Petrol for 340

340 · Post by **340** » 27 Apr 2004, 18:37

My apologies if this has been discussed before. I did a search for keywords first and didn't get any results.

I drive a Volvo 340 (petrol engine). When four star was taken off the market in Britain I changed over to Lead replacement Petrol with no problems.

Now that seems to be being phased out. What are other 340 owners doing? Also, does anyone have experience with using unleaded with an additive? I'm wary about that, as I used Redex with another car (not a Volvo) many years ago and the results weren't very good.

- thanks

Tsquared · Post by **Tsquared** » 27 Apr 2004, 19:19

340 wrote:I drive a Volvo 340 (petrol engine). When four star was taken off the market in Britain I changed over to Lead replacement Petrol with no problems.

Now that seems to be being phased out. What are other 340 owners doing? Also, does anyone have experience with using unleaded with an additive? I'm wary about that, as I used Redex with another car (not a Volvo) many years ago and the results weren't very good.

I don't remember the properties of 4 star (I was at Lakenheath a little over 20 years ago and usually purchased petrol on base).

I had a 72 Harley that had to be weaned off of leaded gas. I was able to use the premium high octane (93 octane) without having any major side effects at sea level. It would run better when I added some octane booster to get it in the 96 to 98 octane rate area when I was away from the coastal areas.

Be careful with additives. Check the color of your spark plugs often to make sure you are not having any problems. They should be tan to gray in color. If they are black you are too rich or have an oil problem (too much fuel and not enough air). If they are white you are too lean (probably pinging under load) and this can cause pre-mature valve and guide failure (too much air and not enough fuel). It they have a pink or blue tint it is due to the additive and you are OK. If it pings you are too lean - be aware that with the electronics on most cars you can be lean at one RPM and rich 400 revs higher, or the other way around.

Good luck with the 340.