Title says it all... any preferences for add-to-gasoline lead additives?
I use Brad Penn Grade 1 oil to provide for zinc for the cams.
but unsure what to use to replace the missing lead in gas.
Not driven hard but still want to make sure ..
Roger in NY

 

I drove the 54 I had for 8 years without any additives. Had no problems.

 

I've heard you only have to worry about adding lead additive if you do valve work and don't install hardened seats. I never added lead additive to my 64 98 but went through the engine after owning it for 2 or 3 years.
​​​​​

 

Add 4oz. of Marvel Mystery oil to each tank of gas.

 

It’s not necessary to use a lead additive.

 

No need for any additives. Olds engines do not have an issue with seats getting beat up.

 

Octane Supreme from kemco if you feel you need additive. It has tetraethyl lead in it, or at least used to.

…

 

Mine does not have replaced valve seats, and I want to use an additive.
Please adivse.

 

Most of the people I know that use an "additive" are using "Octane boosters" They use it to reduce ping and make power. If you want to use an "additive" to protect your valves and valve seats, use a different brand every tank full of fuel.
....Just my two cents worth.

 

If I'm reading most of the posts in this thread correctly, people are saying don't worry about it. Beyond the fact that there is no legally available tetraethyl lead replacement, there is likely no need for one. Unless you're pulling hard for extended periods of time up some steeper inclines (think towing on the interstate in a mountainous area) you're not likely to experience any significantly accelerated wear due to the use of unleaded gas.

Also there's this: unleaded gas has been the norm for over forty years. If your engine was going to have a problem with it, it would have done so by now. Further, many engines of this age have been rebuilt multiple times -- unless you're the original owner, how can you know that you DON'T have hardened seats?

Having said all that, if you feel like you have to do something, it won't hurt anything to go ahead and throw a can of MMO in with the gas every so often.
.

 

I know because I knew and bought the car from the original owner.
I use hi-octane no ethanol gas exclusively. I'm aware many say it's
not necessary to add a lead-replacement additive, but I'd prefer to
do so and I'm asking if anyone that uses one has a recommendation.

 

https://vpracingfuels.com/product/vp...leaded/?c=215&

You don't need it and the ethanol boogie man won't get you, either.

 

Good for you. That's what keeps the economy growing!

 

If you want to use a lead substitute then use Kemco Octane Supreme. It has actual lead in it.

 

Thanks for the useful suggestion oldcutlass, appreciated.

 

It used to be called "Lead Supreme" and they changed the name to "Octane Supreme" -- I would check to see if the formula still includes lead.

 

Apparently it does contain 60 mg of Tetraethyl Lead, the real thing.
Suspect they took the lead out of the name for marketing purposes.
TE lead both acts as an octane booster, the original purpose for it,
and they later discovered it's prevention of valve recession.
Just eMailed the supplier to verify that it's available to buy.
Given the cost of an engine rebuild I figure that it's cheap
insurance if nothing else.
Thanks for the tip.
Roger in NY

 

I looked for a Lucas lead additive. They make one, it's #10065. It just seems it's not available in the U.S. unless you buy it on eBay.

I buy their standard fuel treatment and put it in the fuel tank of my Ford diesel truck. Either that or a quart of ATF and she chatters less.

https://www.lucasoil.com/complete-fuel-treatment/

 

Thanks, we use that Lucas regularly in our '07 'Stang and our 2 xTerras. Good stuff.

 

Buy 5 gallons of 100 LL av gas from your local small airport. You will need to to bring your own container.

 

Is there lead in it?

 

Yes we still use it in piston sircraft engines. LL means low lead but do not let that fool you.

 

Good idea, thanks!

 

Careful here. Av gas is not taxed for the road and it could be illegal for automotive use in your area. Check your state and local rules as it may not be entirely prohibited; there may be some kind of bureaucratic work-around.

Also you need to be aware that av gas uses additives specifically intended for aviation use that may not be compatible with automobile engines.

 

The name low lead is intended to distinguish it from another grade with even more lead. What you are looking is tinted blue.

 

I ran 100LL for years in my non catalyst cars with no known downside, even better, I used to get it for free. Free Jet A in the house and it just might also have worked well in certain diesel pickups. Good to have had friends at an FBO and I was saving them disposal fees on sump fuel. Nobody would ever know if one had a few gallons of 100LL mixed in their tank, only downside is expense & inconvenience.

A funny thing is that after being spoiled with that pretty and nice smelling 100LL, I am still to this day repulsed by the smell of pump gas.

​​​​​​….

 

Ya I miss that old '60s gas smell!
Only 5 miles from the civil-air airport, may give it a try...
like Chicken soup it can[t hurt!

 

Also, in the dim reaches of my memory I recall that av gas is rated differently than automotive gas. If rated using the R + M/2 standard, the comparable octane rating would be similar to regular automotive pump gas -- around 87. So, something else to consider -- if using 100 LL you may wish to supplement with an octane booster depending on your car's compression ratio.

 

Um...... most race gas is leaded. I like the 110. Put a gallon or two per half tank is plenty. AV gas has a bunch of lead too but designed for mostly constant rpm and acceleration will suffer.

 

I had that issue addressed in an aircraft publication by the past head of Shell Fuels. It converts to around 100. It has been 20 years or more and I think his name is Ben Sclair. I will look to see if I can find.


There a red tinted av gas that is around 87. When I started flying over forty years ago we had the green avgas that was 100/130 octane. There was an even higher grade tinted purple (115/145 octane) but I never saw any myself.

 

This article should be dispositive on this issue:

https://www.shell.com/business-custo...on%20occurring.

The reason we use a lean and rich octane rating is where take off and climb to cruise altitude with a full rich mixture. When we cruise we adjust the mixture lean which is around peak or just rich of peak EGT.


When we land we manually go back to full rich just in case we have to go around which again requires full power.

 

Obviously I’m not stating from a scientific position here but the 100LL worked great in all my small engines, 70 & 71 Olds engines (hi & lo comp, all 4 bbl), 69 Camaro and my 70 LS6 LOVED it. It enabled me to stop running water injection on it.

But, the issue here is lead, not pre ignition or detonation. Mixing fuel is a nuisance, but 100LL would work, as would race gas. IF the Kemco product does indeed still have lead in it, it seems like the cheapest, easiest way to do it.

​​​​​​….

 

Be extremely careful using av gas in a car with a Rocket engine, you might find it difficult to keep it on the ground.

 

I've raced my stock c head 455 with 10.5:1 compression on Sunoco unleaded 93 with 38 degrees total advance and currently street drive it with no issues. Adding 110 octane fuel will lower your performance. I've tried it. Over octaning an engine decreases performance. The higher the octane the slower the fuel burns.

 

I found the same thing, adding race gas, maybe 50/50, not sure, slowed the car down.

​​​​​​….

 

Too much octane with not enough compression makes for a bad running engine. I wouldn't even think about doing it on a stock eng6.

 

So, a lot of people come here with less than comprehensive understanding and, when the questions are answered in a teaching way, it is not what they want to hear. At least this thread remains civil. Point being, it's not needed unless you race or do heavy pulling. In addition to the financial impact, there are some disadvantages to running lead in terms of buildup in the carb and other places (that's the white residue in the bowl). But, your choice.

 

Here's another rabbithole off the octane-requirement topic (but definitely not the lead-benefit topic) which probably doesn't merit a thread of its own, but just the same, inquiring minds want to know:

In automobile engines of recent vintage, compression ratios have risen back over 10:1, yet in most applications the manufacturers specify regular gas. I'm ***-uming this is due to sophisticated engine management software that can optimize spark advance and retard timing anytime detonation/pre-iginition is a threat.

If this is the case, I want to know if there's any benefit to be had by running higher octane gas in these modern engines. My theory is that higher octane would allow the algorithm (or whatever) to dial in more spark advance, possibly resulting in increased performance and efficiency.

Anybody out there want to point out the flaw in my logic?

 

That is exactly what the manufacturer recommends for my high performance 2006 turbocharged, intercooled engine. 91 octane minimum, with higher octane preferred. The engine management control retards timing to prevent detonation, and 87 is just too low to achieve the proper performance level.

 

Fair enough, but for garden-variety normally-aspirated engines of over 10:1 compression that are designed to run on regular, is there anything to be gained by using premium?