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From: haapanen@watdcsu.UUCP (Tom Haapanen [DCS])
Newsgroups: net.auto,net.consumers
Subject: Re: No Leaded Gas -- Now What?
Message-ID: <1092@watdcsu.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 9-Mar-85 12:58:49 EST
Article-I.D.: watdcsu.1092
Posted: Sat Mar  9 12:58:49 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 10-Mar-85 06:04:20 EST
References: <132@ucbcad.UUCP> <147@tove.UUCP> <168@osiris.UUCP>
Reply-To: haapanen@watdcsu.UUCP (Tom Haapanen [DCS])
Organization: U of Waterloo, Ontario
Lines: 85
Xref: watmath net.auto:6013 net.consumers:1955

In article <168@osiris.UUCP> phil@osiris.UUCP (Philip Kos) writes:

>>> Well, now that the EPA is actually cracking down on leaded gas, let's be
>>> realistic and assume that soon (too soon) there will be no leaded gas
>>> available at all.  What do I do with my wonderful old '68 VW Ghia that is
>>> so cheap, reliable, fun to drive (it's not quite stock!), etc?  Replace
>>> the valves and run on unleaded?  Find gas additives?  Sell it quick?

I wish I had an answer.  I'm selling mine, not due to the lead
reduction, but it does happen to be an opportune time.  Still, I'll
miss it...

>>RELAX!  As I understand it, the only purpose of putting lead into gas is to
>>raise the octane rating--and one can do that without using lead.  I think
>>EPA is to be commended for taking this step.

EPA is not to be commended for anything.  I think they need a head on
their shoulders but they haven't found one with small enough brains
yet.  Cars are not the largest contributor to air pollution today, but
they *are* an easy target for EPA and that's why we get hit.  However,
they could have just clamped down on new cars and allowed those of us
running older cars to keep running them on leaded gas.

>	4.  One of the main arguments for keeping leaded gasoline around
>	  is that the lead helps lubricate the valves.  I don't believe
>	  that the people who ran unleaded through their high-compression,
>	  high-rpm MGA Twincam engines in 1961 had any trouble with valves
>	  from not having any lead in their gas.  An argument could possi-
>	  bly be made that a box-stock 1943 Chrysler inline 6 will last
>	  longer if it burns leaded regular, but how many box-stock 1943
>	  Chrysler inline 6's have you driven today?  Well over 99% of
>	  the engines still running today will run just fine on unleaded
>	  gas.

I don't buy the 99% figure.  There are a *lot* of first-generation
Volkswagens still around, as well as Corvairs and older Porsches.
Even the VW Vanagons of only a few years back had the air-cooled
engines (the new ones come with the Wasserboxer engines).  All of
these cars have engines that run much hotter than a modern
water-cooled engine and thus require the added lubrication of the lead
additives.  In addition to these cars, many of the older water-cooleds
still need the lead as well.  I believe that the number of cars
requiring lead is probably around 5%.

>	5.  Today's unleaded regular does tend to have a lower octane
>	  rating than (yesterday's?) leaded regular.  This is because of
>	  the economic considerations (see point 1).  It is quite possible
>	  to make unleaded gas with an octane rating equivalent to regular
>	  leaded, or even higher - see most gasoline stations for examples
>	  of this.  This "unleaded premium", however, is _not_ the equal of
>	  the old-fashioned leaded premium, which is a point that a lot of
>	  people have been trying to make.  Unleaded gas of a sufficiently
>	  high octane just is not commercially available at this time.
>	  This leaves many people with older high-compression engines out
>	  in the cold, as it were.  This is also why people have been mixing
>	  gas for some few years now.

So I will be able to take a, say, 1980 Rabbit, which now uses leaded
gas, to a gas station and buy premium unleaded and get the same octane
rating as from leaded regular.  This is truly wonderful (thanks EPA!)
as it'll only cost mne 10% more than the leaded gas would have.  Not
to mention those high-compression engines (with ratios around 10.0)
who will not likely be able to run anything except aviation gas
without engine mods to reduce compression.

>	7.  There are octane boosters which do not use tet. lead for their
>	  kick.  These, I believe, mostly use some mixture of methanol and
>	  xylene, with maybe some other stuff thrown in - I'm not an organic
>	  chemist, so don't quote me on the exact recipes.  It is also poss-
>	  ible to get straight tet. lead to put in your gas, but handle
>	  VERY carefully as this stuff is quite hazardous.  That's why the
>	  EPA is cracking down.  (You couldn't pay me enough money to make
>	  me want to handle a jug of tet. lead octane booster.)

This may yet become a big business, with gas stations getting yet
another chance to rip off the consumer by selling gas additives which
boost the octane rating and/or lubrication.


				   \tom haapanen
				   watmath!watdcsu!haapanen
Don't cry, don't do anything
No lies, back in the government
No tears, party time is here again
President Gas is up for president		 (c) Psychedelic Furs, 1982