E30 Ethanol

They've really been pushing E30 ethanol here, and I've heard it's 94 octane. Would this be safe to run in a series 2 L67? The only down side I can think of is slightly lower mpg.

It probably wouldnt do any harm right away but Im pretty sure Ethanol heavy blends of gas will wear out certain parts of the fuel system over time. Without a tune, I dont think there is any advantage to running it though, so why not just run 93?

That was another concern I forgot about when I posted. They claim anything newer than a certain years okay to use it,, which is very broad and that year changes all the time. The only advantage I saw was the drop in price, 91 octane premium is $2.59 or so a gallon and E30 is around $2.00 I think.

I wonder if E30 produces more water vapor on combustion?

If you don't have sensors in the gas tank that detect the ethanol blend level (which you don't in a Riv), the system may not be able to richen the mixture enough to compensate. The octane isn't the problem, the fuel density is the problem. You will need more fuel than your computer is programmed to give.

Our 'pump fuel' around here is E10 and everything older runs a little lean unless you've reprogrammed the computer yourself to compensate. Most E85 capable vehicles have an Ethanol Blend sensor in the gas tank, they can tell if you are running E10-E85 or anywhere in between, and mix from two different fueling tables to compensate (solving the problem of 'What happens when I have half a tank of E10 and fill up with E85).

So you can run E30, if that's all you ever run and you retune the PCM to use it properly. You might need bigger injectors as well.