LRP

[Burnthosetyres]

I drove to 3 Petrol stations tonight before I got LRP for my 57 Apache. The Sasol and BP both big stations indicated they no longer stock Red Label cos there are much more newer than older cars around. What will happen if I run my 350 Chevy with std heads on Cream soda only? And what to do in future if you can't get LRP?

[Johann65]

I drove to 3 Petrol stations tonight before I got LRP for my 57 Apache. The Sasol and BP both big stations indicated they no longer stock Red Label cos there are much more newer than older cars around. What will happen if I run my 350 Chevy with std heads on Cream soda only? And what to do in future if you can't get LRP?

Hullo BTT,:D
Check the age of your 350 engine and from what car it came. The 305 Z28 that I have is dated 1984 and came from a Camaro and rated as "UNLEADED" for that year. Have been running on 93/95 octane daily with no problem. You might just get a pleasant surprise If not, give it a valve job

[GRUNTY]

Service station owners tell us that LRP is no longer available.From our experience,it has beem found to be more harmful than beneficial.An example was a Chevy V8 wearing a 650 holley that had corroded through the float chamber and the brown shellack type residue remaining after not being run for nearly a year is scary.A small amount of ashless 2 stroke oil in each new tank full has been shown to do the job and on modern high pressure fuel injected motors the added lubricity extends the life of the fuel pumps and injectors.This with green unleaded 95 octane.
We have noticed smoother running and slight noise reduction after adding some 2t oil so give it a try and report back to the forum on your findings.

[Graeme]

Run 93 octane, it works on all my cars and I'm running standard heads with no mods.

[Johann65]

Run 93 octane, it works on all my cars and I'm running standard heads with no mods.

Graeme, Are your sixes the same age as mine?
LRP is stil available here.
I drained the 93 octane from the Kommando and used it in the Malibu.
I did notice a smoother drive but am concerned about the valves.

[damagecontrol]

I ran 95 in all my cars since it came out.

Just add a bottle of Wm.Penn to every tank of fuel and you'll be ok.

There's also a additive that you can purchase from spares shops and garages that replaces the "lead" in unleaded petrol.

Also a good idea if you want to extend the life of your engine.

[Johann65]

The truth!! From BP, Concurs Graeme's comments. Received the same comment from my Shell garage who advised me to dilute the 100% LRP over the next few tanks (Plus-minus 4 tanks) by 50% until the fuel has been fully replaced by 93 Octane and the engine properly cleaned.

In a survey done this year (2008) many consumers still think LRP is cheaper than unleaded fuel and that their vehicles perform better. LRP costs exactly the same as unleaded petrol and most cars, even some manufactured prior to 1996, actually show improved performance when using unleaded petrol.
Less than 5% of South Africa’s cars require LRP but about 40% of motorists still use the fuel. BP has embarked on a national awareness campaign aimed at educating motorists about which fuel to use. Most engines manufactured in the early 90s can use unleaded petrol without any modification.
However, vehicles manufactured in the 70s and 80s have soft valve seats and their ignition timing may need to be adjusted before they can use unleaded petrol. Check on the NAAMSA website to check your fuel compatibility.
There is currently no legislation that requires service stations to supply LRP and government has no official stance on the fuel, but due to declining demand in certain areas of the country, BP has taken the decision to start phasing out the fuel.
The removal of LRP will be done gradually starting at areas where the demand has reduced significantly.
Get the best out of your engine – put the best in with BP Ultimate Unleaded
LRP customers migrating to unleaded petrol can use BP Ultimate Unleaded 93 or 95 octane as they have been specifically designed to clean your engine as you drive. BP Ultimate fuels not only keep a new engine virtually like new, but also has the ability to remove existing engine deposits caused by the use of ordinary unleaded fuels, which in turn helps to reduce harmful emissions.
Better performance, sharper acceleration and more km’s per tank
Using high quality fuels, such as BP Ultimate, will allow the vehicle to run more efficiently, enabling improved combustion quality thus reducing fuel consumption. Independent tests show that the fuel economy benefit of BP Ultimate Unleaded can be up to 25km more per tank and up to 36km extra when using BP Ultimate Diesel, compared to ordinary fuels.
BP Ultimate, which is also available in diesel, is recommended by SA’s most trusted motoring authority, the Automobile Association, following conclusive tests that prove the cleaner power of the fuels range, allowing motorists to get more mileage per tank with less exhaust emissions.
To find out which fuel is best for your car contact BP’s call centre on 0860 222 166 or visit the National Association of Automobile Manufactures of South Africa’s website to view the fuel compatibility database.

[Johann65]

Here is some more info on Pre=1970 cars. Also read up my 1965 Manual.
With normal lead-free petrol an adjustment to the engine's ignition timing solved pre-detonation problems (pinking or pinging) caused by the lower octane rating, but this did nothing to prevent accelerated valve wear.

The use of lead in petrol had allowed the machining of valve seats directly in the cast iron or aluminium cylinder heads (or block of side-valve engines). Leaded petrol actually protected the valve seats!!!

Without leaded petrol, over time these seats would heat up, erode and even micro-weld the valve to the seat causing rapid damage.

So the problem is having heads that have no separate replaceable valve seats!!
The older cars that have good solid old steel heads should be OK!!
If you have Aluminium Heads without steel valve seats then you will need to have them fitted!!

[Tony69]

Graeme, Seriously?

The problem affects only the exhaust valve seats. Fit hardened seats or the exhaust valve will very slowly but surely receed into the head. You won't "feel" the difference until its too late.

Old cast iron heads are pretty tough, but not quite tough enough for unleaded.

On a one piece cast iron head, the seat must be machined out to accomodate a new seat.

[zahistorics]

Like Tony says!

Using unleaded petrol in a 'leaded' engine will result in exhaust valve recession. Always. Unless you do only very low 'show' mileage this will become a problem down the line sooner than you expect.

Some additives work, but the ones that do are very expensive. If you go this route do your homework very, very well. Most cheaper additives add lubrication to the valve giudes, but do nothing for valve seat recession.

Best solution is hardened valve seat inserts. You may have to have a look at valve guides too, depending on what material your engine has.

You can do a hybrid approach, hardened seats and additional lubrication for the valve guides by additive or an oil injector. Oil injector is great if you plan on using LPG. LPG has all of the same issues as unleaded petrol.

So called 'catalysts' that go inline on the fuel pipe or as pellets in your tank are snake oil - don't waste your money.