Can my engine run on unleaded??

[WA Euro]

Thanks for all the input guys, I think that this is well and truely wrapped up!

Another mystery solved by the VWW team.

[Edison]

Hello again peeps!
I was just wondering whether or not my engine can run on unleaded
It's a '79 cabriolet 1600 carby - original engine i think
I'm using lead substitute at the mo' because previous owner did but would rather use straight unleaded if the valve seats will take it!
Anyone know when VW started fitting hardened valve seats or if my particular engine has em?
Steve-o

You'd do well to find out first. I got poor advice about it and didn't use the lead substitute and the valves eventually froze up, it would start on 3 and later 2 cylinders until it was warm. after the lead substitute was put back in, all was fine, except any permanent wear that resulted.

Also as all fuel injected cars handbooks will tell you premium fuel offers no power or economy advantage in any car that uses a carbie. and thats car company talk, which means it's biased towards the petrol company point of view, so if there was any smidgeon of an advantage they'd sing it to high heaven.
Your cars previous owner probably found out exactly what their car needed because they had to a) pay for the substitute and b) go to the trouble of putting it in, so I'd stick to it until you know for damn certain.

[86gti]

You'd do well to find out first. I got poor advice about it and didn't use the lead substitute and the valves eventually froze up, it would start on 3 and later 2 cylinders until it was warm. after the lead substitute was put back in, all was fine, except any permanent wear that resulted.

Also as all fuel injected cars handbooks will tell you premium fuel offers no power or economy advantage in any car that uses a carbie. and thats car company talk, which means it's biased towards the petrol company point of view, so if there was any smidgeon of an advantage they'd sing it to high heaven.
Your cars previous owner probably found out exactly what their car needed because they had to a) pay for the substitute and b) go to the trouble of putting it in, so I'd stick to it until you know for damn certain.

Im guessing you might have used Normal unleaded tho????
and maybe you wont gain performance in a carby fed car..but saves running an additive. cars in Germany been running unleaded since early around the 70s

[Golf Loon]

I know you refuse to pay for premium unleaded fuel Edison, but if you did you would not need to run any additive and the car would run well on it.

All VW Watercooled engines in Australia can run on unleaded, but use 95
octane as the other stuff is designed for commondores and is not fit for a lawnmower in my opinion.

[syncro]

All VW Watercooled engines in Australia can run on unleaded, but use 95
octane as the other stuff is designed for commondores and is not fit for a lawnmower in my opinion.

Actually most of the 1,6 Golfs have probably had the head machined a few times by now and require 98. All Golfs were designed for fuel without lead, so additives were not required.

[intensem1]

Thanks for the advice guys, put premium in today and runs fine!
Will need some advice on other things when holidays arrive.

[belle]

86 your right - I was a member of rollaclub.com and according to Toyota Aus lead petrol was outlawed in Japan Feb 72! and anything above RON 95 is fine in anything from then on.

I never had a problem with my '85 rolla, until some fully sick **** rear ended me when I was giving way to an Ambo!

This is something that interests me. Same as Jap cars. They have been able to run on ULP since dinosours walked the earth. Yet all the time in the herald sun in the motoring section i see people ask the motoring "expert" what they should do with their 79 corrolla...."run an additive" he says...all the time.
bet if u e-mailed him bout a golf he would tell you the same.
Always! it annoys me! if u read most of the stuff about the cars from Germany and Japan from the old(er) days it states run 98 RON Unleaded. they have had that stuff for donkeys years!

[gldgti]

no power advantage in a carbie car? this info is a little general.

anyway, to add one more testimony -

my '77 ls 1600 runs like a DOG on 91 ULP. HATES it. its much better on e10 ULP! 95 makes it run very nicely, and its best on 98. you can get 98octane e10 from some united servo's - this seems to be the best fuel i've used in the old beast so far.

on 91 ulp i get about 100-150km less out of a tank than i do for 98... that is a get about 7.2l/100km with 98, and about 8.8l/100km with 91.....

i think that says something.

ive done 10,000km in the last 2 months.