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Iso-stoichiometric ternary blends - in which three-component blends of gasoline, ethanol and methanol are configured to the same stoichiometric air-fuel ratio as an equivalent binary ethanol-gasoline blend - can function as invisible "drop-in" fuels suitable for the existing E85/gasoline flex-fuel vehicle fleet. This has been demonstrated for the two principal means of detecting alcohol content in such vehicles, which are considered to be a virtual, or software-based, sensor, and a physical sensor in the fuel line. Furthermore when using such fuels the tailpipe CO₂ emissions are essentially identical to those found when the vehicle is operated on E85. Because of the fact that methanol can be made from a wider range of feed stocks than ethanol and at a cheaper price, these blends then provide opportunities to improve energy security, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to produce a fuel blend which could potentially be cheaper on a cost-per-unit-energy basis than gasoline or diesel.

Direct Injection Spark Ignition (DISI) engine technology is becoming increasingly common in the South African and global vehicle parcs. South Africa is in a unique position because a significant portion of all liquid fuels consumed are synthetically produced from coal and gas. These fuels are mainly supplied into the inland regions, particularly the Gauteng province, the economic heartland of South Africa and the most densely populated area in the country. It is important to understand the performance of synthetic fuels in the latest generation engines, in order to ensure that these fuels are fit for use in these new applications. The latest generation DISI gasoline engines (also known as Gasoline Direct Injection™ and Fuel Stratified Injection™) differ significantly in operation to older Port-Fuel-Injected (PFI) engines.