Lead Replacement Petrol (LRP) will not be available for retail in the Maltese Islands after January 1, Enemalta said today.

Leaded Petrol was banned in the EU around a decade ago due to air-quality standards and health issues. This type of fuel is normally used by consumers who own old vehicles designed to run on leaded petrol.

Newer EU fuel quality directives which will come into force on 1st January 2011 will affect the current composition of LRP fuel by reducing the metallic content to a third of what is currently present in LRP, Enemalta said.

This reduction in Metallic Manganese additives will affect the performance of LRP by reducing Octane number and by reducing exhaust valve seat protection.

Enemalta explained that the reduction in Octane number might induce engine-knock and the simplest remedy for such an issue might be to have the spark-timing retarded and adjusted accordingly by a professional motor technician/mechanic, the company said. If this is not enough an ‘octane booster’, bought over the counter from the petrol stations, would have to be added to the unleaded petrol.

The valve seat protection issue can be tackled in different ways. The simplest and cheapest solution is to purchase unleaded petrol and add a suitable fuel additive that protects the exhaust valve seat from excessive wear. Another solution is to replace the existing exhaust valve seat to a hardened one although this option is more costly but might be worthwhile considering if the engine is being reconditioned or the cylinder head is being removed for other mechanical maintenance or the car is kept as a classic.

Enemalta said it was urging owners of vehicles that run on LRP to seek the advice of a professional motor technician/mechanic to check if their vehicle is suitable to run on unleaded petrol. If not, they will be advised on what modifications and/or adjustments might be necessary to make such a changeover.

An Enemalta spokesman said that in the case of classic cars which cannot use unleaded fuel with additives, the owners may seek a permit from the Malta Resources Authority to import leaded fuel, in the same way as some people import racing fuel.

See also

http://www.enemalta.com.mt/page.asp?p=1078&l=1

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