most gas stations are now selling gas with "up to 10% ethanol added"...does this or will this adversely affect our series III's fuel system? just wondering. thank you in advance. wm

 

i never had an issue with it and i've been using for the past year...

 

Have a 1980 XJ6 in pretty great shape, considering. I've recently had some fuel injector clogging issues and my mechanics (British Auto in Fort Worth, Texas, great guys and great work) tell me the 10% ethanol gas is giving the older jags fits. They recommended using the Chevron additive Techroline (?) to help.

 

This crap is bad for Any old cars fuel system... it ruins fuel lines, carbs, injectors you name it. The old materials were not designed for it so they break down on a chemical level. I learned all about it after a fuel tank started leaking.
Boat guys seemed to figure all this out when it was first an issue, long before cars it seems like. Anyway, Startron is the product i use and it seems to work very well and has many good reviews. It's an enzyme that is attracted to ethanol and attaches to it so it pretty much encapsulates it (and its negative effects).

 

Sorry, but you've been sold a bottle of snake oil. Ethanol can attack certain organic materials over a prolonged period but no magic potion in a bottle will prevent that. These subject materials have not been used in cars since the 80s. If a car still has the original rubber fuel lines from that era they're overdue for replacement ethanol or not.

I've been using E10 for 20+ years, never had a problem. Similar to when lead was first deleted from our fuel, the tin hat brigade is now blaming any and all service problems on 'ethanol'.

 

Easy solution up here in the Canadian west coast. E10 is only in lower grades of gas , usually 91+ is pure gas. Since the owners manual says to use 91 anyway it's not a problem. Check to see if its the same for you locally.

I think the problem is the ethanol actually works to clean your system. Lots of cars have gunk built up over years and suddenly it gets all loosened up and causes all kinds of problems (clogged fuel filters, pumps, injectors) When they first came out with the ethanol blends I had friends left and right replacing fuel pumps ect...Usually once its out it should stay pretty clean and hardly anyone has problems after that.

 

All I can say is that from personal experience I have never had any adverse results an any vehicle I have ever owned from using 10% ethanol blends. I think it actually keeps the fuel system dryer in the winter time. If you have problems with injectors gumming up, fuel lines decomposing... I would be real surprised if the ethanol is the culprit. More likely dirty fuel.

 

do you guys find any benefit to running higher octane in your XJ6's? Just curious what these old cars prefer.

 

Ethanol is an absorbeer of water, and it is this that causes the corrosion of metals. Ethanol is also , (obviously) a potential solvent, like petrol, cellulost thinners, or even water, so can possibly attack plastic components in the fuel system. FWIW, here in the UK the high octane fuels tend not to have much ethanol in them, (97 RON against the normal 95 RON). I am runing a 1977 MG Midget with no ill effects so far, but I am not sure there is all that much ethanol in our petrol compared to the US. I think 5% fairly common, but we are not yet on 10% as far as I know.

 

10% ethanol is common in my neck o'the woods and has been around for years.

I'm willing to accept that ethanol can cause problems but, if my experience means anything, it must take many, many, MANY years to happen. I've had no problems with any of my cars that I can attribute to enthanol.

Just my 2-cents

Cheers
DD

 

The only advantage/purpose to higher octane is to stop pinging. If you don't have pinging, higher octane will do nothing for you.

Cheers
DD

 

Been using E10 in all manner of 80s cars (I'm addicted to them) for ages and haven't had any fueling problems on a single one of them, other than replacing a noisy fuel pump on one car. Run the appropriate octane through there and call it a day, the rest is snake oil. If you want to do anything, run pressurized intake/fuel injector cleaner through the fuel rail every now and again to keep the injectors, valves and pistons clean. Probably the most important thing to do, however, is to drive the car as often as possible. Nothing is worse for a car than sitting, and that's especially true of a fuel system.

 

Thanks Doug,
I've been quoted almost word for word when discussing fuel for motocross bikes lol. I couldn't agree more. I am just curious if guys generally find it necessary to run premium in these cars. I filled the tanks with 92 but only because I was told so. I don't mind spending a little extra but like you, see no logic in spending more to fix a problem if the problem doesn't exist.

 

What does your owner's manual say on the subject? If you wish to use lower octane than recommended, there's plenty of discussion on the pros, cons and myths that go with both.

 

What does your owner's manual say on the subject? I've owned a Jag for a total of 3 days and do not have an owner's manual. I understand pros and cons of additives and blends relating to grades of available fuel. What I don't have, is experience as it relates to a 1982 XJ6. Hence the request for some of yours

 

I had a Ser III XJ6 for years as a DD and it ran fine on 87 octane. The only time I used premium was in very hot weather....over 90ºF....as the engine would ping just a wee bit if the coolant temp got over 95ºC or so.

Cheers
DD

 

Yep. If you've got pinging or the car has a higher (10:1ish and up) compression ratio then higher octane is worth it. If not, it's throwing money away. Newer cars you almost have to feel it seat of your pants as the computer will just pull back timing (and thus, power), you'll never hear the ping. Either way, you can never go wrong using what the manufacturer recommends which, for the XJ is 87 I believe.