Hi guys. My car has been with the mechanic for over six months having some work done and has been returned with absolutely no fuel in it. I have been advised by another mechanic that I should put some kind of additive into the new petrol to clean the system. I know nothing about this (sorry, girly alert!). Could you advise what I should buy please? Thanks in advance for your help.

I would just put some high octane fuel in like Shell V power or BP Ultimate. no need for additives when using premium petrol.

 

https://www.bp.com/en_gb/united-kingdom/home/products-and-services/bp-ultimate-fuels/bp-ultimate-unleaded-with-active-technology.html

Thanks Gaz 300, but I live in the middle of nowhere and the only local petrol station doesn't sell anything like that. Would it be OK to put in a small amount of "ordinary" unleaded and then fill it up with the high octane stuff when I get to town? Would you recommend to use the high octane fuel all the time? What difference does it make? Thanks for your help.

Just put some fresh unleaded in it and drive it gently until you’re able to get to a petrol station selling higher octane fuels. All quality fuels have detergents in them anyway.

 

I’d personally avoid oil and fuel additives.

Yes as Funkysi has said put some fuel in it for now then put the high octane in later. My Z has only high octane fuel (BP Ultimate) used in it.

For imported 300zx's it is advised to run them on the higher octane fuel as this was what they were set up for in Japan. They will run on lower octane fuel but after years of this the engine will start to deteriorate imo.

I ran both for years in both TT and NA Auto (stock). The only difference I noticed was a slight improvement in mpg for V-Power 99 against ordinary Unleaded 95 but not enough to make up for the extra cost. The only time I used any cleaner was as a suggestion to clear what might have been a dirty injector but turned out to be nothing of the sort (MAF on way out). Had no discernable effect. So a tankful of unleaded to go and get to the more expensive stuff shouldn't do any harm at all - assuming all is well with the engine anyway. (PS if anyone is running modified and has a requirement for higher octane for whatever reason, I'm not arguing with you :) )

OK guys, thank you for your help as always :)

Happy Zeding Salli :thumbup1:

Just put some fresh unleaded in it and drive it gently until you’re able to get to a petrol station selling higher octane fuels. All quality fuels have detergents in them anyway.

 

I’d personally avoid oil and fuel additives.

 

Quality fuels being the operative words!!

 

Yes, I do appreciate that pretty much all fuels come from the same refineries, but the likes of Shell, BP, Esso, Texaco etc., will then add their own detergents - and all to pretty much the same standard - just avoid the cheapo (or not always so cheapo), odd lesser known brands:wink:

 

Avoid supermarket fuel too, IMO, but if you have to, then only go for their super UL; as the higher octane should help. Some members swear by Tesco Momentum and I have used Sainsbury's Super UL in the Zed when caught short - with no ill effects.

in France, there is a cheap technique for high octane fuel and cleaning power, it is ethanol E85 :D

in France, there is a cheap technique for high octane fuel and cleaning power, it is ethanol E85 :D

 

I look forward to the day that crosses our shores!

It was trialled wasn’t it I think? Uptake was low. The other issue here is with having a lack of huge swathes of farmland to grow the enormous amounts of beet which is used in the production of E85 puts the fuel at a huge disadvantage in terms of commercial viability. We could import it, but it’s not quite like the production of mineral based fuels.

 

You can buy large drums of the stuff here however it’s twice to three times the price of super UL. In the US and in France it’s substantially less than regular fuels due to taxation differences. The majority of the French buy it as a low cost alternative to regular petrol whereas it’s sold in the US as a performance enhancing fuel.

 

Here we have around 5% ethanol in our regular fuels and I think it’s somewhere around 10% in France.