Fuelstar - petrol

[Styria]

Back in the late '90s, the topic of valve recession, converting valve inserts to hardened seats was on the mind of every owner involved with the running of Classic and older cars. You don't hear much about it these days presumably because our fears have been allayed by the addition of Valve Savers, or maybe just because in my case Mercedes inadvertently took care of impending Petrol quality issues by fitting hardened valve seats.

I was no different in those days - being concerned with the quality of the unleaded fuel that was going to be standard fare, so when at the time the matter of Fuelstar Petrol was being offered, I jumped at the chance of having one of their canisters fitted in line to the Petrol Filter on my 6.9. From memory, it may have been a $200.00 item, plus fitting, but I was lucky enough to be the recipient of a complimentary unit - it was all arranged at the time by a chap by the name of Karl Hoffman, a distant relative of an importer with that name who was domiciled in New York and was basically responsible for Mercedes to go into production with the venerable Gullwing Coupe of the mid fifties.

The brochure at the time read as follows:

"I have fitted Fuelstar canisters to hundreds of cars since 1992. Invariably they result in improved performance, prolonged spark plug and injector life and improved fuel economy. They enable engines designed for leaded petrol to run perfectly on unleaded petrol, without pinging, loss of performance or valve damage. Many cars converted by me to run on unleaded have now done in excess of 100,000 kms since fitment. All are operating perfectly and there have been no reports of valve damage."

VINCE LERVASI, MV PERFORMANCE CENTRE, SYDNEY and he proceeds to list his mobile number.

I won't list any of the cars he has detailed. Suffice to say, the list includes just about every make, save for Messerschnitts, Goggomobils and the NSU Prinz perhaps. There are a number of favourable reviews which I will not include here. From my personal perspective, that canister is still fitted to the fuel system on Gleaming Beauty and certainly has caused no problems that I would be aware of. Over many years, and operating purely from a maintenance point of view, I have replaced Injectors, Suppressors, Fuel Divider, Fuel Pump and Filter, and I have also fitted aftermarket stainless wired high spark plug leads. About twelve years ago, I also removed heads and fitted rebuilt units and I can honestly say that GB starts instantly each and every time, even in the last two years when she was used as a'mule' to test hydraulic suspension components. Again GB has never displayed any indication of possible misfiring and has started promptly each and every time.

Has anyone heard of this Fuelstar advice ? I wonder if it has assisted in GB being such a loyal and reliable performer. Regards Styria

N.B Fuelstar is the name of the product, i.e.Canister

N.B. I have even found some details on the Internet.

http://www.barossabrakesandsuspension.websyte.com.au/site.cfm?/barossabrakesandsuspension/3/

 

[BenzBoy]

I have no personal experience of Fuelstar but I am aware of those who sear by it as a means of avoiding valve seat recession. I am also aware of this article from a few years ago: https://www.smh.com.au/national/fuelstar-catalyst-ineffective-watchdog-20100223-p04a.html
I have no conclusion.
Regards,
Brian

 

[Styria]

Subsequent to my post, I wanted to investigate what sort of information was on the Internet in relation to this product. Naturally BenzBoy, I spotted the findings as highlighted by you, plus a couple of others, with negative or unfavourable conclusions. On the other hand, there were also some good reports buying the product, and it will always be up to the individual as to the course of action they would wish to pursue, and the results that they would come up with. I am certainly unable to come up with any concrete and correct suggestions.

In my time of 6.9 ownership, I have always kept accurate track of fuel consumption of Gleaming Beauty. I can relay without fear or favour, nor any bias that:

On the open road say to Canberra or the upper North Coast, my 6.9 would return 19.5 to 20.0 mpg every day. Certainly, in those days, I did not hang around and utilized the engine's torque characteristics (3000 rpm) constantly, equating to 120 kilometers an hour.

When I had a second workshop, travelling from Baulkham Hills to Blacktown covering a distance of some ten kilometers each way, the consumption would drop to 16.5 to 17.0 mpg.

One year, when competing in an Economy Run organized by myself for the MB Club of NSW, I obtained 22.3 mpg. Whilst I drove for Economy, invariably the speed would be in the 90 to 95 kilometers range, rather than 50-70. I really think that a 6.9 with the high compression engine is more economical at the higher speeds.

I have absolutely no idea if the fitting of the Fuelstar Canister had any influence on those figures, so that would be the end of any argument I could advance. Regards Styria

 

[c107]

I have no evidence but I am very skeptical of these sort of units.
My thinking is that if they worked that well, the manufacturers would include them as a matter of course.

They do care about fuel consumption numbers, especially in the USA where gas guzzler taxes can have a big impact of the final selling price of the vehicle.

 

[Styria]

What we should keep in mind is that we are dealing with forty year old technology. In 1975 - 1989 (?) K-Jet and its variations were King of Fuel Injection yet, obviously, modern day injection systems are computer controlled, electronic and bear absolutely no resemblance to the 6.9 system.

That's why I have left my observations completely tangible regarding the validity of Fuel Star benefit claims. I do know one thing though - Gleaming Beauty, serving as a testing mule for our hydraulic suspension trouble shooting and pressure testing procedures, has probably been started a minimum of 200 times, and not once has she failed to start, there has never been any rough running after starting, and I have only cleaned the platinum plugs once over a period of probably two years. In that time, I have taken her out twice to attend car events. Maybe the Fuel Star system is doing its job. Who knows ? Regards Styria

 

[sean sherry]

Snake Oil ? any Car should start and run well when property maintained.
I.e.. , Battery and Starter and positive and Negative Leads ....Tick
Points and Condenser, Cap and Leads ...Tick
Clean Fuel System and good Fuel Pump... Tick
Good Even Compression in all Cylinders.... Tick.
Usually a low steady Vacuum reading (under 16) will indicate a retarded ignition
Sluggish Engine and poor fuel consumption
For what it is worth.....