My moggie has one of those catalyst thingies dropped in the tank, but I've bought the Castrol additive, as I tend to worry about these things.
I'm afraid that one nice sunny day I'll run old Sparky down to the seaside, drawing admiring glances from passers by, when suddenly: CLONK! or worse still, BANG!
Then I'll get laughed at, and people will say "That's what you get for driving around in an old banger!"
people will say "That's what you get for driving around in an old banger!"
I'm sure a lot of us get that a lot anyway. I certainly do! But it just shows their level of ignorance of such matters! If they have to ask why we do it, then they won't understand the answer!!
Of course it does wear a bit thin when you are standing at the side of the road in the rain and the dark...........
Have just started using the car.. therefore lead additive. I've got the redex one at the moment and sort of 'chuch some in' per full tank of fuel..... I guess this makes me bad
What is the best additive to use ? And which is easiest to measure out per 6gallon tankful of fuel ?
The Castrol Valvemaster passed MIRA tests (unlike the Redex one) and it is available at Halfords or online. Normally you should not switch between types - ie if you use a phosphorous based one, then don't put a manganese one in every other time, as they remove the protection from the previous additive so the net result would be no protection. However if you are changing brand permanently, don't worry so much.
The Castrol one has a built in dispenser. If you have a nearly empty tank, just measure out 25 litres worth on the dispenser, chuch it in and fill it up.
If you're one of those people who refills before they are nearly empty, you just have to make a best guess how much fuell you need (eg 15 litres) if the car takes more fuel you can just stop filling around 15 litres or carry on filling and then stick a dribble more additive in after.
The Castrol additive has 2 types (there's a cheaper one without octane boost) so if you buy a 6 pack direct from Castrol it is very cheap. Using the Castrol one from Halfords you'd have to do approx 40,000 miles to break even with an unleaded cylinder head or approx 70,000 miles to break even if you use the cheap one, bought in 6 packs online!
If you follow the link from the main site to unleaded fuel - then to additives, they have a link to the relevant Castrol webpage.
Websites: 
