Esso Synergy Supreme 99+ unleaded
Discussion
Best to check with their customer support via email.
The 99+ is ethanol free,when the fuel is "exclusively from Esso's own terminal/ refinery ".
I live in Cheshire,they suggested Buxton, London road station was nearest for me.I asked about the Knutsford/ toft road station ,near junction 19 M6.
The Knutsford station does unfortunately have ethanol added,I imagine they use Stanlow refinery?
The 99+ is ethanol free,when the fuel is "exclusively from Esso's own terminal/ refinery ".
I live in Cheshire,they suggested Buxton, London road station was nearest for me.I asked about the Knutsford/ toft road station ,near junction 19 M6.
The Knutsford station does unfortunately have ethanol added,I imagine they use Stanlow refinery?
Edited by astonman on Friday 23 April 14:52
phn said:
Sorry for the daft question, but what is the advantage of having no ethanol in the fuel?
On older cars, ethanol can degrade rubber parts in the fuel system.
Here is a video about it. The presenter was an engine development engineer with several major manufacturers.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wOxxPYLhBhM
Not just rubber, either. Ethanol is a VERY powerful solvent, and attacks pretty much anything incl the varied metals in carburettors, so watch out if you use it/leave it in your older motorbike, lawnmower etc. It can also reduce plastic fuel tanks to jelly like plastic bags. They've had it for longer than us in the USA and this is being reported on eg H-D forums.
More the question, Why is it doing in our fuel? Supposedly 'eco-friendly' because it's 'bio', the truth is that it's cheaper, so effectively we're being sold a 'watered-down' product without any reduction in retail price.
Which is why I now only ever buy this Esso Supreme +, whether for any car, 'bike, lawnmower, cement mixer etc.
More the question, Why is it doing in our fuel? Supposedly 'eco-friendly' because it's 'bio', the truth is that it's cheaper, so effectively we're being sold a 'watered-down' product without any reduction in retail price.
Which is why I now only ever buy this Esso Supreme +, whether for any car, 'bike, lawnmower, cement mixer etc.
At the moment,your TVR will run ok on petrol with 5% ethanol added.
But when 10% becomes the norm ( believe its coming later this year), then my understanding is that this fuel has less energy per unit volume.In other words your engine will physically need more fuel to run properly.A modern car,has some sort of feedback mechanism that can read your exhaust gases and then add extra fuel.To avoid running weak in a carburettor car,it will need tuning , preferably on a rolling road and larger jets fitted .You could do the same on your later TVR ,I assume? As long as the injectors can physically deliver more fuel then a remap would fix it.Your fuel consumption goes up of course ,less mpg!However, you will need to continue using 10% ethanol fuel,you cant use 5% or no ethanol, because it will now be too rich.
The good news at the moment is that all this pseudo green legislation is based on the mass produced 95 octane petrol.There is no legal requirement to add ethanol to super unleaded, because not that much is sold.Esso has base stocks from its refinery in southern England that has no ethanol added.If you are in Wales, Scotland,North or Northwest then they use basestock from other people's refineries and add there own special mix to that, for their 99+ octane.These non Esso base stocks have ethanol added before Esso add their mix.
As well as dissolving plastics / rubbers etc ,ethanol also is hygroscopic,absorbs water.So,if you leave ethanol containing fuel in your tank over winter,it will absorb water.If it absorbs enough,the water will separate out from the gasoline elements and settle on the bottom of your tank.It will cause corrosion, and your engine won't run very well on water!
So,it seemed to me,if you can get ethanol free fuel,and its 99 octane high spec stuff,why not use it.
Problem,is you cant tell by checking the pump,all Esso Synergy 99+ say E5, because legally it can have up to 5 % ethanol in it .So,you have to ask them about stations near you etc.I asked for a" map",but they don't have one?
But when 10% becomes the norm ( believe its coming later this year), then my understanding is that this fuel has less energy per unit volume.In other words your engine will physically need more fuel to run properly.A modern car,has some sort of feedback mechanism that can read your exhaust gases and then add extra fuel.To avoid running weak in a carburettor car,it will need tuning , preferably on a rolling road and larger jets fitted .You could do the same on your later TVR ,I assume? As long as the injectors can physically deliver more fuel then a remap would fix it.Your fuel consumption goes up of course ,less mpg!However, you will need to continue using 10% ethanol fuel,you cant use 5% or no ethanol, because it will now be too rich.
The good news at the moment is that all this pseudo green legislation is based on the mass produced 95 octane petrol.There is no legal requirement to add ethanol to super unleaded, because not that much is sold.Esso has base stocks from its refinery in southern England that has no ethanol added.If you are in Wales, Scotland,North or Northwest then they use basestock from other people's refineries and add there own special mix to that, for their 99+ octane.These non Esso base stocks have ethanol added before Esso add their mix.
As well as dissolving plastics / rubbers etc ,ethanol also is hygroscopic,absorbs water.So,if you leave ethanol containing fuel in your tank over winter,it will absorb water.If it absorbs enough,the water will separate out from the gasoline elements and settle on the bottom of your tank.It will cause corrosion, and your engine won't run very well on water!
So,it seemed to me,if you can get ethanol free fuel,and its 99 octane high spec stuff,why not use it.
Problem,is you cant tell by checking the pump,all Esso Synergy 99+ say E5, because legally it can have up to 5 % ethanol in it .So,you have to ask them about stations near you etc.I asked for a" map",but they don't have one?
Edited by astonman on Monday 26th April 18:05
phn said:
Very interesting replies, thanks to you all for the information - I had no idea about this before.
Does anyone know if other performance fuels (such as Shell V Power which I usually use) will contain these unwanted higher levels of ethanol?
Many thanks,
Philip.
I was a V-Power fan-boy until I learned about this ethanol scandal about a year ago. At that time, Esso was the only (mainstream) supplier of (high octane) petrol containing no ethanol. It was 'only' 97RON then, but I was prepared to overlook that. Recently it has become 99RON. So what's not to like?Does anyone know if other performance fuels (such as Shell V Power which I usually use) will contain these unwanted higher levels of ethanol?
Many thanks,
Philip.
My primary concern was for the health of my belovéd Buell, which not only has a plastic fuel tank, but also a carburettor. Also, motorbikes can sit unused for several months over winter... put all this together and you have the makings of a perfect storm.
I have been trying to spread this news ever since I knew, but most people seem apathetic at best, suspicious at worst. Pleased to see this thread.
rigga said:
astonman said:
This Fuel has No Ethanol content.( Even though it has to say E5 on the pump),and its pushing over 99 octane.
In the majority of the country yes, no ethanol, Devon and Cornwall and elsewhere teeside i think there is, check your region just in case. The E5 label designates 'Up to 5%'.
Rather confusing, but zero is within that range.
Have a stage 2 mapped. JCW, used V power and had quite a bit of black smoke, overfueling when at high boost, changed to Esso supreme 99, gave it a tankfull of running, and no more black smoke out the back. Handily the garage is just up the road, so I use it for all things now .
Also brimmed the bike tank before storing for winter, as should be no water ingress to rot it.
Also brimmed the bike tank before storing for winter, as should be no water ingress to rot it.
From Esso's website:
What’s in our Synergy Supreme+ 99 premium petrol?
Our Synergy Supreme+ 99 petrol has more cleaning power than our regular petrol – and includes molecules whose job it is to reduce the friction in your engine helping the moving parts work more efficiently.*
Although our pumps have E5 labels on them, our Synergy Supreme+ 99 is actually ethanol free (except, due to technical supply reasons, in Devon, Cornwall, North Wales, North England and Scotland). Legislation requires us to place these E5 labels on pumps that dispense unleaded petrol with ‘up to 5% ethanol’, including those that contain no ethanol, which is why we display them on our Synergy Supreme+ 99 pumps.
There’s currently no requirement for renewable fuel, like ethanol, to be present in super unleaded petrol although this could change in the future, in which case we would comply with any new legislation.
What’s in our Synergy Supreme+ 99 premium petrol?
Our Synergy Supreme+ 99 petrol has more cleaning power than our regular petrol – and includes molecules whose job it is to reduce the friction in your engine helping the moving parts work more efficiently.*
Although our pumps have E5 labels on them, our Synergy Supreme+ 99 is actually ethanol free (except, due to technical supply reasons, in Devon, Cornwall, North Wales, North England and Scotland). Legislation requires us to place these E5 labels on pumps that dispense unleaded petrol with ‘up to 5% ethanol’, including those that contain no ethanol, which is why we display them on our Synergy Supreme+ 99 pumps.
There’s currently no requirement for renewable fuel, like ethanol, to be present in super unleaded petrol although this could change in the future, in which case we would comply with any new legislation.
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