It is generally considered preferable to use unleaded gasoline, which is good for the environment, but less good for our older VWs. Leaded gasoline is no longer sold and, in recent years, bioethanol (better known as E5 and E10 ) has also been added. It has become the new European standard for the designation of gasoline. The E5 will disappear in the future, with the E10 being the only available fuel.
This is not good news because, in most cases, our VWs need lead and certainly do not support the amount of bioethanol in E10 gasoline.
But there are solutions in the form of additives such as the lead substitute mentioned here and Ethanol Killer Multishot which addresses the problem of bioethanol (listed under the alternatives tab).
Leaded gasoline can no longer be sold, but without a lead oxide layer on the valves and valve guides, these parts wear out very quickly on top of each other. This quickly reduces valve clearance until it disappears completely, causing the valves to burn. The materials of these pre-1975 parts are not hard enough to operate for long periods without lead lubrication. If your Volkswagen is post-1975 and the engine is the same year, you can easily fill up with unleaded gasoline (with an octane content of 87 or more). If your Volkswagen was built before 1975, you should make sure that an alternative is added that replaces the lead function to protect your valves and valve seats from costly repair or even a complete engine overhaul.
If your cylinder heads were overhauled after 1975, you can assume that the valves and valve seats are hard enough to operate without a lead oxide layer. If you are not sure, do not take any risks and add a lead substitute. The replacement of the lead mentioned here has only a positive effect in all respects and therefore cannot cause damage, nor does it influence a catalytic converter that could be installed.
100% certainty: If you prefer to play on certainty, you can also add Ethanol Killer Mulitishot instead of a lead substitute (indicated under the alternatives tab), which offers not only a lead substitute but also guaranteed protection against the effects of bio-ethanol.
Note : You can continue to fill up with E5 gasoline if you add an additive that replaces lead if your car needs it.
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