Which is the correct fuel?

John Bryan

Member
Which fuel should I use In my 2200SC. It has had an unleaded conversion. Will it run on basic unleaded or should it need the very expensive premium.

At the moment it runs like a bag of nails but I am looking to get it professionally tuned in the near future.
 
Personally I run mine on the expensive one, from Esso. More for the fact (I hope) that there isn't any ethanol in it.
 
What Quattro said. Esso all the way however, some parts of the UK Esso DOES contain ethanol so worth checking your area.
My 2000SC runs much better on premium grade, worth the extra cost. As for MPG...depends how you drive it and how well looked after your car is TBH.
 
What Quattro said. Esso all the way however, some parts of the UK Esso DOES contain ethanol so worth checking your area.
My 2000SC runs much better on premium grade, worth the extra cost. As for MPG...depends how you drive it and how well looked after your car is TBH.
Esso is not available where I live, our Esso station closed over 25 years ago. Shell BP and Texaco plus Morrison's and Tesco. are my options.
 
that’s a pity..I imagine you will find all of those have ethanol, the best way to limit it is to buy the premium grade which is only 5% ethanol rather than the standard fuel, which is 10%
 
Hi, There can be ethanol in diesel (up to 5% the same as petrol). It can attack Aluminium but mostly soldered items like brass floats hence the recommendation to change to plastic ones. It also attacks rubber hoses, so care is needed sourcing suitable fuel hoses.

Colin
 
A 2200 SC should be OK on normal unleaded with its 9:1 compression ratio, provided the fuelling and timing are set up correctly. Certainly the two 2000 SCs I used to own ran fine on it. A 2200 SC was built with valve seats hard enough to cope with the lack of lead, so shouldn't have needed an unleaded conversion if you're referring to the valves and seats. Rubber parts would ideally need to be ethanol-proof, though.
 
Being a diesel driver I know nothing about ethanol.
How do you tell if it contains ethanol and how does it affect the engine and it's components?

It will say on the pump. E5 means up to 5% ethanol in petrol, E10 means up to 10%, and B7 means up to 7% Biodiesel in diesel.
 
It will say on the pump. E5 means up to 5% ethanol in petrol, E10 means up to 10%, and B7 means up to 7% Biodiesel in diesel.
Thanks everyone. I have done a search and found an Esso station about 5 miles away from me, so that is where I will be filling up. I suspect that previous owners have been using E10 fuel and that is why the engine runs rough.

I am fitting electronic ignition, so combined with decent fuel it should run much better.
 
If you have rough running I would check your cable clearances and timing also. Valve clearances tend to be ignored by a lot of owners due to it being a bit of a faff to setup.
 
I use E5 from whatever garage is cheapest and nearest! I have never detected any difference in any suppliers' fuel in any of my cars, be it supermarket or otherwise.:D:D:D:D
 
Most garages near me are Texaco, with E5 at 97 octane. Car runs ok on that fuel, but a 16 mile trip for Tesco E5 at 99 octane (almost the old 5 star) is worth the effort as there's a noticeable difference. At least on my car with it's 10.5:1 compression ratio.
 
Which fuel should I use In my 2200SC. It has had an unleaded conversion. Will it run on basic unleaded or should it need the very expensive premium.

At the moment it runs like a bag of nails but I am looking to get it professionally tuned in the near future.
I use tesco e5. it is high octain suitable for my 2200, but I do occasionally put about an egg cups worth of additive, mine is a 77
 
I use Morris' lead replacement additive with the Tesco E5 or whatever fuel I get, and an occasional shot of Red X. I also use Morris' classic 20:50 oil as it is high in zinc, good for old-style engines.
 
Many moons ago I fitted a CDI (capacitor Discharge Ignition, self built from a kit) system to my 2000TC, and it had a large effect all around - more torque, better mpg. As an aside, my daily is a turbo Subaru, with 6MT box. Around town driving commonly produces ~27mpg, on our 98oct fuel. On a highway run this improves to 34mpg. The city driving mpg doesnt change much using lower quality fuel, but it doesnt improve on the highway - I put this down to the ECU being able to advance the ignition more on the 98 - until the knock sensors tell it enough. IIRC the book for the 10.5:1 CR engines says to retard the ignition back to TDC (from 6 BTDC) if you have to use lower quality fuel.
 
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Hello,

I'm also used to E5 ethanol or less, at least my car is..
Would it be an option to use a E10 protector like, for example, the one on the picture ?
I'm asking because coming week I will be in the UK with my 1979 XJ6 and I'm not sure where I can get E5 or less.

Thanks

Wilfred
Wynns E10 Protector.png
 
I’ve no experience of any protector but for E5 I’d advise you to look out for a Tesco supermarket filling station - there are plenty about in urban areas so should be easy to spot one - and get Tesco high octane, branded as Momentum.
 
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