What fuel do you use in your classic

What fuel do you use in your classic

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Discussion

dpp

Original Poster:

221 posts

138 months

Friday 16th September 2016
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I always try and use Shell V Max in my classics and although i have no scientific proof i feel they run better on this than supermarket fuel so always pay the extra few quid and travel slightly further for my fuel.

Im interested to know what you use and your opinions on differant fuels ie supermarket and premium price fuels as i will be moving soon and it will be 35 miles to the nearest Shell station and my only local options both about 10 miles away will be a Morrisons or Esso station.

Poisson96

2,098 posts

130 months

Friday 16th September 2016
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Mine is happy with BP, Shell, Esso, Texaco, Jet, Gulf but hates Tesco, runs with half power etc on it

thebraketester

14,193 posts

137 months

Friday 16th September 2016
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Half the power? :-/

Poisson96

2,098 posts

130 months

Friday 16th September 2016
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It felt a hell of a lot slower, struggled with hills and returned 16 mpg v the 40 it usually returns

PositronicRay

26,959 posts

182 months

Friday 16th September 2016
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Depends on the car/engine. I found I could run a little more advance using posh petrol in a 1725 Sunbeam, not sure about MPG, irrelevant on a car only doing 1000 mpa. Seemed to pull better on hills, but maybe just a placebo.

A series in a Midget would run on anything.

I've never noticed any difference between brands. I managed to put some real cheapo stuff in my SL while in France (not sure of the octane maybe 2CV fuel?) the car felt sluggish until I found some 95ron to top with. (or maybe it was just me being nervous of the stuff)

Edited by PositronicRay on Friday 16th September 07:23

TR4man

5,208 posts

173 months

Friday 16th September 2016
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I run my cars on Tesco Momentum.

No real reason other than the placebo effect.

finishing touch

808 posts

166 months

Friday 16th September 2016
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I too use Tesco Momentum, but now realise the error of my ways.

I could be driving a 360 BHP supercar. coolwink

austin

1,274 posts

202 months

Friday 16th September 2016
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I run mine (1930 Austin 7 & 1968 Morris 1000) on Super grade, mainly because it has less bio ethanol in it so doesn't "go off" after two weeks.

Morris has 1275 engine in it and seems to go better on it, may just be my mind playing tricks though.

The old car (& lawnmowers) wouldn't start with normal petrol if it was a couple of weeks old. New fuel and start first time.

Price is almost irrelevant as the mileage is so low.

TooMany2cvs

29,008 posts

125 months

Friday 16th September 2016
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If it ain't pinking on 95, there's no benefit from 97/98/99.

3200gt

2,727 posts

223 months

Friday 16th September 2016
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austin said:
mainly because it has less bio ethanol in it so doesn't "go off" after two weeks.
Not classic cars but 70's Jap mc's. If I use supermarket stuff after 2 or 3 weeks standing I have to spray a squirt of carb cleaner in the air intake to get them to fire up. If I use premium Vmax or whatever I can leave them over winter and they will start first go.

Unless you are running it very regularly and filling every week or so I wouldn't touch supermarket fuels.

SamR380

725 posts

119 months

Friday 16th September 2016
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TooMany2cvs said:
If it ain't pinking on 95, there's no benefit from 97/98/99.
That's the theory I use. Costco's best 95 in my Scimitar, although I am getting through a (90 litre) tank a week at the moment.

Slidingpillar

761 posts

135 months

Friday 16th September 2016
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austin said:
I run mine (1930 Austin 7 & 1968 Morris 1000) on Super grade, mainly because it has less bio ethanol in it so doesn't "go off" after two weeks.
Unless the Austin 7 is hugely tweaked and bears little relation to a 1920s engine design, that will have seen pool petrol in its time. Absolutely dreadful quality and an octane rating of about 6 (joke). Block the breather hole in the fuel cap when you leave it, if you must, but I doubt the fuel is going off after two weeks unless you have a seriously moist garage. Or your local filling station tanks are seriously compromised.

Plus, Google Cleveland Discol. Ethanol in petrol is nothing new.

I disagree with the idea of adding ethanol for 'green' reasons (as it's not) but I'm getting fed up of some of the stuff talked about it. And I've only an A level in chemistry.

TooMany2cvs

29,008 posts

125 months

Friday 16th September 2016
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Slidingpillar said:
Plus, Google Cleveland Discol. Ethanol in petrol is nothing new.

I disagree with the idea of adding ethanol for 'green' reasons (as it's not) but I'm getting fed up of some of the stuff talked about it. And I've only an A level in chemistry.
And let's not forget that Super is still E5 - 5% ethanol, same as 95.

Faust66

2,028 posts

164 months

Friday 16th September 2016
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I always try to use Shell V-Max in my Amazon… with a dose of Millers ethanol protect/valve guard/octane booster. At a pinch I'll use other fuels, but I always seem to go back to Shell as it just seems 'better' for the good old 2 litre lump in my car.

I believe that as older engines were designed to work on the old Full Fat 4 star fuel, slopping in supermarket pish 95 octane won't let them run at their full potential. 95 fuel may be fine for longer runs, but in stop-start town driving, my car is noticeably less economical and just doesn't seem to run as happily (for example in 2 gear turning left of a main road at 10 ish mph: 'weaker' fuel makes the car 'sutter' a bit - don't get this on Shell).

I also won't touch Tesco fuel as I had an issue my old XR4x4 a few years back. 2.9 V6 and I was having to change down to third gear to get up the steeper bits of the A30 in Cornwall! Filled her up with V-Max (or whatever it was called back then) and it felt like a swapped for a twin turbo version! Never, ever used Tesco fuel since that day…

austin

1,274 posts

202 months

Friday 16th September 2016
quotequote all
Slidingpillar said:
austin said:
I run mine (1930 Austin 7 & 1968 Morris 1000) on Super grade, mainly because it has less bio ethanol in it so doesn't "go off" after two weeks.
Unless the Austin 7 is hugely tweaked and bears little relation to a 1920s engine design, that will have seen pool petrol in its time. Absolutely dreadful quality and an octane rating of about 6 (joke). Block the breather hole in the fuel cap when you leave it, if you must, but I doubt the fuel is going off after two weeks unless you have a seriously moist garage. Or your local filling station tanks are seriously compromised.

Plus, Google Cleveland Discol. Ethanol in petrol is nothing new.

I disagree with the idea of adding ethanol for 'green' reasons (as it's not) but I'm getting fed up of some of the stuff talked about it. And I've only an A level in chemistry.
It is a Stuart Rolt built racing engine so is a tad off "standard" smile Garage is dry.

I'm just stating what my experience has been. If you want to come and try and start the car after it's been standing for a month or so with standard fuel be my guest. It won't start. Same with lawnmowers.

Add new fuel and it goes first time, every time.

Put the old standard fuel in the modern car and it doesn't seem to complain.

Riley Blue

20,915 posts

225 months

Friday 16th September 2016
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Poisson96 said:
It felt a hell of a lot slower, struggled with hills and returned 16 mpg v the 40 it usually returns
In your Minor? Difficult to believe a tankful of Tesco fuel could do that. I'll ask my mates who have Minors what they use when I see them next month.

Slidingpillar

761 posts

135 months

Friday 16th September 2016
quotequote all
austin said:
It is a Stuart Rolt built racing engine so is a tad off "standard" smile Garage is dry.

I'm just stating what my experience has been. If you want to come and try and start the car after it's been standing for a month or so with standard fuel be my guest. It won't start. Same with lawnmowers.
Ah, a 2016 engine with 1930 castings... Explains the octane issue if nothing else. 'Super' is of course higher octane to start with, so any engine that is supremely sensitive to octane degradation will be happier with it.

My lawnmower starts first pull of the cord after a winters rest. Hole not blocked in the fuel tank, nor any fancy additives.

austin

1,274 posts

202 months

Friday 16th September 2016
quotequote all
Slidingpillar said:
austin said:
It is a Stuart Rolt built racing engine so is a tad off "standard" smile Garage is dry.

I'm just stating what my experience has been. If you want to come and try and start the car after it's been standing for a month or so with standard fuel be my guest. It won't start. Same with lawnmowers.
Ah, a 2016 engine with 1930 castings... Explains the octane issue if nothing else. 'Super' is of course higher octane to start with, so any engine that is supremely sensitive to octane degradation will be happier with it.

My lawnmower starts first pull of the cord after a winters rest. Hole not blocked in the fuel tank, nor any fancy additives.
Built in the 80s so before the really modern cranks, rods etc, now in the road car.

Same thing happened in the standard, (apart from change to SU) engined Chummy though (and the lawnmowers).

As I say the problem doesn't happen any more now I use super grade.

I have read that different areas of the country get different mixes of fuel? Sounds like you are lucky at the moment.

droopsnoot

11,817 posts

241 months

Friday 16th September 2016
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I generally use standard unleaded, either from the local Sainsburys/Morrisons or, if I don't feel like taking it into town (usually because it's a Friday and I don't fancy the busy roads) I've been buying some Esso recently. The local Esso garage is quite a bit dearer than the supermarkets though. I did try it on super unleaded a few times but didn't see any noticeable difference. If I was passing a Shell station I'd probably get some of that, especially as at least one local Shell station is as cheap as the local supermarkets, but the trouble is that local station is roughly a 20-mile round trip.

Allan L

779 posts

104 months

Friday 16th September 2016
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I agree with the implication that there seems to be a lot of trouble which is wrongly attributed to "modern fuel" and I think we've been there before. Further there is no benefit to be had by using a fuel of greater octane than the engine requires: if you want to benefit from the use of "Super" increase the CR to match!
To a lesser extent I did that in the early 1980s when I was overhauling the 1938 engine of my Lea-Francis. The worst fuel available then was 92RON (two star) but when the car was new it got a special 7½ to 1 CR which was the most the fuel of the day would support.
I shall also say that my 1912 Mors isn't used as much as it should be, but can always be started after even quite a long inactive period (and that's hand-starting, not the new-fangled electrics!) as can/could various mowers and of course the Lea-Francis. It is tempting to claim that the Mors functions better now that it doesn't have to put up with the leaded fuel that it wasn't designed for, but there was a period when the original post-lead octane enhancer used gave trouble. Better now, thanks.

Edited by Allan L on Friday 16th September 12:01