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I have a 1998 Japanese import 1.5 litre Mazda Familia.

Can I run it on the Gull Bio-fuel 98 Octane and what is the recommended octane to use?

I mainly drive around town with the occasional trip away and total approx 8,000 to 10,000km's a year.

Matthew

From the "Ask Jack" archives - 14 December 2009

I'm sure Mazda will say no to the 10% ethanol blend fuel. This is because the vehicle is a domestic Japanese model and therefore never designed to run on a blend that high.

There are some mixed messages about the blend compatibility for imports, with many owners and organisations saying it won't be a problem and to be honest we are unaware of any major issues to date.

As far as we are concerned however our recommendations are based on what the manufacturers are saying, it's their product after all.

What can go wrong and how long it takes before something goes wrong is anyone's guess.

One of the biggest up front and initial problems with the ethanol blended fuel is what is called phase separation, where any water in the tank will separate with the fuel causing an almost instant stall or no go situation.

But as I say, we have heard little or no problems to date from the field.

Gull have been selling the blended fuel for just over twelve months and have had no problems reported to date which can be specifically blamed on the fuel.

Re the Octane rating, I would be inclined to use 95.

The Gull Force 10 is rated at 98 octane and currently has the same retail price as competitors 95.