posted by
someone claiming to be swedish canadian
on
Mon Aug 28 17:10 CST 2006 [ RELATED]
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hello all,
just wanted to know if any of you thought a 240 ran better on a particular brand of gas in canada? i've tried 91 octane with most majors - petro canada, esso, shell, and seem to think my 240 runs best (power/acceleration etc.) on SUNOCO. of course, i'm sure this is all in my mind and that each brand probably comes from the same pit underneath the earth, but you never know. maybe we'd find an as yet unrealized consensus.
cast your vote canadian brickers
g
p.s. not to exclude our american friends - maybe they can do the same.
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I run both of the bricks on Esso regular in Toronto, Exxon when south of the border.
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Around here in arkansas, the stuff coming out of the pumps at the Citgo and Conoco stations usually has the best kick, but I generally buy Fina since the local station is owned by a couple of farmers and they work the place and pump the gas for you for less than most of the self serve stations charge. I'd much rather see them taking my money.
--
-------Robert, '93 940t, '90 240 wagon, '84 240 diesel (she's sick) , '80 245 diesel, '86 740 GLE turbo diesel, '92 Ford F350 diesel dually
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In the lower mainland of BC Husky oil runs their regular grade oil which is ethonal inriched it also has a rating of 90 octane compared to the usual 87. My 240s and the S60 all really enjoy it as they perform excellent with no pinging even while climbing the hills and passes of the interior. Sorry to say they sell only 87 eslewhere in the Province. On a recent trip to the prairies I did see it at some locations.
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I hear ethonal blended gasses can rot out rubber fuel lines. Although it burns cleaner and what not, im not sure if your motor likes to burn cleaner gas. I used to run husky/mohawk 90 but not anymore, as i've heard some nasty stories.
--
'89 240 All original, custom exhaust, KnN, custom guages, 260,000kms
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Since Canada takes up a mighty big chunk of what the world calls
"North America" I submit that there is nobody substantially more
"American" than the Canadians, whom I highly respect.
Likewise to the south there are Mexicans, Brazilians (both native and
imported) and plenty of others who are at least as "American" as those
of us who live in the United States. Unfortunately GW Bush is a little
slow figuring this out.
And in behavio(u)r, some of the least "American" people I know live in
the USA and in fact are citizens. And some of the most rationally
patriotic US Citizens I know were NOT born US Citizens but chose to
go to the trouble to be naturalized.
End of rant
ps: I use 87, which is the lowest octane available in Oklahoma.
Used it in 544s, a 444, 122s (including a big-bore 2130cc B20),
a 164 and 164E, a 144 and a 145E as well as an S60T5. Seems to
work fine in all of them. At 700 ft above sea level it can't be
the altitude and is probably not especially good tune in most of
them. Some of them were pretty worn but others were new with fairly
high compression ratios. I kinda wonder what everybody's problem is.....
--
George Downs Bartlesville, Heart of the USA!
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Most gasolines are very similar in the base hydrocarbon, and vary only in the amount and type of additives used. I use Chevron, because I have for years, which is obviously not a good reason. However, the 94 is essential to my 242DL which has a ported and balanced B23E of increased compression running a single SU HIF6 carb, otherwise I wouldn't be able to thrash it sufficiently to produce full power. About 140 horses right now. My other cars get 92.
I am not a supporter of Kyoto, or the contention that anthropogenic CO2 is a root cause of alleged global warming. Take away the hyperbole, and look at the science, and this becomes quite clear.
It is far too easy to blame the "big corporation" in an effort to divert responsiblity and blame from the true culprits, mere individuals, most of whom seem fixated on 7000 pound "sport" utes to haul themselves around all day.
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Our '83 B23F with 10.25 compression runs just fine on garden variety 87 Octane from the corner Shell station. Just like the owner's manual says it will.
It used to ping a lot, but I had occasion two yrs ago to pull the head, and in the process, cleaned up the piston tops and chambers. I made sure the timing was at the specified 12deg. and since then, no pinging and 30mpg(US) on the highway.
The 940 also runs great on the recommended 87. So does the Chev LT-1 in the 740. It has milled heads, high-lift rocker arms and a ton of power; smooth as glass on the cheap stuff.
Like George Downs (thanks for the kind comments on us Canucks, George), I kinda wonder what all the fuss is about. If your engine is pinging on the Volvo-recommended octane, don't blame the gas...have a look at the engine - it needs some help.
...and to second the comments of Rhys: I listened to an interview yesterday on the global warming issue on CBC radio. The interviewee was an MIT professor, holding the Alfred P. Sloan (Google him) Chair of Atmospheric Science. He shocked the (as usual) greenie CBC interviewer by stating that at least 90% of the reasoning behind the current global warming hysteria was simply bad science, and in 100 years we are just as likely to be bemoaning Global Cooling.
I'm sure as hell NOT against environmental responsibility and stewardship - my kids will have to live on this ball and breathe its air long after I check out. But it's gone WAY past tiresome, listening to the Chicken Little's with an agenda. Let the real scientists figure this out, and get the hand-wringers out of the pulpit.
--
Bob (son's 81-244GL B21F/M46, dtr's 83-244DL B23F/M46, my 94-944 B230FD and 89 745 (LT-1 V8); hobbycar 77 MGB, and a few old motorcycles)
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Hi Bob;
In Canada AFAIK all 83's had the B23E engine, but with a milder camshaft than the 81-82 with the K. The 84's got the B23F with dished pistons and about 9:1 CR. Stock early E's were 10:1 I think, and could be identified by the fender sticker advising 5 BTDC timing. The 83's went back to 12. Suprisingly enough, and like yours and Georges experiences, I am using the stock B21A breaker point distributor in my B23E, and it is set at 12 BTDC, and the thing doesn't ping at all. It pulls like a freight train. That distributor also used a vacuum retard, which I have left disconnected, while leaving the vacuum advance side connected. (push-pull unit on it) But I do use 94 exclusively.
High speed detonation is inaudible - past about 3500 RPM, and the damage it will do takes place whether we hear it or not.
Decarbonizing a B23 does help with the octane requirement - I decarbonized one for a customer way back in 1989 - although that engine had seen a lot of leaded fuels when it was new, and leaded fuel built carbon very quickly. A steady diet of unleaded makes decarbonizing a thing of the past.
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Rhys, as far as I've seen under hoods and in yards you are quite right about the arrival of the B23F in Canada a year after it was in the USA, but we bought our '83 in Calif. The techs at our Volvo dealer were a little perplexed by the then-new, "radical" LH-Jet system.
We moved to Canada in '84 and found our year-old LH was brand new to the techs here.
Canadian 240's of 1983 had either the B21A(carb), the B23E and maybe the B21FT? I pulled the cam from an '83 B23E in the PnP a week or two ago (half price w/end: $9 with core charge!) Has the "A" stamp in the rearmost bearing journal, so I'm not sure how that compares to the "K" cam, but it is certainly a more lively grind than the std. LH-Jet "M" cam.
--
Bob (son's 81-244GL B21F/M46, dtr's 83-244DL B23F/M46, my 94-944 B230FD and 89 745 (LT-1 V8); hobbycar 77 MGB, and a few old motorcycles)
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That makes sense to me Bob - the LH B23 arrived in Canada in 1984, for one year only, making it an "orphan" car here.
The A cam is the same one used in the B21A carbed engines - lots of them around here. A nice cam for sure, and far better than the M as you have noted. The K is the hottest one installed by the factory for the NA market.
It's possible that the A cammed B23E had the lower compression pistons - I can't say I have had one of them apart, but the 81-82 B23E's have flat tops, and the 84 B23F has dished tops.
Rhys
ps - if you ever want an SU HIF6 to replace that dreadful Stromberg on the 77 MGB, I can set you up!
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thanks for the offer!
I happened to grab the big SU at the PnP a few weeks ago from a B21A. Toying with the idea of replacing the Z-S, but sitting beside the MGB in my garage is a low km's 3.4L GM V6-60 with its full wiring harness, computer, and Warner T-5 gearbox. A guy in Calif makes kits to mount this engine into rubber bumper B's. I think that might wake up the B more than a fresh carb.
I've had the head off the 83 - it has flat-topped pistons and pumps the gauge up to 190-200psi on compression tests. Amazing it's happy on Regular.
--
Bob (son's 81-244GL B21F/M46, dtr's 83-244DL B23F/M46, my 94-944 B230FD and 89 745 (LT-1 V8); hobbycar 77 MGB, and a few old motorcycles)
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That is amazing Bob. I may try a dose of low octane in the DL, just to see what happens.
That HIF6 is a direct bolt on, don't even have to change the needle. Just run it and see. You'll enjoy the car more while making the decision on the Chevy. Putting a state of the art engine management system in an older British car may induce a violent case of tissue rejection though....
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I am with you on this global warming issue. I have yet to see convincing evidence that we are the major cause. It was a lot warmer 1000 years ago when the Vikings landed in Newfoundland. That said, global warming or not, we should all do our bit to tread lightly on the earth, IMHO. But I suggest that this topic be moved over to the Opinions forum.
As for gas usage, I use whatever is cheapest. I use regular gas in my 1990 745 16 valver. Tried premium and could see no difference except for reduce pinging under heavy load on a hot day.
Bill
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posted by
someone claiming to be Bubbles
on
Mon Aug 28 18:56 CST 2006 [ RELATED]
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Short of 94 octane, forget it as my '91 240 Stalls constantly. Only have the choice of Petro Canada or Chevron on the Island. In the Interior and Alberta could not find any Chevron's and PC only seems to carry up to 92 in those locations.
Car has started stalling again this week so filled up with Chevron 94 this evening ($1.239/litres today) and within a few minutes stopped stalling.
Have been using PC usually because Chevron is one of the big anti Kyoto / Global Warming denyers so do not like to help them in their dishonest, dumb game of continuing to endanger our planet's future. However, decided to try them tonight and it seemed to help. Problem is this stalling comes and goes, so can't be definitive that the Chevron is the reason.
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Lower octane gas may cause knocking/pinging/pinking. It does NOT cause
stalling!
--
George Downs Bartlesville, Heart of the USA!
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chevon with techron, 89 or 91 octane, depends if im feeling sassy or not.
i used to put in ethonal blended crap from husky but i stay away from that now
--
'89 240 All original, custom exhaust, KnN, custom guages, 260,000kms
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chevon with techron, 89 or 91 octane, depends if im feeling sassy or not.
ROFL
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