Additives E10

[2toyos]

Good afternoon,  hope everyone is well, maybe this subject has been covered, couldn't locate it, but i read somewhere about additives and non e10 compatible engines, unfortunately due to the fuel crisis the service stations around me are not providing e5 super unleaded, is there any experts that can tell me if there is any truth in this,  dont really want to ruin my supra

 

Thanks

[Cyker]

It depends - If the car uses materials that are vulnerable to attack from alcohol (e.g. natural rubber hoses and seals) then there is no additive possible that will prevent E5 or E10 damaging them. People that have such cars either have to replace those parts with ones that are resistant to alcohol attack, or remove the alcohol from the fuel themselves and then mix the now ethanol-free fuel with lead-replacement additive or octane booster.

The other concern that makes cars incompatible is the alcohol draws in water from the atmosphere, which can cause metal parts to rust if the water settles in/on them. There are additives that can help with that, but even so they won't completely help if the car/fuel has been sitting for a while.

In that case, the best thing to do is use the car regularly, so the water doesn't get a chance to settle and fresh fuel is regularly cycled through.

[2toyos]

On 10/17/2021 at 9:23 PM, Cyker said:

It depends - If the car uses materials that are vulnerable to attack from alcohol (e.g. natural rubber hoses and seals) then there is no additive possible that will prevent E5 or E10 damaging them. People that have such cars either have to replace those parts with ones that are resistant to alcohol attack, or remove the alcohol from the fuel themselves and then mix the now ethanol-free fuel with lead-replacement additive or octane booster.

The other concern that makes cars incompatible is the alcohol draws in water from the atmosphere, which can cause metal parts to rust if the water settles in/on them. There are additives that can help with that, but even so they won't completely help if the car/fuel has been sitting for a while.

In that case, the best thing to do is use the car regularly, so the water doesn't get a chance to settle and fresh fuel is regularly cycled through.

Kind of signals the end of my poor old supra then and many more classics, its a real shame, but suppose times change, might look into electrifying the old girl, the engine maybe be on a time limit,  but the looks are timeless 

[Cyker]

Well it all depends on how much you want to do - A lot of the hardcore classic car people are removing the 'E' themselves (Loads of videos on youtube!) and replacing it with octane booster/lead replacement additives.

If your car doesn't have any hoses/seals that were affected by E5, it's probably fine with E10. Then it's just a case of not leaving fuel in the car for months without use and/or adding some fuel stabilizer to it. Keeping it in a garage that isn't super damp would also help a lot.

I imagine the Supra is popular enough there might be companies who will 'E-proof' the car, but it's not something I've looked into...

Electrification is certainly another route - There are a few companies around that specialize in that sort of thing here; Two I know of are Zero EV in Bristol and Classic Electric Cars, who were featured on Guy Martin's recent EV speed record attempt documentary.

It will make the car shorter ranged and much heaver tho', which will spoil the handling. On the up side it will give a massive power increase! It's also a lot of money, as there is a lot of custom fabrication involved, and also the batteries, and they seem to have quite a long lead time as they're both relatively small companies.