E10 fuel in Alfas

[a sharp]

Ed the pommy company you refer to started life as Commonwealth refineries in a little outpost of the empire about 4000k to the west of New Zealand.

[Stuart Thomson]

HOWEVER!  If the oxy sensor fails, then on a vehicle with adaptive learning and fuel trim (not sure if thats Alfa or not), the computer can continually detect a lean condition, and starts to richen up the fueling a bit.  This will then affect the catalytic converter(s), by overloading the materials which are supposed to absorb various things (but cannot handle too much unburned fuel).  A faulty air flow meter will cause the same effect, and if you've ever driven behind or had go past you a late model car which absolutely stinks of sulphur, that is the smell made by a catalytic converter being poisoned.  Cats can be very expensive, especially if talking genuine parts. 

So if you notice that your car smells like sulphur when you get out of it, book it in to find out why.  It'll be costing you fuel economy anyway, and could cost you more in parts if you don't get it checked.

Hmmm...

Sulphur doesn't smell.  What you can smell is hydrogen sulphide or rotten egg gas.  This comes from the sulphur compounds in the fuel, a car running rich will smell that way, but so also does a car which has recently been accelerating as this sends the mixture rich as well. So if you've just been out for a blast don't worry too much.

Also Catalytic converters do not "absorb" anything they are a catalyst bed to enhance the rate of firstly a reduction reaction to convert NOx to Nitrogen and Oxygen, then an oxidation reaction to convert CO to CO2 and unburnt hydrocarbons to CO2 and water.  Chronic overrich conditions can heat the catalyst up to the melting point of the catalyst thus destroying it by plugging the cat.

So to wrap up, a slight H2S smell is normal and actually indicates that the reduction part of the catalyst is still working (as H2S is the reduction product of SOx).  If your car is running really rich then the cat can heat up to extreme temperatures, the car's electronics should pick up a failed Lamda sensor, but you'll notice it in the hip pocket as well.

Cheers
Stuart

[Gary Pearce]

Stewart is a great asset to have on this subject. I wonder what fuel he uses in his race car.
I also concur with Mike, my 1960's 1600's allow me a higher advance and more appreciable power from my higher comp motors when I use 'Shell V-power Racing' (100). No other brands seem to have the same benefit. On longer runs such as Alfesta in South Australia my use of 'octane boost' in a bottle also gave me the desired result but cost a bit more per tank than V-power Racing does. Because of all this voodo, I frequently look at all components of the fuel systems on my cars including dismantle of the carbs, filter unit, fuel pump, hoses and fuel gauge unit, and can not find any evidence that my use of Octane Boost in a bottle or V-power Racing has caused. Unless someone like Vin Sharp (or Stuart) tells me I'm doing damage, I will continue to enjoy the benefits of the higher octane blends that these cars were made for, thanks to Ethanol.
Keep in mind my heart, my passion and my cars are from the 60's and 70's.

[Scott Farquharson]

Ok, slightly off topic but Stuey, what all this then.......does this all make sense or not....

The development of the range of Martini Race fuels is the product of extensive laboratory research to develop a superior blend of hydrocarbons and oxygenates that will provide smooth and rapid combustion to significantly boost power output.
As part of the engines normal combustion process, oxygen from the air intake is combined with the fuel to ignite in the combustion chamber. If this ignition process is not smooth, knocking or pinging will occur thereby causing loss of power, poor fuel economy, over heating and possibly even engine damage due to detonation.
Martini has developed a superior method to improve this combustion process by chemically adding oxygen to our race fuel formulations. By increasing the oxygen level in the combustion zone we have now changed the stoichiometric ratio and this creates a denser "fuel charge" which can significantly increases power.
Martini Race fuels are designed for competition, high performance and elite motor sport applications. Martini Race fuels have been extensively proven in both track and dynamometer testing. They are equally well suited to modern high performance normally aspirated engines as well as those that are turbo-charged or super-charged and with sophisticated computer controlled engine management systems. These same characteristics also make them suitable for older technology carburettor motors including those with with up to 16:1 compression ratios.

[Gary Pearce]

Now I know what Scott does with that bottle of Vermooth that I see him walking around with at track days. I thought he was just an alcho.

[Stuart Thomson]

Ok, slightly off topic but Stuey, what all this then.......does this all make sense or not....

The development of the range of Martini Race fuels is the product of extensive laboratory research to develop a superior blend of hydrocarbons and oxygenates that will provide smooth and rapid combustion to significantly boost power output.
As part of the engines normal combustion process, oxygen from the air intake is combined with the fuel to ignite in the combustion chamber. If this ignition process is not smooth, knocking or pinging will occur thereby causing loss of power, poor fuel economy, over heating and possibly even engine damage due to detonation.
Martini has developed a superior method to improve this combustion process by chemically adding oxygen to our race fuel formulations. By increasing the oxygen level in the combustion zone we have now changed the stoichiometric ratio and this creates a denser "fuel charge" which can significantly increases power.
Martini Race fuels are designed for competition, high performance and elite motor sport applications. Martini Race fuels have been extensively proven in both track and dynamometer testing. They are equally well suited to modern high performance normally aspirated engines as well as those that are turbo-charged or super-charged and with sophisticated computer controlled engine management systems. These same characteristics also make them suitable for older technology carburettor motors including those with with up to 16:1 compression ratios.

Can't comment on the amount of research done at the Martini labs, but if you can get me a sample of the fuel I can analyse it and regular fuels to see the difference.

"Chemically adding oxygen" to me means they've put alcohol in there, doesn't have to be ethanol though.

Chemistry is chemistry, the amount of oxygen required is determined by the amount of carbon, so if the fuel is more dense (i.e more weight per volume) then you may be able to get more fuel into the charge, but it then requires more air to burn properly if the intake can't do it then your wasting fuel.  I don't really know what give fuel it's antiknock, but it's related to octane number, I assume this stuff is high octane, so obviously with one you get the other.  Of course the only real test is a dyno, if it works, it works, if not, then no amount of hype will make it.

Cheers
Stuart

[Doug Gould]

Martini, elf, philips and others have fuel that somehow adds oxygen. When I last rallied (about 10 years ago) we ran an elf fuel that cost $14 per litre.

At the end of the war (as piston engines hit their peak of tecnology) they were experimenting with 400 octane fuel to get more power out of the urbo compound radial engines. Then Sir Frank Whittle found you could get more thrust with a funnel a fan and kerosene!!

Doug Gould

[Scott Farquharson]

Now I know what Scott does with that bottle of Vermooth that I see him walking around with at track days. I thought he was just an alcho.

Nah, I was drinking it...