Fuel additives necessary due to ethanol?

[Hokie]

I've got it in my head that I need to add something to each tank of gas to counteract the effects of ethanol in the gas. Not sure where I got this notion, but I've been adding a little bottle of STP at each fill up. I've been told that I should only use "pure" gas (like you get at a marina, for example) but it's just not practical for me to do so. Questions: what exactly are the consequences of using gas with ethanol in the DeLorean, and what products/additives are recommended and how often should they be used? Thanks for your replies!

[Michael]

Are there no gas stations in your area that sell ethanol free gas? There are several where I live and I'm in a fairly small pop area. If you look, there is an app or a website that locates ethanol free stations in your area.

I'm not a big fan of additives, the ethanol is still in the tank, lines, and still affecting all the rubber so I'm not sure what an additive does to correct this, but then again I'm quite dumb in this department. I just get ethanol free gas.

[Rich]

Don't worry about the ethanol.

The current upper limit for ethanol in regular gasoline in the USA is 10%. That limit was set here in 1979, before DeLoreans were built

There are no problems I've heard of with our K-Jetronic systems using this fuel specific to the ethanol.

Literally millions of VWs, BMWs, Porsches, Volvos are here in the US with K-Jet systems supplied over a period of about 20 years.

Don't worry about E10 gasoline in a D.

[Hokie]

Are there no gas stations in your area that sell ethanol free gas? There are several where I live and I'm in a fairly small pop area. If you look, there is an app or a website that locates ethanol free stations in your area.

I'm not a big fan of additives, the ethanol is still in the tank, lines, and still affecting all the rubber so I'm not sure what an additive does to correct this, but then again I'm quite dumb in this department. I just get ethanol free gas.

Yes there are some stations around (I have the 'Pure Gas' app) but they are neither close nor convenient, thus I mentioned "not practical." This is why I'm looking forward to hearing comments on both the effects of ethanol and how to counteract them.

[Chris Burns]

In my neck of the woods we have ethanol free gas that is used for boats and classic cars. Regular gas stations sell it. I know a guy who uses it on his 79 308 GTB Ferrari and it works great!!

Older cars love ethanol free gas

[LordFly]

Although I've not verified this myself, the problem that I've always heard with ethanol is that over time it can eat away at the rubber bits. Fuel lines, seals, etc., as they were designed in a time before ethanol. But just because I've heard it from a few people doesn't make it true, just like the whole "front end raised to meet US bumper regs" thing.

So to answer your question (at least in my opinion), no. You don't need to add something to every tank of gas. If anything, save the money from that stuff and use it to buy new seals, fuel lines, etc when (if?) the existing ones fail.

[Chris4099]

My D has been running on E10 for 7 years now and over 15 years every winter before that. I've had no ongoing issues with the fuel system and any issues I did have were most likely related to being original parts which needed to be replaced regardless. As long as you don't let it sit forever in the tank, you should be fine.

The only fuel additive I use is a bottle of Techron once or twice a year to keep the injectors clean. Even that probably isn't necessary if you use a good quality gas such as Top Tier.

[Hokie]

How do I move this thread to General DeLorean Discussion?

[David T]

How do I move this thread to General DeLorean Discussion?

In New Jersey there are NO stations selling fuel without Ethanol. In States where you can buy non-Ethanol fuel it has been shown that many have Ethanol in it anyway. There is a simple test you can do to tell if the fuel you are buying has Ethanol. E-10 is not all that bad unless you have old rubber parts which are going bad anyway. It just speeds up the deterioration. No one recommends the additives except the companies making and selling them. E-10 is not to be stored over 6 months. Under some conditions the alcohol and water separates out and then it will really mess things up. Do NOT store a car with E-10. Even with additives like Stabil. My advice is to drain out as much as you can and fill with fresh when you use the car again. Better to deal with the consequences of condensation then old fuel.

[Rich]

My D has been running on E10 for 7 years now and over 15 years every winter before that. I've had no ongoing issues with the fuel system and any issues I did have were most likely related to being original parts which needed to be replaced regardless. As long as you don't let it sit forever in the tank, you should be fine.

+1

The fuel system in our car is all original save for the fuel pump, filter and accumulator, all of which are wear items. It still runs great.

Ethanol at 10% (E10) was approved in fuel for USA cars before the DeLorean was engineered, much less introduced. The Bosch fuel system can take it, the (plastic) fuel tank can take it and the engine doesn't care.

Yes, there is a lot of controversy about E15 (15% ethanol + 85% gasoline) fuel for older cars of our vintage, which is what the OP may be thinking about in starting this thread. But E15 isn't widely used and is not mandated. Stay with E10, which now comprises >>90% of the gasoline in the USA, and you'll be fine. There are some things to worry about with DeLoreans - normal gasoline with some ethanol (E10) in it is not one of them.

If Congress or the EPA gets excited about mandating E15 again (defeated for now) THEN you can worry.

Meantime the best thing you can do for your DeLorean's fuel system is to burn up a tank of fuel on a regular basis. E10 or pure gas, doesn't matter.