Super unleaded vs low octane fuels

[obi_waynne]

Can you notice a difference in your car between super unleaded (high octane) and regular (95 Ron -UK) pump fuel?

In some cars there is no difference but others can be quite marked.

I put some VPOWER in my car - at £1.23 I was weeping a bit but boy is it good. It's like I have another engine. (Local regular fuel is still £1.17 so it was actually pretty good value.)

So does it make a difference in your car? What about diesel fuels? Are these as noticable.

 

[HDi fun]

I used BP Ultimate in my 406 without exception. Worked superbly. Of course there were exceptions otherwise I could not pass comment.

I've been back in the petrol world for a tiny little while now and am experimenting with different petrol fuels. Latest effort is 1/2 tank of Tesco Momentum 99.

Seems OK so far - I'll post back with full findings. I am, however, a very sensitive driver so anything I report might not be very useful to others.

 

[bigbadjoe]

Its the differnce of about 20bhp im led to believe in my car. Just stay away from tesco's 99 stuff, as it is about as much use as tits on a fish.

 

[HDi fun]

Its the differnce of about 20bhp im led to believe in my car. Just stay away from tesco's 99 stuff, as it is about as much use as tits on a fish.

I'm experimenting with the Tesco stuff at the moment. My car isn't supercharged so it's possibly more tolerant than yours.

Even so, I will probably continue using BP/Shell every couple of weeks.

 

[pikey motorsports]

in MOST cars, Ron levels will make very little or no difference. The only cars that will find any kind of real difference are a) those that were designed to run on 97ron in the first place, and b) those that have ecu's clever enough to adjust the timing advance to make use of the extra octane level.

my corrado VR6 runs better on the higher octane fuel, as that is what it was designed to run on, however the ecu can retard the timing slightly at first sign of knock so can run fine on 95ron.

there is a whole chapter in A.G. Bells modern engine tuning book ( which i massively recommend to anyone who actually wants REAL gains, not just pub talk figures) dedicated to fuel, ron levels and such like. definately worth a read.

 

[Broken Cambelt]

i would agree with the general consensus, Buying high octane fuel is a waste unless your engine is smart enough to make use of it, or if it is indeed a highly tuned motor to start with.

Good lord, I just looked for A.G. Bell's book on amazon, £114.99. maybe ill find one in the library - im not too hopeful though.

 

[pgarner]

yes but as said mines does say to use 97 min on the fuel cap although it does say 95 can be used with reduced performance in the book.
for the £3 a tank id say it was well worth it

 

[bigbadjoe]

yes but as said mines does say to use 97 min on the fuel cap although it does say 95 can be used with reduced performance in the book.
for the £3 a tank id say it was well worth it

I know, thats going buy todays prices. Two years ago it was still £3 differnce, but that was when a 40L tank cost £35.60 to fill up. Now the same tank costs £46.80, some people might like to save that extra £3.

Don't know why im saying this, I use 97 as a min, think I am just in an argumentative mood!

 

[Puntopimp]

I miss the Days of Red Star Fuel Good old Leaded Petrol FTW!!! Cheap and Good

Jesus just to think in 1995 a tank of 50 L of Leaded Fuel was like 30 pounds at like £1.59p per gallon

 

[HDi fun]

It wasn't that cheap. 4 star went over the £2/gallon mark in about 1989

 

[pikey motorsports]

i would agree with the general consensus, Buying high octane fuel is a waste unless your engine is smart enough to make use of it, or if it is indeed a highly tuned motor to start with.

Good lord, I just looked for A.G. Bell's book on amazon, £114.99. maybe ill find one in the library - im not too hopeful though.

If you google modern engine tuning there is a copy floating about online you can download in pdf