Jonathan Pryse Posted February 21, 2019 Report Share Posted February 21, 2019 Dear all I'm picking up a 1980 Spitfire 1500 on Saturday and would be grateful for advice as to what is the best fuel/additive to use. This is my first classic car so apologies for such a simple question. Dealer said just put normal unleaded in, but I'm not so sure. The car is pretty much as new and has 33k miles on clock - just one owner. Excited and scared at the same time! All advice welcome. Best wishes Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul H Posted February 21, 2019 Report Share Posted February 21, 2019 You need premium unleaded 97 Ron or higher . I go to Tesco which Is very cost effective Paul 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted February 21, 2019 Report Share Posted February 21, 2019 try driving it on normal fuel to see if it runs without pinking (rattling sound in engine on accelerating from low revs). If ok you could just use a lead substitute additive to protect the valve seats if theyre not the hardened type and youre going to do longer, high speed driving. If pinking is a problem you'll need to either retard the ignition timing (losing a bit of power), use higher octane (RON) fuel or an octane booster (this last option comes in a combined lead additive). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD Posted February 21, 2019 Report Share Posted February 21, 2019 Welcome, Jonathan! Try with ordinary. Don't bother with lead substitute. Cars valve seats have a 'lead memory'. ( lead pounded into them for years) that goes on protecting them, until you either regrind or recut them, or else indulge in competition or prolonged motorway driving. Look up "valve seat recession" and buy a workshop manual, so you know what to look for, and what to do! John 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted February 21, 2019 Report Share Posted February 21, 2019 Im with John, dont waste money on must have addatives you dont need, so save the cash buy more 97+ drive more miles , get a bigger smile pete 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglefire Posted February 21, 2019 Report Share Posted February 21, 2019 I ran mine on 95Ron unleaded for one tank and it didn't like it - at least not at standardish timing. Ron97+ is much better and unless you do starship mileages doesn't cost a lot more! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted February 21, 2019 Report Share Posted February 21, 2019 I always say when these were built 95 2★★ was only used in side valves and motor mowers They are Designed to run on 5★★★★★ 100+ ron so get as close to that as is available , use factory settings and you get Factory performance keeps the va va room. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Pryse Posted February 21, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2019 Wow - thanks so much for all your advice. Will try on Ron 97+ and see! Thanks all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul H Posted February 21, 2019 Report Share Posted February 21, 2019 1 minute ago, Jonathan Pryse said: Wow - thanks so much for all your advice. Will try on Ron 97+ and see! Thanks all. I can normally buy Tesco Premium at the same price as Standard 95 from my local Esso station . I believe Tesco is supplied by Esso Paul 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 22, 2019 Report Share Posted February 22, 2019 Filled the Vitesse this morning with Tesco 99 Momentum at £1.20 a litre - bearing in mind the high RON value I think that's a decent price. The local Esso charges more for premium 97 than Tesco do for their 99. My Daimler is happy to run on Esso 95, but with only a few pennies difference it gets the Tesco 99. That's correct Esso do supply Tesco, as part of their long standing trade partnership. Regards. Richard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mjit Posted February 22, 2019 Report Share Posted February 22, 2019 My Spitfire prefers premium unleaded but will run OK on 95 when that's all I've been able to get. If you're considering addatives don't buy them, just put the price of a bottle in to a jar every 10 fill-ups. If (and it is only an if) you have issues with valve seat regression (basically always having to close the gap when adjusting the tappets) it will take a while to become a problem - at which point you'll have enough in the jar to pay for a recon. head with hardened (unleaded) valve seats. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglefire Posted February 22, 2019 Report Share Posted February 22, 2019 Just filled my Spitfire up. £25 and that was the good stuff from BP - I was in the wrong lane to get to Sainsbury - and I'm not sure they always have some in. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted February 22, 2019 Report Share Posted February 22, 2019 20 hours ago, Pete Lewis said: I always say when these were built 95 2★★ was only used in side valves and motor mowers Or in cars at the end of the month when pay-day was late in coming..... I used 3 star on more than one occasion in those days.... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglefire Posted February 22, 2019 Report Share Posted February 22, 2019 I remember back in the 80's thinking that if petrol got to over £1 a gallon, I'd have to think about getting rid of the car.............. That never happened. 🤣 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted February 22, 2019 Report Share Posted February 22, 2019 And unleaded is only on the exhaust seats so you only need a small bottle of change dont need a magnum !!!! Pete 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted March 5, 2019 Report Share Posted March 5, 2019 On 22/02/2019 at 13:55, classiclife said: Filled the Vitesse this morning with Tesco 99 Momentum at £1.20 a litre - bearing in mind the high RON value I think that's a decent price. The local Esso charges more for premium 97 than Tesco do for their 99. Interesting thread on Pistonheads on this - found it when I was trying to find out why we don't have 99 RON over here. https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=23&t=923761&i=0 I also did find out why I can't find any 99 RON over here: https://www.change.org/p/tesco-99-ron-for-ni Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p7rider Posted March 5, 2019 Report Share Posted March 5, 2019 mine runs fine on 95 . perhaps I should try 97 or 99 for a longer period to see if I notice an improvement Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted March 6, 2019 Report Share Posted March 6, 2019 To run on 95 you should have it retarded to stop pinking, and with that slow burn goes some loss in performance and a rise in combustion temperatures, its not at its best Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p7rider Posted March 6, 2019 Report Share Posted March 6, 2019 I've never had pinking issues with timing set to standard,( assuming the marks are correct). 4 star is such a long time ago I can't remember if I've lost performance. sometimes use an additive if doing long trips. car runs at a good temperature until I hit queues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p7rider Posted March 6, 2019 Report Share Posted March 6, 2019 That said I will now be using the higher octane stuff now I see that most people use it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted March 6, 2019 Report Share Posted March 6, 2019 In fairness its not what most use its what closest to the designed fueling the cars need If she is not pinking wit 95 you should be able to advance more with 97/99 amd get some more spirited performance Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thescrapman Posted March 7, 2019 Report Share Posted March 7, 2019 I was always told Momentum was a rebranded product from Greenergy who are down near Dartford. It gets its octane from use of ethanol and similar. All petrol come from just a couple of places, the companies just add their own additives afterwards. Most of the fuel in the South East comes from Shell Haven on the Thames, you see all the different tankers coming and going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted March 7, 2019 Report Share Posted March 7, 2019 We used to get ours from when it was piped to Buncefield nr Hemel till it all blew up one sunday morning taking schools and industral units with it we heard and felt the bang 15 miles away caused miles of devastation, Think there is still some limited supply but not like before and distribution costs went up a good few pennies per ltr.at the pumps Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 7, 2019 Report Share Posted March 7, 2019 30 minutes ago, thescrapman said: I was always told Momentum was a rebranded product from Greenergy who are down near Dartford. It gets its octane from use of ethanol and similar. All petrol come from just a couple of places, the companies just add their own additives afterwards. Most of the fuel in the South East comes from Shell Haven on the Thames, you see all the different tankers coming and going. I doubt very much Esso (who supply Momentum to Tesco) would be purchasing their fuel from a rival. There is no need for them to do so, as Esso fuel comes from the Fawley refinery in Southampton - you cannot miss it when you are out that way, it is a super massive industrial complex to say the least !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gully Posted March 8, 2019 Report Share Posted March 8, 2019 Worth noting that the other benefit of the fuel additive is the anti ethanol ingredient. Not simply octane boost and lead replacement. Nice pink plugs too 😄 Gully Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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