Aussie Fools (a bit long)

[Stuart Thomson <stuart.thomson@domain.elided>]

Brett Daniels asked about LRP fuels in Australia.

As you are aware Brett, leaded fuels are hard to come by here 
downunder.  As 105 Alfa heads have hardened valve inserts already, your 
best choice is one of the high octane unleaded varieties of fuel.  A 
word of warning though, Shell Optimax has been rumoured to soften and 
swell rubber seals, o-rings etc.  I am led to believe that it is the 
additive in the PULP that causes/d the problems.  This is of particular 
interest to those of us that run carburetted Alfa engines, as the carb 
mounts can be affected.  As the other fuels are very similar, and the 
extra octane/density of Optimax is it's selling point, and that it costs 
more anyway, try for Mobil Synergy 8000, BP Ultimate, Caltex Vortex etc.

On LRP fuels, some can cause real problems.  The additive in some is a 
Manganese compound, the Manganese turns into it's oxide in the 
combustion process, and unless it's blown out (read Italian tune up, 
OFTEN) can harden to an abrasive compound, not what you want in the 
inside of your engine.  This I have seen for real.  I used LRP from one 
outlet for 3 months in my Alfetta GTV.  When I pulled the plugs to clean 
them I was astounded as to the amount of crap that had built up on 
them.  I had never had this problem running with either leaded or 
unleaded fuels before.  I immediately ceased use of the LRP and switched 
to PULP.  For several weeks, every time I started the car and let it 
warm up in the driveway there would be a dark red patch on the driveway, 
Manganese oxide!!  The car was my daily driver, I do about 100kms a day, 
with a healthy dose of freeway at 100 ish km/h, so the problem is with 
the fuel, not the manner in which it was driven.

My trusty mechanic has also seen such cases, and agrees with me that the 
LRP fuels can cause problems.

PULP fuels can be used in unmodified Alfa motors, as valve seat 
recession should not be a problem with the hardened valve inserts, so no 
additives are needed, anyway, some of them probably just contain the 
Manganese compounds that are in the LRP in concentrated form.

Hope this helps
Stuart Thomson

> From: Brett Daniels <Brett.Daniels@domain.elided>
> Subject: Australian fuel choices
>
> As my 1971 1750 GTV is due to be united its engine this weekend, for
> the first time in over ten years, I am curious as to what fuels
> Australian digesters are using in their cars of similar vintage. For
> those unaware there are no leaded fuels available in Australia
> anymore. I have heard from other drivers that the lead replacement
> fuel has reduced the performance of older holdens and similar cars so
> that some use a premium unleaded with a lead replacement additive.
> Anyone else use a similar combination and if so what additives do you
> prefer.
>
> Thanks
>
> Brett Daniels

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