PREMIUM PETROL

Press, Volume C, Issue 29436, 11 February 1961, Page 14

PREMIUM PETROL

Sale Begins On March 1

A new high octane petrol will be on sale throughout New Zealand on March 1.

No price has been officially announced but the general opinion is that this new premium grade 93 octane petrol will be 3Jd a gallon dearer than the present 83 octane petrol. On March 1 two grades of petrol will be available to the public. It will be illegal to sell the new premium grade petrol before that date. Stocks of this premium grade petrol are already in New Zealand and have been held at the main ports. Delivery to resellers will begin in about 10 days so that adequate supplies will be available to the public on March 1. Pumps for the new grade will remain sealed between Jhe date of delivery and March 1. For about six months the oil companies have been busy reorganising the reselling outlets in preparation for dealing with the 93 octane petrol. Additional pumps have had to be installed and in some instances new storage tanks have had to be put in at service stations.

It is almost certain that the engines of cars, trucks and vans will need tuning to get the benefit of the premium grade 93 octane petrol. If an engine is in good mechanical condition adjustment of ignition setting may be sufficient but most engines will benefit from a proper tune-up. Tests have been carried out in New Zealand with 93 octane petrol. Practically all motor vehicles should perform better on this premium grade petrol. Modern cars, especially those with high engine compression ratios, are designed for optimum performance on petrol of a higher octane rating than has been available in this country.