The car

[Pete Grey]

Tyre problems solved, car failed mot partially due to cut on one tyre, strangely on the inside ???, must have been a piece of scrap.

So two new tyres, fitter cleaned rims with fine emery and used bead sealer........sorted.

[Mortblanc]

When you go through MOT do they check your emissions?

Over here that is basically their only concern in the areas where testing is necessary. My area has no "safety" test unless one is stopped by the traffic officers and they notice a broken windscreen or bald tyres.

[Pete Grey]

Yes MB the emissions are checked, quite stringently.

Steering.....suspension.....brakes (efficiency).....brake pipes (corrosion).....wheels.....tyres (tread depth and damage).....exhaust (leaks).....fuel system (leaks).....battery (if secure).....wiring (damage).....lights.....bodywork(corrosion).....chassis.....door locks (anti-burst incase of accident).....seat belts.....windshield (cracks).....wipers.....washers, are all checked.

The test take around 40 minutes to complete, the computer system does not let the operator rush the test, very tightly controlled. To add insult to injury the test is compulsory but we have to pay for it .

I bet you’re glad you don’t have the same.

[bigpaul]

at least it cuts out any dangerous cars with an mot, all the dangerous cars wont have an mot and probably no insurance either, so they can be found by registration number checks and taken off the road.
anyone who hasnt got an mot in the UK in an idiot and shouldnt be driving anyway.

[Pete Grey]

And now E10 petrol has arrived, ‘The Car’ is twenty years old (2001), the manufacturer say all of their vehicles made since 2000 are E10 compatible but is it worth the risk ?.

There is twenty years age/wear to all seals, rubber fuel lines, petrol pump etc, so do I risk having an expensive fuel system replacement, which would probably cost more than the value of the car.

We have been using E5 since it’s introduction without any problem and we know it will be around for years to come for classical vehicles.

So we will move up to super unleaded E5, with it’s higher RON rating it’s proven to give more power and acceleration, burns smoother and gives a little better mpg.

Our normal mileage is low, so the extra cost for the lack of any problem is a reasonable expense.

[Mortblanc]

Over here we have been using E85 for decades with no major problems to vehicle engines. There may be some negatives but all in all I think the quality of the blended fuels is still better than the "regular" I burned once down in Mexico.

I have noticed several of the British mechanics on You tube prophesying doom, gloom and the instant decomposition of all fuel lines and pumps, injectors with concrete clogging them, and trails of fuel down the motorway from the rotted out systems. Our mechanics don't even mention it any more, unless the vehicle has been sitting for a decade and what is in the tank is the consistency of maple syrup.

Cars are tougher than you might think. So are their hoses and gaskets.

I reported on my 1997 Jeep Cherokee that broke down with a full tank of E85 (computer malfunction) and stayed parked for a year, then cranked up with no ill effects.

The brake system then went completely bonkers and it sit for another year before I got around to a full replacement of all lines, calipers and brakes. It fired up after that also. Same tank of fuel two years old.

That tank of E85 was untouched and had no stabilizers added and it was still good, and the vehicle was operational, after two full years.

The alcohol blend does its worst work on small engines that sit for periods without use. Garden tillers, lawn mowers, and especially weed eaters and chain saws. Those devices have tiny jets in the carb that barely work with the best fuel. All of the major 2cycle brands now market their own "pure" fuels, at $50 per US gallon!

There are only a few dealers that even offer "pure" petrol with no alcohol added. All of it is the premium level fuel and you pay out the wazoo for it. At least it seems to us like "out the wazoo". $1US per liter! It's an outrage!

It appears that fuel stabilizers still work with the blended fuels. I would use them freely with fuels I was keeping in storage as preps.

As a note, I stored all my motorcycles last winter with the tanks completely full to cut down on condensation and stabilizer added. they sit from November to April and all of them fired up and ran without any problems. The only one I made special care to fill with straight petrol was the Royal Enfield and I latter thought about the fact that that machine was designed to burn south Asian petrol, meaning you can pee in the tank and it will still run.

[Mortblanc]

BTW, when I refer to E85 that is our designation for 15% alcohol/85% petrol.

[bigpaul]

wife went to local filling station this morning, the new E10 is the only petrol we can now get, luckily our 14 and 17 year old Vauxhalls are compatable, as are all Vauxhalls.
I believe its only newer cars with the larger engines which might have a problem with the new fuel.

[Mortblanc]

I just remembered that our NASCAR race series uses 15% alcohol fuel. They are using 5.9L engines running 800hp at 8k rpm.

Our Indy cars also run the 15% blend. That is like F1 for the bigger boys. Bigger cars, bigger engines. They switched over to 15% from running straight alcohol.

I also remembered that Brazil uses an extreme blend of 27% and they have done so since 1976. They have been heavy into biofuel due to their use of sugar cane waste to produce fuel.

This is not new technology, it is just new to you.

[Pete Grey]

Can you remember when you could actually REPAIR your car at the side of the road ?.

In the late 1970s I toured Scotland in an elderly Austin 1100, around 2000 miles in two weeks.

Among the bits and pieces I carried were two spare wheels (on the roof rack), good job as I had two punctures - tyres weren’t too good in those days, light bulbs, some cable and connectors, oil, brake fluid, tube of molybdenum grease, Bars radiator leak pellets (looked like turds), hoses, radiator cap, fan belt, spark plugs, ht leads, distributor cap, rotor arm, contact set, condenser, a couple of foot of petrol pipe and clips, steering ball pins (these often used to snap) and a head gasket.

With the tools I carried, apart from the normal sockets, spanners, screwdrivers, feeler gauges etc was a special open end spanner for the ball pins, I think it was 1 3/16 AF, it’s probably still in the garage somewhere.