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BLIMEY, not all petrol is the same!


Tunner
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A true story:

Today, I was struggling to find a petrol station without a queue, so I ended up at a Shell garage about 5 miles from home. There were closer sources of fuel, but I fancied a bit of a blast on a sunny day with the climate on cool!

Anyway, having filled up, I drove out and within a few hundred meters, I wondered what on earth had happened to my performance, it was like having an additional wedge of torque. I drove home with a big smile on my face, thinking that the summer sun had made my senses go haywire!

The penny finally dropped when I got home and looked at my receipt, 40 litres of Optimax. I had inadvertently filled up with the stuff. I had used it in my Audi TTC 225 with no noticeable increase in power. Well BLIMEY, the GTI flies on this juice! The low end pick up is amazing!

I have used the Total 97RON recently, without any appreciable difference, but Optimax is outstanding. You have to remember that I had no idea what was in my tank when I re-fuelled apart from 20 miles of 95RON.

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Noticed the difference in my Golf GTi mkV with optimax, supposed to be 98 ron over the other premium petrols. Although my previous car (Audi S3 210 ps) responded better to BP's ultimate unleaded 97 ron... strange how different cars perform!

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Has anyone actually tried the BP Ultimate 102 RON in their GTI yet? Is it better than Optimax?

I've found the Tesco 99RON Biofuel little different to Optimax and 5p per litre cheaper locally - but Optimax prices seem to vary widely buttcheeks.gif

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Hi Tunner > So in fact you have just conducted a 'blindfold' test! 169144-ok.gif

Very interesting but I'm not surprised. I've never used anything other than Optimax in my GTI so I can't compare, but I know I'm very happy with performance. 98.5p/litre Friday in this neck of the woods.

Personally I just can't see the point of using anything other than what VW recommend for the 2.0T FSI. I use Shell's station finder web site and have no problem SatNavving to one when I need refuelling. I start planning where to refuel as soon as I'm down to a quarter full.

Shell station finder

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[ QUOTE ]

i have never really noticed any difference with any fuel performance wise

[/ QUOTE ]

Any change in performance will only really be evident in providing more power at peak performance or at peak torque. Thus you get a little more power and torque at maximum foot down.....

The Fifth Gear test of fuels with the Golf GTI concluded

[ QUOTE ]

Certainly an improvement in power (with Optimax over standard unleaded) but whether you'd be able to feel an extra five horsepower around town is a different matter

[/ QUOTE ]

Optimax is 98 RON which is the recommended RON for the GTI. EU regulations require that new cars can run at 95 RON. For the GTI there being a minor (approx 2.5% power) trade off for this - it is a small difference that most people won't miss. Peak performance can be obtained with the higher octane fuel - Optimax. Other options include the Tesco 99RON biofuel or the BP Ultimate 102 RON fuels, both of which are higher RON rated than Optimax 169144-ok.gif

Certainly Tunner noticed the difference ECLIPSe.gifyelrotflmao.gifyelrotflmao.gif

BP RON 102 station finder

Linky to Tesco 99 petrol station locations

Fifth gear written result (note power at wheels, not at engine)

Wave file clip of the Fifth Gear program segment on fuels

This links straight to a .wmv file btw

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Unfortunately, to visit a Shell station means quite a detour, but I shell certainly look to fill up when I can on the stuff.

A blind test it was and there was no need to floor the throttle, the power delivery increase was noticeable under moderate acceleration. Not a massive increase, but worth the few extra pence per litre.

I will report back on my MPG which has remained constant at 24mpg for the least 4000 'in town' miles using Total's Netto blend! ZZZ.gif

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Cool cool.gif

What is probably happening is that at the same throttle setting (i.e. the same depression of foot on accelerator) you are getting more torque even with the same physical amount of fuel demonstrating more power with the higher RON fuel 169144-ok.gif

Shows you know your car well 169144-ok.gifjump.gif

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I had an RX8 for a couple of years - the average mpg was 22! Thing was, you always got the same mpg whether thrashing the car on the twisties or cruising along the motorway. Every 200 miles you were hunting for the next petrol station. crazy.gif

Re. the GTi fuel, mine seems to run better on BP Ultimate than Optimax, but Shell stations are easier to find.

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[ QUOTE ]

I reckon its all in the mind!

[/ QUOTE ]

....That's what they say about good sex too! grin.gif

Joking apart, I think you are dead right - The GTI feels quicker than it might be, though I have heard stories of it beating Astons and Ferraris etc wink.gifgrin.gif.

Even I didn't lose any ground keeping up with a Ferrari accelerating uphill the other day (I was very surprised) but I'm sure he wasn't trying. Afterall we would both have gone into licence losing potential. Doubtless the cars we both overtook thought we were hooligans in our noisy red toys grin.gif.

Talking of which [as I have now gone off topic anyway]: Now it's good weather, I'm driving with my sun roof tilted open at the back and all my windows down about one inch, principally for natural ventilation (works at very high speeds too without too much wind noise). I can always hear my Millteks with all windows closed but now with windows as described it's truly awesome in sound. A couple of my passengers in this fine weather have both commented unprompted on just how good she sounds when the engine is working hard.

Now, where's that nearest confounded tunnel ?! grin.gif

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Anyone looking for Optimax in Northern Ireland, this is the response I got from Shell

[ QUOTE ]

Thank you for your recent enquiry regarding the availability of Shell Optimax in Northern Ireland.

Regrettably, due to storage constraints in the Belfast supply terminal, we are not able to supply this grade to our filling stations in Northern Ireland. However, we do supply Super Unleaded which is a 97 octane unleaded but you would need to check with your garage as to whether this grade is suitable for your car as the engine may need re-tuned.

[/ QUOTE ]

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