So I now live in Alice Springs and most of the available 91 RON fuel is Opal (that low aromatic stuff). I could get 95 or 98 but I'm trying so save some coin and all I'm really doing at the moment is driving about 20kms to work each day.

I don't know much about opal unleaded but is there any reason why it would be bad for a fuel system? So far my XH has been running fine on it but I was interested if anyone has had any bad experiences.

It's fine. It was to stop the coons buying 200mL for a family.

I thought minimum delivery was 1l? Or is the 200ml a 1l serve in a 5 person share pack?

Hey, another member in Alice springs!

Well have to meet up sometime.

Don't ask a mechanic, you'll get a biased answer.

Apparently in older vehicles that should be running on the old school super, and older fuels, there aren't enough of the lubricants in opal so when you put it in seals and fuel lines dry and crack causing some problems..

HOWEVER, this was all started because when opal was first released, a German woman and her daughter broke down in their mitsi express van at ayers rock. At the mechanics there se was simply told it was all opals fault and she needed all this and all that replaced and it cost her a fortune. I personally believe the mechanic saw dollarsigns and went overboard..

So what dose this lovely tourist do?

Drive to Alice springs, go to the centralian advocate, and give them a "scoop" to run like the wind with

OPAL MADE MY CAR BREAK DOWN

were the headlines, and the advocate milked it dry. It was all opals fault, that's was final. And it wrecks your car.

Cos SOME OF the mechanics are slack in town sometimes, if a car comes up with a carburetor issue you can simply say "used opal? Then it's f**k" and get all brand new parts, instead of simply doing what a mechanic is supposed to do and figure the real problem and probably just put a rebuilt kit through the carby..

That's my opinion, but to my actual USE.

I find that 200 ml just isn't enough, as it evaporates at a higher rate my kids can't get high enough to fall asleep at 4 in the morning.
I'm gonna try upping the dose to 250ml over an 8 hour sesh, but this f**k taxes and fuel price rise is just making it impractical for family use... Can we get a petition goin to bring back the 5 litre!!!


The car gets a few less Klms and has slight less poke when running on Opal. I worked at BP when it was released and the manager used it in his Ed from day dot and never had a problem.

It sucks cos it's 10 cents a litre more but I just use premium 95..

Send me a pm if you want to meet up tho mate.

Most mechanics these days wouldn't know how a carburetor works in the first place.

We do have issues with Mitsu vans and utes that have cabies when run on E10.
There is a particular diaphragm that fails in a short time with the use of E10.
Have seen a hand full with fuel lines like jelly as well.
Over all E10 isn't a problem, It's just some cars can use it and it's still not cheap enough to justify the extra usage.

Opal may or may not cause problems in 'some' cars. but I doubt it.

parts kits may still be made for the super leaded spec.and not for E10,as some parts are not resistant to the fuel.

the problem with the E10 is the ethanol itself eats away some rubber/plastics (particular diaphragms & seals) in older vehicles. Also it's lack of lubricity does contribute to wear in older vehicles but as I understand it's not much worse than standard unleaded,though leaded vehicles are a different story.
I have no idea how they take the smell out of petrol so can't really comment on opal however a quick google returned this:

Therefore I would imagine with less solvents it would actually be better for your car as it's more refined hence why it's more expensive.

Sorry, I didn't fully explain (internuts is a pain for that) I wasn't saying opal does nothing bad at all.

Yeah, apparently is something to do with the hoses and fuel lines etc. Some I've seen go rock hard, and others turn to jelly. Probably the rubber/plastic itself having a different compound..

Possibly from the removal or addition of certain Chems as mentioned above too..

I was trying to not make assumptions about the fuel because I've never seen it.

Still though, fuel hoses and other system parts were designed to withstand the fuel of the era.
As I have seen with E10, they can't always deal with new fuels.
I would say Opal would be a similar case as E10, with will be fine in most cars but may cause issues in a few.

Yep +1