reading the coupe newsletter that john kindly sent me, the following text caught my eye
i am concerned about the fact that we are never told about what ingredients are in our scientifically blended petrols, particularly ethanol and other marvels,...so, is it a good way to go using this to compensate ?
read this please:
Fuel (Again). The petrol we use in our cars is a blend of hydrocarbons, mainly “paraffins” and “oleofins”. Petrol companies can change the blend by varying the temperatures and pressures of the distillation processes. I have often read how the development departments of car companies had to buy a quantity of test petrol of a known blend in order to be able to develop carburetor/fuel injection and distributor settings without having to worry about engine performance being influence by differences in the petrol being used.
Our E9s were designed for 97 Octane fuel with lead tetraethyl added to raise the effective octane value to 99 (Research method) [see page 36 of your Owners handbook]. So we are in unknown territory with our present non-lead 98 octane fuel with its unknown blend (and possible bio-fuel added in the future) which is certainly very different to the fuel BMW used to develop the settings for our M30s. In 1972 the fuel was certainly more “oily” giving less bore wear and of course the lead tetraethyl lubricated the valve seats. Adding ethanol will certainly “wash” more oil from the cylinder walls so any help we can get in getting back to 1972 conditions will be worth having.
Alan Canham very kindly sent me this report.
FUEL ADDITIVES- A little while ago a correspondent wrote from Germany about two stroke oil being used in diesel engines. Remembering the common use of Redex many years ago I have tried two stroke oil in both my CSL and E39 528i estate. I have now been using it for some 6 months. The E39 passed its MOT with the best emission readings for the last 3 years and the CSL with a fuel pump mounted in the boot, so that its presence is obvious when the ignition is switched on, now has a much lower noise level which has even been noticed by my wife when with me as a passenger.
My preferred oil is semi synthetic- NOT THE FULLY SYNTHETIC, graded JASO-FC or JASO-FB. These are Japanese grading. Apparently in diesels the makers also claim an improved MPG. The pluses for two stroke oil are as follows
1. Easy mixing qualities
2. Designed as low ash
3. Designed to be burnt.
4. Provides upper cylinder/valve lubrication
The mix I use is 200 to 1. I bought some 10 litres in Barnstaple where its use was queried by another customer while I was in the motor factors. He said he was a marine engineer who serviced and overhauled marine engines used in some of the small fishing boats used from Barnstaple. The engines rarely had flexible engine mountings and were used for hours at a time. The owners said that their engines had never run better. So he had been recommending its use for 9 months because EU regulations now insist on the removal of sulphur from marine diesel.
Perhaps we need some protection from the changes in blends in modern petrol and from the addition of Ethanol in “super” which is bound to occur in the future?”
[At present 10% ethanol can be added to “standard” pump petrol without having to display a notice on the pump].
Many thanks Alan. Redex or the right two stroke oil seems a sensible precaution to take.
i am concerned about the fact that we are never told about what ingredients are in our scientifically blended petrols, particularly ethanol and other marvels,...so, is it a good way to go using this to compensate ?
read this please:
Fuel (Again). The petrol we use in our cars is a blend of hydrocarbons, mainly “paraffins” and “oleofins”. Petrol companies can change the blend by varying the temperatures and pressures of the distillation processes. I have often read how the development departments of car companies had to buy a quantity of test petrol of a known blend in order to be able to develop carburetor/fuel injection and distributor settings without having to worry about engine performance being influence by differences in the petrol being used.
Our E9s were designed for 97 Octane fuel with lead tetraethyl added to raise the effective octane value to 99 (Research method) [see page 36 of your Owners handbook]. So we are in unknown territory with our present non-lead 98 octane fuel with its unknown blend (and possible bio-fuel added in the future) which is certainly very different to the fuel BMW used to develop the settings for our M30s. In 1972 the fuel was certainly more “oily” giving less bore wear and of course the lead tetraethyl lubricated the valve seats. Adding ethanol will certainly “wash” more oil from the cylinder walls so any help we can get in getting back to 1972 conditions will be worth having.
Alan Canham very kindly sent me this report.
FUEL ADDITIVES- A little while ago a correspondent wrote from Germany about two stroke oil being used in diesel engines. Remembering the common use of Redex many years ago I have tried two stroke oil in both my CSL and E39 528i estate. I have now been using it for some 6 months. The E39 passed its MOT with the best emission readings for the last 3 years and the CSL with a fuel pump mounted in the boot, so that its presence is obvious when the ignition is switched on, now has a much lower noise level which has even been noticed by my wife when with me as a passenger.
My preferred oil is semi synthetic- NOT THE FULLY SYNTHETIC, graded JASO-FC or JASO-FB. These are Japanese grading. Apparently in diesels the makers also claim an improved MPG. The pluses for two stroke oil are as follows
1. Easy mixing qualities
2. Designed as low ash
3. Designed to be burnt.
4. Provides upper cylinder/valve lubrication
The mix I use is 200 to 1. I bought some 10 litres in Barnstaple where its use was queried by another customer while I was in the motor factors. He said he was a marine engineer who serviced and overhauled marine engines used in some of the small fishing boats used from Barnstaple. The engines rarely had flexible engine mountings and were used for hours at a time. The owners said that their engines had never run better. So he had been recommending its use for 9 months because EU regulations now insist on the removal of sulphur from marine diesel.
Perhaps we need some protection from the changes in blends in modern petrol and from the addition of Ethanol in “super” which is bound to occur in the future?”
[At present 10% ethanol can be added to “standard” pump petrol without having to display a notice on the pump].
Many thanks Alan. Redex or the right two stroke oil seems a sensible precaution to take.
