I was watching an episode of Chasing Classic Cars where Wayne Carini and his mechanic Roger Barr were bringing an old but original Shelby Cobra back to life. If you know anything about the show, Roger is a genius and fun guy to listen to. He opened the gas cap of the Shelby wondering how bad the fuel would be, sniffed deeply and exclaimed something to the effect of "That smells like racing fuel, we are in good shape." Wayne Carini stated the same effect that it is good to store a car with racing fuel.

I pulled my the manual out for my '72 V12, and sure enough, it stated it should take 98 octane or better. I haven't really seen many discussions on this, but has anyone used or stored their E's with 98 octane or better racing gas?

Being that as my E doesn't get enough use to regularly drain the tank, this wouldn't be that difficult to swallow.

Thoughts?

 

Octane rating has nothing to do with storage qualities. Your car was built in '72 when fuel in North America used the RON system for rating octane. About 4-5 years later, we shifted to the AKI rating system which rendered an advertised number about 4-5 points lower. 98 then = 93 or 94 now, but again that has nothing to do with suitability for storage.

No need for 'racin' gas'. Any pump gas is good for at least a year.

Flame suit on, fire away.

 

What always worked for me as I would store my Corvette in the winter months (fat tires and ice don't get along in an old C4) was to make sure the tank was completely full and add the appropriate amount of Sta-Bil to the tank. That being said, I've left gas in my snow plow tractor for over a year with no problems. Long as it didn't smell like varnish, figured it was okay.

Scott

 

Mikey, Very informative - thank you. I had no idea there were different octane ratings and after a little research, came up with the same numbers. Good stuff, thank you.

The only reason I mentioned this is I have seen dramatic differences in using Ethanol free gas (87 octane) in my lawn equipment and boat. I was cleaning/rebuilding the carbs in each at least once a year. This site refers that ethanol gas has a shelf life of approximately 90 days:

Gasoline Expiration - Ethanol Blend Fuels Have a Short Shelf Life

I would easily fill up the XKE with the ethanol free, but near my house it ONLY comes in 87 octane, not suitable for the V12. Thanks for the info!

Scott, like the name. I can imagine a big C4 with heavy low profile tires wouldn't like the ice and snow very much! Always wanted to drive one of those to see what it felt like.


I know quite a few people use Sta-Bil with good success; might just have to start doing that as well.

Thank you.

 

E10 will go off in relatively short order if left in an open container or in a vehicle/boat/lawn thingy with an open fuel system. A humid environment will accelerate the process.

In the above cases, the hygroscopic nature of ethanol can absorb enough water from the atmosphere that it will stop an engine cold or clog a carb. My neighbour leaves her lawnmower gas can open all summer long sitting outside the shed and wonders why the d*mn thing won't run properly.

I keep my gas cans closed and inside the shed and run all my lawn things and boats dry at the end of the season. They start first crank at the beginning of the next season.

Cars have sealed fuel systems unlike boats and lawn stuff meaning that there's no real way for sufficient amounts of water to enter and cause problems. The life of ethanol fuels is prolonged significantly as a result.

The sky-is-falling crowd will predict all sorts of awful things but can never provide first hand evidence to support it. The pic below is the inside of the gas tank on my old Corvette. It's had nothing but E10 since the late 1990's. The gas you see was two years old when the pic was taken. No water, no corrosion. I've never used any fuel stabilizer but presume that they do no harm.



http://wm41.inbox.com/thumbs/107_ad3...a_tn.jpg.thumb

 

Always figured it never hurt to use it.

And, got caught in a snow/ice storm in July up in the Colorado Rockies one time with the Vette. Couldn't do anything but idle down the road as whenever I touched the gas/brakes, the car would just go sideways. Interesting 45 minutes coming down. Absolutely no place to pull off and wait it out, either. Tire size is 275/40-17. They are a bit fat for snow/ice, specially with that power to weight ratio.

 

I hate this discussion, as you get just as many fans as you do naysayers. After 25 years of not fighting anything, and having to fight, I tell you with certainity and with experience, not conjecture, the "super drying" properties of E10 does NOT play well with "Skinners Union" in regard to cork and rubber. Viton B even dies a slow death. The latest excuse was that carb diaphragm quality has degraded with poor workmanship and thus <gasp> E10 cannot be blamed.

I care not about the politics of it, could care less in fact, I do care about keeping T-Series MG's needle assemblies leak free from decaying cork or rubber bits. I consistantly stick viton tipped floats and I'll get five max years out of a set HD8 diaphragms before one starts to weep. The old "blue" diaphragms turn to paper, but there is an actual age related fight there.

I've never had a tank get rusted or nasty, have had some true rubber hoses get gooey.

The truth is in the pudding, but a broad brush statement on either side of the fence is in fact not well founded.

The best solution is not to let fuel with E10 sit in a tank any longer than 12 months, treated or untreated. While your S-Type may have a closed system, most older classic iron very much does not (I suspect your vette is a vault in comparison to sealed-ness of the same vintage british car??). The product is flawed from a shelf-life standpoint without a doubt, power is lower than "straight" gas and up here at altitude, it's even worse. BUT, the main impact is on older systems wherey service life is noticeably cut on certain soft grade items and starting becomes hard. In a FI car, I agree, no change, slower pickup in some instances, but no impending doom.

Jeff

 

Nope. Directly comparable.

It is true that some older materials are not ethanol-friendly but the industry converted over in the mid-late 80s to upgraded materials. If a car still has incompatible materials, they're way overdue for a change ethanol or not. I occasionally see a '60s vintage Corvette with all it's original rubber fuel lines. That's just plain foolish and a disaster waiting to happen.

 

Could be worse, at least we don't have to deal with MTBE fuel anymore...

 

What year is your Corvette?