shell optimax petrol

[grainger]

hi

anyone else tried this - my car is still leaded so i use the redex additive as well - but it makes me moggy go like **** off a shovel - excellent stuff - it accelerates and goes up hills much happier now

cheers
grainger

[Gareth]

Hello there!

I've been sorely tempted to use this, but my nearest Shell garage is some distance.

Aside from that, I've noticed that over the past few weeks I've only got 25mpg!!!

To be fair, most of my journeys have only been very short, half mile jobs, and basic manouvring in and out of the garage while I've been working on her, but isn't 25mpg a little steep?

When I get back to uni, and some proper 50 miles a day commuting, I hope it will even back out to her normal 38, but even so...

[grainger]

hi

cheers for the reply ....

oh dear - only 25 mpg !! thats less than half what i get on a run - if you run it hotter (replace the thermostat) that might help ....

which model is yours - this is a 66 1098cc 2 door - the clocks just gone round (for the ?th time) - at the moment its only got 500 miles on the clock

4 times iv been from aberystwyth to stoke and back (230 miles +) and each time its cost 15 quid - thats using this super unleaded (with a redex lead additive) at 80p a litre


cheers
grainger

[Gareth]

Hello there!

Well, I'm hoping that when I start running her properly, it ought to pick up again. It's just the past few weeks that she's been drinking like Oliver Reed. You see, I've not really been anywhere, and I've mainly done town and village toddling - lots of gear changing, hills, manouvring, waiting, and never getting over 30mph.

Phyllis is a '62 four door, with the 1098cc engine.
She seems to be running hot enough, and the points, plugs &c are all fine. I spent some time adjusting the carb' too, which would have accounted for some usage, but at least she's not running too rich now. It's odd that this has happened since I had the exhaust refitted (again!!). But then I've been using the car differently recently, so that would have an effect.

Anyway, I've got petrol receipts right back to when I bought the car in 2000, so I'm keeping a check on things!! As for the petrol, I normally use Sainsbury's pool petrol - sorry, ULSP. I had a tank of BP recently, and the car didn't run right for a week...

I might defect to Shell, but I use the car everyday, and it's soooo expensive.

Anyway, I shall stop waffling now.

[an_avenger]

Is that redex any good? I usually us the Castrol stuff with octane boost and that is like s*%t off a polished shoe! It's definatley notable when i've used the dreaded LRP.............(Lets Really Pink!) Ooooo thats a swear word amongst the club.

Lee & Pidg (PDG 457G)

[olonas]

I seem to remember a few years age Shell introduced, I think it was called advanced petrol. There were some reports of damage to valves etc. when using this fuel. There were some claims made against Shell, although there was no real proof, Shell withdrew the fuel from sale, why?. Has it now been re-introduced under a different guise? I am not trying to say don't use the stuff, but beware!

[Chris Morley]

I've used Shell Optimax quite a few times and my mog (1969, 1098cc) seems to go very well on it. My nearest Shell garage however is in Staines so it often gets mixed with the local Esso 97 Octane. I've never used LRP from any garage and I say good riddance to it!

Gareth - there's nothing wrong with your consumption. I only get about 30 mpg when driving the short 3 miles to work, especially in Winter when the choke is out for longer. However I did get exactly 40.1 mpg recently on a 280 mile trip to Caerphilly despite 90% of the mileage spent hammering along the M4 at between 65 and 70 (indicated) mph.

Grainger's fuel consumption is absolutely superb - and also far better than the mpg figures claimed by BMC when the cars were new. Taken from the Haynes Manual, the mpg figures in 4th gear are shown as 48.5 (40mph), 41.4 (50mph) and 35.7(60mpg). Using these 1960s figures, the 56/57 mpg that Grainger achieves would require rolling along at a steady 32mph and I should have only got 35mpg on my Welsh trip! Clearly Minors are now returning far better figures using modern fuels. This shows that a Minor is a good financial and eco-friendly alternative to short lived modern cars.

[brekin]

HI all from a 'newbie'... my old moggy 1965 convertable...being a silver surfer the 'old girl' takes me back to my youth.... thanks for the info on the petrol crises....and i'll check it out..take car (e) u lot
brekin and of course 'bluebelle'

[Cam]

What are the problems that people have had when using LRP????

I have always used it since it was introduced with no additives on tuned and standard engines, the only problem that I have had is run-on (on the tuned engines 10:1 CR) - even when fitted with an anti-run on valve!!

an_avenger mentions pinking when using LRP which would also cause run-on.....Hmmm....

Is there really that much difference between the petrols??

If others have been having run-on problems with LRP then I guess that a shot of the Redex additive might sort that one out?!?

Which petrol is best to use with the additive? I am leaded and cannot change due to valve sizes (too close together to have hardened seats pressed in). I have been using Total LRP.

Cam.

[an_avenger]

I use ASDA and J Sainsbury petrol (infact my local Sainsbury sells 'Classic Four Star' - this juice really does have lead but is a whoping 95p a litre, sorry but my boy only get's that at christmas) Anyway I've also put in the Castrol Valvemaster plus - protection and everything but with an octane boost! I dunno what 4 * octane reading was, but unleaded is 95 octane level which is lower that old 4*, i dunno what LRP is like, but Pemium un-leaded (with a premium 5p added to that of normal unleaded) is mean to limit the knocking! But the Castrol stuff has this boost and I haven't experienced any knocking even when climing hills!

[Chris Morley]

Re: LRP - I've been wary of this product since it replaced leaded 4 star.
Why? - because none of the petrol companies were willing to say exactly what additive their brand of LRP contained and none offered their product for independent engine wear tests. There was also the possibility that the additives might react badly if different brands were mixed together.

Information leaflets I read (supplied by 2 of the big internationals) added a disclaimer saying cars using LRP could still suffer damage if used at high rpm or by towing. This said to me that their product was ineffective, probably because there wasn't enough of whatever additive they used.

In the last two years I've heard several horror stories about LRP ruining engines. However this is totally unscientific and may have been nothing to do with the fuel. LRP is probably O.K if 1) you don't mix brands 2) don't often thrash the car above 3000 rpm & 3) don't exceed 50 mph on the Motorway. I don't comply with 2 & 3 so I have used Superblend 2000 + unleaded fuel with no problems to date.

[an_avenger]

That is true about the disclaimer. Chemically potassium and sodium which is used to makeup LRP (Let's wReck - Petrol) isn't much of a lubricant compared to lead. I know that the 'knocking' affect of LRP can cause more damage than value recession by what's called 'hot corrosion' Goodness knows what that is but I have readit somewhere! Personally a bit of lead to anyone isn't bad the ruling by the EU is far more poisnous!

[Cam]

Thanks for the info & advice folks!

I have changed from LRP and firstly started using Total premium unleaded + Castrol Valvemaster Plus.

The engine ran smoother and seemed to have a slight power increase, but it still runs on.

So, the next tankfull was Shell Optimax + Castrol Valvemaster Plus. Now the engine runs a lot smoother, the throttle response is far better and there has been a noticable power increase!! AND it only seems to run on (slightly) if I have been thrashing it. With normal use it seems not to run on (so far!).

So, thanks for bringing this subject up, and I will be sticking to Valvemaster Plus + Super unleaded.


Cam.

[ianselva]

I am really surprised at all this discussion, I have run my wifes 1098 Traveller, my Citroen 1.4 BX and my 230 Merc all on unleaded with no additves at all since the introduction of unleaded. I used the BX and the Merc to tow my race car at 80mph all over Europe with no signs of problems. We only use the traveller fairly gently locally , but it's used every day.
In the end I suppose it's whatever works for you.

[Gareth]

Hello there!

As for the Traveller, it's probably still running on it's "Lead Memory", and since you only use it locally, it will be some time before any adverse effects are noticed.

Some "leaded only" engines can run easily on unleaded, this may be the case for your Merc and Citroen.

Even so - if you're running all on unleaded, for your case, it sounds like there's no problem!

[Chris Morley]

Cam,

The over-run is probably caused by using unleaded 95. Unless you've had the ignition retarded in recent years your mog is likely to be still set up for 4-star, as mine is. I've found you can significantly alter the degree of over-run by adjusting the engine idle speed. I followed Willie's advice and have run since June with the idle speed set very slowly (so that the red light in the speedo glows dimly). I found this setting gave the best 0-60 performance and good fuel economy, although the engine chugs when starting cold. Now that it's getting colder I've had to increase the idling speed to warm the engine up more quickly. Despite using Super Unleaded (97), this causes a moderate over-run if driven hard.

Ian - I believe the Citroen BX will be fine on unleaded. A few years ago I found a little booklet in my local library which had been published in the early 90s. It listed the suitability of all cars made between 1985-1991. Having run a 1988 Citroen AX for years on 4-star I was surprised to find that it was O.K on unleaded and I think the BX was the same. There was a note that the ignition might need retarding. From what I've read I believe valve seat recession isn't a problem for Citroens as my DS is supposed to be fine on unleaded (and it dates from 1969). However the BMC A-Series is renowned for suffering recession of the valve seats and thats why it was used in the FBHV tests. You'll be O.K as long as the traveller isn't flogged or driven over 50 mph.

[Cam]

Chris,

My engine is a tuned 1380cc Ital engine with a 10:1 CR, ported & polished head with 37mm inlet & 31mm exhaust valves and a Kent 276 duration cam, I am also using NGK BP8ES plugs - so I am a bit prone to run-on problems

Unfortunately this engine runs hot due to the compression ratio and it needs to tick over at about 1200-1400 RPM because with a 276 duration cam there is sufficient valve overlap to cause it to be very lumpy at low revs and not tick over properly.

I set the timing to be 8 degrees BTDC as suggested by MED Engineering (A-series race engine builders) when I built up & installed the engine which was after LRP had been introduced, so it has only known LRP.

My old 1098cc engine (1969 coincidentaly! ) never had run-on problems ever, and I only ever used LRP with it.

But with the ital engine I have noticed that with the octane booster + super unleaded it does not run-on unless I thrash it, so what you say makes a lot of sense.

I cannot drop the idle speed (much) but maybe retarding the timing slightly will help.


You say that "Despite using Super Unleaded (97), this causes a moderate over-run if driven hard". Are you using any sort of octane booster? or have you got hardened valve seats installed?

Cam.

[Chris Morley]

Hi Cam,
Having just looked at your webpage I can see that we're not talking about the same kind of 'A' series engines. Having said that, similar principles may still apply? I do like the way you've kept your mog looking standard while making it into a performance car.

I won't pretend to understand why adjusting the engine idle works so well , but it definately has for me. The engine is a 1098cc as built, without hardened seat valves. For the first few months I ran it on 98 4-star leaded and it went very well for a Minor (0-60 indicated in 22.1 seconds) . When 4 star was abolished I used unleaded with the Superblend 2000 additive. This doesn't include an octane booster. I found that using standard unleaded 95 caused slow acceleration (adding 4-5 seconds to the 0-60 time), severe over-running and a suggestion of pinking. These problems were almost eliminated by the use of Super Unleaded (97) although some over-running still occured if driven hard. However, when I lowered the engine idle speed this summer it eliminated over-running and I managed a 0-60 time of 22.4 seconds , almost the same as with 4-Star. Sadly the lumpy idling of the engine is now becoming a problem on cold mornings, so I've raised the idling speed by a few hundred rpm. This makes the short journey to work easier, although I'm often seen fiddling with the idle speed screw prior to longer journeys.

[Cam]

Thanks for the complement on my Moggy!!

I prefer the look of the standard minor to those awful 'custom' car attempts, but I also like the look of Mr BMW/TDI/SRI when I leave them for dead!! They do NOT like it....Ha Ha!

I have noticed that after I converted, the engine is a lot smoother, so I may try adjusting the idle down a bit as it may be less lumpy at idle.

Cam.

[56 Splitscreen]

Firstly Thanks To Poached Egg(Phlyis) For help the other day via e mail.
problems turned out to be Choke getting stuck..

I use all kinds of brands of Jiuce and redex additive.
I may start sticking to the one brand of jiuce.
Is Shellaoptimax petrol dearer ???

Re Oil..got a gallon of it this morning ..cheap stuff,
but recommened for old and high milage cars, The thickest oil
I have ever seen.