List part of campaign for use of uneaded fuel

Press, 28 January 1988, Page 4

List part of campaign for use of un eaded fuel

An updated list of vehicles able to use unleaded fuel will soon be available from all New Zealand petrol stations as part of a plan to encourage its use. Releasing the list yesterday, the Associate Minister for the Environment, Mr Woollaston, said that unleaded petrol was cheaper, but delivered the same performance as high octane leaded petrol. The lead additives in high octane fuel led to unnecessary wear and higher maintenance costs. If motorists were not swayed by the argument that unleaded 91 octane petrol was 3c a litre cheaper than high octane leaded 96, they should at least use unleaded fuel for their children’s sake, Mr Woollaston said. “Lead is toxic. It causes brain damage and affects behaviour. The main source of lead is from car exhaust fumes.” The president of the Motor Trade Association, Mr Harry Luxford, said the association was enthusiastic about the environmental and economic benefits of unleaded fuel. The Ministry of the Environment should encourage motor vehicle manufacturers and importers to produce vehicles with smaller fuel filling apertures, he said. “Oil companies should be encouraged to fit all regular unleaded fuel pumps with a smaller delivery nozzle to match.”

About 60 per cent of new cars run on unleaded petrol, and 20 per cent of all cars on New Zealand roads should be using it, Mr Luxford said. Shell New Zealand this week withdrew its leaded petrol additive package from the market because of concern that it might be associated with inlet valve failure in some cars. The company released a statement on Tuesday, saying that it had become concerned that some customers were worried by reports of early engine failure in imported vehicles being linked to the use of the additive. Shell laboratories have been working with motor manufacturers to try and find an explanation for the inlet-valve burnout problem. Their latest evidence shows that the additive package, combined with the lead anti-knock compound, can give rise to an increased incidence of inlet-valve failure in some vehicles. However, factors other than fuel and additives were almost certainly involved. Shell is satisfied that there have been no complaints about the Formula Shell unleaded petrol, which is marketed in New Zealand as Regular 91 grade. It will remain unchanged. The St John Ambulance Trust Board in Auckland will decide soon whether to seek compensation from Shell Oil after valve burn-outs in ambulances.