do not use shell v power

[1hotbusa]

I find it interesting that Shell are flogging off race V power with a 5% ethanol blend. Ethanol has an oxygen molecule which means that it has partly oxidised, ad anything that is oxidised has partially burnt. Therefore any fuel that has partially burnt will have less bang for the buck over the pure stuff. You will find tank range will drop with an ethanol blend due to this.

mate I donâ€t think what you are saying is quite right.......... ethanol is a form of alcohol. Ethanol is essentially a carbon based molecule that looks like this
H H
| |
H-C-C-O-H or C2H6O
| |
H H

saying that it is oxidised and hence partly burnt is not exactly right, it is an oxidised for of ethane gas, but no its not burn ethane gas. The major reason that it would be less economical is that it is much much less dense than regular octane (CH3(CH2)6CH3) and is a much smaller molecule.

Advantages of ethanol use are that it is locally produced, the alcohol is produced from Australian sugar cane, it is easily renewable and most of all the combustion of ethanol is H20 (water) and CO2 (carbon dioxide). ethanol combusts completely much more readily than octane and is much much less detrimental to the environment.

I ensure that I run ethanol based fuels in all my work vehicles, but I havenâ€t tried it in my busa as yet. Most car manufacturers recommend not more than 10% ethanol be used in vehicles (Australian standards reflect this), and I am meant to believe that 5% is safe for the bike. Shell V Power Racing contains 5% ethanol, and I would be happy to give it a go but shell have been selective in their distribution of this product and I have never even seen it!

Looks like someone finished school

Hi there,

Do you see the oxygen molecule in your molecular diagram. The extra oxygen molecule which is found in the Hydrocarbon chain is what takes away the oomph. An oxidised molecular group has less calorific value than a non oxidised group.

In regards to fuel density, the old optimax, which had claims of having the highest fuel efficiency was also one of the more dense fuels that could be brought over the pump. which is why some turbo tuners like it. But beware if you ever had to cold start your bike, esp if it was carburettored, as it was a eal dog in the cold start department.

One issue with going above 10% ethanol is the risk to the poor schmuck putting it in the tank. Much higher and this and any fuel that is splashed onto your hand will burn, rather than just feel cold and evaporate away. Very bad publicity when people get chemical burns filling their car. The enviro way forward is diesel Smart cars on biodiesel, but not too many bogans are going to separate with the V8 Bommadore esp out my way.

It's good to get this discussion out there though so that everybody becomes informed.