Exactly my point Paul, but I do not see how one small addition can
bring a tankfull back to 4* leaded quality ( I always thought that
this had been standardised at 98 Octane)
. Castrol even wrote me a letter in response to my query which
justified their Octane enhancement claim:-
"For example you could use Castrol Valvemaster+ with the lower octane
unleaded (95) to return to the level of 4* leaded which should have
been 97 RON but seems quietly to have drifted downwards towards 96 as
witnessed by owners experiencing pinking on 4* in recent years"
So even Castrol appear not to claiming an octane improvement of more
than 'one unit'.
I have no quibble with Castrol over their VSR claims, the Valvemaster
product has been proved over many years in California and in new
Zealand , except that they are unlikely to accept claims for headwork
if you happen to do a lot of motorway driving. ( or even if you don't)
I do object to the arbitrary and almost secretive way in which the
fuel companies in '98/'99 progressively reduced firstly the lead
content of their 4* without reference and although we have BSSpecs
to protect us, they also seem to have adopted a slightly cavalier
approach to selling consistent quality fuels. This means that the high
moral tone of ISO 9002 ethics, to which all the refineries conform,
is not filtering through to the advantage of their end customers.
ISO 9002 also insists that ANY customer complaint must be handled by
the supplier in a formal and responsible manner.
But 'my B pinks' is hardly a scientific basis & without a Certificate
of Analysis I have nothing to complain about!! All I can do is try a
different forecourt! Ever decreasing circles!!
Colin.
-----Original Message-----
From: Paul Hunt <paul.hunt1@virgin.net>
To: Colin Brown <ccbrown@whitesea.co.uk>; MGS@autox.team.net
<MGS@autox.team.net>
Date: 29 November 1999 08:56
Subject: Re: Leaded/Unleaded in the UK
|The point about Valvemaster Plus is that it is supposed to raise the
octane
|of standard unleaded to what 4-star leaded was, i.e. no retardation
|required. No ideal how the price compares.
|
|PaulH.
|
|----- Original Message -----
|From: Colin Brown <ccbrown@whitesea.co.uk>
|To: <MGS@autox.team.net>
|Sent: Saturday, November 27, 1999 3:41 PM
|Subject: Leaded/Unleaded in the UK
|
|
|Trefor sounds very Welsh, in which case you have the same problem as
|me, Hi.
|
|In my '67 B I am using the Castrol Valvemaster ( from MGOC or
|Halfords) to dope each 25 litre fill of Super Unleaded ( 98 Octane),
|but this grade costs about 5% more than regular 95 Octane Premium
|Unleaded and is not offered on all forecourts.
|( For US listers, fuel here costs about $5/US gallon, so these things
|really matter!)
|
|I challenged Castrol to justify their advertising claim that they
were
|offering a cheaper option to 4*leaded fuel ( soon to be banned), but
|they are assuming of course that we ( with MGBs) should be prepared
to
|click back our ignition timing to use 95 Oct unleaded fuel.( I am
|not!)
|
|>From another authoritative source I learn that Valvemaster+ doped
at
|25mls to 25 litres will increase Octane levels in your tank by 'one
|unit' thus contradicting the advertising claims!
|( If the effect were more dramatic than that then the petrol
|refineries themselves would be using the 'Castrol magic additive'
|instead of aromatics as an octane booster)
|In my book then I have difficulty believing all the claims and
|justifying the purchase of the more expensive Octane boosting
|grade,(Valvemaster at £6, Valvemaster+ at £10)
|Can we get a trade comment? ( anyone out there from Castrol, Octel,
|Shell etc)
|Colin
|'67B
|
|
|
|
|
|