SL/R230: R230 and Ethanol
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: Mar 2017
Posts: 101
Likes: 8
From: Australia
2003 SL500
R230 and Ethanol
question for the wise
Are our R230's equipped to take Ethanol or will the fuel lines erode and bleed into the filter and clog everything
we get E85 here Australia and its 107 octane rating makes it attractive but not sure on the survivability of the fuel system
Is there users on site burning ethanol or no knowledge
Peter
Are our R230's equipped to take Ethanol or will the fuel lines erode and bleed into the filter and clog everything
we get E85 here Australia and its 107 octane rating makes it attractive but not sure on the survivability of the fuel system
Is there users on site burning ethanol or no knowledge
Peter
MBworld Guru
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 10,782
Likes: 1,011
NO LONGER ACTIVE
No, the SL's engines are not E85 capable. It's not just the fuel lines that you have to worry about. E85 has about 70% of the energy of gasoline, so the ECU has to be tuned to accept it. Don't be fooled by the "octane rating". A higher octane rating does not mean higher energy. Oh, and by the way, on order to produce one gallon of E85, they use the energy equivalent of one gallon of regular gasoline. That same amount of energy is used to produce 5 gallons of gasoline. So, unless you own cornfields, E85 is a losing proposition all around.
