Unleaded petrol

Press, 28 January 1988, Page 12

Unleaded petrol

Sir, —David Fletcher’s cartoon, “The Politician,” on unleaded petrol (January 27) was humorous, as usual, but unfortunately erroneous in its implication that cars do not run as well on unleaded petrol. Engines designed and tuned to use unleaded 91 octane petrol will gain no additional power by running on 96 octane fuel. In this regard the label “super” at-

tached to 96 octane petrol is a misnomer. Motorists using 96 octane petrol in vehicles designed for unleaded 91 are paying extra for petrol and forsaking potential maintenance savings, for no advantage. A revised pamphlet containing an updated list of vehicles suited to using unleaded petrol will be available at service stations and A.A. offices next week. The pamphlet has been sponsored jointly by the Ministry for the Environment and the Motor Trade Association to assist motorists in identifying if their vehicles are suited to unleaded 91.—Yours, etc., DAVID JACKSON, Ministry for the Environment. January 27, 1988.

Sir,—The Hon. W. F. Birch (January 22) “finds it extraordinarily perverse that the present Government has spent large sums in the promotion of leadfree petrol.” Well, if in Mr Birch’s term as Minister of Energy he had spent the time and energy promoting C.N.G. and L.P.G. as he did in the setting up and building of the synthetic petrol plant at Motunui I would suggest that New Zealand would not now have needed petrol (only for two-stroke engines). Also, no money would have been needed to promote lead-free petrol. It is. also interesting to note that when the synthetic petrol plant was first mooted by Mr Birch at a public meeting in New Plymouth the price for the complete plant was stated at SSOBM; in fact the cost was S2OOIM. Also, the plant wastes 60 per cent of the gas in the conversion process.— Yours, etc. DOUG WEST. January 25, 1988.