E10 Fuel

[M5GT4ME]

Hello,

My apologies if this had been asked before. My search didn't come up with any hits. Is E10 ok to use for our Mazda5? Specifically, a 2009? Thanks.

Ray

 

[DKaz]

I don't think there's a single car manufactured in the past ten years that can't handle E10. Heck I ran E10 from time to time in my 1991 Corolla with no ill effects

 

[Rocket]

Is this a real issue in Germany?

 

[chitownpete]

In cold weather it is actually better, alcohol absorbs water in your fuel.

 

[M5GT4ME]

Is this a real issue in Germany?

Not yet and may not be. It's only been a week since local ESSO and base gas stations switched to E10. ESSO still has a couple of non-E10 pumps while the bases(from what I've heard) are E10 all the way. Just wanted to see if anyone has been using it and their experiences. I did learn that mpg goes down.

 

[Rocket]

You can expect a 10% reduction in MPG despite what the ethanol advocates tell you.

 

[flcruising]

In cold weather it is actually better, alcohol absorbs water in your fuel.

Yea, and from the air -

The introduction of water on E-10 fuel can be disasterous. E-10 can hold up to four teaspoons of water in suspension per gallon. Once this saturation point is exceeded, the solution separates and the gas floats on top while the ethanol and water mix on the bottom. This event is called "phase separation". Ethanol fuel can absorb enough water to reach it's phase separation point in just over 3 months at 70% humidity.

While the phase separation slurry in itself can cause problems by clogging fuel systems, the more immediate problem is that the remaining gasoline has now lost it's original octane value which can cause poor running and in some cases engine damage. When phase separation occurs, the fuel should be drained and replaced.