Allegro Club International

[Colin T]

As titled.

I currently use the cheap Shell stuff 'Fuel Save' for 3 reasons:

1. Shell is very nearby (although Jet is a few hundred yards closer) and it seems to be the only petrol station at any motorway services I stop at, just coincidence or do they have a monopoly?

2. Being a large well known brand any problems with their fuel quality would be common knowledge/hard to keep quiet.

3. It's cheaper than the V-power stuff, not sure I have tried that before (is it really worth paying the extra to use V-Power in an A-series?).

I have a 1300 A-series manual with unleaded conversion and use no additives of any sort at all.

Any thoughts or what are you using?
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Hell has frozen over...... the car formally known as 'Heap' is back on the road!

[M. Irvine]

Colin,

I have strong opinions about certain fuels, but as I would leave myself open to legal action if I expressed them in writing. I would rather tell you when I next see you.

I never use anything other than Shell, BP or Esso.

The higher octane fuels available usually have a greater degree of detergency to help clean an engine internally. With engine management systems on vehicles the timing 'map' may be automatically adjusted to obtain full benefit of the enhanced octane rating. It would be very difficult to prove accurately that on older systems any fuel consumption gains were achieved by using such a fuel unless the ignition timing was adjusted to suit.

Merv.
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ALLEGRO = Agile, Lively, Legendary, Economical, Genial, Reliable & Outstanding.

[Colin T]

Thanks for you thoughts Mervyn - I do now remember you saying that you only use those brands.

My manual and handbook say to use a minimum of 97 octane petrol, but I can't find the specs of the Shell basic Fuel Save that I usually use, so not sure what octane it is.

From what you say, it sounds like there wouldn't be any real benefit of using the posh high octane stuff unless the ignition timing was changed (which I won't do) other than perhaps giving the engine a bit of clean-out.

Therefore, do you think it is worth using the high octane stuff occasionally for the cleaning effect so will it not make much difference and not be worth doing?
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Hell has frozen over...... the car formally known as 'Heap' is back on the road!

[Richard Howe]

4* was 97 or 98, regular unleaded is 95 - but your engine has been converted for unleaded, and so the timing will already have been retarded to cope with the lower octane.

I too use primarily BP & Shell; I used to be a big Jet user, but in the older cars it doesn't seem to work as well IMO. BP I use for Nectar points, Shell I use because they run the cheapest garage on my regular commute - and by a considerable margin; they're currently 4p/litre cheaper than anyone closer to home!
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...that's why Allegro will look as good 5 years from now as it does today.

[Rich Hanlon]

As a slight aside, but not entirely unrelated, and 'cos I really can't remember, and cos I'm slightly too lazy to look it up elsewhere ...


... I have very slight pinking under load. Advance or retard to fix?

(or to make it even easier for someone slow like me, turn the dizzy in the direction of the cam rotation, or the opposite way?

(PS - Currently using Castrol Valemaster-Plus, standard head, and have the timing slightly retarded relative to the 'leaded' setting)


Cheers team!

Rich
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Rich Hanlon
Series III 1275
Derbyshire

[Richard Howe]

Pinking = detonation = sparking too late, so Retarding, iirc. What that means in terms of twiddling is beyond my current knowledge.
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...that's why Allegro will look as good 5 years from now as it does today.

[Laurence]

Yes, it probably does need retarding slightly & yes, turn in the direction of the rotor arm (so the points open slightly later).

But, I would clean/renew the points first, then set the dwell angle, (or set the points gap with feeler blade, but not so accurate as using dwell meter) then adjust the timing so it's retarded by 2degrees (if it's supposed to be 10degrees before top dead centre, set it to 8degrees BTDC & try it at that)

You don't need a strobe light, just get the points to spark when the marks line up with 8degrees on the flywheel or crankshaft pulley. Take the distributor cap off & with the ignition on, turn the engine by hand so the points spark at 8degrees (or whatever you decide) then tighten distributor & replace cap etc & test it.

[Tom]

I use either Shell V Power or BP Ultimate Unleaded in my two A+ Series Metro's.

I have always used 4 Star in the Allegro until the end of last when my local garage's pump broke and I will have to use unleaded in her now but will be sticking to either of the two above.

The cars seem to run much better on these fuels.
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Tom
North Thames Events Organiser

[Rich Hanlon]

Magic, thanks for the tips.
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Rich Hanlon
Series III 1275
Derbyshire