unleaded gas

[MrBill]

Hello Friends, could someone tell me when Spiders went from leaded gas to unleaded? And, if i find one that runs on leaded what do i do to get unleaded gas to work?

thanks...

[TX82FIAT]

That is a great question. As I understand it the lead acts as a lubicant and the led also has a higher octane than standard unleaded gas used today. As far as I know I've seen all years of spider run on unleaded gas just fine. If you were to find a previously "leaded" spider then I think you would be just fine with a qaulity brand unleaded gas, consider using 90 octane or above and make sure the engine is tuned for the gas you are using.

[SunnySideUp]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong... but I believe '79 was the first year that Fiat made "unleaded only" adjustments (restricted fuel filler neck, "unleaded only" decals, etc.) to the Spider. If you have a '78 or older you can run unleaded ONLY if you add a lead additive or have had the cylinder head reworked to install harder valve seats.

[kilrwail]

I have had a '78 since it was new and have been using unleaded since 1979 or so, when they stopped selling leaded fuel. I have never had a problem with the engine, period.

[Exit98]

Our cars run fine on unleaded. No additives needed.

Ethenol however is another whole kette of fish.

[MrBill]

Thanks all.. this is a big help.... I am leaning towards finding an '80 or newer but have seen some nice models that are mid '70's... I usually check out the dash pic's.. if you look close you can almost always see where the fuel gauge has the "unleaded only" on it....

[fiat218]

I use premium

[vandor]

>if you look close you can almost always see where the fuel gauge has the "unleaded only" on it....

That was because they had catalytic converters. Just because a Spider does not say 'Unleaded Only' does not mean that unleaded will cause any problems.

[FiatJim]

"Ethenol however is another whole kette of fish."

Okay, so what is a good way to address this? With the mix going up to 15% and the only station that sells 100% gas is 25 miles away, what's a poor driver to do?

[GeorgeT]

Whenever Fiat started using catalytic converters is when the switch was made. The problem with using unleaded gas in a car designed for leaded is the valve seats: lead not only acts as an octane booster but also as a lubricant for the valve seats. You can run unleaded but to prevent long term problems, the valve seats need to be "hardened" (and don't ask me how).

[fiat218]

Whenever Fiat started using catalytic converters is when the switch was made. The problem with using unleaded gas in a car designed for leaded is the valve seats: lead not only acts as an octane booster but also as a lubricant for the valve seats. You can run unleaded but to prevent long term problems, the valve seats need to be "hardened" (and don't ask me how).

We will not ask
I thought premium was good?

[spidernut]

Ironically, I'm reading a book that covered this topic in the chapter I just read. Lead was introduced to fuels to stop knocking in the engines. It was not designed as a lubricant for the motors. Unleaded will work just fine and cause no damage to an engine designed for leaded fuels provided the octane is high enough. That's why many cars designed to run on leaded fuels have to run premium fuel...for the higher octane. Many classic car owners add octane booster to their gas to alleviate the knock.

My Fiat owners manual recommends premium fuel.

[Dawgme85]

My '77 is a California car. As such, it has an "Unleaded Fuel Only" emblem on the fuel door (no indication on the fuel gage, though) and a (new replacement) catalytic convertor (the air pump has been removed, however). The compression ratio (especially on the later models) is low enough that we can probably get away with "regular" gas, but I run "mid-grade", anyway, with no spark knock, etc. I also burn non-ethanol gas, pretty much exclusively (the local grange station is only about 7 miles away). I switched to non-ethanol after experiencing some mis-firing problems, and the problem went away after the switch. It seems to have made an improvement in starting and driving, as well.

Check out http://www.pure-gas.org for the Iocation of your nearest non-ethanol station. I generally consult the site before any long drive, where I might need to add gas. I've also been told, by my local Fiat mechanic, that non-ethanol is also effective when only used every 3-4 tanks, but I like the drive to and from the station, so that's why I use it as exclusively as possible.

My recollection is that cars were required to burn unleaded gas around 1973-4. I would say that, if a car had a catalytic converter installed from the factory, it should be fine to run with unleaded gas.

Good luck.

[MrBill]

Thanks again everyone... This has been a big help and has eased my mind about the gas question.

so glad i found this site!!!

[AdamPBG]

I, too, was told to use non-ethanol as I do in my bike.
I've only located one station that sells it locally, fortunately it's close to me. Unfortunately, last purchase was $4.49/gal.
It's 90 octane (I believe the original('82) owner's manual states min. 91 octane).