Biofuel timebomb (article)

Owners of some older PH favourites will need to be on the look-out for changes at petrol pumps next year as fuels with a greater mix of bio renewables will start to become available which could harm older engines. Under current legislation petrol can contain up to five per cent biofuel without the pump having to mention the percentage or warn the driver. This is because the mix is so low it's not thought to have a detrimental effect on the engine. Legislation is currently in place to guarantee the mix will be five per cent by April 2013 and almost all fuel already contains a small bio element.
Over the five per cent level and the pump must, by law, be labelled "Not suitable for all vehicles: consult vehicle manufacturer before use."
However, due to Europe's Renewable Energy Directive (RED) higher percentages of biofuel are on their way to the UK. RED requires members of the European Union to ensure that 10 per cent of energy used in road transport is from a renewable source by 2020. Interestingly, to reach a 10 per cent renewable energy figure, a 15 per cent mix of biofuel is required.
While this deadline is some way off, fuel companies are planning to introduce petrol with a 10 per cent bio-mix, known as E10, to the UK next year. BP is expected to be one of the first to offer the higher percentage biofuel.
To marry-up with the changes, the Department for Transport is currently considering downgrading the wording on biofuels so that only that with a greater than 10 per cent mix will have to be labelled with the words "This fuel contains more than 10 per cent biofuel."
A BP insider has likened the change to what happened when we swapped from leaded fuel to unleaded. And the reason only newer cars can run on E10 is because the higher ethanol content from has a corrosive effect on the seals and some alloy components in the fuel system. Modern engines have been built to withstand this.

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johnny curt 1 said:

just on this note and sorry if it looks like im hijacking here but how do i change a standard petrol cylinder head to unleaded petrol

do i just replace the valves for hardened ones or the valve seats aswell as ive been asked what it entails and i havent got a clue ( more to the point can it be done at home with the propper machinery )

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dellboy1959 said:

Depends on what machinery you have to hand but the valve and valve seats need to be chrome plated otherwise one or the other or both will :flame:

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