody has or will develop an Ethanol proof liner for fuel tanks.
 
John Woodward said:
Sorry to revive an old thread, but I understand that E10 petrol is going to happen in the UK in the not too distant future. I'm intending to purchase a 1.7 hopefully in the next few months and wondering if there is anything that can be done to reduce the risk of potential problems with E10 petrol. I've heard of E5 petrol dissolving old fuel hoses on older vehicle's.
I've just sold my classic Mini !275 and had already replaced all the "rubber" fuel pipes with ones rated as being suitable for E10.

11 year thread resurrection - top work!!

Tesco Momentum 99 has been using 5% ethanol for years FWIW
 
Sorry, didn't want to start a new thread. I did apologise for resurrecting an old thread, but as a potential owner I've read an enormous amount of old posts on this forum and I am genuinely concerned about the impact of E10.
I understand that BP super unleaded does not normally contain any Ethanol at present, one of our local car club members, buys 2 litres, takes it home and tests it for Ethanol, if its OK, he goes back and fills up his old Morgan, having experienced a multitude of fuel related problems caused by ethanol in fuel. FWIW I've not yet seen any fuel labelled as E10, don't have a Tesco's near me !
 
It's no problem resurrecting threads here when it's relevant conversation :cool:

In fact it's part of the beauty of a forum.
 
If you recall a number of years back tesco fuel sparked a debate (no pun intended) when people began to complain about engines running roughly or in some cases not at all , it later came to light that it was down to the ethanol content in the fuel, as for plastic fuel tanks statistically there proven to be safer than steel , the material used is a polypropylene mixed with other materials, thanks to Yog for the information on this subject I have to confess I don’t pay enough attention at the pumps but will do in future.
 
Good news, according to the Daily Express,

"The ACEA report has warned personal imports which have not been approved by Ford are also not recommended to use the new fuel.

The report said: “E10 is cleared for use in all petrol-driven Ford models sold in Europe since 1992.

“Excluding: Ford Mondeo 1.8 SCI from 2003 to 2007."

Full article can read here,https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/cars/1387036/e10-fuel-changes-ford-mondeo-uk-car-petrol-station
 
Full ACEA list here (in case you have another make of car!!):
https://www.acea.be/uploads/publications/ACEA_E10_compatibility.pdf

The proposal is that E10 will replace normal premium E5 fuel, whilst E5 will remain available in super grade for those that need it.
One worry is the potential increase in demand for super grade (E5), by people worried about using E10 their cars. Currently, the split for the two grades is around 95% normal premium to 5% super. It is estimated that the 5% could increase to around 15% before there is a supply problem.
"3.56 Similar to the responses to the previous questions, the substantive responses highlighted that the UK fuel system is heavily optimised around supplying two grades of petrol, which currently take up market shares of about 95% and 5% respectively. Respondents considered it possible that the existing system could supply up to around 15% of fuel via the super grade. However, due to infrastructure capacity, it would be difficult to maintain consistent stocks of the super grade should demand exceed 15%."
 
Thanks for the link to ACEA list, far more convincing that the Daily Express !
Looking through the list it looks like Ford were ahead of the game.
 
E10 petrol set for September 2021 launch:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/fuelling-a-greener-future-e10-petrol-set-for-september-2021-launch?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications&utm_source=527f97d9-be8d-440b-8ad9-eaa12ed6623a&utm_content=immediately

Introducing E10 petrol:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/introducing-e10-petrol?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications&utm_source=a8ff1293-d730-487f-a820-181178923b1a&utm_content=immediately

E10 petrol explained:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/e10-petrol-explained?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications&utm_source=c2f8eeb5-99cd-49fe-8837-605fc719782e&utm_content=immediately

E10 compatibility checker:
https://www.gov.uk/check-vehicle-e10-petrol
 

Latest posts

Back
Top