E10

[khoala]

Hi guys,

I'm new to owning a lexus (picked up my Black 05 is250 Sports 2 weeks ago)

I've been in the performance car scene for 5 years now and well i'm kinda moving on from performance and headed into luxury (i still own a 1999 nissan silvia s15 and set it up for a bit of track fun, and i got it tuned to run 98octane with e10)

my question is, can the is250 run e10 with no problems? the dealer said he "thinks" i can, but i don't want to take that chance (even though i still have another 4 years of factory warranty).

can someone give me a definite answer

cheers

khoa

[khoala]

anybody???

[last1]

Pure 98 is the way to go IMHO. Anything else runs less economically and less powerfully. Plus, nothing else contains the detergents 98 comes bundled with. There are others on this site that run mainly 95 though, without hassles. E10 unleaded is the minimum permitted fuel. It is not the recommended one. Minimum recommended is plain 95.

I used to alternate b/w 98 and 95 each fill. Now I just stick to 98.

[FrankyX]

In short, it is ok to run E10, but it will limit the performance of the vehicle & the overall fuel economy. You are driving a luxury car, I would not recommend anything below 98 to keep the performance at a maximum, however I have been advised that it is safe to use any unleaded fuel.

[khoala]

thanks guys

Performance (power) isn't a concern to me as it will never match a genuine sports car, i chose a luxury car for the simple reason of luxury, i just wanted to know incase i ever had to or felt like i wanna to run e10 i could without damaging the car

[Sapphire Cam]

I'll add my five cents worth..... I wouldn't touch E10 for the IS250, unless in an emergency and you had no other option. I am under the impression that continual use of E10 could void components of your warranty relating to the powertrain. An occassional top up of E10, with some 95 or 98 still in the tank wouldn't do any harm, but continual use over time I think would. As an example, a friend with a new Accord Euro asked the same question of his dealer upon delivery of the vehicle a few months back, and yes Honda can void the warranty if continual use of <98RON fuel is evident. I can't comment on Lexus' policy.

The E10 has been introduced by Shell, United and others primarily for use in older non-performance-orientated vehicles, with their typical target being Mum & Dad's in their knockabout "5 year old big Aussie 6".

So in summary, I would strongly advise against it for the IS250 - however chat to your dealer to get confirmation, especially on the warranty.

And I'm with you 'last 1' - I used to swap around from 95 to 98, but am just sticking to 98 now, and am noticing about a 8-9% improvement in efficiency around town, compared with a 6-7% price difference between 95 and 98 - worth it then!

[FrankyX]

Does everyone else have this on the inside of their tank flap? If Lexus is putting this on their vehicles, it would obviously not cause any warranty issues if using E10. Sure, they make recommendations to use premium, after all, thats what all their test vehicles & performance stats would have run on.

[khoala]

i only have that red label, not the yellow label on the lid

but good to know it is possible.

I will ask the dealer again

[Sapphire Cam]

Interesting...and shoots down my argument somewhat!!

I have a red label that says "Premium Unleaded fuel only" - no E10 mention anywhere .....but that is on a 2006 model. Maybe the requirements have changed with later models??!

[FrankyX]

Can anyone comment for an 07 model? This might just be an improvement they made in the later models based that e10 was becoming more available. BP dont even sell standard unleaded anymore. Its all E10 91.

[Brandon]

I have the 07 model and the red label says "Premium Unleaded fuel only" - no E10 mention anywhere.

[IronFist]

I have an 08 model and it has both the "Premium Unleaded Recommended" plus the "E10" label. That's interesting some don't. What does it say in the actual manual with the ones that don't I wonder?

[sun2on99]

I have a 08 model, got both stickers on it and I put unleaded since day 1, every 4 weeks I will fill up the whole tank with 98RON to clean it up a bit. The car runs smoothly. Dealer say yes, stickers say yes, I say yes.

[uad]

I was under the impression that E10 is cheaper, you go through a tank quicker. even if you don't damage your car, i dont see a reason to use e10 over unleaded. Afterall I don't want any alcohol in my car lol.