are all premium fuels the same??

[taynewguy]

Are all premium fules the same??

I think BP ultimate is the best, purely and simply because I have never had any problems while running it. I refuel my car a full tank at a time so I tend to pick diferences in fuel performance. When I use Caltex/Ampol I sometimes notice a marked reduction in power and the engine runs a little rougher. I first noticed it with my toyota sprinter and now with my skyline.

These problems are not always present but only develop when using Caltex/Ampol, Shell is fine (though I don't use it often), and BP I have never had a problem with.

Is it just me or has anyone else had problems with some premium fuel?

[raz0r$harP.UK]

Caltex (Ampol) Vortex is only about 95..as opposed to the other ones which are 98, off the top of my head.

There's a stack of fuel related topics here..everyone has their own opinions / experiences. All I have to say is that when I asked my compliancers which fuel to use, they said BP Ultimate or Optimax.

[taynewguy]

yeah i just did a search, as i expected, stay clear of Caltex/Ampol. OK I got all I need to know. Cheers.

[MINES_DATSUN]

yeah i just did a search, as i expected, stay clear of Caltex/Ampol.  OK I got all I need to know.  Cheers.

Mobil 1 is the best.

[JimX]

Mobil 1 is the best.

Holy shit, you put oil in your fuel tank?!

[OZ GTR35]

Ghostrider, I think that’s his nic, did a sample testing post about a year ago, I could not find it but I do remember the results.

The guy is a chemist and did specific measurements on 3 different samples of each petrol. The results?

BP Ultimate was the best, it had the highest consistent octane, I think it was about 98.2 with the least sulfur.

Mobile 8000 was next about 98.0 with a little more sulfur.

Shell Optimax was the worst. 97.6 with heaps of sulfur.

Caltex Vortex is only a Premium unleaded 96 Octane fuel with an injector clean added and was not recommended for the skylines.

Now these test are at least a year old and the fuels may have been changed or refined more but at the time this was the best analysis we I have seen done. The other factor was the time to market. Shell was the first out and was less refined then the others. Mobile next with BP a late last, but the BP has a min of 98, while the other specify up to 98 octane.

I notice the best performance and running on BP and have continued to use it for about 18 months in my GTR.

[zymotic]

apparently my gf's dad (hillclimb champ, ex sprint car champ) told me that ultimate is the best because it is created as a 98 octance rated fuel while optimax is a 95 octane rated fuel with additives to make it 98...

[JimX]

All the 98 RON fuels use aromatics to boost it up to 98.

All I can say is that anyone that says "fuel X is the best" is talking out of their arse. They are all different and run differently in different vehicles. Optimax may be the "dirtiest" by having the most sulfur and aromatics, but that doesn't necessarily make it the worst.

I get the best economy out of Optimax on my Skyline. However my motorcycle doesn't like it as much, and it gets the best economy on Mobil 8000. So I use Optimax in the car and 8000 on the bike.

So the correct answer as to which is the best is "it depends". The only way to tell is to try them all yourself and make your own decision. BP Ultimate gives me virtually the same economy as Optimax for me (car), and I'll use it when I can't get Optimax in the car. But Optimax is usually cheaper and easier to find so I tend to buy that more often.

[R31Nismoid]

I said it a while ago in a thread... can't remember which one.

The BP had the highest octane rating and is the only one gauranted to be 98 ocante at the least, that was consitent among any batch.

and then i got flamed for it!

good to see in this thread that people finally agree with what i said a long time ago.

there was a news paper article too that compared the fuels.

but again, that was 12 months ago things might have changed

[R31Nismoid]

Ultiamte and optimax are about the same here (price for price)

depends where you get it but sometimes BP is cheaper!

i use Ultimate all the time.

[OZ GTR35]

One other reason I dont use Optimax, I find it goes off after about 4 weeks, I had to get my bike retuned a couple of times after it backfired itself out of tune. The other issue is that on track days I get a little amount of spillage from my tank, Optimax stains my paint, BP does not.

[JimX]

Yes, sometimes BP is cheaper, and I tend to grab it if it is Like I said, I can't really tell the difference, but I do know that I get considerably worse mileage out of 8000 on the 'line. My worst was 19L/100km on 8000 recently, nfi what happened there! This is why I avoid it for the car.

I only "prefer" Optimax really because there are so many more Shells in my area. Plus only half the BP's around me have Ultimate, whereas every Shell has Optimax. So it's mostly a convenience thing.

But the bike loves 8000! I get an extra 10-20km per tank easy over BP/Shell. I don't do it to save money (because 8000 is usually more cpl above ULP than Shell/BP) but to save the hassle of having to fill up as often.

[JimX]

I've had a lot of fuel of all types spill out the side, no stains/marks as yet. All that happens is it strips the wax and sticks to the paint, I just clean it as normal and re-wax the affected section.

[OZ GTR35]

I found that thread have a read and let me know if you think ghostrider

http://forums.skylinesdownunder.co.nz/show...25&pagenumber=1

Now this info is 15 months old and shell have have made some chages to the optimax to comply with Ghost's coments on specific gravity, but read the whole thread, Ghost did his research.

In Sumary: an extract

SHELL OPTIMAX (98.3 RON)

Under it's present formulation, it will not pass the drivability index set down by the EPA for fossil fuels, that will become law sometime in 2003 (1 July) at a guess and therefore will be illegal to sell. Also, it contains over 4% Benzine & Sulphur and tested at 98.3 octane (RON). So if you want to breath all of this SH1T go for it, we will all come and visit you in La La Land.

For Optimax to meet the drivability index, the company must spend MULTI MEGA MILLIONS of DOLLARS on their refinery to allow them to crack LOW SULPHUR crude oils.

MOBIL SYNERGY 8000 (98.5 RON)

Contains less than 0.4% Benzine & Sulphur, tested at 98.5 octane (RON) and complies with the drivability index NOW!! as is. A much cleaner, more environmentally friendly fossil fuel.

BP ULTIMATE (98.8 RON)

Contains similar quantities of Benzine & Sulphur to Mobil and tested at 98.8 octane (RON) and also complies.

GETS MY VOTE as NUMBER1.

"G" EVOLUTION

After some lengthy discussion and research, this fuel from Traffigura compares favourably with both BP Ultimate & MOBIL Synergy 8000 in all aspects. What you must decide is this, Evolution is not manufacture here, it is produced in Singapore and transported here via tanker and stored in Melbourne.

[benm]

I've had great fuel mileage on both Optimax (540km) and BP Ultimate (552km). As far as im concerned their is no accurate way to compare fuel mileage unless you put your car on a dyno, peg it at 100km/h and let it run till the tank is empty on 2 different tanks of fuel. I run my tank empty (and i mean empty) every single time just to get 400km out of it and my car runs superbly.

Just by getting 2 or 3 extra sets of traffic lights a day could mean 30-40km less at the end of the week in your fuel mileage.

I -always- fill up my tank with Optimax purely because its the nearest petrol station to my house (excluding the Woolworths station because that shit shouldn't even be legal). If BP was closest (or on my side of the road) then I would fill up with that... pretty simple really.

[Ronin 09]

Holy shit, you put oil in your fuel tank?!

hehehehehe

[knore]

Personally i dont mind either Optimax or BP, but my preffered is Optimax, I do remember reading something about Shell recently changing the either makeup or entire creation/refinement of Optimax and alot of their other petrol range.

I used BP for about a month, was almost empty, put in optimax and i could feel the difference. I guess its just upto the person.

Mobil Synergy 8000 ./ ? ive never heard of it, then again ive never gone into Mobil Petrol station to fill my car up!

The BP on wynnum road where 'fast and furious' workshop used to be has 20L drums of 100octane racing fuel on the store floor. Was thinking of using it for 1/4s or just occasionally for some boooost

It says you need some kind of 'minor' racing lisence etc to buy it

[funkymonkey]

In my car ultimate gets me the best milage and gives me the best response. Optimax is up there, but it leaves this nasty monkey ass sulphuric gone off egg smell around the exhaust... and I get dirty looks when people walk aroudn the back of the car. Ultimate on the other hand does not leave any sulphuric odour.

[R31Nismoid]

I only "prefer" Optimax really because there are so many more Shells in my area. Plus only half the BP's around me have Ultimate, whereas every Shell has Optimax. So it's mostly a convenience thing.

mmm. Quite a TRUE point that indeed!

lucky im 5 mins from the airport... they got all sorts of nice fuels there

But the BP has the ultimate so im lucky. But i know of a number of other BP's in my area that dont stock the Ultimate though... as opposed to the Shell's which ALL have optimax.

[GTR R35]

I read that they have BANNED cars from getting fuel from the airport. It was because of some tax BS that is not on the fuel there.....

Anyone heard of this ?

I also think BP ultimate is the besty as I will rather pay +7c p/l for BP than +9c p/l for Optimax