What's your favourite fuel additive?

R

restojon

New Member
In a recent post elsewhere the subject of octane ratings and lead replacement/octane boost came up. I'm using Castrol Valvemaster and although I'm not unhappy with it I'm not blown away by it either and wondered if I could do better.
I've tried the Comma variety in the past and don't really trust it, tried Millers VSP which I thought was good but I can't buy it anywhere here and Tetraboost was mentioned in the other post as a good product.
What's your car's favourite tipple?
And let us all know if it's a 4 cylinder or a V8, look forward to your responses :D.
 
restojon said:
In a recent post elsewhere the subject of octane ratings and lead replacement/octane boost came up. I'm using Castrol Valvemaster and although I'm not unhappy with it I'm not blown away by it either and wondered if I could do better.
I've tried the Comma variety in the past and don't really trust it, tried Millers VSP which I thought was good but I can't buy it anywhere here and Tetraboost was mentioned in the other post as a good product.
What's your car's favourite tipple?
And let us all know if it's a 4 cylinder or a V8, look forward to your responses :D.
Click to expand...

Well, I don't have a P6 (yet... hoping to acquire a P6B sometime! :)), but I think the 'tipple' I would give it would be TetraBoost (Tetra-Ethyl Lead, the "lead" in leaded petrol) mixed with Shell V-Power!
 
I've been using Castrol Valvemaster plus with Shell V power and the timing set to 6 degrees BTDC in my V8. I buy the stuff in bulk, enough to last a year as I use the car every day. I'm happy with the performance but then it's the first V8 P6 I've owned so I wouldn't know any better.

Brian-Northampton told me about Tetraboost about a year ago and the order form is still in my desk drawer. For my everyday use it would cost me a small fortune to use so I'll stick with what works and is relatively affordable :D

Dave
 
My own solution is to use Tesco 99 octane with one bottle of plain octane booster and one bottle of combined booster and lead replacement from Millers per tankfull. Not cheap, but I don't do a huge mileage. Ignition is set to standard and performance is completely satisfactory. I buy the boosters in bulk direct from the Miller's website. Having a satisfactory outcome, I haven't tried anyone else's.

Chris
 
Excuse my ignorance but are there any real benefits to additives?
I used to use Castrol Valvemaster for valve protection but have now ceased its use it.
I know some people claim these products will extend the shelf life of your petrol but all in all as far as I can see most claims are fairly ephemoral or down right bogus other than those products that are valve lubricants.
Has any one got ant real quantifiable measured benefits from there use? other than assuaging our collective worries real or imagined on engine longevity and performance?

Graeme
 
ghce said:
Excuse my ignorance but are there any real benefits to additives?
I used to use Castrol Valvemaster for valve protection but have now ceased its use it.
I know some people claim these products will extend the shelf life of your petrol but all in all as far as I can see most claims are fairly ephemoral or down right bogus other than those products that are valve lubricants.
Has any one got ant real quantifiable measured benefits from there use? other than assuaging our collective worries real or imagined on engine longevity and performance?

Graeme
Click to expand...

Certainly some additives are extremely questionable (Broquet, Carbonflo etc), but most talked about/used by us members here have been tested and approved by the FBHVC.

The jury is still out if P6 valve seats are hard enough to use with neat unleaded, especially the 4-pots; one source claims that Rover aluminium heads manufactured by Brico since the 1940's are hard enough to withstand unleaded. The question I ask myself, assuming that assertion is true, did Brico manufacture ALL heads for P6's? Some P6's, especially the 2000TC's, have had ruined heads. Whether that is down to unleaded is a question of debate. It's possible that other ingredients blended into modern day petrol have a detrimental effect on valve seats. Some ingredients blended into unleaded are also extremely toxic (benzene, cadmium), worse than lead ever was!

Going back to what I would 'feed' my P6 if I ever get another one, well Brian-Northampton tried Tetraboost some 2 or so years back. http://www.classicroverforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1651&start=0&hilit=tetraboost As you see, his 'Vanessa' (his 2000TC) certainly seems to enjoy Tetraboost.

Assuming Brian is not lying or has some vested interest in Tetraboost, I'd say that additive does have benefits, especially the high compression engines!
 
darth sidious said:
Assuming Brian is not lying or has some vested interest in Tetraboost, I'd say that additive does have benefits, especially the high compression engines!
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Nope, no vested interest. My Vanessa loves it.

Most important for me, is that this is the proper stuff, and it's listed on the FBHVC website - therefore not snakeoil. Unlike other additives, this isn't a Lead Replacement ....... It is Tetra Ethyl Lead, so it's just making the proper stuff that our cars were designed for.

It does have a fearsome reputation as it's a particularly nasty chemical, so use it in the open air wearing gloves (I use disposable ones).
 
I've started running mine with castrol valvemaster, but I'm open to suggestions on the best stuff. I've been running on super unleaded so far, but I'm going to try it with regular unleaded to see if there's any difference. Only filled up a couple of times, so I wouldn't like to draw any conclusions just yet.

Mines a 2200tc, by the way.
 
I ran my 2000TC without an additive when I first got it. After about a year I had to replace the head due to valve seat recession, so I'm not taking any chances again. I used Valvemaster Plus and Shell V-Power for a while, then switched to plain Valvemaster and V-Power and noticed no difference in performance, so I guess the V-Power (previously Optimax) provides enough of an octane boost.
I did once try the BP high octane fuel but the engine immediately started pinking, so it clearly wasn't giving the same punch as the Shell version.
 
My 3500 runs SD1 heads, and I run it on normal unleaded. Not even the higher octane stuff. Seems to run OK on it, although I might get the tiny bit more power from the more expensive fuel I doubt I'd notice the difference in normal driving..

I was instructed by the previous owner that it'd be fine on unleaded due to the SD1 heads, so that's what I've stuck to.
Unless anyone would disagree? :)
 
Guys.... sorry to dig up an old thread but can anyone please point me in the direction of a Tetraboost supplier?

I don't think there are any suppliers in my area (Romford) so I am looking for an online store.

Can anyone help? Thanks
 
Hi Phoenix,
Tetraboost do not have retail outlets. Go to www.tetraboost.com and you will find an order form along with their address which is Tetraboost Ltd, 17 West Hill, London SW18 1RB. Tel 02088709933.

The web site gives details of price etc. The box contains 8 945ml containers.

I have used tetraboost for three years and had no problems and will continue using it.
Hector
 
Hector H Sutherland said:
Hi Phoenix,
Tetraboost do not have retail outlets. Go to http://www.tetraboost.com and you will find an order form along with their address which is Tetraboost Ltd, 17 West Hill, London SW18 1RB. Tel 02088709933.

The web site gives details of price etc. The box contains 8 945ml containers.

I have used tetraboost for three years and had no problems and will continue using it.
Hector
Click to expand...
Thank you for such a speedy reply.... it is appreciated :)

EDIT.... ouch that stuff is bloody expensive :( I'll look elsewhere as I don't need that much :?
 
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