Hello all,

I noticed in the area I moved to recently, the ethanol free fuel options top at out at a 90 octane rating. Do you believe it's worth the effort to get the 90 octane ethanol free fuel and add in octane booster each fill-up or just keep getting the readily available Shell V-Power 93 octane stuff?

Thanks for any thoughts on the subject and have good rest of the weekend!

 

Here is a link to a thread that discusses fuels: https://mbworld.org/forums/mercedes-...edes-benz.html

There was also an article in the Star magazine a few issues ago which discussed fuels. The Cliff's Notes version of the article is that you should not only pay attention to the octane rating, but also to the additive packages employed by various suppliers. In the article they referenced Top Tier Fuel suppliers and the benefits of using same. I will see if I can locate the article, others may have quicker access.

 

Thanks for that link; some good info there.

 

Unsure where the concern comes from? All cars sold in the US have been able to use E10 gasoline (i.e. up to 10% Ethanol) for decades now. I had the owner's manual for my 1998 R129 SL handy as I was posting this, and sure enough, E10 is stated to be fine. For sure the R231s are similarly capable.

 

Hello,

Just reading on the good old internet and you see people saying the alcohol will ruin the seals etc in your engine. I have no idea if there is any truth to that or not hence asking here. It's a nice car IMO, so if there is something simple (different fuel) I can do to keep it running better longer, I'll do it

 

My 1971 Datsun 240Z with 282,000 miles has suffered no ill effects from ethanol fuels since I got it in 1987. I really can't recall anyone in any of my car clubs (AACA, Corvette, Z-car) ever discussing a fuel issue from ethanol, nor the guy who works on my Zs who has been doing that since 1974.