Iowa fuel:too much ethanol ?
 

Hi all,

I am working in Iowa for a while and the state supports its corn producers by reducing taxes on fuel with a high ethanol content.How high I'm not sure ,but more than 10%.Gas stations label this stuff premium unleaded.I have not fueled up yet in Iowa and I thought I would seek a little feedback on possible problems related to higher ethanol %.One that comes to my mind is o2 sensor fault codes.
What do ya think?


thanks for any info, x5zeb
P.S.I am driving a 2003 x5 3.o sport/premium titanium silver

Higher ethanol content in fuel should be okay, but the BMW ECU should be able to compensate and adjust the fuel air mixture. Expect some decreases in performance, not much you can do really.

I'm not a 100% sure on this but I believe Shell V-Power uses no ethanol

The higher ethanol content causes problems with turbo'd BMWs like the 335's and 535's, but on the 03 3.0i M54 engine shouldn't cause any problems.

Not true, On every 335i that comes in with high pressure fuel pump problems that shows receipts for nothing but v-power, the gas tests over 10% ethanol, usuallt 15-18%.

Hey Weasel kind of off topic but do you recommend using fuel injector cleaners?

thanks for the input.I think I'll try to find out what the ethanol content is for the different grades of gas.I know ethanol is a power robber and that ain't no fun!
I use a 3m product at each oil change called complete intake system cleaner.this a professional grade product.I give it a good review.I'm curious , what weasel thinks about this product or any others for this purpose.

I'm not sure if US-spec Xs have special mods that make them more ethanol tolerant than those sold elsewhere but I'd be careful about any fuel with more than 10% ethanol. It's not just a matter of poorer fuel economy and possible performance issues but higher percentages of ethanol can lead to long-term problems with the degradation of fuel system components unless the vehicle has been designed with higher percentage of ethanol in mind.

BMWs are not designed for fuels with more than 10% ethanol content, and honestly, I don't think the folks in Germany intended for them to be drinking corn at all. Then again, there is no choice...........just gotta thank the corn lobby in Congress.

I'm on various German-based forums and there are very few complaints about 335i and the fuel pump. So unless BMW is intentionally putting in reject-fuel pumps in NA cars, I think this may have something to do with US fuel quality.

Coming from a full-time Iowa resident, the only blend that has ethanol is the mid grade 89 Octane. The low and high octanes (87/91 or 93) will not have ethanol blend. Now there is always the exception, but 99% of the fuel stations will be set up this way. Also, it is not labeled "premium unleaded" ethanol blend will be your mid-grade.

The other issue that you will run into will be the availability of a higher octane fuel. So the question is where are you going to be? Most of the major cities will have fuel stations with the 91/93 octane but most of the small community fuel stations will only go up to 89.

I have a E53 3.0 and I was using an off brand 91 octane for a few months. Then my O2 sensor started acting up. The dealer said it would be a serious undertaking if we had to replace it. That got me thinking about the gas I had been using. I switched to Shell and after a couple tanks I haven't had the problem since.