Petrol for old cars

[Super Sonic]

Just bought a 98 Civic with the d16 engine, and the seller advised me to use Morrisons' super unleaded as it has the lowest ethanol, and was better than other garage's super which wouldn't do the fuel system any good.
Any thoughts or comments?

[Smollet]

Super Sonic said:

Just bought a 98 Civic with the d16 engine, and the seller advised me to use Morrisons' super unleaded as it has the lowest ethanol, and was better than other garage's super which wouldn't do the fuel system any good.
Any thoughts or comments?

Esso 99 in some areas is still 0 ethanol

[FlyVintage]

Smollet said:

Super Sonic said:

Just bought a 98 Civic with the d16 engine, and the seller advised me to use Morrisons' super unleaded as it has the lowest ethanol, and was better than other garage's super which wouldn't do the fuel system any good.
Any thoughts or comments?

Esso 99 in some areas is still 0 ethanol

That finished in September 2023 I believe. Now it has 5% like everyone else

[Riley Blue]

FlyVintage said:

Smollet said:

Super Sonic said:

Just bought a 98 Civic with the d16 engine, and the seller advised me to use Morrisons' super unleaded as it has the lowest ethanol, and was better than other garage's super which wouldn't do the fuel system any good.
Any thoughts or comments?

Esso 99 in some areas is still 0 ethanol

That finished in September 2023 I believe. Now it has 5% like everyone else

Yup, that's what I thought too however 5% shouldn't do any damage. I use Tesco Momentum E5 99RON in my '63 Riley with no issues whatsoever so far. I believe Sainsbury's Super Unleaded is 97RON.

[CanAm]

Riley Blue said:

Yup, that's what I thought too however 5% shouldn't do any damage. I use Tesco Momentum E5 99RON in my '63 Riley with no issues whatsoever so far. I believe Sainsbury's Super Unleaded is 97RON.

I also use Tesco E5, partly because of the higher octane rating, but also as although their E10 is a fraction dearer than my local garage, their E5 is about 8p/litre cheaper and is 99 rather than 97 RON. A double whammy!

[InitialDave]

FlyVintage said:

That finished in September 2023 I believe. Now it has 5% like everyone else

Yes, frustratingly, as with all these brands, it's up to 5%, so there's no way to be really certain how much is actually in there (other than testing it, and, well... will the next tanker load be the same?

[Super Sonic]

CanAm said:

Riley Blue said:

Yup, that's what I thought too however 5% shouldn't do any damage. I use Tesco Momentum E5 99RON in my '63 Riley with no issues whatsoever so far. I believe Sainsbury's Super Unleaded is 97RON.

I also use Tesco E5, partly because of the higher octane rating, but also as although their E10 is a fraction dearer than my local garage, their E5 is about 8p/litre cheaper and is 99 rather than 97 RON. A double whammy!

I always used this in my Accord R which preferred super unleaded and never had any problems.
Thanks everybody.

[OutInTheShed]

Super Sonic said:

Just bought a 98 Civic with the d16 engine, and the seller advised me to use Morrisons' super unleaded as it has the lowest ethanol, and was better than other garage's super which wouldn't do the fuel system any good.
Any thoughts or comments?

A '98 car probably has a lot of fuel system components which are showing their age anyway.
Things like fuel hoses gone very stiff, maybe prone to cracking.
Most of the parts affected by ethanol are lifed items which should have been replaced by now.


If the car has not been in regular use recently, it might pay to run a tank of BP's expensive stuff through it, it's not just about the ethanol, but also the cleanser additives. I've found this to help with EFI bikes which run fine on Tesco's cheapest unleaded in regular use.
When was the fuel filter last changed?

[Mr Tidy]

AFAIK Shell, Esso and Tesco are the only E5 options that are 99RON.

BP, Jet, Sainsburys and Morrisons E5 are all 97 RON, so I try to avoid them as both my cars are supposed to get a minimum of 98 RON "whenever possible"!

[Mr_Megalomaniac]

I use Shell 99 with an additive (Castrol Classic Etha guard or similar will do) for a 1965 and seems to be working well so far

[carboy2017]

I use E5 with lead additive for my Triumph Herald

[Super Sonic]

carboy2017 said:

I use E5 with lead additive for my Triumph Herald

I won't be using lead additive in my 'unleaded petrol only' Honda, but thanks for the suggestion.

[shera2025]

Nice, a ’98 Civic with the D16 classic little engine! 👍 Using lower-ethanol fuel is a good shout, especially on older cars, as it’s gentler on the fuel system and can help avoid issues with rubber hoses and seals. Morrisons’ super sounds fine, but honestly, any reputable low-ethanol super unleaded should do the job. Just make sure you keep an eye on how the car runs and maybe top up with a fuel system cleaner every now and then.

[niva441]

I'm guessing that ethanol might be the reason my MGB found a new place to leak from. Recently I've needed to tighten up the fuel pump unions almost every year. However this year when I went underneath to tighten them they were tight and it is the gasket/diaphragm in the body itself.

[Virtual PAH]

Been using the E5 as regular as I can in my 30 year old Pug 306 as I don't do many miles in it, but the local Tesco has been out of stock in recent visits so have had to pay the ~20p premium for Shell V Power as only other local trusted source.

Found a youtuber reviewing the ethanol content (easy to DIY if a local supplier isn't already covered) to see which E5 has zero ethanol as it's 'up to 5%' so some don't add any:

https://www.youtube.com/@boilerhousegarage/videos