I had actually read this before, but I didn’t know if it was just fuel lines in the mk2.5 that were an issue as the other things mentioned are not relevant to the MX5 are they?
“If you are in any doubt about your rubber fuel lines, change them. Get rid of your fibreglass petrol tank and install an aluminium one. The other thing ethanol really doesn’t like is solder. If you are running a soldered float in your carburettor still then think about carrying a spare – they’re generally quite easy to change.”
Not an expert, just read-up quite a bit as was confused by the “doom-and-gloom” vs “it-will-be-alright” articles.
In Aldi recently, they had REDEX on offer, 2 bottles for £4 from memory so bought it. Added it to my Eunos at its last fill of “normal” petrol. I regularly do 2 x normal, 1 x Super and thought, for £2 to add to a £40 fill-up, it wasn’t going to break the bank and should only add benefit (imaginary or otherwise).
Personally, as I said, I will go to Super for the foreseeable future and worry about it if and when that becomes unavailable. Don’t do today what you can put off until tomorrow!
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NB has plastic fuel lines not rubber.
SO… in that case what IS the issue…or is it more Mazda haven’t signed off on it and don’t want to as its an older car?
I very much suspect that’s all it is; Mazda will have ordered all the components for NA and NB cars from their suppliers to meet a wide variety of specifications and the fuel system spec didn’t include compatibility with E10. So it’s not really practicable for them to say decades later whether every single item in the car’s fuel system is okay or not.
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On my last Kit Car fuel lines where an issue for the IVA test because I used a 1993 donor car. Rubber hose is the main issue.
Copper fuel lines are used a lot in kit cars too and Ethanol eats copper apparently but IVA testers allow this due to an apparent slow eat rate.
I agree with Robbie, if you have plastic fuel lines they should be ok, likewise PTFE, Stainless (not rubber braided) or good quality SAE J30 R9 rubber hose.
Try a read of this link if you have rubber fuel tube in your car:
http://www.volksbolts.com/faq/fuelhose.htm
Roy
That has been suggested to me, but my local (and cheapest) petrol station has just been upgraded now every pump sells two types of Deisel, and on 95 octane petrol…
Hi R,
The solution is still there for you, just at a different petrol station. Every one drives past a few stations when out and about.
As for cost, I am afraid it is just a cross we will all have to bare for the pleasure of driving ‘old bangers’!!!
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Tesco petrol “normal” is now E10 at my local store.
Pay At Pump minimum charge is now £30 and they will adjust to actual cost a couple of days later. It used to be £1. So if you put a tenner in your tank, they will charge you £30 and you will have to wait for a refund.
Option is to always put more than £30 worth in OR vote with your feet and pay ak the kiosk.
I read Sainsbury was going to preset pay at pump at £100 so be aware.
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Thanks for the heads up, our Asda was always a £1 and the authorised for £99 so was fine, I’ll check next time I go, although TBH, wife’s Audi is usually £70-£80 a go an mine at least £45+ so would be Ok 
‘hopefully’ 
Barrie
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Agree with what you say and we are very fortunate that if a pre-pay pump took a £100 charge off me, it would be annoying but survivable.
However there are a lot of people who put £10 or £20 in their car at a time as they budget their money and a £100 charge could mean their card gets blocked if it pushes them into the red and then feeding the family may be difficult if they cannot access their own money as Sainsbury or Tescon are holding their cash.
If $$$$ rich petrol stations are that worried about the odd bilker and make 99.99999% of the paying public cough up £30 or £100 then they should be ashamed.
All petrol stations have cameras and take your reg number, so miscreants can have their number added to the APNR system and will eventually be caught. I suspect the majority of bilkers don’t have road fund or insurance either.
Interestingly petrol stations refused to use APNR checks so as to stop people buying petrol if their car showed no road fund or insurance “as it wasn’t their job to check” but it would have certainly helped their customers if it took the 1,000,000 uninsured cars off the road, or made it more difficult for them to be out and about.
I will get off my soapbox now!
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It doesn’t actually take the money out of your account, it’s always a pending payment. ASDA do £1 as a pending payment but never actually take £1 out just the amount I’ve actually filled up by.
Must admit though it does take them ages to remove the £1 pending, sometimes 5 days. It is confusing, some banks show a balance after pending at the head of the page other do it differently.
I keep a watchful eye on my spending and accounts, don’t trust any retailer to be 100% accurate.
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Yep, but it can affect “available balance” with some banks, hence my fear for those on a budget may have an unexpected surprise. If anyone IS concerned, then don’t pay at pump and use the kiosk.
It’s similar to car hire companies, they “reserve” an amount and if you check your credit card available funds, it will be minus the reserve amount, even though the cash hasn’t physically been debited - it does affect your available funds.
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I can’t get £30 worth in my motorbike!
I presume this is pay at pump only and that if you pay in the kiosk you pay the correct amount.
Correct, only Pay at Pump affected.
Hi S,
You will always only ‘pay’ for the amount of fuel taken. This is only of possible concern to those who are running close to there borrowing limits as it may affect there ‘available’ balance for a short while.
I think £100 has generally been the maximum amount pumps will dispense using pay at the pump. It doesn’t make sense for it to be a minimum since most cars can’t fit anything close to £100 worth in their tank.
It’s a new “thing”. Pay at pump used to preauthorise £1. This also authorised pump dispensing up to £99 per serving.
Sainsbury recently said they will preaurhorise £100 per pay at pump visit. They won’t TAKE £100 but it will be reserved against your account reducing any available credit.
For people balancing their money they could end up buying £20 of fuel but Sainsbury has reserved £100. It may mean, until Sainsbury releases the £100 and processes the £20 someone may have their card refused when they pop in to buy food.
I am fortunate for something like this to probably not affect me, but there are a LOT of people where a £100 hold on their card could cause food not to be on the table for children.
The only way to avoid this situation is not to use pay at pump, but why should pay at pump only be available to people with adequate funds in their account??
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Or perhaps looked at another way, pay at the kiosk and save a job…?
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Yep which is what I suggested earlier, but I suspect it’s the start of the end of manned kiosks, like cash machines ended the high street bank presence.
Now you can just drive through a BP pump area and the app automatically charges you for the petrol. Don’t even have to get your card out.