peter pan Posted January 24, 2006 Posted January 24, 2006 I read the EVO fuel test and it appeared to have been well thought out and well carried out. It would appear that improvements are available where engines are fitted with knock sensors and advanced ECU`s but they did comment that any high compression engine will benefit from the use of higher octane fuels. The article showed that power and torque improvements were delivered by Optimax/Ultimate etc (over 95 octane fuels). I run on optimax and whilst subjective, feel that it always gives better performance than the 97 octane supermarket fuel. I think writer of the article did recommend Optimax as a good all round higher octane fuel even though it did not give the greatest power and torque figures with much crisper throttle response. I must say this has been my experience with optimax. Quote
Howard Posted January 24, 2006 Posted January 24, 2006 I normally use 'standard' 95 in my Volvo T5. I tried BP Ultimate for a while and didn't notice any difference. I did a comparison test, driving from Leicester to London on the M1 at a steady 70 with the cruise control on, so that I was not influencing the result with my driving. I got 32mpg both times. Howard Quote
david.c Posted January 24, 2006 Posted January 24, 2006 I tried knocking on my engine... no one came to see what I wanted, so I assumed I dont have one and have avoided Optimax. Try tooting your horn....................they might not hear you knocking David Quote
BIG G Posted January 24, 2006 Posted January 24, 2006 I have experimented with these fuels for a long time... My 7 has a 1700 X flow (140 bhp) and runs awful on 'fat free' 95 octane anything. will not pull below about 3000... flat etc... It does though run perfectly on Optimax, from tickover, with a smooth pick up and plenty of power. Economy not really relevant, but as good as it was on the old 4 star. My wife's current model RAV4 will run smoothly on anything, but usually does about 3 mpg more on Optimax, which is roughly a 10% improvement, so the fuel pays for itself. A friend with a similar RAV4 gets the same result. RAV also gives better mileage on BP Ultimate, sometimes even better than Optimax. My Midas with a Rover K series 16v runs smoother and also gives better mileage on Optimax, by a similar percentage. I have noticed that Optimax quality varied quite a lot in the past, and the 7 sometimes didn't run as well as it could on it, but I believe that changes were made to the fuel last summer, and certainly I have not had a bad batch in the 7 for ages... which is tempting fate... Optimax also keeps the engine very clean, and in my experience and after numerous trials, I use it wherever possible, as it appears to give either better performance and/or mileage, and the only reason people can't feel it is because modern car's injection/ignition systems mask the benifits.. 'RANT MODE OFF' Gary Quote
Ian Rabbetts Posted January 24, 2006 Posted January 24, 2006 I've had a recent experience that's the opposite to what some of you have found. 4 consecutive fills in a standard Scooby turbo with Optimax and definitely noticed an mpg decrease and no significant performance increase. Have switched back to regular 95 RON Shell and mpg is now back to what it was. Go figure Quote
amc_black Posted January 24, 2006 Posted January 24, 2006 I use BP Ultimate Diesel in my Defender TD5 and it returns much better performance. Engine is much more eager to pull in all gears and I also seem to get more top speed. About 5 mph which is quite valuable on the motorway. Its also very useful when towing as the extra torque is very valuable with 2 tonnes out back. Its well worth the £1.02 a litre. Well almost. Quote
Fat Albert Posted January 24, 2006 Posted January 24, 2006 I'd support amc_black's view. The family transport/glider tow truck is a diesel Freelander. Just after the Hemel blast the numpties local to me emptied the 'City' diesel pumps from all local forecourts, so I was forced to fill with BP Ultimate diesel. I was absolutely astonished with the results, the throttle response was immediately much better than it had ever been, got the best ever consumption, on brim to brim tests, in 5 years of Freelandering (2 TD4s) and the general engine clatter was reduced enough for even 'er in doors to notice. I was so surprised that on a long trip up North I deliberately refilled with normal diesel to see if the old behaviour returned, it did only now I can't bear the hesitating throttle or clatter. To be frank I couldn't give a monkeys about the cost or the science. I now only use Ultimate unless forced to use something else. Quote
Blatman Posted January 24, 2006 Posted January 24, 2006 I've had a recent experience that's the opposite to what some of you have found. 4 consecutive fills in a standard Scooby turbo with Optimax and definitely noticed an mpg decrease and no significant performance increase. Have switched back to regular 95 RON Shell and mpg is now back to what it was. Go figure We did figure. Read the info in the links I posted. It is all explained... Quote
Buzz Billsberry Posted January 24, 2006 Posted January 24, 2006 So u all missed the Top Gear report in 2005? Buzz Quote
Guest Posted January 25, 2006 Posted January 25, 2006 Shell V-power in europ is not the same as UK optimax , V-power in germany is 100 octane , optimax is 98 in the uk , v-power is 90 to 93 in the us depending on the state , so you can't really compare the fuels bought elsewhere in test results. Quote
geelhoed Posted January 25, 2006 Author Posted January 25, 2006 Dutch v-power is 98 as well, BP ultimate is 97,excellium 98. The germans want 100 for the higher strain on their engines on hitlers highways. Quote
Blatman Posted January 25, 2006 Posted January 25, 2006 Shell V-power in europ is not the same as UK optimax , V-power in germany is 100 octane , optimax is 98 in the uk , v-power is 90 to 93 in the us depending on the state , so you can't really compare the fuels bought elsewhere in test results. The yanks quote the octane rating as an average of the RON and MON readings. 90-93 is actually 98-101... ish... I guess I wasted my time and a load of bandwidth by posting the links yesterday... Quote
windy Posted January 25, 2006 Posted January 25, 2006 Gelhoed, Can you buy E85 fuel yet where you live? Quote
Guest Posted January 26, 2006 Posted January 26, 2006 Shell V-power in europ is not the same as UK optimax , V-power in germany is 100 octane , optimax is 98 in the uk , v-power is 90 to 93 in the us depending on the state , so you can't really compare the fuels bought elsewhere in test results. The yanks quote the octane rating as an average of the RON and MON readings. 90-93 is actually 98-101... ish... I guess I wasted my time and a load of bandwidth by posting the links yesterday... that explains the 3 differing grades on off the other week .......... 85 87 and 92 ....... stuck in 85 as it was cheap. Quote
geelhoed Posted January 26, 2006 Author Posted January 26, 2006 What's E85? Shell is now mixing 2% bio-ethanol(actually ethyl tertiar butyl ether) in their euro95 fuel. And to try and reach kyoto agreements the government is taking less taxes on that so the price is the same as 100% mineral. Can someone please tell me why burning alcohol is good for the greenhouse effect? Quote
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