unleaded...

[Hook]

I got me an '86 FWD 'rolla hatchback with a 3E 4cyl SOHC under the hood (not exactly a beast on the road but it gets me around)...a couple weeks ago (my fuel light had been on for a while) I had to resort to putting unleaded in the tank just to make it to another station that had the (cheaper) higher octane leaded fuel the next day.
I'd noticed that my startup was faster, and overall running was a bit smoother with the unleaded even though the loss in power was more noticable. I'm considering switching to unleaded cuz I'm no racer (yet! *muhahahaha*).
Is it just a case of fill and go (replacing fuel filters and all that obviously) or are there any major mods to be made before conversion?

[Deep]

Where the hell are you from that you can get leaded gas at a pump?

[Nick]

my thoughts exactly

[Voodoo.Priest]

Uh, ... I don't think your suposed to be using leaded gas on that car at all.

But I thought they stoped making leaded gas...

[Nick]

leaded gas runs fine, it plugs up catalytic converters really good though, hence the switch

[Deep]

I'm guessing somewhere in South America.

[Hook]

To answer YOUR questions...I'm from a little island in the Caribbean called Trinidad (the most south of all the Caribbean islands just b4 u hit the SA coast if u got a map). We're supposed to convert all refill stations here to unleaded only by March next year but most of the cars here already run on the high-octane(92) leaded or 'Super' as it's called. I'm considering switching way before then.

Can anyone answer MY question now?

Is it that all I need to do is just change the fuel filters and run unleaded or is the conversion more complicated than that?

[Nick]

you don't need to do anything to go from leaded to unleaded

[OEMonkey]

if its an 86, then unleaded was designed for it. on the fuel filler cap it will say "unleaded fuel only". unless of course the car does not have a cat, then leaded would be ok and in my opinion is a better octane enhancer. and thats really all it is, lead was used to enhance octane rating but it damages cat. conv. so they used unleaded gas with different octane enhancers that wont damage the cat. as far as changing your fuel lines and fittings, no there is no need to. if your changing to ethanol or methane or propane or any other alternative fuel, then yes, you'll need to change em since it would damage your existing seals and rubber lines. as for your fuel filter, it is good practice to change em anyway.

[Deep]

Originally posted by OEMonkey
if its an 86, then unleaded was designed for it. on the fuel filler cap it will say "unleaded fuel only". unless of course the car does not have a cat, then leaded would be ok and in my opinion is a better octane enhancer. and thats really all it is, lead was used to enhance octane rating but it damages cat. conv. so they used unleaded gas with different octane enhancers that wont damage the cat. as far as changing your fuel lines and fittings, no there is no need to. if your changing to ethanol or methane or propane or any other alternative fuel, then yes, you'll need to change em since it would damage your existing seals and rubber lines. as for your fuel filter, it is good practice to change em anyway.

He's from Trinidad, they really don't care much for the environment so I'm guessing it never came with a cat, nor did it come with an egr.

[toyotaspeed90]

heh.... funny you all realize he's not from around when he says switching to unleaded..... i realized it right when he said he had a 3E..... (i'm guessing a 3E-F).... the ae82/ae92 (not so sure about the ae86) were also ee82 & ee92 in other places (a = engine motor block, e = corolla.... etc) & none of our corollas (that i know of) had any E series motors

[Hook]

Originally posted by Deep
He's from Trinidad, they really don't care much for the environment so I'm guessing it never came with a cat, nor did it come with an egr.

Dude, that statement is about as senseless, classist and unintelligent as I've yet to see on any forum, esp for someone who just now learned of my country's existence.
I thought u were a lot wiser than that, man.
What do u know about Trinidad anyway? Sure we have our probs like any other country but there's prolly nothing u can do in this lifetime to make u qualified to make inconsiderate statements like that. Check yourself bro.

*breathes out slowly*

FYI: Yes, my cat's fine, my EGR is fine, my PCV system is fine and I don't spew any kind of black or blue smoke. We strictly enforce regular vehicle inspections and removing of any emissions control system component is punishable by law. We just have always had lots of fuel options from since waaay back when. There are lots of countries that still offer leaded that, like us are falling into line where environmental issues for vehicle emissions are concerned.

But administrative tardiness isn't something I would use to ground a stereotype to an entire nationality (and one that u know nothing about) and I'd think most of the forum members here have enough goo betwen their ears to agree with that.

I'm done talking on THAT matter...

toyotaspeed90:
It's actually an EE80 (very very similar chassis to the AE82) some came with 2E (1300cc 4cyl SOHC) and some came with 3E (1500cc 4cyl SOHC).

[Nick]

you shouldn't have a cat if you're running leaded fuel on a regular basis, you'll plug it up within a couple hundread kms if you did

[Deep]

Originally posted by 'rollaholic
Dude, that statement is about as senseless, classist and unintelligent as I've yet to see on any forum, esp for someone who just now learned of my country's existence.
I thought u were a lot wiser than that, man.
What do u know about Trinidad anyway? Sure we have our probs like any other country but there's prolly nothing u can do in this lifetime to make u qualified to make inconsiderate statements like that. Check yourself bro.

If I offended, I didn't mean to, so I apologize. But I didn't just learn about the existance of Trinidad, growing up most of my friends were either Indian and Trini, and they are the ones that told me of the political and economic troubles. On top of that, the fact that you guys are just now adopting 1970 technology in an effort to reduce the production of greenhouse gasses then that does say somthing about the importance placed on the environmental factors. I know you guys are very patriotic (hence the red/black/white on every Trini owners car) so I should've picked my words more carefully.

[Hook]

I say better late than never on the whole leaded/unleaded thing down here...but iz kewl, I get where u comin from
it's alright then... we cool iite? *bonx* (anyone who knows Trinis should know what a 'bonx' is) lol *cough cough*