Plus

A must for classic car owners

I use this on my 1972 MGB with normal unleaded petrol and it works really well and also cheaper than from the MG Owners Club (at time of writing)

I used this product for years, for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I had a garage near me that still sold real leaded 4-star up until about 2 years ago, and this additive doesn't react badly with 4-star (unlike the potassium and sodium-based ones), therefore I could always rely on Valvemaster if I drove far enough to need to fill up elsewhere. Secondly, it's quite economical as only a small dose is required, plus it's easy to measure out. Finally, I remember reading the additive reviews in Practical Classics and reading the FBHVC additive test report back when leaded-petrol was phased out, and Valvemaster's phosphorus-based formula was demonstrated to provide a level of protection indistinguishable from lead itself. So for years I always kept a bottle of Valvemaster Plus due to its octane-booster, meaning I could always fill my tank with regular 95 octane fuel and be happily on my way.I stopped using it when it suddenly became unavailable, and ended up using Millers VSPe, which provides the anti-wear protection using potassium, and also provides ethanol protection and an octane boost. It's OK but I noticed my car pinks when using it, showing the octane-boost is ineffective. Additionally, it's potassium-based, which doesn't provide as much protection.Seeing as Valvemaster is now available again, and has been re-formulated to provide ethanol protection, it was a no-brainer for me to switch back to it. I never adjusted my valve-clearances since I first did it when I bought my car, so I know that Valvemaster has probably done a good job all these years. The fact it provides ethanol protection makes it deserve 5 stars.However, the "plus" part of the new formulation is a load of marketing bovine-excrement. They call it "octimise plus", which I believe is very misleading as it loosely-implies some sort of octane-improvement like the old Valvemaster Plus. This is not the case. Valvemaster "plus" now no-longer provides an octane boost. What you actually get as the "plus" in the new "plus" formula is just an upper-cylinder lubricant. So please be aware that regardless of whether you buy regular valvemaster or valvemaster plus, you will now need to ensure you always tank-up on super unleaded to make sure you have a high-enough octane-rating. Seeing as some of the super unleaded fuels, such as Shell V-Power and BP Ultimate, already have an upper-cylinder lubricant in their formulation anyway, this "plus" version probably only makes sense if you usually fill up on Tesco Momentum or Sainsbury's Super. It's a bit sad that Valvemaster Plus is no longer the "all in one" additive that allowed you to run your classic on ordinary 95-octane fuel.So in short, it's a very good product but subtly misleading marketing costs it 1 star. Why couldn't they have just put an octane-booster in it, or called it something else instead of trying to imply it did the same as the old Valvemaster plus?

I run an older car, a Rover V8, that was designed to run on 5-star 100 Octane fuel. Now, I have the timing adjusted, it runs on Shell 98 Octane but still needs a boost. This is the only additive that can retard the ignition back enough to provide something like the compression needed that the engine needs. I've used it for about 20 years, and it was reformulated for E5 and E10 fuel recently. I have not noticed the difference, and Shell 98 is an E5 fuel.It is easy to dose the tank by squeezing the bottle and selecting how much petrol you wish to put in the tank. Then tip it in, and fill up as normal.In 20 years I've used the car, it's kept it running great, no timing adjustments (and it will pink easily if it not set up properly) - it's down to this stuff.

Have been using for years with no problems

I'm very happy with my new purchase.

Essential for petrol of today especially classic cars

The E5 super unleaded can eat away at your valve seats on older cars, as young as 2001, and certainly older cars from the 70's etc.The new E10 unleaded is twice as bad, with double the ethanol which will destroy your rubber hoses as well as the valve seats.Lead was an awful thing to have in fuel, but it's purpose was to (sort of) lubricate and protect the engine. This product does the same job as the removed lead, and also combats the ethanol effects.They say an engine with 40,000 miles of leaded petrol use can survive another 10,000 miles of unleaded petrol wear.. don't risk it. Buy this and put the correct amount in each time you fill up.