Running 1992 CE230 on super unleaded - any benefits?

[philcray]

I have had my 99,000 mile 1992 CE230 for over 4 years and put around 45,000 pretty much trouble free miles on it.

Recently it has become more reluctant to start and needs a few extra revs to get it going, once running it ticks over fine although can drop to around 500rpm which feels low but it does not usually stall. As it is an early unleaded model, apparently fuel was richer in those days and my mechanic suggested it might be worth trying it on super unleaded. I filled it up yesterday and i have to say that the initial difference in performance was very noticeable.

However this morning it was more reluctant to start than usual and needed revs just to get it to fire although it then ran fine.

My questions are has anyone else used super unleaded on a similar vintage vehicle and is it likley to make any difference, for better or worse?

Cheers

Phil

[Pentoman]

No difference.
On your model I think you'll find there's a switch under the bonnet marked 1-7 with an S and a N. S means 95 octane fuel and is as high as it will go. Anything higher is not taken advantage of by the timing of the engine. It should be in the manual. this is assuming you have a M102 8valve not the later 16v model.

[philcray]

Cheers, I will investigate that. It is a 1992 230 8 Valve engine, I think the later CE's had a 220 which may have been 16 valve.

It definitely needs a few revs now to get it going which it didn't before this tank of super, but that may just be coincidence as it was getting more reluctant to hold a tick over directly from starting. The good news though is that it seems to tick over nicely once it is running!