Jim 2 Posted June 30, 2004 So I was filling up last night at the pump - i'm not sure if this is a new addition, but I noticed next to the BP Ultimate logo was a little '97' in a circle - looked at the regular unleaded and that was a 95 in a little circle. So - BP Ultimate is basically just Super Unleaded then, with a 97RON.. it doesn't have the same octane rating as Optimax.. and Vince @ Stealth even said the he feels Optimax is the better fuel. So... why do I get better economy and seemingly better performance from Ultimate then. I know we have had a million discussions about fuel - I was just posting to say that Ultimate is definately a 97RON fuel.. let whatever discussions follow on do as they may! :) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dr_mat 0 Posted June 30, 2004 Yeah, Ultimate is 97 Octane. But Optimax is 95 Octane... Optimax has a load of octane boosters which are not very stable. If you get it straight from the refinery, it's about 99-102 octane, which is great, but if it's been sitting about for a few weeks it's going to be 95-97 octane.. BP Ultimate you can at least rely on. It's 97 and it stays that way. They both have engine cleaning additives and stuff like that. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhatVR6 0 Posted June 30, 2004 I thought optimax was 98RON minimum? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dr_mat 0 Posted June 30, 2004 Nah, they deliberately don't quote a figure for optimax cos it's nothing special. -- correction in Germany I think optimax is 98 minimum, but here it's not. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
scottgroovez 0 Posted June 30, 2004 A friend of mine once used Shell Race fuel in his 8v Golf, he reckoned it did 85MPH in Second :cuckoo: before blowing the head gasket :lol: :( Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhatVR6 0 Posted June 30, 2004 wow, it altered his gear ratios too??? that's good shit....... :roll: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jim 2 Posted June 30, 2004 Its amazing what petrol can do these days :D Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
crazymarcel 0 Posted June 30, 2004 While at local BP other day, pulled at different pump to one i usually use went to load in some ultimate and the pump has got fatter. i mean the metal bit of it. it wouldent push the little petrol vapour cap bit down, it was too fat.does that matter? Spose the force of the petrol going in would open the cap. But in a state of shock, i put it back and put some standard unleaded in, with this pump being the usual size. Since useing the unleaded (frst time since ownin the car) my car has felt more crappy and am gonna go use it up tonight and fill it up with some optimax or some ultimate from a different station prayin i dont come across fat end petrol pump. Think im going mad. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dr_mat 0 Posted June 30, 2004 The "fat" pumps are usually Lead Replacement Petrol - designed to not fit down the filler necks of cars that require UL. Maybe they're reusing some LRP pumps for Ultimate? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
crazymarcel 0 Posted June 30, 2004 The "fat" pumps are usually Lead Replacement Petrol - designed to not fit down the filler necks of cars that require UL. Maybe they're reusing some LRP pumps for Ultimate? Cool cheers dr_mat must of been what has happened. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dubster82 0 Posted June 30, 2004 diesel ultimate....... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joe M 0 Posted June 30, 2004 I normally use normal Esso in my car and whenever ive used Optimax or Ultimate I cant say ive noticed much difference. The Esso garage I use has just started selling there Super Unleaded so I tried a tank yesterday and noticed a difference straight away. Ill be sticking to Esso from now on I think... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kevin Bacon 5 Posted June 30, 2004 Yeah the Esso SUL is good too. I get much more consistent running with Esso and BP fuels. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dinkus 10 Posted June 30, 2004 Yeah the Esso SUL is good too. I get much more consistent running with Esso and BP fuels. It's gotta be worth a shot, there's an Esso within spitting distance of where I work, so I'll pay the extra 1p a litre and fill up there rather than Tesco. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ben16v 0 Posted June 30, 2004 dont use tesco!!! had a load of cars not running cos of poor fuel when i worked there dunno if it was bottom of the tank or what but i sure aint risking it! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dinkus 10 Posted June 30, 2004 I needed petrol when I picked it up and couldn't make it much further than Tesco, but it's the last time. Esso from now on, don't worry. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tempest 0 Posted June 30, 2004 correction in Germany I think optimax is 98 minimum, but here it's not. Erm nope, they've had V-Power for quite some time, as indeed pretty much everyone else on the continent, supposed to be 100 octane. The Rado-gang in Germany rate it very well, especially as some mates of mine are running special chips on their G60s Tempest Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vr6corrado 0 Posted June 30, 2004 I put some Texaco super unleaded in mine last week and I may have got a bad batch but it was running noticeably worse, I normally use Optimax and have tried Ultimate a few times and I can't tell the difference between the two. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joe M 0 Posted July 1, 2004 May have been a bad batch, ive heard Texaco SUL and Esso SUL are the exact same... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Boye 0 Posted July 1, 2004 Q8 SUL is labelled as 98. I've only used it once as it is always way overpriced but that 10 quids worth made the VR run super smooth. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kongo127 0 Posted July 1, 2004 Well i am not sure about Shell V-Power ratings... I can tell that i have used it for some time. I tuned up my dizzy to run with super unleaded 98 RON wihout pinking. And the other day i gave it a try with Shell V-Power and the car started pinking! So i guess that V-Power is not 98 RON but 95 RON... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Boye 0 Posted July 3, 2004 Anyone else notice that their exhaust soots up more when using Optimax? I thought the car may have been running rich but the recent service showed everything to be ok. I've almost always used optimax ever since it became available and this ties in with the soot appearance. I doubt the engine is still being cleaned after the past years use. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhatVR6 0 Posted July 5, 2004 I ran mine on ultimate yesterday. made no difference at all. still got 30-32mpg, still felt the same performance wise. waste of money. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Scott 0 Posted July 5, 2004 I put some in mine this morning and now it seems to have a slight mis fire.... :shock: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yandards 0 Posted July 8, 2004 I just use optimax or BP ultimate, but the problem with switching fuel suppliers is that car has adjust to the new fuel. I always used to fill my *cough* 306 TurboD *cough* up with Esso and if I filled it up with Shell it would lose around 50 miles of the range of a full tank - I do around 500 miles a week going to work and back so it only lasts a week. Then the Shell fuel got a lot cheaper than the Esso so I started using that - after around a month I was getting the same fuel economy as I was when using just Esso. I suppose it comes down to your sensor map in the ECU it needs to adjust to the slightly different properties of the fuel. Or that may just be bo11ox. Laters, Yan Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites