Ebay fuel catalyst flannel?

[Lankytim]

cgi.ebay.co.uk/AUSTIN-A40-RUN-ON-NORMAL-95-UNLEADED-PETROL-UP-TO1500CC_W0QQitemZ180307737322QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM?hash=item180307737322&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A4|65%3A10|39%3A1|240%3A1318

Sorry, I don't know which part of the addy I need!

Basically its a bag of metal pellets that go inside the fuel tank and enable an old car to run on unleaded without the assosiated problems. Its got to be a load of bull, but does anybody know anything about the claim it was developed by the RAF to reduce knocking claim?

[autohausdolby]

It's plums I'm afraid.

Run it on unleaded until you have a problem, then sort the head - A-series unleaded heads are buttons now anyway aren't they?

[jrevillug]

Utter utter wibblepoo.

One of the classic car mags tested these a while back on a car with a B-series engine. It had died from valve-seat recession within 3000 (fairly gentle) miles.

So avoid like the plague. They might get away with selling ti to some car owners (Rover V8 engined cars for example, but if they sell one to someone with old brit Iron then it'll just die).

James

EDIT - the A series will die very quickly on straight unleaded, I'm afraid. Although you might be ok, with all that diesel in your fuel.

[Lankytim]

Yep they are cheap, my allegro has an E series engine though! I use castrol valvemaster fuel additive, its meant to be the best stuff to use apparently. Probably cheaper just to let the valve seats erode and whack on a used head every every 5 years or so.

[autohausdolby]

Even a pricey engineering shop shouldn't cost more than a couple of hundred sheets to wap some hardened seats in a used head for you surely?

I know that's irrelevent if you don't have that much or don't want to spend it on the car mind

[<Type desired username here>]

They do work! I fitted one, along with my electric supercharger, magnetic fuel lines, Powertec valve and 99p Mod chip!






Right then! Ha ha!
I'd use lead substitute until I had to take the head off then get valve seats or an unleaded head.

[Lewis]

Lead pellets introduced into fuel tanks or lines are practically insoluble in petrol, and thus the lead content of the petrol, which results from temporary contact with the pellets is, in effect, nothing.

So it won't do anything.

[Rich606]

The fuel catalyst is a tin amalgam and follows very closely to the original Royal Air Force receipe which was developed to combat poor quality and low octane fuel.

That'd be solder then...
Those adverts are so full of Bullplop it's hard to know where to start picking holes

[scaryoldcortina]

can I add that the tetraethyl lead they put into petrol is totally not the same as (as stated, practically insoluble) metallic lead? Yay for snake oil.. DT, I would have believed you, but everyone KNOWS you need a hydrolysis kit to really make that lot work....lol

My usual solution is... run car on unleaded. if it causes a valve seat problem (not allowed to say recession.....) then have hardened seats fitted.
If it doesnt, don't.

[jrevillug]

(not allowed to say recession.....)

LOL - literally.

[dubzi]

[akku]

indeed, the money you save not using this cack you can put towards getting the heads done properly. I just use straight unleaded. On an older head which has done plenty of miles the exhaust seats will be a bit work-hardened anyway and may survive without problem. The issue comes if you have a nice refurbished head with recut/relapped valve seats. Thats why the PC Austin 1800 burned its valves so quickly, they had lapped the valves to zero to get an accurate "start" reading so they were in soft metal. If they had used a 100,000 mile head untouched then they may have run OK on unleaded for much longer. But no thanks to the snake oil...