fuel for 88 carb turbo, (stevens), wiper motor

[pauli]

hi all,

well just about there with the car now except windsreen wiper motor has now gone GGGGGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRR well can you tell me the correct fuel to put in my car, the guy i brought it from said unleaded? just want to make sure this is correct before i burn an engine out.
Also any easy way to replace the windsreen wiper motor, how to would be good.


thanks

[lotusguy]

pauli said:

hi all, well just about there with the car now except windsreen wiper motor has now gone GGGGGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRR well can you tell me the correct fuel to put in my car, the guy i brought it from said unleaded? just want to make sure this is correct before i burn an engine out. Also any easy way to replace the windsreen wiper motor, how to would be good. thanks

Pauli,

Sorry to hear about your wiper motor, not one of the more enviable repairs on the Esprit. Not really difficult overall, but lots of contortion (Lotus position) and skinned knuckles due to the tight spaces. On the bright side, there's only one and you'll add lots of new words to your vocabulary! It will help to pull the driver's seat for slightly better access.

So far as fuel is concerned, yes, you want unleaded, at least 92 octane RON to prevent detonation, no knock sensor on the pre-GM cars. Also, a regular fuel nozzle won't fit into the fuel filler, so you really have little choice.
Happy Motoring! ...Jim'85TE

[pauli]

hi Jim,

thanks for the reply, i`m gonna tackle the motor today. With regards to fuel is there any petrol station that may be recomended e.g b.p etc.... as i don`t know if all the fuels are the same octaine across the board, or wether they differ slightly.

many thanks

[lotusguy]

pauli said:

hi Jim, thanks for the reply, i`m gonna tackle the motor today. With regards to fuel is there any petrol station that may be recomended e.g b.p etc.... as i don`t know if all the fuels are the same octaine across the board, or wether they differ slightly. many thanks

Pauli,

All the petrol you'll buy in your area is most likely to be produced in bulk by a single refinery and so is essentially the same. But, there are generic as well as proprietary additives used in the various brands. These are further distinguished by the concentrations and combinations of the various additives. Many of these are simply marketing oriented.

More important is the retailer where you purchase your fuel. You want one which is pretty busy and so re-stocks their tanks regularly. This is important because the fuel is fresh, the tanks are constantly purged of contaminates and have less potential for consequential water which migrates into the tanks as vapor and condenses in the fuel. Also, there are many unscrupulous dealers out there-BEWARE! There is one in my neighborhood whom I have actually seen adding water to their tanks from a garden hose! A couple hundred gallons of water in a 20,000 gal. tank will be unoticeable to the average ford, honda or buick (the ecu will compensate) and with the high price of fuel these days, it's like pumping extra $$ into the ground. Do the math, it's like found money, albeit illegal and unethical.

Choose a name brand fuel from a busy station and you'll be fine. If you notice the car operating better on a particular brand (and remember BP fuel from 'X' location is significantly different from BP fuel from 'Y' location supplied by a different refinery), stick with that. If the car runs fine that's it, there is no magic fuel which will increase the engine's performance beyond it's design limits, the key is to find one which allows the engine to come as close to this designed performance as possible.
Happy Motoring! ...Jim'85TE

[Dr.Hess]

pauli:
Please give us a description on how your R&R goes on the wiper motor. Far as I know, there is no detailed description on the net.
I have a report that the wiper motor for Stevens cars _might_ be the same as a TR7, and that G body cars use a TR7 wiper motor. Any part numbers you can get from your old or new motors would be helpful as well. Thanks.

Dr.Hess

[pauli]

hi,

thanks for the help, one last question about fuel, do i use straight unleaded or super unleaded?
Well off for the m.o.t in the morning, won`t need any luck with it passing as i have just added up the rebuild costs and we are hitting £14k, i am a true Lotus fan, always will be.


once again thankyou

Pauli

[Dr.Hess]

Super unleaded/Premium.

Dr.Hess

[superdave]

Hi there, the carb turbo can safely run of 95 octane unleaded. However, when I owned my carb turbo I alwasy put superunleaded 97 octane or Optimax. You don't have to but it's a beeter fuel. Lotus cars say that 95 octane is fine.
I see you are having problems with your car. If you need to speak to me then my mobile is 0771 775 0453


Cheers,



Dave Walters