dre (02/11/83)
Re:
With all the fuss about leaded/unleaded gasoline I would like to state
a few facts. First, unleaded gasoline does not induce any more wear
and tear than leaded gasoline, as in the case of valve wear. The cars
& cycles that were first manufactured to use unleaded gasoline also
had the appropriate engine components changed so as to no longer need
the lubrication from leaded gasoline. There are just as many engines
(if not more), still going strong after 100,000+ miles. Secondly, the
cost/octane factor, unleaded gasoline is lower in octane causing less
pop for the buck and dieseling in most large displacement engines.
Premium unleaded is more costly right now, but I suspect it will go
down in price to under regular. Why? Because premium unleaded is
made premium by adding alcohol. (Yes thats right! It's gasohol)
Remember the gasoline pumps of the fifties and early sixties? You had
regular and ethyl. Ethyl was regular with alcohol added. As the
alcohol producing plants become larger and more efficient, prices
should drop. In the vehicles I drive I've found the Premium unleaded
gives longer sparkplug life, no dieseling, no knocking/pinging at
heavy loads, and at least on my cycle about ten more miles to the
gallon. In my opinion the extra cost of premium justifies the
advantages it gives.
Timothy Lange - Freshman Engr. - Purdue University - West Lafayette, IN
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The term "ethyl" refers to the additive tetraethyl lead that was added to
premium gasoline to make it burn more slowly and evenly. This is why we
could have such high compression engines in the good ol' pre-Nader days.
Leaded premium gas contained no alcohol. I believe premium gasohol is
being marketed as "unleaded premium with ethanol" or something like that.
The lead additives definitely improve valve life, but they destroy
catalytic converters and cause some pretty nasty emissions.