Is Your Vehicle E20 Fuel Compliant?

[mayankdixit]

This should be the most important topic today, and every petrol head should worry seriously about this. Open your car manual and look into it and find out what fuel the manufacturer recommends.
I bet it E5 or E10.

Petrol mixed with 20 percent ethanol (E20) was rolled out on 6th february 2023 at select petrol pumps in 11 states and union territories as part of a programme by Government of India.

Benefits:

1) Increase use of biofuels will cut down on emissions which are responsible for Global warming,melting glaciers,unhealthy earth.

2) Decrease in dependence on foreign exchange-draining imports of fuel.

At present, 10 percent ethanol is blended in petrol (10 percent ethanol, 90 per cent petrol) which is called E10, and the government is looking to double this quantity by 2025.That will be called E20

Ethanol, often known as ethyl alcohol or alcohol, is a type of biofuel with the molecular formula C2H5OH. It is produced naturally through sugar fermentation. It is mostly produced in India during the sugarcane extraction process. However, it can also be produced using other organic material, such as grains of food.

Drawbacks:

Our car and 2 wheeler engines are simply NOT ready for that fuel!!

BS4 onwards engines can take E10 fuel safely. Beyond that ethanol will surely damage engine and pipes,fuel lines,hoses etc.

So far the fuel supplied is E10. Soon it's going to be E20 fuel everywhere.And I don't think we as owners are at all prepared for that. Then all cars, including new ones sold now, will suffer badly. What to do? I am all for green earth and clean environment,but I also love my car very much. It will be very painful for me to see my car dying just like that,not because of accident but because of want of pure petrol !!

Fuel filter changing more frequently won't help at all. It's going to go through the fuel filter to everywhere in the engine, till it gets burned out from the exhaust, damaging whatever rubber and plastic it encounters along the way. Especially if that rubber and plastic was not designed to handle E20 fuel,which actually at present ,is not, in 99% of cars on road, including those that are sold now.

So basically our cars (and the owners too) are sitting ducks, and before we know it, E20 will enter our petrol tanks too.

 

[CRACING]

G O I has gone insane and their acts are getting unbearable day by day. Firstly they are phasing out diesel vehicles and on the other hand they are forcing adulterated petrol for us petrolheads. Is it because vehicles are the only things that are causing pollution problem? I don't think so and they are least bothered to find out. They just want to scrape our beloved cars and buy new ones regularly, as if we Indians are super rich. As of upcoming E20 compatible vehicles, I'm sure they will have unpleasant issues until manufacturers resolve them and make them even more expensive to afford. Cost of maintenance will also increase (i.e fuel filter, rubber parts and etc needs replacement sooner then later). Green earth okay but what about wastage? we aren't good at recycling each and every parts and they will just get dumped somewhere in scrap yard for years.

I have heard that E20 petrol is being sold at select fuel stations and there are notices to verify suitability which is a good thing for now but we should keep an eye on every refills.

 

[mayankdixit]

Today I visited 5 different petrol pumps on my petrol Figo. I tried to gather more information and clarity on the topic. When I asked the pump attendants about E20, I was surprised that 3 out of 5 petrol pump attendants had simply no clue at all, on what I was talking about. 4th pump attendant said something which was even more alarming. He said that fuel which I am filling in my vehicles is already E12 to E13 !! I don't know how much of that is true, but I got so scared that I ran away from that pump as fast as my car could take me.
I was lucky that at the 5th petrol pump the pump manager himself came to talk to me about E20. He said that so far it's only E10 but the premium speed and RON95 fuel is E13-14. That confused me even more.How come E14 fuel is priced costlier ?? It should be cheaper,no? At least same price. He said its because of the additives.
I asked when will E20 dispensing start ? He said I dont know.Its only when the billing at the refinery happens,do we come to know what fuel will come. Meaning to say we don't know till the truck lands here that its E10 or E20. We only know beforehand one thing that its diesel or petrol. That's strange, I think.
Maybe he is not telling the whole truth, or maybe he himself had incomplete knowledge.

 

[mayankdixit]

It would be very prudent to keep 2 different dispenser nozzles at the pump. E10/E20/speed premium.

 

[VISHNUCARCRAZY]

Guess we all have to switch to premium fuels to save our rides.

In Sydney and I think globally all have E10/91(Unleaded)/95/98 . Diesel/Premium Diesel.

More interesting is Biodiesel is absolutely absent.

 

[mayankdixit]

Guess we all have to switch to premium fuels to save our rides.

He said that so far it's only E10 but the premium speed and RON95 fuel is E13-14. That confused me even more

I don't think premium fuel will save our rides. Unless it's specifically mentioned on the dispenser E0 (100% petrol)

 

[bhvm]

Petrol mixed with 20 percent ethanol (E20) was rolled out on 6th february 2023 at select petrol pumps in 11 states and union territories as part of a programme by Government of India.

This is sad & alarming at he same time.
I run many BS3 vehicles because they are in Decent condition and less use does not warrant any upgrades. I will be keeping them as long as I can. Sadly, since the introduction of E10 it have noticed slightly lower fuel economy. I wonder if ethanol has anything to do with this. Basically now our vehicles are running on adulterated fuel.

Decrease in dependence on foreign exchange-draining imports of fuel

If any of this is true, atleast the benefit is NOT being passed to the consumer. With E10 we buy only 90% Gasoline but pay 100% or more of the price.

So basically our cars (and the owners too) are sitting ducks, and before we know it, E20 will enter our petrol tanks too

The Issue seems to be lack of any platform where citizens can voice their concerns regards to these new laws. And if such platforms exist, they are not being heard to.

G O I has gone insane and their acts are getting unbearable day by day.

There are have been many knee-jerk new laws in the past 10 years. Be it expensive fuel, Expensive Tolls, new fines, stupid speed cameras etc, all of these have taken away the joy & peace of driving, and has made overall driving riskier & stressfull.

we aren't good at recycling each and every parts and they will just get dumped somewhere in scrap yard for years.

This is where the "Green" & "Environment" cards which many Govs & large companies proudly display, goes down the drain. Blind pressure on EV, Old car bans , Scrap policies do not consider these additional forms of pollution. If a working car is dumped into the crap yard rather being in someone's parking, harmful substances will leech out into the soil & water table.
Also these new laws look hollow when we consider manufacturing a new car & Forcing people to buy new vehicles repeatedly will cause heavy emissions due to Lithium Mining, Processing, Car Assembling, paint and so on.

It would be very prudent to keep 2 different dispenser nozzles at the pump

Many Countries have different nozzles. I have never seen such proper system in India.

More interesting is Biodiesel is absolutely absent.

I have noticed Biodiesel only once or twice. It was just a rupee or two cheaper than regular diesel. And my Engine manufacturer does not recommend, so I will not use it.

I don't think premium fuel will save our rides. Unless it's specifically mentioned on the dispenser E0 (100% petrol)

We need different nozzes like E0, E10 & E20.
Till then there is no hope.
I sometimes use fuel additives like fuel stabilizers & Injector cleaners. They do seem to work but mildly.

 

[VISHNUCARCRAZY]

The problem with Biodiesel is it is more polluting than normal diesel. Hence it didn't see mass market. It definitely won't be BS6 compilant also.

 

[mayankdixit]

The problem with Biodiesel is it is more polluting than normal diesel. Hence it didn't see mass market. It definitely won't be BS6 compilant also.

In my Ford Figo manual there is mention of biodiesel.

 

[mayankdixit]

This is from my Ford Figo owners manual.

Very interesting to see Ford recommended System-G

EN stands for European union Norm. Applicable for unleaded petrol vehicles.
In EN 228, maximum E10 is recommended.

 

[CRACING]

Do any of you guys know the content used in XP95 from Indian Oil? My nearby station has it available and it costs Rs. 7 more then normal petrol. I haven't used it or may be once or twice only but if it doesn't got ethanol in it then I'll glad to pay the premium and use it instead.

My car (Honda City 2009) manual only states 91 Octane RON Unleaded petrol and there is no mention about ethanol (E5 or E10) but the company advertised it as E10 compliant at the time of launch (2009).

 

[mayankdixit]

Do any of you guys know the content used in XP95 from Indian Oil? My nearby station has it available and it costs Rs. 7 more then normal petrol. I haven't used it or may be once or twice only but if it doesn't got ethanol in it then I'll glad to pay the premium and use it instead.

I was lucky that at the 5th petrol pump the pump manager himself came to talk to me about E20. He said that so far it's only E10 but the premium speed and RON95 fuel is E13-14. That confused me even more.

I don't know if this is just rumour or actually the truth. But even if 10% of this is true, filling premium fuel will eventually be more risky.
Better the known evil (normal E10) than unknown evil (premium fuel,about which nobody knows the constituents)

 

[CRACING]

I don't know if this is just rumour or actually the truth. But even if 10% of this is true, filling premium fuel will eventually be more risky.

Because of using extra additives can cause gumming at injectors?

Mostly of the articles say; using a lower octane fuel than what is recommended by vehicle manufacturer could cause damage to the engine, whereas higher octane rated fuel may provide better performance but wouldn't hurt the engine or any other parts and we'll be spend more money on fuel. Luxury car owners use high octane fuel to prevent misfire, injector cleaning and ignition coil faults because issues are expensive to resolve otherwise.

 

[CRACING]

 

[mayankdixit]

But this video is in reference to E85 fuel. We are far away from that. I don't understand its reference here.
Do you mean to say similar changes are required for an E20 ready car, and a kit won't do, at all ?