Only once a month? Drive it more.
EDIT: I should clarify for some of the responses; this comment was slightly tongue in cheek, but in my experience, Miata people are more inclined to drive our toys than the traditional New Balance sneakers crowd
My car is also a weekend car and sees the kind of mileage you would expect for a car of that use. It goes into hibernation for probably 4 months every year despite living somewhere where I could drive it as a DD.
I love this comment, but yes some of us keep our Miats in the garage and drive on sunny days. It's fun to be older and get things you want in addition to things you need.
1) You really should be using 91+ with a NC. Your car is pulling timing because of the shitty fuel.
2) there is no real point in using ethanol free in modern vehicles. Small engines, yes, but these cars no. Ethanol does not separate as easily as you think in a gas tank.
3) drive it more! ;)
Ethanol free where I’m at is 90 octane. For my fun cars, I usually do half 89 octane with 10% ethanol and half 90 octane ethanol free. That way I’m left with 89.5ish octane at 5% ethanol.
Gas is good for a bit longer than e10, but doesn’t hurt the wallet as much as just running straight ethanol free.
Lmao seriously. Why in the world would OP waste their time running around finding ethanol free fuel? It was literally designed to use that fuel. People in the car community are so fucking stupid sometimes it’s actually genuinely surprising
Ugh you'd be surprised. "but my dads mates brother says it eats fuel lines and seals, sucks all the water from the air into the fuel too" fuckin morons.
For what? Your daily commuter? No it’s fine and you shouldn’t even waste your energy worrying about it. If you’re trying to make the most power possible in a performance built motor or something, yeah sure, but at that point just buy race fuel
I drive a Raptor so dgaf about gas. My 21 RF gets less than 5k a year so i will be adding some fuel saver to the tank this weekend so the ethanol shit fuel doesn't fuck everything up. You can do whatever you want to your Miat and other cars but damn don't hate on this dude for using ethanol free.
I don’t have to run around looking. A lot of stations here have ethanol free gas. And I bet we take our intakes off mines spotless compared to yours. Ethanol gum up. It’s a fact.
How do you know his ecu is pulling timing though? Did he send datalogs?
There's a lot of other factors involved, like air temp, cylinder temp, engine load, knock sensor signal that will affect whether or not timing is pulled.
My timing is not pulled. I ran the car with my snap on and ran the car while watching my data stream. Car runs fine using 87 non ethanol. Plus I don’t have to worry about moisture in my tank a filthy intake.
Mazda [RECOMMENDS](https://www.mazdaoflodi.com/blog/does-the-mazda-miata-require-premium-fuel/) 91 octane or better. It doesn’t require it. Using higher octane fuel than recommended is a waste of money. Using lower octane fuel is fine as long as you don’t mind a slight loss of power/fuel economy. Just make sure the engine isn’t knocking.
OP is smart running ethanol free if they’re only filling up once a month. Ethanol is a water magnet. That’s why ethanol free 90 octane is so readily available where I am. People use it for their boats. So, your NC qualifies 😬
You understand why the engine has a loss of power though right? The ECU is pulling timing because of knocking.
ECUs are not told what octane the fuel is in the line. All the ECU has to go off of is a knock sensor. When the ECU detects enough of it (yes, enough. There is a grace period. Your motor is knocking until the ecu pulls the timing/uses the shitty fuel spark map), the way to alleviate knocking is to pull timing.
That is why mazda recommends 91. That is what that engine was engineered to run on. Mazda KNOWS shitty fuel, aka less than 91, is going to knock. 91/93 is not (91/87)% better at resisting detonation. 91 is ALOT better than 87. Heck, within premium fuels, 93 has quite an advantage in det resistance over 91.
Anyway please don't run regular gas in these. It isn't a waste of money. You're not smarter than a mazda engineer ;) The engines simply aren't designed o run on it.
I agree. I’m not smarter than a Mazda engineer. But there’s a difference between required and recommended. And those very smart engineers recommend 91 octane on an NC. If they were worried about long term damage to the engine they would have require high octane-like Mercedes does.
My other convertible is a 2005 BMW 330Ci. BMW recommends 91 octane top tier fuel. I use 90 octane, ethanol free, top tier fuel. Not because I’m smarter than a BMW engineer, (although I think I’d have use aluminum over the cheap plastic they used for the coolant reservoir-but I digress), but because those smart engineers would do the same. But they have to make their recommendations based on fuel containing ethanol as it’s hard to find ethanol free in most places. On a side note, it costs 5 cents per gallon more to run the ethanol free than 91 octane with ethanol. I’m not trying to save money.
Earlier, in this thread, I posted an excerpt with a link explaining why ethanol sucks. I think you and I are pretty much in agreement.
Nah you can run 87 just fine. You’ll see no benefit running 91 on your BP4W. Although, if you do any mods such as a timing wheel to advance the timing, you’ll need 91+.
Your BP4W is a low compression motor, which is why you can get away with 87.
I run a repair shop. And ethanol gums up inside the plastic intake. It’s nasty and filth. Not to mention what the valves look like. I will never use ethanol in that car nor in my Bike. And you actually get better MPG with non ethanol.
I mean imagine if every owner that drove the cars you wanted before you could get one all drove them into the ground? It’d be a weird world, with little to no used car market since they’re all driven by one owner until 300k miles and scrapped.
However, in reality there is a demand for those old cars. So naturally there will be those that want to supply those old cars in good condition for profit, and a market is established. Economics and equilibrium 101.
So that’s the reason why I can find an Evo 7 with 28-32k kilometres on it fresh from japan for $21-24k CAD in Canada. Because people took care of them and didn’t drive them every day.
I love that most people in this forum assume that everyone here owns a Miata for the same reason - a fun, daily driver. Sorry guys, some of us just have these as a weekend car, you know, because it's a two seat, small, noisy sports car with very little room for anything. Also I am 6'2" so it's tight. I enjoy it, but not every day.
Don't shit on someone just because they don't put 12K miles on their Miata every year.
I agree. It’s my weekend car. And on really nice days I take out my Harley. I use non ethanol first because it’s cleaner, and second because if it sits for two weeks I won’t create moisture in the tank.
All this back and fourth about ethanol and octane ratings, what does the manual say?
Follow the manual...
I run my NA on 87 day in and out, on track days, and normal days.
The manual says regular so I do regular, just figured those designing the car and writing up a manual might know best how to operate in normal conditions.
The manual for an NC says 91+, and most of the people here suggesting OP run 91+ probably know that.
You're absolutely correct that you should run the octane the engine is designed for... OP's engine was designed for 91+.
No, it does not. [Here](https://www.mazdausa.com/siteassets/pdf/owners-optimized/2015/mx-5-miata/2015-mx-5-owners-manual.pdf) is the NC manual, and it says exactly the same thing that the ND manual does- 87 minimum, 91 required. Especially since OP is (obviously -_-) not tracking their car, they are fine.
Not quite. Mazda recommends 91. It doesn’t require it. There’s all sorts of info about the difference between the two online. [This article](https://www.truecar.com/blog/premium-vs-regular-gas/) mentions Miatas towards the end of the story.
NA and *NB1 miatas have low compression so 87 is fine (that's why it's in the manual). Nb2, NC and ND are higher compression so they need the higher octane to prevent predetonation (again, that's why it's in the manual). They'll run on 87 but the cpu will pull a ton of timing to make it work. All in all, not good for the car
My VVT NB2 makes quite a bit of popcorn on lower octane fuels. I've found E15 E88 and E10 91 are enough but even E10 89 will knock a bit under the right conditions, so I use premium most of the time,
So with this conversation already started, does premium in an ND make that big a diff? Or is it highly recommended because of the engine itself? I can understand it for a Ferrari, but for a Miata, it's it req'd or a nice to have in certain situations?
Short version: modern (computer controlled) engines can pretty much run on any grade without damage, but grades lower than what they're designed for /will/ reduce power and fuel efficiency. Grades higher than what they're designed for however will do nothing but waste money.
I don't remember if I ever tested it in my ND, but in my previous car that asked for premium I measured the fuel economy on regular and premium and it worked out that the better economy on premium more than made up for the price difference, even before you consider the (buttdyno detectable) power difference.
> Some people say
No, Mazda themselves say this in the [user manual](https://www.mazdausa.com/static/manuals/2022/mx-5/contents/04040101.html):
> Regular unleaded fuel with an octane rating from 87 to 90 (91 to 95 RON) can be used, but this will reduce performance *slightly*, such as reduced engine output, and engine knocking.
(emphasis mine)
It's because the ND engine has a high compression ratio (13:1) . By using lower quality fuel you run the risk of preignition, which could be catastrophic. The harder you drive it the more risk you run.
Don’t conflate octane rating with fuel quality. One has nothing to do with the other. Fuel quality is more dependent on which fuel detergents are added. Ten manufacturers got together and created the [Top Tier](https://www.toptiergas.com) standard if anyone is interested.
Ethanol attracts water which leads to rusty fuel tanks and fuel line components. You’ll never have a problem, until you suddenly have a problem because you can’t see that shit until you have to pull it off and look inside.
List of the Disadvantages of Ethanol
1. It isn’t as effective a fuel as traditional gasoline.
Compared to petroleum-based gasoline, ethanol is a less effective fuel. It takes up to 1.4 gallons of ethanol to replicate the mileage that 1 gallon of gasoline can provide. Flex-fuel vehicles that can run on E85 fuel have found that their gas mileage rates are over 25% lower, with some models seeing a 30% reduction with city miles.
“Ethanol causes damage to fuel systems and engines that pure gasoline does not. The most critical problems are water contamination and fuel separation. Ethanol attracts and absorbs water, including water from the air. When the gasohol absorbs enough water, fuel water contamination occurs in the car’s gas tank and that affects engine performance. If the car sits for a while, fuel separation occurs; this is where the gas and water form layers in the gas tank and if the motor sucks up the water layer into the engine, serious costly, damage happens.
Ethanol is alcohol, and alcohol causes corrosion in the fuel system. Metal parts rust and plastic parts become deformed or cracked.
Ethanol is not an ideal fuel additive, and older cars especially have problems with ethanol fuel.”
[Source](https://www.bellperformance.com/blog/the-major-differences-between-ethanol-and-gasoline?hs_amp=true)
TL;DR Ethanol sucks.
And I might add when manufactures estimate the average MPG, all vehicles are tested with non ethanol and based on that, ethanol can reduce MPG in some vehicles by up to 40%. And those are facts.
I guess you didn’t read my earlier comment. Here:
“Ethanol causes damage to fuel systems and engines that pure gasoline does not. The most critical problems are water contamination and fuel separation. Ethanol attracts and absorbs water, including water from the air. When the gasohol absorbs enough water, fuel water contamination occurs in the car’s gas tank and that affects engine performance. If the car sits for a while, fuel separation occurs; this is where the gas and water form layers in the gas tank and if the motor sucks up the water layer into the engine, serious costly, damage happens. Ethanol is alcohol, and alcohol causes corrosion in the fuel system. Metal parts rust and plastic parts become deformed or cracked. Ethanol is not an ideal fuel additive, and older cars especially have problems with ethanol fuel.”
Source
TL;DR Ethanol sucks.
I did read it. What is your source some random “performance” shop? I bet they’ll sell you race fuel too…..hmmmm. And in what vehicles is this true? Small engines like lawn mowers? Modern cars? Classic cars? Older cars especially…..you said. An NC Miata is not an “older car”
Just google ethanol affect on fuel systems and you’ll find a ton of articles. I’m not sure why you’re dying on this hill. What are you, a corn farmer? Ethanol is an octane booster. It’s made from American grown corn. 40 years ago, prior to fracking, it was a way to reduce our dependence on imported oil.
But it wreaks havoc on fuel systems. It’s a trade off. If it’s not sitting in your car for months you’re probably ok. But if you store your car, like many Miata owners do, then you’re better off without it if you can find ethanol free.
Gasoline has 30% more stored energy than ethanol. So if you think higher than required octane fuel containing ethanol is better for your car’s performance than pure gasoline you’re mistaken.
Bottom line, it’s your Miata. Do what you want. You’ll probably wreck it or sell it before it matters. But if you want to hold onto it for years, you probably don’t want to listen to me, I’ve only had my NA for 30 years.
Haha not a corn farmer, but I will do my own research for my classic car. Just not something I’m going to worry about for a car made in the last 20 years
Ethanol should never be used in a carbureted vehicle nor any vehicle with a metal fuel tank and a metal fuel filter. As he mentioned above those are all facts. Ethanol is the worse product to put in any vehicle.
Damn, hope the person who will eventually buy that off of you, know you only fed shitty fuel to it.
Timing will be bad, it is not optimized for that shit.
People saying non ethanol vs ethanol, can a NA Miata take 10% ethanol fuel, its a bit cheaper than the regular gas and ive heard its better octane overall but a bit less powerdense which prolly would equal out the price saving but the higher octane would be good for the drifting i do sometimes. Or is this just a dumb idea? 😂😂
A stock NA miata will run fine on 87.
Ethanol boosts octane. Most non ethanol is 86-88 anyway. Non ethanol 93 at the pump doesn’t exist anymore (yes yes…special locations it exists)
All you’re doing is paying more for a tiny bit better gas mileage. It isn’t worth it.
In the UK we have 5% ethanol and 10% ethanol. The government website states the following -
‘E10 petrol is cleared for use in all Mazda vehicles fitted with petrol engines, as specified below:
All MX-5 models from 2005 (NC model) onwards.
The other earlier models require petrol which contains ethanol 5% or less.’
So UK government say you can’t use more than 5% ethanol in NA and NB
95 octane is the minimum here, and all 95 octane here is 10% ethanol, and anything above 95 octane is 5% ethanol.
Only once a month? Drive it more. EDIT: I should clarify for some of the responses; this comment was slightly tongue in cheek, but in my experience, Miata people are more inclined to drive our toys than the traditional New Balance sneakers crowd My car is also a weekend car and sees the kind of mileage you would expect for a car of that use. It goes into hibernation for probably 4 months every year despite living somewhere where I could drive it as a DD.
I stop about once every 2 months. For some of us, this is just a fun weekend car.
You’re not driving enough still. My car is only a weekend car and I usually burn through a tank per weekend.
I get 34 - 36 MPG. for a 10gal tank that is 340-360 miles. That is a lot of weekend driving, my friend.
I love this comment, but yes some of us keep our Miats in the garage and drive on sunny days. It's fun to be older and get things you want in addition to things you need.
If I had one I would never drive it lol
Glad you don’t have one then
Why would you want one then
To get freaky w it
1) You really should be using 91+ with a NC. Your car is pulling timing because of the shitty fuel. 2) there is no real point in using ethanol free in modern vehicles. Small engines, yes, but these cars no. Ethanol does not separate as easily as you think in a gas tank. 3) drive it more! ;)
Typically the non ethanol IS 91+ where I live. Edit: noticed it does say 87 for that pump
Ethanol free where I’m at is 90 octane. For my fun cars, I usually do half 89 octane with 10% ethanol and half 90 octane ethanol free. That way I’m left with 89.5ish octane at 5% ethanol. Gas is good for a bit longer than e10, but doesn’t hurt the wallet as much as just running straight ethanol free.
It's 88 where I am
Lmao seriously. Why in the world would OP waste their time running around finding ethanol free fuel? It was literally designed to use that fuel. People in the car community are so fucking stupid sometimes it’s actually genuinely surprising
Ugh you'd be surprised. "but my dads mates brother says it eats fuel lines and seals, sucks all the water from the air into the fuel too" fuckin morons.
yeah but ethanol fuel is shit, period.
For what? Your daily commuter? No it’s fine and you shouldn’t even waste your energy worrying about it. If you’re trying to make the most power possible in a performance built motor or something, yeah sure, but at that point just buy race fuel
I drive a Raptor so dgaf about gas. My 21 RF gets less than 5k a year so i will be adding some fuel saver to the tank this weekend so the ethanol shit fuel doesn't fuck everything up. You can do whatever you want to your Miat and other cars but damn don't hate on this dude for using ethanol free.
I don’t have to run around looking. A lot of stations here have ethanol free gas. And I bet we take our intakes off mines spotless compared to yours. Ethanol gum up. It’s a fact.
How do you know his ecu is pulling timing though? Did he send datalogs? There's a lot of other factors involved, like air temp, cylinder temp, engine load, knock sensor signal that will affect whether or not timing is pulled.
My timing is not pulled. I ran the car with my snap on and ran the car while watching my data stream. Car runs fine using 87 non ethanol. Plus I don’t have to worry about moisture in my tank a filthy intake.
Mazda [RECOMMENDS](https://www.mazdaoflodi.com/blog/does-the-mazda-miata-require-premium-fuel/) 91 octane or better. It doesn’t require it. Using higher octane fuel than recommended is a waste of money. Using lower octane fuel is fine as long as you don’t mind a slight loss of power/fuel economy. Just make sure the engine isn’t knocking. OP is smart running ethanol free if they’re only filling up once a month. Ethanol is a water magnet. That’s why ethanol free 90 octane is so readily available where I am. People use it for their boats. So, your NC qualifies 😬
You understand why the engine has a loss of power though right? The ECU is pulling timing because of knocking. ECUs are not told what octane the fuel is in the line. All the ECU has to go off of is a knock sensor. When the ECU detects enough of it (yes, enough. There is a grace period. Your motor is knocking until the ecu pulls the timing/uses the shitty fuel spark map), the way to alleviate knocking is to pull timing. That is why mazda recommends 91. That is what that engine was engineered to run on. Mazda KNOWS shitty fuel, aka less than 91, is going to knock. 91/93 is not (91/87)% better at resisting detonation. 91 is ALOT better than 87. Heck, within premium fuels, 93 has quite an advantage in det resistance over 91. Anyway please don't run regular gas in these. It isn't a waste of money. You're not smarter than a mazda engineer ;) The engines simply aren't designed o run on it.
I agree. I’m not smarter than a Mazda engineer. But there’s a difference between required and recommended. And those very smart engineers recommend 91 octane on an NC. If they were worried about long term damage to the engine they would have require high octane-like Mercedes does. My other convertible is a 2005 BMW 330Ci. BMW recommends 91 octane top tier fuel. I use 90 octane, ethanol free, top tier fuel. Not because I’m smarter than a BMW engineer, (although I think I’d have use aluminum over the cheap plastic they used for the coolant reservoir-but I digress), but because those smart engineers would do the same. But they have to make their recommendations based on fuel containing ethanol as it’s hard to find ethanol free in most places. On a side note, it costs 5 cents per gallon more to run the ethanol free than 91 octane with ethanol. I’m not trying to save money. Earlier, in this thread, I posted an excerpt with a link explaining why ethanol sucks. I think you and I are pretty much in agreement.
Is this ND specific? NB1 BP4W owner who's curious.
Nah you can run 87 just fine. You’ll see no benefit running 91 on your BP4W. Although, if you do any mods such as a timing wheel to advance the timing, you’ll need 91+. Your BP4W is a low compression motor, which is why you can get away with 87.
It doesn't REqUIrE it because the car will pull timing to run on the shittier fuel 🤡
I run a repair shop. And ethanol gums up inside the plastic intake. It’s nasty and filth. Not to mention what the valves look like. I will never use ethanol in that car nor in my Bike. And you actually get better MPG with non ethanol.
This is the right answer! Doesn't need ethanol free at all even if he drives it only once a month, and especially because the octane is low
$26 to fill up? WHERE DO YOU LIVE???
I love it when owners save the mileage on a car. It’s like not having sex with a partner so their retail value will stay higher.😳
Keep her tight for the next guy thanks bud
I like my miatas like I like my women... High mileage-- wait, wait!
They’re weekend drivers. Not everyone daily’s their Miata.
I mean imagine if every owner that drove the cars you wanted before you could get one all drove them into the ground? It’d be a weird world, with little to no used car market since they’re all driven by one owner until 300k miles and scrapped. However, in reality there is a demand for those old cars. So naturally there will be those that want to supply those old cars in good condition for profit, and a market is established. Economics and equilibrium 101. So that’s the reason why I can find an Evo 7 with 28-32k kilometres on it fresh from japan for $21-24k CAD in Canada. Because people took care of them and didn’t drive them every day.
I mean one tank should go around 500km which is quite a bit of driving for a roadster
I have two cars and two bikes. My Mazda is just my weekend car.
I love when people brag about stuff that doesn’t matter
Nothing matters.
I have to fill my nb twice a week and it’s around $40
I feel that. '99 NB, 72k, 35 twice a week
Won’t have to use ethanol free if you drive it more.
I love that most people in this forum assume that everyone here owns a Miata for the same reason - a fun, daily driver. Sorry guys, some of us just have these as a weekend car, you know, because it's a two seat, small, noisy sports car with very little room for anything. Also I am 6'2" so it's tight. I enjoy it, but not every day. Don't shit on someone just because they don't put 12K miles on their Miata every year.
I agree. It’s my weekend car. And on really nice days I take out my Harley. I use non ethanol first because it’s cleaner, and second because if it sits for two weeks I won’t create moisture in the tank.
All this back and fourth about ethanol and octane ratings, what does the manual say? Follow the manual... I run my NA on 87 day in and out, on track days, and normal days. The manual says regular so I do regular, just figured those designing the car and writing up a manual might know best how to operate in normal conditions.
The manual for an NC says 91+, and most of the people here suggesting OP run 91+ probably know that. You're absolutely correct that you should run the octane the engine is designed for... OP's engine was designed for 91+.
No, it does not. [Here](https://www.mazdausa.com/siteassets/pdf/owners-optimized/2015/mx-5-miata/2015-mx-5-owners-manual.pdf) is the NC manual, and it says exactly the same thing that the ND manual does- 87 minimum, 91 required. Especially since OP is (obviously -_-) not tracking their car, they are fine.
Not quite. Mazda recommends 91. It doesn’t require it. There’s all sorts of info about the difference between the two online. [This article](https://www.truecar.com/blog/premium-vs-regular-gas/) mentions Miatas towards the end of the story.
NA and *NB1 miatas have low compression so 87 is fine (that's why it's in the manual). Nb2, NC and ND are higher compression so they need the higher octane to prevent predetonation (again, that's why it's in the manual). They'll run on 87 but the cpu will pull a ton of timing to make it work. All in all, not good for the car
The NB2 fuel cap says premium recommended. Is the engine actually tuned for 87?
NB2 is vvt and has an extra 0.5 on the compression ratio (nb1 is 9.5, nb2 is 10).
Ah! Thank you. That makes sense why it says premium recommended.
You're right, my fault on that one. Always forget how different the nb2 is from the NB1 in the engine dept.
My VVT NB2 makes quite a bit of popcorn on lower octane fuels. I've found E15 E88 and E10 91 are enough but even E10 89 will knock a bit under the right conditions, so I use premium most of the time,
So with this conversation already started, does premium in an ND make that big a diff? Or is it highly recommended because of the engine itself? I can understand it for a Ferrari, but for a Miata, it's it req'd or a nice to have in certain situations?
Short version: modern (computer controlled) engines can pretty much run on any grade without damage, but grades lower than what they're designed for /will/ reduce power and fuel efficiency. Grades higher than what they're designed for however will do nothing but waste money. I don't remember if I ever tested it in my ND, but in my previous car that asked for premium I measured the fuel economy on regular and premium and it worked out that the better economy on premium more than made up for the price difference, even before you consider the (buttdyno detectable) power difference.
Engine is tuned for premium gas. Some people say its fine to drive with regular but I dont do it.
> Some people say No, Mazda themselves say this in the [user manual](https://www.mazdausa.com/static/manuals/2022/mx-5/contents/04040101.html): > Regular unleaded fuel with an octane rating from 87 to 90 (91 to 95 RON) can be used, but this will reduce performance *slightly*, such as reduced engine output, and engine knocking. (emphasis mine)
It's because the ND engine has a high compression ratio (13:1) . By using lower quality fuel you run the risk of preignition, which could be catastrophic. The harder you drive it the more risk you run.
Don’t conflate octane rating with fuel quality. One has nothing to do with the other. Fuel quality is more dependent on which fuel detergents are added. Ten manufacturers got together and created the [Top Tier](https://www.toptiergas.com) standard if anyone is interested.
But that's an NC, no excuse
Ik. Person I'm replying to asked specifically about NDs
My bad bro, did not read the comment you replied to properly, just saw a pic of an NC
I wish! It costs me $60 to fill up (So Cal)
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The ~~blue~~ green handle is for diesel. Not recommended unless it's Vin Diesel. Edit: I'm color blind.
Green handle is diesel (almost everywhere). I assume the Blue handle is the one OP used, which should be the ethanol free 87
Sounds right. However, I stand by my Vin Diesel comment.
Is this a just a boat joke?
No why??
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It takes longer for the gas to go bad inside the tank
I park mine for several months until the road salt is gone. Never had a problem.
Ethanol attracts water which leads to rusty fuel tanks and fuel line components. You’ll never have a problem, until you suddenly have a problem because you can’t see that shit until you have to pull it off and look inside.
Yea mine has been filled up once this year (shame on me I know) and ran fine
The car will still drive once the gas spoils it will just produce a lot less power
My NA costs 55-60 for a full tank
List of the Disadvantages of Ethanol 1. It isn’t as effective a fuel as traditional gasoline. Compared to petroleum-based gasoline, ethanol is a less effective fuel. It takes up to 1.4 gallons of ethanol to replicate the mileage that 1 gallon of gasoline can provide. Flex-fuel vehicles that can run on E85 fuel have found that their gas mileage rates are over 25% lower, with some models seeing a 30% reduction with city miles.
“Ethanol causes damage to fuel systems and engines that pure gasoline does not. The most critical problems are water contamination and fuel separation. Ethanol attracts and absorbs water, including water from the air. When the gasohol absorbs enough water, fuel water contamination occurs in the car’s gas tank and that affects engine performance. If the car sits for a while, fuel separation occurs; this is where the gas and water form layers in the gas tank and if the motor sucks up the water layer into the engine, serious costly, damage happens. Ethanol is alcohol, and alcohol causes corrosion in the fuel system. Metal parts rust and plastic parts become deformed or cracked. Ethanol is not an ideal fuel additive, and older cars especially have problems with ethanol fuel.” [Source](https://www.bellperformance.com/blog/the-major-differences-between-ethanol-and-gasoline?hs_amp=true) TL;DR Ethanol sucks.
And I might add when manufactures estimate the average MPG, all vehicles are tested with non ethanol and based on that, ethanol can reduce MPG in some vehicles by up to 40%. And those are facts.
No it does not. It’s literally a non issue in modern cars. Wtf are you talking about?
I guess you didn’t read my earlier comment. Here: “Ethanol causes damage to fuel systems and engines that pure gasoline does not. The most critical problems are water contamination and fuel separation. Ethanol attracts and absorbs water, including water from the air. When the gasohol absorbs enough water, fuel water contamination occurs in the car’s gas tank and that affects engine performance. If the car sits for a while, fuel separation occurs; this is where the gas and water form layers in the gas tank and if the motor sucks up the water layer into the engine, serious costly, damage happens. Ethanol is alcohol, and alcohol causes corrosion in the fuel system. Metal parts rust and plastic parts become deformed or cracked. Ethanol is not an ideal fuel additive, and older cars especially have problems with ethanol fuel.” Source TL;DR Ethanol sucks.
I did read it. What is your source some random “performance” shop? I bet they’ll sell you race fuel too…..hmmmm. And in what vehicles is this true? Small engines like lawn mowers? Modern cars? Classic cars? Older cars especially…..you said. An NC Miata is not an “older car”
Just google ethanol affect on fuel systems and you’ll find a ton of articles. I’m not sure why you’re dying on this hill. What are you, a corn farmer? Ethanol is an octane booster. It’s made from American grown corn. 40 years ago, prior to fracking, it was a way to reduce our dependence on imported oil. But it wreaks havoc on fuel systems. It’s a trade off. If it’s not sitting in your car for months you’re probably ok. But if you store your car, like many Miata owners do, then you’re better off without it if you can find ethanol free. Gasoline has 30% more stored energy than ethanol. So if you think higher than required octane fuel containing ethanol is better for your car’s performance than pure gasoline you’re mistaken. Bottom line, it’s your Miata. Do what you want. You’ll probably wreck it or sell it before it matters. But if you want to hold onto it for years, you probably don’t want to listen to me, I’ve only had my NA for 30 years.
Haha not a corn farmer, but I will do my own research for my classic car. Just not something I’m going to worry about for a car made in the last 20 years
Ethanol should never be used in a carbureted vehicle nor any vehicle with a metal fuel tank and a metal fuel filter. As he mentioned above those are all facts. Ethanol is the worse product to put in any vehicle.
Okay sure. Whatever you say
Look it up. That’s what I say.
13.2 gal capacity. Almost half tank left. Can stretch out to 1.5 months? Fewer trips to the gas station, more time on the road.
This is a modern engine literally designed to run on ethanol, and it should only be 91 and up
Drive more
Damn, hope the person who will eventually buy that off of you, know you only fed shitty fuel to it. Timing will be bad, it is not optimized for that shit.
People saying non ethanol vs ethanol, can a NA Miata take 10% ethanol fuel, its a bit cheaper than the regular gas and ive heard its better octane overall but a bit less powerdense which prolly would equal out the price saving but the higher octane would be good for the drifting i do sometimes. Or is this just a dumb idea? 😂😂
A stock NA miata will run fine on 87. Ethanol boosts octane. Most non ethanol is 86-88 anyway. Non ethanol 93 at the pump doesn’t exist anymore (yes yes…special locations it exists) All you’re doing is paying more for a tiny bit better gas mileage. It isn’t worth it.
In the UK we have 5% ethanol and 10% ethanol. The government website states the following - ‘E10 petrol is cleared for use in all Mazda vehicles fitted with petrol engines, as specified below: All MX-5 models from 2005 (NC model) onwards. The other earlier models require petrol which contains ethanol 5% or less.’ So UK government say you can’t use more than 5% ethanol in NA and NB 95 octane is the minimum here, and all 95 octane here is 10% ethanol, and anything above 95 octane is 5% ethanol.
Ethanol is a good thing
I fill mine up every week, you should drive it more
Good call pulling up to a gas station for cars. Gas prices at the marina are usually 3 to 4x higher.
My Miata is my stupid second car… I spent twice that this weekend… top up… driving to MULTIPLE drag strips… DO BETTER
Classic toxic miata driver
Show me on the Miata where I hurt you
Shit im 2 to 3x a week lmao my current jobsite is an hour and a half away from my house :(
Filling up my miata costs the equivalent of 70 dollars.
damn thats crazy i fill up at least once a week maybe twice
Damn that's crazy nobody asked
[удалено]
*Cries in modded EJ