Old Top Gear 1989 - Unleaded Petrol

Old Top Gear on unleaded petrol

[@dimashevchenkoua]

No way this channel is still going. I remember watching it about 8 years ago.

[@louisapplewhaite506]

I can't believe leaded petrol was still legal in 1989.

[@jswets5007]

Not in the USA hehe

[@jamestorrens645]

In the UK, there are still a few petrol stations _to this day_ that sell 4-star if you can believe that! Unleaded petrol was introduced in June 1986, with catalysts being mandated from October 1993.

[@dodgekillall]

21 litres for £8.00 wow lol

[@Rentta]

Little under £ per litre in 2020 money.

[@theodor12]

Wow, another upload!

[@spliceoncharlie]

With enough uploads you can get a whole episode. Let's see the BBC try to stop that.

[@grahamnutt8958]

I remember the days when 5 star was around. The majority of cars such as 2.0 and 2.5 litre 6 cylinder Triumph plus Rover P5(B) and the V8 3500 P6 were designed to run on this high octane fuel. How times have changed! So many of the old Classics struggle with 95 & 98 Octane unleaded but I am one of those who choose a Historic motor over anything modern - they have character and (if 30 years or older without significant modification) are zero road tax. For someone who travels less than 2000 miles per annum I go for the Classic car all day. Nice upload.

[@foreignhour2388]

I had no idea Leaded fuel had been used for that long, I just assumed it was obsolete in like the 70s or something. Wow

[@jswets5007]

It is funny seeing this. By this time in the United States it was no longer available but you could still buy additives for your fuel if you had an engine that was manufactured for leaded gas. That "crazy" old man was half right, but it was a team effort between oil companies and auto manufacturers that made it possible for leaded gas to be phased out. It wasn't just the oil companies holding it up.

[@straightpipediesel]

@@jswets5007 The phase out of leaded fuel began in the US in 1975, the driver was catalytic converters, which were required by smog standards, particularly in California. Leaded fuel wasn't universally banned until 1996, it was available through the early 90's. Europe has less sun and more wind than California, so they didn't have a big of a photochemical smog problem, and didn't adopt catalytic converters (since they decreased fuel efficiency) until the late 80's.

[@Alexander_l322]

Fucking 39p a litre!

[@thatguyoverthere9634]

Funnily enough they changed lead for a carcinogen, so you save the environment by causing cancer in the motorist. That is why ethanol is now in gas, to replace that chemical. The reason pead, its substitute(some chemical i don't remember), and ethanol are all octane boosters which gas needs to work well in an engine

[@gregorysmith7308]

Octane boosters prevent preignition. The same performance could have been achieved by water injection, but who would add another device to your car. So carcinogen it was, for a while. Some argue, that additives still in use today, are carcinogenic if the car runs poorly, and when cold.

[@straightpipediesel]

Gasoline is carcinogenic to begin with, mainly from benzene, so that's not the issue. The issue was MTBE contaminated water supplies and is very persistent. MTBE isn't strongly carcinogenic anyway.

[@sugarsaint]

i remember this geezer - funny how you recall faces from your childhood as soon as you see them again

[@1t2o3p]

You're back!

[@Markustajahoyrylaiva]

leaded petrol is better

[@stevenm4319]

Yes with microscopic lead bits covering everything.

[@danielmarshall4587]

Awesome thank you for the upload, remember all this at the time. As always the British punter being ripped a new one, I'll say it out loud SHITE cars that would't run on unleaded remember thinking at the time that unleaded had been in use in the United States for years.

[@cantcheatkarma3493]

Over here Tom!