Do I get the same fuel economy out of E10 as regular unleaded petrol? At the pump, E10 is generally the cheapest petrol per litre. Because the energy provided by the ethanol is less than the energy provided by pure petroleum, E10 has around 3% less energy than the equivalent amount of RON 91 petrol.
Ethanol is an octane booster for petrol, so E10 generally has an octane rating higher than 91. (Notionally it's 94, but in practise it depends on exactly how much ethanol there is in the 'up to 10%' blend at any particular re-fill.) This means your car will perform slightly better on E10 – but there is a trade-off.
If your car runs an Octane Rating of 91 (most petrol cars use this), then E10 fuel is interchangeable with your regular petrol. Cars that use premium fuels (with an octane rating of 95 or 98) are better off with that running through their engines, as they're tuned to require high efficiencies from the fuel system.
Vehicles with a fuel system suitable for regular unleaded petrol 91RON can use E10 fuel and E85 can be used as a substitute for many fuel types. However, if your car isn't suitable for ethanol blend petrol you could cause serious damage to your fuel filter, lines and engine.
When blended at that 10 per cent ratio, E10 vs 91 ULP has an octane rating of about 94 RON, so it won't harm any engine that is designed for 91 RON fuel through lack of octane. The catch is that not all 91 RON cars can use ethanol-blended fuel like E10.
Although E10 is cheaper at the pump, it will burn quicker than your premium fuels. This is due to the higher octane rating of premium fuel (Unleaded 98) compared to E10 (Unleaded 91/94). So, in simple terms, the higher the number the more efficient the fuel burns.
On a one-time basis, your vehicle will not suffer engine damage as a result. Prolonged use of E10 petrol in a non-compatible vehicle, however, may cause harm and is not recommended.
But using E10 petrol in an incompatible vehicle will, over time, cause problems in the fuel system. Carburettor corrosion, fuel hose degradation, fuel filter blockage and damaged fuel pumps are all likely if you use E10 regularly in vehicles that shouldn't take it.
What's the impact on fuel efficiency? One of the key changes with E10 unleaded petrol is the difference in fuel efficiency compared to E5. Your drivers who fill up with E10 will get fewer miles per gallon due to it containing 5% more ethanol.
“The energy content of ethanol is about 33% less than pure unleaded... economy varies depending on the amount of denaturant that is added to the ethanol. In general, vehicle fuel economy may decrease by about 3% when using E10”.
At the pump, E10 is generally the cheapest petrol per litre. Because the energy provided by the ethanol is less than the energy provided by pure petroleum, E10 has around 3% less energy than the equivalent amount of RON 91 petrol.
Otherwise known as Ultra-Premium by some brands, 98 is the highest-octane fuel currently available in Australia. Unleaded 98 provides higher engine power and overall performance in comparison to 91 and 95.
E10 is an ethanol-based fuel, in that it's 10% ethanol and 90% unleaded petrol. It has a higher octane rating of 94, which could result in better performance if your car is tuned for it.
No, because E10 will ultimately burn quicker than E5 due to the higher concentration of ethanol in the mix.
Most normal cars are designed to use regular E10 unleaded petrol and using premium unleaded is unlikely to result in any performance improvement, although you may see a small improvement in fuel economy.
The Government suggests that putting E10 petrol in a non-compatible car on a one-time basis should not result in your car's engine being damaged as a result. That said, it recommends avoiding prolonged use of E10 petrol in a non-compatible car as this can result in long term harm to the engine.
E10 is thought to be less efficient as it contains 5% more ethanol than E5. If you do accidentally fill up with E10 when you shouldn't have, it shouldn't cause immediate damage to your car straight away. It is likely to only start causing issues if you repeatedly do this, according to experts.
E10 fuel increases the share of the renewable energy produced using crops to 10%. It's estimated that the greener fuel could reduce CO2 emissions by 750,000 tonnes per year, the equivalent of taking up to 350,000 cars off the road.
The prolonged use of E10 fuel in those older and classic vehicles not under manufacturer warranty can cause corrosion of some rubbers and alloys used in the engine and fuel systems. For those vehicles, the Department remains committed to ensuring that E5 is retained as a protection grade, if E10 is introduced.”
E10 fuel has largely replaced the old basic fuel we knew as 'Unleaded' and which carried an octane rating of 91RON. The key difference between E10 and unleaded is E10 is made up of 90 per cent unleaded with a blend of 10 percent ethanol content.
E10 petrol is unleaded petrol which contains up to 10 per cent bioethanol, taken from renewable sources such as sugar beet. Current regular unleaded contains up to five per cent ethanol but under the plans, this will be rebranded as “super unleaded” and replaced by E10 as the standard unleaded at the pumps.
Premium unleaded 98 octane petrol: This petrol is designed specifically for high performance engines. This will definitely work if your car needs premium fuel, and may offer better mileage over 95 octane fuel. E10 fuel: This blend of ethanol and unleaded fuel is cheaper than 98 octane and has an RON of 105.
BP or Shell – who has more oil and gas assets? BP has more proved reserves compared with Shell and has also been consistent in maintaining it's reserves volume over the last ten years. The average proven oil and gas reserves of BP over the last ten years are approximately 20% higher compared to Shell.
Super Unleaded (97/98 RON)
The highest-octane fuel widely available is required for some high-performance Japanese cars and preferable for others (like Porsches), although in most cars any benefits are negligible.