Rich Posted August 7, 2018 Report Share Posted August 7, 2018 Does anyone use this when they don't use their cars often or take them off the road for winter? I prefer to fill the tanks up rather than partially. How long does it take for fuel to go bad? I've read it can happen within a month, others say years so I'm not sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted August 7, 2018 Report Share Posted August 7, 2018 A company who use us restore vintage cars and some time back this very topic came up. It depends on the octane but the tarnish takes years with modern fuel. I believe it's less if lead replacement additives are used. On cars that have stood for years the tank needs a flush and the filters replaced or added on early models. DKE who restore/ store Ferarri's simply drain the fuel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CP09 Posted August 7, 2018 Report Share Posted August 7, 2018 There is also the difference between summer & winter petrol. The Morris Minor had the fuel pump located high on the engine bulkhead (actually on the battery box - if anyone else remembers). In the summer, the suction required to pull the fuel from the tank and the upwards to the pump was very close to the vapour pressure of winter fuel (winter fuel being a little more volatile than summer fuel). As the temperature rose, the fuel system would easily develop a vapour lock at the fuel pump (ambient heat + engine heat) as the fuel vapourised in the fuel line. Moral was to make sure that one refilled the tank as appropriate, beofre a hot summer. That's one of the reasons that later BL cars had the fuel pump low down, near the fuel tank - to push the fuel along (Mini had them fitted in the nearside rear wheel well.... not a good location for an electric pump!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted August 8, 2018 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2018 From what else I've been reading it seems petrol left for a long time might only affect older engines, those with carburetors. So if I fill the tank up and use it over 3-4 months I'm not going to get any issues? When I take the MX5 off the road should I fill the tank or leave it empty? I've read that leaving it empty can cause moisture to form in the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted August 8, 2018 Report Share Posted August 8, 2018 Better the devil you know so go half way. Remember the Countach i bought, that was a barn find and stood for about 20yrs. All that needed was a tank flush, new filters and some injectors ( thanks nickT ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liner33 Posted August 9, 2018 Report Share Posted August 9, 2018 Its the ethanol in modern fuels that causes the problems http://injectorrepair.com/ethanol-problem/ I usually store my car with a full tank or close to it and run that all the way down before filling with V power again. High octane fuels in my experience seem to suffer worse than cheaper stuff so I'm always very gentle with performance engines until thats been run through, that shouldnt be an issue on the MX but you may notice it feel a little flat with older petrol I don't use any stabilisers or anything, as you say storing with a full tank stops moisture forming but many tanks are plastic nowadays I'm not aware of any differences with summer and winter petrol , only diesel 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickT Posted August 9, 2018 Report Share Posted August 9, 2018 22 hours ago, Tony said: Better the devil you know so go half way. Remember the Countach i bought, that was a barn find and stood for about 20yrs. All that needed was a tank flush, new filters and some injectors ( thanks nickT ) It was a pleasure Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted August 9, 2018 Report Share Posted August 9, 2018 And it worked Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted August 11, 2018 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2018 On 09/08/2018 at 10:27, liner33 said: Its the ethanol in modern fuels that causes the problems http://injectorrepair.com/ethanol-problem/ I usually store my car with a full tank or close to it and run that all the way down before filling with V power again. High octane fuels in my experience seem to suffer worse than cheaper stuff so I'm always very gentle with performance engines until thats been run through, that shouldnt be an issue on the MX but you may notice it feel a little flat with older petrol I don't use any stabilisers or anything, as you say storing with a full tank stops moisture forming but many tanks are plastic nowadays I'm not aware of any differences with summer and winter petrol , only diesel Thanks. It says fuel is best used within 100 days but 6 months is almost double that. I'll carry on filling the tank before taking it off the road but it'll take me ages to use that. They recommend a fuel stabiliser too but I can't really find any in the UK. I assume it's not a popular product? The ones I have seen seem to be aimed at lawnmowers. The Accord I will be using all year round but it's taken me 3 months to use a tank since I last filled it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted August 11, 2018 Report Share Posted August 11, 2018 What does the stabilizer actually do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted August 12, 2018 Author Report Share Posted August 12, 2018 Keeps the fuel fresher, apparently extends it from 100 days to 12 months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted August 13, 2018 Report Share Posted August 13, 2018 What stops it smelling or is it an octain thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammy Posted September 2, 2019 Report Share Posted September 2, 2019 On 13/08/2018 at 16:23, Tony said: What stops it smelling or is it an octain thing. The only smell worth smelling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phipck Posted September 2, 2019 Report Share Posted September 2, 2019 So here’s a question, what if a car has been sitting for say.....8 years :-/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted September 2, 2019 Report Share Posted September 2, 2019 Good question Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted September 4, 2019 Author Report Share Posted September 4, 2019 On 02/09/2019 at 08:48, phipck said: So here’s a question, what if a car has been sitting for say.....8 years :-/ That would definitely need draining first and possibly even cleaned out. What happens to fuel after 8 years? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phipck Posted September 5, 2019 Report Share Posted September 5, 2019 I guess I’ll find out! I’ll be making a post soon about one of my cars soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted September 5, 2019 Report Share Posted September 5, 2019 Really....... I'll look forward to this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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