Lead replacement additive

[BearKat]

Hi Guys,
       perhaps you can tell me from your vast experience which additive is proving to be the best, there is quite a difference in prices,(are we  paying for the name)?
                      Regards,
                                 

                            Gordon.

[bikerbob]

Hi there. I have used Castrol Valvoline ever since it came out in my Gold Flash I also use it in my A65. I did run the flash for about a year without using any additive and took the head off just to check it and there was no problem with the valves but decided to continue using it as a precaution.  I did also read somewhere that if you use an additive you should stick to the same brand as using different brands can cause problems because of their different chemical makeup.

[Cider1]

Hi Gordon
I use Castrol Valvemaster Plus. This is a lead replacement and octane improved. I've found Castrol to be the most economical because you only use 1 ml to 1 litter.  One bottle will probably last all year.  I agree With bikerbob that you can't mix different brands.
Cheers
Frank. 

[BearKat]

Thanks Bob & Frank,
              i will follow your advice, i seem to remember useing the same some years ago in my MGM ROADSTER,but the memory ain,t so good these days,
                                       Thanks again,
                                          Gordon.

[rockthedog]

Hi Guys,
       perhaps you can tell me from your vast experience which additive is proving to be the best, there is quite a difference in prices,(are we  paying for the name)?
                      Regards,
                                 

                            Gordon.

HI GORDON i have had a fuel cat stick in my tank for the last 3 years and coverd over 12,000 miles with no probs, cost me £15.00 mal.

[bikerbob]

HI there made a mistake with my post it is Castrol Valvemaster not Valvoline I think they do 2 types Valvemaster and Valvemaster Plus I use  Valvemaster. While we are on the subject of additives anyone using the additive to combat the  corrosive effects of Ethanol. It can be obtained from www.frost.co.uk for £12.00. but it does not combat all the effects of Ethanol but can be used inconjunction with Lead Replacement Additives. If the government keep changing fuel we will end using more addtives than petrol.

[Goldy]

Talking about this at a recent bike meet some use Castrol Valvemaster and others use nothing. The ones using valvemaster say they don,t have any problems but then the ones using nothing say exactly the same.

[BearKat]

Rockthedog!!,well you rocked my memory,its some years since i used an additive and my brain kicked in as i read your mail.the one i used ,was the cat stick,consisting of 4/5 discs in a sack that is dropped into the tank and guarantees 100,000 miles, of course i never proved that, but my motor run sweet with no related problems for some years, i have now ordered one for each bike,
                              Thanks Guys,
                                     Gordon.

[rockthedog]

Rockthedog!!,well you rocked my memory,its some years since i used an additive and my brain kicked in as i read your mail.the one i used ,was the cat stick,consisting of 4/5 discs in a sack that is dropped into the tank and guarantees 100,000 miles, of course i never proved that, but my motor run sweet with no related problems for some years, i have now ordered one for each bike,
                              Thanks Guys,
                                     Gordon.

hi gordon i have not had any problems with the cat stick, and 3 of my mates have them in there classic and running sweet you can get them from ebay cheers rockthedog

[kiwipom]

hi guys, not wanting to put the CAT among the pigeons i was mildly interested in "FuelCat" untill i did some research. One article says that it is a SCAM with some interesting arguments also alloy heads have hardened valve seats and do not need an additive for protection. Not wanting to rubbish the product on one article and noting some members actually use this product it would be usefull to hear others opinions,cheers

[iansoady]

Some years ago when unleaded first came out I was running a Triumph Stag as my daily driver (alloy head with inserts). I decide to just run it on unleaded with no additives or anything else but check the clearances regularly and they didn't move over 20,000 miles.

The FBHVC ran some tests on a BMC A series engine and did find valve seat recession on that (cast iron head) and IIRC Valvemaster was one of the few magic potions that worked.

The tin and other metal things (Broquet etc) you put in the petrol tank are no more than snake oil.

[bsa-bill]

I'm in agreement with iansoady

I use Valvemaster plus and have had no recession issues woth the Flash (iron head), My RGF has an alloy head with unleaded valve seats but I still put a bit of valvemaster Plus in there to get the octane boost

[t20racerman]

'Fuel Cat' is utter junk - complete snake oil. No scientific evidence whatsoever to back it up - just a few testimonials from the odd user who thinks it might have worked for them.
Sorry if I sound harsh and offend anyone - but I'm a scientist who knows cod science when they see it.

Not ONE scientific journal has ever published data on it ('cos there isn't anything scientific about it!) and the 'science' on their website is utter junk.

If you go to Fuel cats website they have a 'Results' page to 'show' it works... Go here:
http://www.fuelcat.co.uk/test-results.php

Bloody hilarious! Have a look at the Prague file.......  Or go to the Coca Cola one. Prague is unreadable, and Coca Cola test done on 20 trucks for three months... but only 14 were available on the test day three months later to compare! Doesn't even say which sample the 14 trucks were from! Data blurry and hard to read and the numbers are utterly insignificant (and probably untrue anyway)! Lots of "my mate reckons it works with his car" s*** to back it up in testimonials......

Have a look here - sums it up better than I could:
http://fuelcatisascam.selfip.com/fuelcat.html

Trouble is, people put them in their bikes/cars and quite unsurprisingly cover many happy miles afterwards... as they would have done without using one. This 'proof' that they work then gets passed on as gospel. Please folks, don't fall for it.

Most A10 alloy head seats are probably hard enough to cope with unleaded, and will go on working for years (mine did). Cast iron, maybe not. Either way, use your bike for thousands of miles, and when you've had to adjust the valves quite a lot, take the head off and get it done properly with new seats. Don't worry that the seats "might wear down" as you'll easily know when they have done, if they do.

[Goldy]

It,s the same with ethanol. We were told that carbs would sieze, valves would seize, anything non ferrous would seize and petrol tanks would fall to bits. Aint happened.

[t20racerman]

It,s the same with ethanol. We were told that carbs would sieze, valves would seize, anything non ferrous would seize and petrol tanks would fall to bits. Aint happened.

I was told the same if I drank too much ethanol... body parts would seize up, life fall to bits etc but.. Oh, hold on, no, that did happen!