Oli Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 Only a couple of days now, and one of the first things I am going to need to do is fill her up. Lots of people rave about Optimax and other about BP - Which should I use and why? Is there a noticable difference between them and other 'super' unleaded. Any difference with MPG? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevie_d Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 People will always debate this fact mate, but run her on Optimax or Ultimate. Although the engine will run RON 95, due to the knocking sensors in modern cars, however the car will not produce as much power and notably throttle response will be reduced. The car will also produce higher emissions and may return less MPG. You will also not reap the rewards of the cleaning agents present. Give her Optimax or Ultimate, she deserves it mate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarmac_Terrorist Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 I tried the new Tesco RON99 last week. I noted improved throttle response and cleaner pulling away from a stand still than RON 95 but cannot tell the 98 & 99 apart. If you buy carefully the higher octane fuel is often only 3p a litre higher than the 95 RON. I reckon you could get this back on improved mpg. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwoSheds Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 In a previous thread apparently Evo magazine did a comparative test on the GTI with different fuels. The quoted output figures were BP 95 Octane 204 BHP, 242 lb.ft torque. BP Ultimate 212 BHP, 252 lb.ft torque. Shell Optimax was apparently just short of the above figures. Didn't read the article myself or aware of how scientific it was. Always run mine on Optimax. (98 Octane as recommended for the GTI ) Would be interested to know in which EVO edition this article appeared though if anybody still has it ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnie Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 when it just states super unleaded what type is this? oh and try this site might save you some money http://www.petrolprices.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muppetboy Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 Had her 3 weeks now and only using Optimax! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonnyGTi Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 There was also a very detailed comparison test on TV a (fair) few months ago - Fifth Gear I think. They tested different cars with unleaded 95, BP Ultimate and Shell Optimax. The results basically said that if you run a high powered turbo car, the difference between petrol types is quite significant but on your 1.1 Fiesta there's not much difference. Shell Optimax definitely came out as the best petrol for high powered turbo cars, followed by BP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nhs Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 On my Passat there is an improvement with Tesco 99 over Optimax But both were streets ahead of standard unleaded (RON95) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwoSheds Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 [ QUOTE ] when it just states super unleaded what type is this? oh and try this site might save you some money http://www.petrolprices.com/ [/ QUOTE ] 'Super unleaded' is normally 97 Octane or as in the case of Tesco 99 Octane. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonnyGTi Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 How new is Tesco 99 ? Not heard of it before but found this for finding some : linky to Tesco 99 locations Also discussion here (see Page 2 for Fifth Gear Test results which included a Golf GTI !) : linky to Petrol discussion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikemod Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 Tried BP ultimate and noticed no improvement in performance Don't get Optimax here so have been exclusively Sainsburys super unleaded and after 12000 miles the car just gets better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SL26UK Posted March 25, 2006 Report Share Posted March 25, 2006 Only Optimax for me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melchior Posted March 25, 2006 Report Share Posted March 25, 2006 I use petrol, as it runs like a pig on diesel or anything else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nhs Posted March 25, 2006 Report Share Posted March 25, 2006 Yup, I've given up on that cooking oil trick too - smelt awful Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oli Posted March 25, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2006 So conclusion from where Im sitting is use either Optimax or tesco's super and not diesel!!!(cheers Melchior & NHS) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petsy Posted March 25, 2006 Report Share Posted March 25, 2006 [ QUOTE ] and not diesel!!! [/ QUOTE ] lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRobin Posted March 25, 2006 Report Share Posted March 25, 2006 Quite a lot has been written about why VW recommend using 98RON fuel for the 2.0T FSI engine. As a regular fuel for the GTI it doesn't make any sense to use otherwise. I have more trust in products from Shell than Tesco and so I exclusively use Optimax. They also have a good Station Finder on t'internet. At 10,000 miles my mpg is suddenly improved! - At least, according to the computer readout. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtiveedubber Posted March 25, 2006 Report Share Posted March 25, 2006 Why is BP Ultimate not used Red? Based on feel, I thought Ultimate was better than Optimax but Fifth Gear did show that Optimax was a clear winner. Shell has introduced a 100RON fuel here in Australia which includes Ethanol to boost up the RON. I wonder what sort of an improvement that would have and whether the ethanol would have a detrimental effect on the car. Anyone know much about ethanol? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clown Posted March 25, 2006 Report Share Posted March 25, 2006 Yes saw this myself,the GTI was not considered to be a higher enough performance car to justify you from seeing much of a difference in the fuels. When came to the Evo 7 there was a large increase in gained performance or torque as much as 10-12% with the GTI only managing 4-5% Optimax though came out on top.... When owned the E46 M3 this soon let you know by the engine note and feel if you used anything other than Optimax.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRobin Posted March 25, 2006 Report Share Posted March 25, 2006 [ QUOTE ] Why is BP Ultimate not used Red? [/ QUOTE ] ....Sorry, I don't quite understand your question. I think that some people here do use BP Ultimate. I cannot say that it's not as good as Optimax but I have a lot of faith in Optimax and have family history with Shell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chriswastle Posted March 25, 2006 Report Share Posted March 25, 2006 Just to throw the spanner in the works so to speak, but we have a new Sainsburys petrol station in our town, on speaking to the BP garage owner in the same town, he said that they were both supplied by BP ? How does that work then? ............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nhs Posted March 25, 2006 Report Share Posted March 25, 2006 GTiVeeDubber - the Tesco 99 fuel in the UK is 5% ethanol alcohol - available only at some Tesco petrol stations in the UK linky In the UK there is another fuel called E85 bioethanol which is a blend of 85 per cent ethanol/15 per cent petrol - but this has very limited availability and few cars are set up to use it (eg Ford Focus FFV). In a thread across on the Audi board, most people found the higher octane petrol gave better performance, but not always better economy [ QUOTE ] It's a definite effect. Roger dropped the car off with probably 95 RON in. The car then had four tanks of optimax - the performance was breathtaking during tanks 3 and four - so much so I kept getting torque steer all the time (when putting my foot down). But, the mpg was lousy 25-28 mpg at best. Now on tank 4 of 95 RON, the torque steer has stopped when i floor it, indicating the topline performance is worse, but the economay is now 32-35 mpg. So, my conclusion is this : put 95 in MY tank, it helps to stop torque steer,and gives better economy.... -------------------- [/ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] I have noticed an increase in economy with normal unleaded over Optimax. Not sure how much 2-4 MPG I think. Car maybe doesn't quite pick up as quickly and doesn't have quite the same amount of power but I rarely get to use it to the full on todays roads anyway. Sob -------------------- Audi A3 2.0 T FSI Sportback with lots of toys. [/ QUOTE ] The higher the RON the less likihood of engine pinking with high levels of ignition timing (advance) - the ECU sorts our the advance and the boost and will largely adapt to the fuel being used. The biofuels - eg Tesco 99RON - also make Tesco more profit as they have a lower rate of tax than normal petrol due to their bioethanol content 48.35p/litre tax for normal petrol, 28.35 for biopetrol linky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRobin Posted March 25, 2006 Report Share Posted March 25, 2006 ....And we all know that Tesco's primary concern is profit and not much else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snoopy Posted March 25, 2006 Report Share Posted March 25, 2006 [ QUOTE ] have family history with Shell. [/ QUOTE ] I still remember the problems shell petrol caused all them years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oli Posted March 25, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2006 [ QUOTE ] Just to throw the spanner in the works so to speak, but we have a new Sainsburys petrol station in our town, on speaking to the BP garage owner in the same town, he said that they were both supplied by BP ? How does that work then? ............. [/ QUOTE ] At our old site we used to have a petrol station - BP. All the fuel in our area came from Fawley. All they do is add different additives dependant on what brand of fuel was being sold. Fawley would supply all the petrol stations from Brighten to as far west as Weston Super Mare. So all the unleaded was the same just with different additives and the same with diesel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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