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Richard Stern – Series Director

In September 2021, the standard unleaded petrol grade (or main grade) in the UK will become E10, in line with government mandate. E10 petrol contains up to 10% renewable ethanol, compared to 5% currently. This is to help reduce CO2 emission, according to the Department for Transport. in September”, seriously.

The government’s website to check if E10 is suitable for your car is www.gov. uk/check-vehicle-e10-petrol but it states all BMWs will run on the new fuel, which as we know is rubbish. Cars built before early 2002 were not designed to run on weaker petrol. Also, will it be cheaper if it uses less oil (of which petrol is made from)? I seriously doubt it. It’s also widely known your car will be less economical on E10 fuel, so you’ll be buying more of it and paying more tax as a result. So how can that be more efficient than a better quality fuel?

The government initially claimed that the introduction of E10 would not impact petrol prices, but a more recent assessment found the fuel will cost approximately 0.2p per litre more than current E5 petrol. That translates to a £1 increase if fully refilling a 50-litre fuel tank.

If your car is not E10 compatible and you accidentally fill it with the higherethanol fuel, don’t panic: using one tank of the new petrol shouldn’t cause your car too much damage. It is only thought to begin corroding some metal and plastic components after repeated use. But return to using the correct fuel at the next fill-up, as outlined below.

Can you mix E10 and unleaded?

Yes, as long as your vehicle is compatible with E10 fuel, there’s no reason that you can’t mix E10 and E5 fuel. In fact, the RAC recommends that if you accidentally fill your older car with E10 fuel, begin to mix it with E5 after you’ve used between a third and half of the tank, to lessen the impact of the E10 on your engine.

Stop press

Speaking to some people in the industry it now appears that E5 (generally Super grade etc.) will still be available for five years. So if you’re concerned, go to your premium petrol suppliers and use the Super or Premium fuel; apparently they can’t add more ethanol and get the higher octane. As to prices for each E5 or E10, I suspect we (the motorist) will of course be ripped off. At the time of writing this feature, prices in the UK are now at the highest ever. I saw diesel for £1.50 per litre in August and petrol was £1.45.

For more information check out; www.fairfueluk.com

E10 petrol is compatible with almost all (95%) petrol-powered vehicles on the road today, including all cars built since 2011. If your vehicle or equipment is not compatible with E10 fuel, you will still be able to use E5 by purchasing Shell V-Power grade petrol from most Shell service stations. At Shell forecourts, they will clearly label petrol as either E10 or E5. The change in fuel only applies to petrol; diesel fuel will not be changing.

At the end of July I went to my local supermarket petrol station and the pumps were already labelled E10, Super was still E5, so I used that. When I asked the cashier she explained “they just changed the labels ready for the change

The Classic, Silverstone

As you’ll see on pages 20 – 26 in this month’s issue, the Club attended The Classic at Silverstone circuit. It was a successful, yet sometimes wet, three days, and as you’ll see from Jamal’s report, we had some very envious cars on display; I’ll never forget my drive in the Z8!

As the ’02 Register Chair, I had the honour of coordinating yet another anniversary parade lap for the model, this time the 50th anniversary of the 2002 Tii on Saturday’s show. I think we had around 12 ‘02s on the stand on Saturday, and they all had their chance to whizz (slowly) around the track.

Next year marks 70 years of the BMW Car Club GB, so don’t miss this popular show and anniversary.