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Fuel Question from newbie

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jerrybny

jerrybny

Jedi Knight
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Hi, I recently purchased a 73 TR6. My question concerns the usage of unleaded premium gas. Should I use a lead additive and if so can someone recommend a brand that is good and how often I should add it. I don't know if the heads where ever changed to the ones with harden valves, etc. Should I worry about using unleaded gas.

Thanks in advance to all who answer.
Jerry the TR6 newbie
 
1st things 1st! Welcome to the Forum. Just make sure you use Premium Unleaded and you will be fine! I bought a 74 TR6 in July and I've put on 5,000 miles and I haven't had a problem using Premiun Unleaded Gas!
 
Welcome to the forum. I use STP lead additive with 87 octane unleaded regular and have no problem. If you don't have valves compatible with unleaded fuel....over time you can get pitting and corrosion from what I've heard. It's better to be safe than sorry. So far STP lead additive has worked well for me. I don't believe you need to use higher octane fuels unless you hear major league pinging.
 
Aloha Jerry,

I'll go along with Rick. You can go for some time with unleaded fuel before a valve problem will develop and then alot depends on how long, often and hard you drive the car. As long as the engine is not pinging or pinking, a lower octane fuel is ok. The relead additives sometimes can add to engine fouling. It was recommended to me, that if I used relead, not use it more often than every other refill. I stopped using the relead additive, and as I recall, about 8 to 10 years later, I had the head rebuilt on the TR3A because of a burnt exhaust valve.

Safety Fast,
Dave
 
Lead substitutes will NOT foul the engine as long as you follow directions. I'd rather use lead substitutes than have valve damage. It's the old axiom, of pay a little now, or a lot later. I disagree with the other 2 chaps, and will stick stedfast by the use of lead substitutes on 87 octane fuel for every fillup, when done in accordance with directions.
 
Welcome! and congratulations on your TR6; for many the definitive Triumph. Keep us posted!
 
Howdy Jerry,

Welcome aboard, and hope you find our little corner of the universe fun and helpful. I would say don't worry about the lead additive, unless you are planing to be putting on alot of miles. Also you can always have stainless steel valves put in at a later date.

Cheers,
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Walter
 
Jerry--Welcome to our corner of the Web. Valve seat recession should not be a concern of yours unless you plan on putting tons of miles on the car (25K a year or so). If you find yourself having to readjust your valves more frequently, that could be a sign of recession, so watch for that. Otherwise, save your $$ and fill-up with regular unleaded as long as that doesn't cause detonation (pinging). Don't bother with the lead substitutes.

Rick O.
72 TR6
 
There was a reason lead was banned. I didn't want to be handling it all the time. I ran my motor for a number of years on reg. unleaded. Did the upgrade when I finally did a rebuild without any problems.

[ 02-28-2004: Message edited by: 64Spitfire ]</p>
 
Congratulations on the new TR6. There is no doubt that if the hardened valve seats are not in the head, that not using additive will eventually cause seat recession. That is, the valve will grind its way into the seats, and you'll no longer be able to get a good adjustment. This will be evidenced by a rough idle (one of many causes for that, however). You can use additive or not, as you wish. Someone above mentioned a burned valve; that cannot have been caused by lack of additive, as valves burn from heat, not grinding. As to octane, all that is, is a measure of the resistance to ignition. The higher the octane number, the harder it is to light off. Our engines have such low compression, that the lowest octane available is just fine. The more expensive stuff will certainly have all sorts of detergents, and may be fresher, and may come from a tank with less water in it, but is not any better than the cheapest stuff you can find in regards to valve recession.
 
<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Paul Johnson:
Congratulations on the new TR6. There is no doubt that if the hardened valve seats are not in the head, that not using additive will eventually cause seat recession. <hr></blockquote>
Paul,
I don't quite agree. The "eventually" part is actually very long. For a little different perspective on the subject see these references;
https://www.vtr.org/maintain/valve-seats.html
https://www.team.net/html_arc/healeys/200402/msg00003.html
D
 
I agree with Paul. Lead additives wouldn't even be marketed unless there was a use(need) for them. Unless leaded and unleaded are both the same, (which they are not), you need the additive. Numerous articles have been written about this, and I have never seen any article that just said ignore it, don't use the additive. In my opinion, don't use it if you want to risk eventual damage. Use it if you want to avoid risking damage. It's really that simple. From some of the above statements, it's stated that any damage would be way far down the road....well, that's still damage that's going to need to be fixed somewhere down the road.
Oh, by the way, you don't have to handle the stuff, just pour it in your tank. Wear latex gloves if you're concerned. It's as simple as pouring in carb cleaner.
 
<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Steven:
Lead additives wouldn't even be marketed unless there was a use(need) for them.<hr></blockquote>

If that were true, there would only be a fraction of the items for sale as there are now!
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not sure just what you meant by your response Mark. The point is..lead additives ARE useful, and that's why companies put research and development dollars into producing them and marketing them. Anyway, if you guys who don't believe in the stuff want to take risks...go ahead and do it. I'm just saying that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure I guess. Either that, or I'd rather be safe than sorry.
 
The information which prodded me to use lead additive was in a publication from 6pak...a TR6 group. No company came knocking on my door trying to scare me into buying unecessary products. It only makes sense to me that it IS a necessary product for the following reasons:
1. TR6's were manufactured to run on LEADED fuel
2. Fuel today is no longer leaded(due to environmental freaks and their misplaced concern about automobile exhaust being the primary polluter of the atmosphere, when industrial pollution is the real problem.)
3. Lead is needed for the valves
4. Lead additive is a replacement for the missing lead and helps protect the valves.

I suppose you feel that fuel additives and carb and injector cleaners are a waste of money too.
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I agree with Steve,if you own a Triumph you should use every additive on the market!
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Do I sense a note of sarcasm????????? From a healy guy??? Don't make me come over there and challenge you to a race. Don't even.
 
<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Steven:

I suppose you feel that fuel additives and carb and injector cleaners are a waste of money too.
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<hr></blockquote>
-- Yup --
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