LRP instead of Unleaded? What happens?

N9eav

What happens if I put LRP in my 1.3 fiesta instead of Unleaded? A village garage nearby has LRP left in it's tanks and it's selling for 79p a litre. Bargain, but not if it screws up my cat and engine?

Myosin

i don't know the reason but i've been told by many different people that although you could use leaded fuel in unleaded cars, you CAN'T use LRP for unleaded vehicles.

don't know why this is, possibly something to do with additives? maybe someone can give the reason...

Anyway, N9eav, hope this helps you not screw up your Fiesta :D:D

N9eav

What about putting it in my lawn mower or Rotavator?

BobToo

It won't hurt your engine at all, either in the car or garden machinery. It might hurt your cat, I don't know. I always understood that the lead in 4* was the problem but I don't know if LRP has something else that will destroy the cat.

tonys_3

Why on earth are you even thinking about this?The maximum saving you can make is
around 50p per gallon.Say you manage to use 20 gallons before the lrp is sold out,you will have saved £10.
Aganst that,you may damage the cat or the valve seatings or the engine.

N9eav

It's 90p a gallon cheaper. I would not use it. I just wondered what the difference was, and why you could'nt use it. I mean petrol is petrol is'nt it? A lorry can burn chip fat and parafin, so why can't a car use LRP?

Altarf

Lead replacement petrol (LRP) is 97-octane (super) unleaded petrol with an additive to replace the lead. 4 star leaded petrol that LRP was replacing was 97 octane, unleaded is 95.

Your car can run on it, but the additives may damage the catalyst. I wouldn't bother risking it unless your car is not long for this world.

GabbaGabbaHey

Myosin wrote:

i've been told by many different people that although you could use leaded fuel in unleaded cars,

Are you sure that this is what you mean?! Cars which require Unleaded fuel normally have a catalytic converter ("cat") which can be destroyed by even a small amount (i.e., les than one tank) of Leaded fuel. Cats are not cheap to replace (think many hundreds of pounds!)

Cars which are designed to run on Leaded fuel, on the other hand, are unlikely to be damaged by a small amount of Unleaded fuel. They rely on the Lead to provide a degree of lubrication, but some cars have hardened valve seats and even though originally designed to run on Leaded fuel can run quite happily on Unleaded fuel with no ill effects (e.g., late 80's Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2).

paul_h

N9eav wrote:

Whhat about my 2 stroke mower, strimmer and rotavator. Can I use cheap LRP

If I remember, most mowers etc. used to run best on 2 star, which is a similar octane rating to premium unleaded (standard stuff), hence they run best on UL. As there's no catalytic converter, the potassium additive in LRP won't do any harm, but the high octane rating may make it a bit too rich - may make the engine overheat and "pink" (metallic knocking sound caused by incorrect ignition timing).

I'm tight, so I'd try it to see if it runs OK

As for cars, if it's an older car with no catalytic converter fitted, it will be OK. However, don't try putting LRP in a car with a CC, it WILL damage the CC. The potassium additive is just as damaging to the CC as lead.

Donaldiesel

If your car is the type that will be damaged by the LRP then you wont be able to fill up anyway. Cars needing unleaded fuel have a smaller filler hole. The LRP pump nozzle wont fit in.

Pinking occurs if the fuel is too low an octane rating for the engine. If the octane rating is higher than the engine is optimised for then the additional energy available in the fuel will not be utilised. So no problems for the two stroke lawnmower provided the LRP is mixed with oil as required. You may do yourself more harm by breathing the LRP additives combustion products in the exhaust.

Regards,
Donaldiesel