which fuel to run

[Bigfitzy]

gday again all. beforer asking my new question I want to thank everyone here who has taken to time to look at and reply to my questions in the past, you've all been a great help.

now the latest question, which im afraid is going to sound stupid I fear!..

since pourchasing my 98 FL1 1.8 PETROL, ive been running it on premium petrol, as instructed now this is proving very very expensive for me on my income (its 15c a litre dearer than regular unleaded here in SA).

I was warned that it wouldnt run properly on standard unleaded.. is this true or is it a load of hogwash???. id really like to run it on stock unleaded as itd help me out a lot financially as I do a lot of miles in the car.

some light shed on this would be really good. ordinarilly I wouldnt need to ask such an oddball question but this is my first "foreign" car and I know diddly squat about them as youve propably gathered.. really wish id gone for the commodore I wanted to get in the first place :D

[Ausfree]

I run my V6 FL1 on Premium. I wouldn't put that Ethanol crap in any car of mine!! Seriously though, Premium is the standard fuel in Europe and all European cars are tuned to run on Premium!!:D The manual in my car only recommends running on lower fuel ratings for short periods of time in an emergency!! However, I am not sure here, but do some research on the internet as I think the FL1 can be retuned to run on standard!!:) Anyrate have a look at this:

http://www.onlinemechanical.net/ethanol-E10.html

[Bigfitzy]

I run my V6 FL1 on Premium. I wouldn't put that Ethanol crap in any car of mine!! Seriously though, Premium is the standard fuel in Europe and all European cars are tuned to run on Premium!!:D The manual in my car only recommends running on lower fuel ratings for short periods of time in an emergency!! However, I am nor sure here, but do some research on the internet as I think the FL1 can be retuned to run on standard!!:)

thanks no youve answered my question nicely.. n ot sure about us down south having ethanol in our fuel , its just lower octane far as I know... regardless. I did 'accidentally" put a 1/4 tank of stock unleaded in it once and it ran roughly till I topped it right up with premium... looks like im stuck with high fuel costs.. thanks for your help

[101RRS]

thanks no youve answered my question nicely.. n ot sure about us down south having ethanol in our fuel , its just lower octane far as I know... regardless. I did 'accidentally" put a 1/4 tank of stock unleaded in it once and it ran roughly till I topped it right up with premium... looks like im stuck with high fuel costs.. thanks for your help

I appreciate that Ausfree always answers questions as best he can but in this case he has not answered the question - he has given information for the V6 (which I am sure is totally correct) but we are talking about a 1.8 not the V6.

My handbook has minimum octane for the 1.8 of 92 which is standard unleaded.

Garry

[Bigfitzy]

bugger.. i didnt notice thet the answer reffered to the V6..

in that case can someone answer me who actually RUNS standard unleaded in their 1.8 FL1?

I cannot afford to screw up my engine cos I dont have the funds to take it to a rover mechanic.

sorry to be a nuisance.:(

[Ausfree]

bugger.. i didnt notice thet the answer reffered to the V6..

in that case can someone answer me who actually RUNS standard unleaded in their 1.8 FL1?

I cannot afford to screw up my engine cos I dont have the funds to take it to a rover mechanic.

sorry to be a nuisance.:( You are not being a nuisance mate, and I will stand by what I said. As far as I am aware standard unleaded has 10% ethanol which can do damage to a vehicle not designed to use it even though it will run on standard without Ethanol!! Be careful and seek advice from experienced mechanics on this. As far as I am concerned, use Premium and there is no doubt!!

[101RRS]

As far as I am aware standard unleaded has 10% ethanol which can do damage to a vehicle not designed to use it even though it will run on standard without Ethanol!! Be careful and seek advice from experienced mechanics on this. As far as I am concerned, use Premium and there is no doubt!!

I agree with Ausfree - I wouldn't be using anything with Ethanol in it before doing my own research - noting that Premium could also have Ethanol in it.

Supposedly it is all Ok but I am not so sure - works well in engines designed to run on ethanol like GM Aust Engines sold in GM products in South America but the engine needs to be designed to run on it from scratch.

[Ausfree]

I appreciate that Ausfree always answers questions as best he can but in this case he has not answered the question - he has given information for the V6 (which I am sure is totally correct) but we are talking about a 1.8 not the V6.

My handbook has minimum octane for the 1.8 of 92 which is standard unleaded.

Garry Don't mean to be argumentative (just want to get to the bottom of this)my hand book from my 2001 model FL1 says the recommended fuel for the 1.8 petrol engine is a recommended 95 Ron and that engine has a 10.5 to 1 compression ratio. It also recommends a 95 Ron fuel for my V6 which also has a 10.5 to 1 compression ratio. Has things changed between the year your vehicle was manufactured and 2001????:)

[101RRS]

Don't mean to be argumentative

Not at all - certainly the 98/99 handbook has it listed as 92 Ron and goes to indicate that higher grades can be used without detriment but lower than 92 RON can only be used in emergencies and for short periods only.

If your later handbook says that it is 95 Ron it is obviously the case so maybe there were changes around the time the engine was dropped.

Maybe Bigfitzy needs to follow the information contained in his handbook - however if he is in doubt then he should use 96 - every one agrees there are no issues with that grade of fuel.

Garry

[bigcarle]

in an entirely different car i was using ordinary,ethanol cheapish type fuel and due to a small fuel tank i wasn't getting too far (approx 260km for 28litres).
i then tried various premium fuels and found some surprising facts
running on Caltex Vortex the car seemed to have more power but on BP Ultima i got more power and more miles by a fair margin (approx 320-350km for 28 litres)
so in the long run it was better for me to have the pain of the dearer petrol in order to go further on the available fuel load as we didn't have spare money in the middle-end of the week to top up

[woko]

Not at all - certainly the 98/99 handbook has it listed as 92 Ron and goes to indicate that higher grades can be used without detriment but lower than 92 RON can only be used in emergencies and for short periods only.

If your later handbook says that it is 95 Ron it is obviously the case so maybe there were changes around the time the engine was dropped.


Garry
There is a difference in the 1.8's. Australia didn't get the newer 1.8 in the Freelander. Did see it in MG's. The V6 can be reprogrammed to run on 92Ron with testbook.

[Bigfitzy]

i'll grudgingly be sticking with premium fuel after hearing the ethanol issue.. as far as Ive been told the engine is actually a rebadged ford engine.. but regardless im beggining to think its the ethanol reason they told me to only run premium.. thanks everyone.. looks like dear fuel for me.

:(

[101RRS]

i'll grudgingly be sticking with premium fuel after hearing the ethanol issue.. as far as Ive been told the engine is actually a rebadged ford engine.. but regardless im beggining to think its the ethanol reason they told me to only run premium.. thanks everyone.. looks like dear fuel for me.

:(

We have all mised something here - while the 1.8i uses 92Ron fuel - it has just dawned on me that Aust unleaded is actually 91Ron so for emergency use only . The Future Of Fuel - Biofuels: Ethanol & Biodiesel | NRMA Motoring & Services (http://www.mynrma.com.au/motoring/car-care/fuel-types.htm)

For the 1.8i, the ethanol issue is a bit of a furfy - it will not have any major issues - actually with a 1.8 I would be more worried about monitoring a whole lot of things related to the cooling system.

Garry

[Ausfree]

We have all mised something here - while the 1.8i uses 92Ron fuel - it has just dawned on me that Aust unleaded is actually 91Ron so for emergency use only . The Future Of Fuel - Biofuels: Ethanol & Biodiesel | NRMA Motoring & Services (http://www.mynrma.com.au/motoring/car-care/fuel-types.htm)

For the 1.8i, the ethanol issue is a bit of a furfy - it will not have any major issues - actually with a 1.8 I would be more worried about monitoring a whole lot of things related to the cooling system.

Garry
Yeah Garry, now we are heading off in different tangent (no disrespect) but the 1.8 and the V6 have cooling issues and We all recommend strongly the fitting of a Low Level Coolant Alarm. I have one fitted to mine and it gives me some level of comfort!!:)

[Ausfree]

i'll grudgingly be sticking with premium fuel after hearing the ethanol issue.. as far as Ive been told the engine is actually a rebadged ford engine.. but regardless im beggining to think its the ethanol reason they told me to only run premium.. thanks everyone.. looks like dear fuel for me.

:(Not correct, the engine is a genuine Rover engine which was designed to replace the old A-Series engine which dates back to 1952. The K-Series entered production in 1995 for the MGF sports car and was adapted to the Freelander. The design is a "layered design" clamped together by a series of long bolts holding the layers together. It was a clever design except in the Freelander adaption it had a bad habit of blowing Headgaskets and slipping cylinder liners.:( From what I can gather its adaption in the MGF caused no problems!!:) The V6 also caused problems in the early 1990's when Kia of Korea took out a licence to manufacture a version of this motor for the Carnivale people mover. The motor was unreliable and I do remember it being on Current Affair progams as owners of these vehicles were reporting serious problems with these engines self destructing and Kia not being willing to honour warranties. I am not sure here, but I have heard that the V6 used by Kia was an earlier version of the motor used in the Freelander!! Sorry guys, I guess I have gone off on a bit of a tangent (diatribe) now!!!

[woko]

Not correct, the engine is a genuine Rover engine which was designed to replace the old A-Series engine which dates back to 1952. The K-Series entered production in 1995 for the MGF sports car and was adapted to the Freelander. The design is a "layered design" clamped together by a series of long bolts holding the layers together. It was a clever design except in the Freelander adaption it had a bad habit of blowing Headgaskets and slipping cylinder liners.:( From what I can gather its adaption in the MGF caused no problems!!:)

The Mg have more headgasket problems than the freelander due to the radiator being so far away

[Ausfree]

The Mg have more headgasket problems than the freelander due to the radiator being so far away
Ah yes, I do remember reading about that somewhere, I stand corrected!!:D

[101RRS]

I think the Lotus Elise also had the same issues.

[woko]

There is a heap of upgrades for head gaskets on the K1.8, Different Head gaskets x2, different thermostat, Different head bolts, different oil rail. A K1.8 with all the upgrades is a good engine.