I ran my 2014 and 2015 f type V8 and R using Shell V Power (91 octane, no ethanol content). The only other option in my city with a higher octane rating is Mohawk 94 which has ethanol in it (5 to 10%, I cant remember). Which fuel option is better (I have a new R coming and want to keep it a long time, so I want to use the best fuel for long engine life, and have the best performance as well). I have a bad feeling about ethanol; is that misplaced?

 

Always go for no ethanol fuel.

If you want to keep your car long time, you also want to follow break-in period instructions AND change your engine oil early.

 

Yes it's misplaced, but never let facts get in the way of good old fashioned myth and rumour.

There's probably no point in using fuel higher than 91 AKI octane anyway- your car achieves full rated performance with it.

 

Agreed. New cars are built for ethanol content gasoline, it will not damage your vehicle one bit with standard pump gas. Anyone who tells you otherwise doesn't understand the physics behind this subject.

 

Even if fuel system is hardened against otherwise corrosive ethanol, it still absorbs water and forms residues that can plug filters, fuel regulators, injectors, and pumps. Ethanol also can etch aluminum and magnesium.

These are long-term concerns, this damage is very gradual and you won't see it until much later in the car's life.

 

New cars can better withstand some ethanol, but they are not completely impervious to it. There was a study done in 2012 that showed that with E15 (more ethanol) substantial segment of all modern engines showed damage after 500 hours.

 

I never use ethanol fuel. We have the option of a non ethanol 98 octane fuel here which is what I use, but I seem to recall a discussion where it was pointed out that we use different octane measurements. I think we use RON and you use and average of RON and MON which comes out at a lower number than RON for the same fuel

 

Except that 30 years of E10 fuel usage shows that these fears are unfounded. E10 might be new and revolutionary in some places, but it's been used extensively in Canada and the northern part of the US for 20-30 years. Much ado about nothing.

Cars since the early '70s have sealed gas tank that do not allow free exchange of air. That's the purpose of the EVAP system. Keeps vapours in, air out.

I've previously post pictures of my elderly Corvette's gas tank that's had nothing but E10 since the '90s. Zero corrosion or water contamination.

 

95RON (which is what Jag recommends) is equivalent to 91AKI. Ethanol content and octane rating are two different, unrelated parameters.

 

Id stick with with "top tier" product....Shell,Chevron etc.
I didn't see where you live...but "top tier" is well promoted in NA.

 

Thanks for the confirmation on RON, yes I am aware that ethanol is not Directly related to Octane, but it was part of the OPs question. I think Jag recommends minimum 95 RON, so 95 or higher.

 

I'm sorry, but that is simply a ridiculous bit of advice because it's impossible in virtually every major market in the U.S. Fuel w/ no ethanol simply is not available.

 

If you are stuck in the desert with a dry engine, 100 miles from anywhere except
that stagnant pond filled with brackish water, you can put it in and the car
will get you back to civilization. Is it a best practice? ... hardly.

 

LOL, so our choice in the vast majority of the US would be to put the car in the garage for good and just enjoy looking at it. Alternatively, perhaps we could hire someone to truck it in from Canada or some far away market by the barrel.

It is not available in "civilization" here.

 

Well .. "would go for" implies where a choice is available.

Bear in mind that some members have regular access to
premium fuel without ethanol. I am one of them, and that
is what I "choose" to use. If I am caught short due to
bad planning on my own part, I will fill up with some
other brand that one time.

 

Top tier is nothing but a marketing scheme trying to make think their fuels are 'better'. Nothing to do with octane rating or ethanol content. Even the much maligned and ridiculed Costco gas is 'top tier'.

Jaguar (and good on them) does not require such fuel, unlike some other high end marques.

 

That's not what I said, and I think you understand that.

No one said park your car. I said use the best you have
available. For some, that means fuel without ethanol.

You can build a coffee table out of pine and stain it
to look just like cherry. Or, you can build it out of
cherry and have a hard time staining it, but it *is*
cherry.

 

Yes, if non-ethanol fuel was available, short of paying someone to truck it in, I would use it.

However, as I understand it, the biggest problem with it is sitting in the tank, and rest of the fuel system w/o moving. Thus, if it's burned quickly and constantly circulating, it's less of an issue.

On my mowers, leaf blowers, generators, etc., and anything that sits for a long period of time, I use an additive that neutralizes the effects of ethanol.

 

As others have said, Ethanol free gasoline here is about as available as unicorns. The longest that I've run a car with 10% Ethanol is 18 years and 235k. Never a fuel system problem. My yard equipment, including my over 20 year old snowblower always start on the first or second pull though I do use Sta-bil when I put them away for the season. No fuel problems there either.

There is a bill in Congress (or maybe it has already passed) to increase the Ethanol content to 15%. This is a bad idea and because cars are not made for it will likely cause issues (in addition to raising corn prices).

As for Top Tier, it is a marketing thing but it is based on some fact. Top Tier gas has more detergent than the EPA requires. This sounds like a good thing to me, but since I've always used Costco gas I've no experience using something other than Top Tier, at least not regularly.

 

I was under the impression that She'll gas doesn't have ethanol mixed with the gas, yes... No ?