Recommended Fuel for Lotus Excel SE 88 plate

[Excellentman23]

Hello everyone. I'm new to the Forum. Hope we can have some great debates and chats about Lotus company and the future. I have just bought an 88' Excel SE 

and will be picking it up tomorrow. Can anyone tell me what fuel they are running their Excel's on or indeed Esprit's? Any fuel's to stay away from? 

 

Many thanks 

[Escape]

Welcome to TLF and congrats with your Excel. They're a bit underrated, but a great car.

I use premium (98) in all my classics. Less bio ethanol so easier on rubber hoses and seals and the higher octane means less risk of knocking.

Filip

[Excellentman23]

Hi Filip. Thanks for the advise! Yes exciting times today! My first classic, and thoroughly looking forward to driving it! That's a very impressive line-up of cars you have, with an earlier Eclat Excel, 83-85? How do you find it? 

[kkv444v]

The higher octane of Premium unleaded is what a 900-series engine needs. No need for additives, and I don't think I have ever found a difference in brand of fuel even if the octane rating differs slightly (I tend to use BP, Shell or Tesco, though).

[Excellentman23]

Thanks. Some say to stay away from cheaper grade Petrol like Supermarkets, however you have been using it fine. Certainly not E10 but I'll stick to 95-98 unleaded or Super Unleaded. Thanks for your advise guys...

[kkv444v]

Don't use 95, the engine needs higher than that. (98 is what Lotus state; I think only Esprits with fuel injection can run on 95.)

[thebartman]

Welcome to the Forum - have a great time in youe (new) Excel !!

For my '85 Turbo Esprit, I use ony Esso "Premium 99+" high octane, and it is the only fuel in the UK which has zero Ethanol - even thugh it's labelled as E5. To me, this should ensure that no rubber items e.g. fuel lines/carbs etc. won't get eaten by the Ethanol.

All the best.

[Escape]

The Excel will run on 95, so if you can't find anything better, it will do. But if you want to use the full potential of the engine, or just for piece of mind, get the higher octane stuff.

@Excellentman23 I love my Eclat Excel! She's from 83, one of the early ones, though a previous owner modernised her a bit, with color coded bumpers and a later interior. I didn't know any better at the time, given the chance now I would definitely prefer all original.

She was sparsely used the first few years after I bought her, playing second fiddle to the Esprit. At the beginning of lockdown she got some well needed and deserved attention (cambelt, carb balancing etc) and she's pretty much my daily driver since then. This year alone we already did over 4k miles, including a trip to UK and 2 trips to France. 😎

[Excellentman23]

Well done Escape, turning her into a daily drive! 83' that is early as they came out in 82'? But the shape as you say was very similar to the Eclat. I quite like the colour coded, as I nearly went for a full yellow one (T reg 78') but I was very close to getting a full original Elite (Red - Vreg 79) which was featured on Youtube. I didn't get it as the report stated it had very slight crash damage on the front bumper with a few leaks! (We are know the Rocker Head issue and coolant) but it would have presented very well at shows! Have you guys taken yours to many shows, do you like that kind of culture and ownership activity? 

Thanks for all your help! 

 

[Excellentman23]

[kkv444v]

Apologies, I mistakenly used the word Premium in my first post when it should have said Super Unleaded. Premium is the 95RON, which is not recommended; your car might indeed run on 95 but Lotus do not recommend it. A last resort for a short distance only. I run four 900-series engines, and have had several more over the years (including two Excels), and have only ever used 97-99 RON fuel; it costs more but it is worth it.

Enjoy your new purchase!

[Excellentman23]

Thanks. So stay away from Premium Unleaded? OK..  I'm assuming any Shell garage would be V-Power or Tesco Momentum 99. I'm sure its good enough..

 

Thanks 

[exeterjeep]

I run both my MG's and both Lotus (2018 Evora and 1994 M100) on E5. Usually Esso or Tesco.

[Escape]

The first Excels were badged as Eclat Excel because that meant Lotus didn't have to get a new type approval. Despite all the differences. I guess in a later stage they did do the paperwork and the Eclat part was dropped.

I like some contrast in my cars, my first special car was a green Land Rover with all black accents. It may not look modern, in my view it can help emphasize the lines. I had the mirrors on my Silver Esprit painted black to go with the black wheels. 😉 

I try to take my cars out as often as possible, with a preference for runs instead of static shows. The Elan JPS is a bigger eyecatcher at events obviously, but the Excel is the easy choice. 🙂 
Tomorrow I'll be taking the Land Rover Lightweight (that I've just added to my signature, after almost 3 years of ownership ) to a charity event for an animal shelter. And on Sunday I'll be back there with the Elan.

Filip

[jep]

The best fuel you can find would be my advice. If desperate, 95 is fine but not for regular use.  97 min, ideally 98. 

Personally I avoid supermarket fuel for classics as they buy fuel on the spot market so you don't quite know the quality. The known petroleum companies allegedly only use their refined fuel....but it is usually a bit more expensive. For my Twingo, I use whatever 95 octane fuel is cheapest, whoever is selling it. 

The carburettor set-up is vital on 900 series engine. It's a bit of a fine art and ideally you need someone who knows them. It makes a huge difference. For road use, you want them tuned to give the most torque not max top end oomph. @Escape knows far more about this than me.

Welcome to TLF. Excel are truly wonderful machines. 

Justin 

[kkv444v]

Even the last cars (1992) were Eclats. Registration (by dealer) varied, though, so some are Eclat and some are Eclat Excel. (Plus the last cars dropped the SE suffix, despite being SE spec, just to confuse further.)

[ChrisJ]

My 89 Excel is an Éclat on the paperwork. Was advertised as an Éclat, and didn't appear in any searches for Excel - which was great as I watched it on the same site for 18 months coming down in price.

My previous 87 was an Éclat Excel.

[Escape]

Thanks for the info guys, I always assumed (yes, I know what that stands for...) the registration was changed to Excel when the badging went from 'Eclat Excel' as on mine, to 'Excel' or 'Excel SE' on the later ones.