Can you use E5 fuel in your
Toyota or Honda?
There is considerable doubt and distrust of the ethanol fuels
in this country, with owners wondering if the E5 fuel will adversely affect
their engines. That concern is also seen in Australia, but concern may not be
needed.
According to the information I have to hand from Australia
(Source: Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries - November 2010), with
particular reference to Toyota and Honda, the answer for Toyota is “yes you
can,” provided your Toyota is one of the newer ones, and not any of the ones
from this list.
Camry with carburetor engines pre July 1989
Corolla pre July 1994
Supra - pre May 1993
Land Cruiser - pre Aug 1992
Coaster - pre Jan 1993
Dyna - pre May 1995
Tarago - pre Oct 1996
Hilux
Hiace and 4 Runner - pre Aug 1997
For Honda, it is simpler, don’t use E5 in the older ones
(generally pre-2002), but you can use E5 in the newer ones such as
Insight - 2004 onwards
Civic range (including Civic Hybrid) - 2004 onwards
S2000 - 2004 onwards
CRV - 2003 onwards
Accord and Accord Euro 2003 onwards
Integra - 2002 onwards
Odyssey - 2004 onwards
Jazz - 2004 onwards
‘Scousers’ join Ferrari (thank
you Les Edmonds)
Ferrari pit
crew in action
For those unsure of the term ‘Scouser’, the following
explanation was given to me by a genuine ‘Scouser’. A Scouser is indigenous to
Liverpool, England generally of mixed Irish / English heritage and renowned for
their sharp wit and repartee! Also known to be thieving, almost likeable rogues.
Anything that can be stolen, they will steal, even if it is nailed down, and
jokes are made of this.
So here is Les Edmonds’ example. (I have seen this before,
but it still is amusing):
“The Ferrari F1 team fired their entire pit crew yesterday.
This announcement followed Ferrari’s decision to take
advantage of the British government’s ‘Work for your Dole’ scheme and employ
some Liverpudlian youngsters.
The decision to hire them was brought about by a recent
documentary on how unemployed youths from Toxteth were able to remove a set of
wheels in less than 4 seconds without proper equipment, whereas Ferrari’s
existing crew could only do it in 5 seconds with millions of pounds worth of
high tech gear.
It was thought to be an excellent, bold move by the Ferrari
management team as most races are won and lost in the pits, giving Ferrari an
advantage over every other team. However, Ferrari got more than they bargained
for!
At the crew’s first practice session, not only was the Scouse
pit crew able to change all four wheels in under 4 seconds but, within 12
seconds, they had re-sprayed, re-badged and sold the car to the McLaren team for
8 cases of Stella, a bag of weed and some photos of Lewis Hamilton’s bird in the
shower.”
Autotrivia Quiz
What was the origin of the modern octane ratings for fuel?
Clue: Harry.
I asked what was the origin of the modern octane ratings for
fuel? Clue: Harry. The answer is Sir Harry Ricardo who analyzed the part fuel
played in causing “knock” in engines and evolved a scale of ‘toluene’ rating to
indicate the anti-knock properties of different fuels. The modern octane ratings
were derived from this work.
Williams fires the
Incredible Hulk
Tossed out
on his rear
As predicted in this column a few weeks ago, Sir Frank
Williams has not renewed Nico Hulkenberg’s contract for 2011, despite Hulkenberg
giving Williams its first pole position in five years.
Sir Frank has shown over the seasons that he considers
drivers to be expendable items, and has previously refused to renew the
contracts of a couple of world champions. He’s all heart our Frank.
This is a shame, as Hulkenberg has excelled in all categories
on the way up, and although having taken a little while to settle down in F1, he
does have talent. But that talent doesn’t come with a sack of money, so that’s
why he has lost his seat at Williams. So much for the ‘best drivers in the
world’. Expect to read about their new South American driver with 15 million
dollars in his race suit pocket.
Rubens Barichello’s contract has been renewed, so the
Brazilian pensioner has been reprieved again, but to be fair to Rubens, he has
done well all year, in a basically underperforming car compared to the others.
