>I have found several different brands of lead substitute and purchased STP's
>version of "lead substitute" fuel additive. Unlike my diet coke, the product
>label doesn't give any clue as to the ingredients or nutritional value for my
>car.
>
>Does anyone know what's in this stuff?
No, and I don't wanna know. It is most likely some horrible
chemical compound that will turn out to be worse for the
environment than the lead was.
>Is one brand of lead substitute better than another?
Yeah, the one that is on sale is cheaper... :)
>Will it really save my valves? Does it really take the place of good old
>(virtually unavailable) lead?
They claim to, but it is a loosing battle. You might as well
start setting aside some cash for a head conversion. If you
are going to keep your car "forever", replacing the valve seats
and such will be required at some point due to wear and tear
REGARDLESS of your use of additives, voodo, or whatever.
Track your miles, take the money you might have spent on
fuel additives, and put it in a piggy bank. In no time, you
will have paid for a conversion, or an entire remanufactured head!
>Also, in my part of New Jersey, I have found one Sunoco station that sells
>their 100 octane fuel. It's a long trip out of my way and I'm wondering if
>it's worth the trouble.
Well, your local speed shops sell hydrazine, too! Have you considered
Nitros Oxide? And don't forget the clorox for the tires - it makes
such a nice cloud of smoke... hee hee hee
sunday, Sunday, SUNDAY!!!
Fire-breathing super-sport MGs!!!
Yes, it's the British Leyland Funny Car Grand Nationals!!!
Hear the thunderous roar of those 948 cc early engines!
Find out why short people love midgets!
See why "TD" stands for "Total Domination"!!
Thrill as the A's race the B's!
...The TCs race the TFs!
...and the Jags stay in the pits with their hoods up all day!!
sunday, Sunday, SUNDAY!!!
Only At New England Dragway!!!!
sorry. got carried away there. It won't happen again.
>Can anyone tell me how much difference there is in performance, kindness to
>my engine, etc. between the more readily available 93 or 94 octane fuel and
>the out-of-the way 100 octane?
Well, do you have a lot of "knock and pinging"? If so, adjust your
timing, and admit that the days of high-octane are over. If you tune
your car for optimum operation with 100 octane fuel, whatcha gonna do
when you drive more than "2 tankfulls" away from that station?
There is a good book on the subject (out of print?). It is called
"Tuning For Speed, Tuning For Economy" by Philip H. Smith, published
at least from the years 1955 - 1975 by Robert Bentley of Cambridge
Mass (USA) the ISBN is 0-8376-0005-7.
It covers many of these issues, but focuses on the adjustments that
can have actual impact on the car. Since it is MG-oriented, it has
specific sections on SU carbs and other MG components.
The 2nd Law of Thermodynamics says "Natural processes increase entropy".
Translation - "You think you're in trouble now? Just you wait..."
james fischer jfischer@supercollider.com
|