Some questions

[Unregsitereduser]

Hi all, I am driving the 132 pacific Tiguan Auto. Got 2 questions.

Can the car take E10 petrol? I tried pumping abt 20l of E10 and the car seems more responsive than 95ron. I am not sure in the long run if I were to continue pumping E10, how will it affect the car.

next is, does the car actually need wheel rotation? As I understand this is a 4wheel drive, but I am not sure if its needed to be rotated every 10-15k cos the front wheel are the one that turns most and rear wheel are just following the rotation, which I think will have lesser wear and tear.

all advise are much appreciated.

[aussietig]

IIRC, VDub engines are not fit for running on E10. Your revelation just made me cringe like the pic of the guy with a fork in his scrotum. Ouch!

[team_v]

I rotate my tyres every 10k km.
The current VW range is not suitable for E10 and i wouldn't reccomend it's use in your vehicle.

[Dr freedom]

The Tig is AWD, not 4WD.

& yea, avoid the E10

[Unregsitereduser]

Thanks all for the information.

i was reading this particular webwebsite it says all fuel injected VW vehicles manufacture after 1986 are suitable for E10.

Can my vehicle operate on Ethanol blend petrol? : FCAI

i am getting confused... Nonetheless, will not try E10 anymore.

[phaeton]

Taken from VW Australia's youvw website.

Q - Can I use Biofuel / Ethanol Blended Petrol in my Volkswagen?
A - Volkswagen Group Australia does not recommend running your Volkswagen on biodiesel or ethanol blended fuels, as it could affect the longevity and drivability of the engine.

[wai]

i was reading this particular webwebsite it says all fuel injected VW vehicles manufacture after 1986 are suitable for E10.

You need to be very careful when you read these things. "Suitable" does not mean necessarily "good for". It means that it will not attack the fuel system.

I would not recommend E10 on any car unless it has been specifically designed to run on E10, and then it has to be tuned for E10. The main issue is that the ethanol molecule has oxygen atoms in it and so when it burns, these oxygen atoms are released and lean the mixture significantly. You get higher combustion temperatures and this can lead to issues with pistons, valves and valve seats. If you tune your car for E10, then you are in trouble when you go outside metropolitan areas where E10 is not available. Now the engine will be running rich.

But even if the engine and fuel system are properly designed and tuned to run on E10, the economics are simply not there.

Ethanol has roughly 30% lower calorific value than petrol. A 10% blend means that you start off with an immediate 3% hit on fuel consumption. It might have a higher RON than pertol, but this simply reflects its greater resistance to knock, and not any increase in power. Combine the 3% hit to the energy available with the inefficient burn characteristics and the increase in consumption creeps up close to 10%. From an environmental point of view at the very least, it is a waste as you end up burning the same amount of petrol PLUS you burn ethanol (never mind having to plant, manage, harvest and manufacture the ethanol).

There is simply not a case that stacks up for E10. It was originally introduced to "help" the cane farmers, only by far the majority of ethanol is manufactured by distilling wheat (by the way, this is also where we get MSG as a by-product of distilling wheat). Even here, the largest producer does not have the capacity to produce sufficient ethanol and so a lot if it is imported anyway.

In NSW, the former ALP government mandated a 6% bio-fuel substitution and the withdrawal of SULP. When the Libs got in, they did not overturn this. All they did was to overturn the withdrawal of SULP. The fuel companies must still ensure that 6% of what they send out is a bio-fuel. If they don't, there are fines of around $150,000 each time it is not met. So, if a fuel company can see they may not meet this substitution, they can choke off the supply of other fuels to "force" motorists to buy E10. This is why you will sometimes see the PULP pumps fagged as "unavailable". It is also why you have to fuel price cycle. If the fuel companies look like meeting their requirements, they will not discount SULP as heavily, whereas if they look like being fined, they will have a heavy fuel discount.

The bottom line is that for road cars, there is absolutely no compelling case to use E10, either economic or environmental. The reasons for introducing it were flawed. Always see what the manufacturer says regarding fuel type.

Oh yes, you hear the noises in V8 Supercars where Nissan and Mercedes Benz are getting a special dispensation to use something other than E85 because their engines are not designed for E85.

[h100vw]

And why use 95? It will go better still on 98.

Gavin

[wai]

And why use 95? It will go better still on 98.

If the manufacturer requires PULP95, then there is nothing to be gained by using PULP98. The PULP98 has the same calorific value as PULP95. What it does have is a greater resistance to knock than PULP95. If you are getting knock and the ECU cannot make the necessary adjustments to accommodate PULP95, then by all means use PULP98. But then the manufacturer would be recommending PULP98.