Good info about "advanced" petrols

[hogweed]

Old Hogweed is a cynical sort of bloke, and doesn't believe anything that Tony Blair, Estate Agents, or petrol companies say... so I asked BP about their Ultimate Unleaded... here's their response.

I intend to test it, as I know the exact mpg I get with normal petrol (performance is a different matter, I don't have a rolling road in my garage... I'll publish the results - maybe others woudl like to do the same?

PS the formatting below has gone all funny - but for each criterion, the smaller figure is the average, the larger the maximum achieved.

The RON (Research Octane Number) for BP Ultimate Unleaded is guaranteed
97. For Performance vehicles it is also helpful to know the MON (Motor
Octane Number). This is where the Antiknock quality is tested at full
throttle and High engine speed, and part throttle and low&high engine
speeds. The MON for Ultimate Unleaded is guaranteed 86, however is
typically higher and up to 87.4. Which I believe is the same as
Optimax!

Increased octane rating does benefit some vehicles and overall BP
Ultimate gives significant benefits relative to unleaded 95. There are
other important features of the BP Ultimate formulation that benefit all
vehicles, such as its exceptional cleaning performance - twice the
cleaning power of normal fuels; deposits are dissolved by the additives
and are burned in the engine. Also BP Ultimate burns more efficiently
and cleans your engine as you drive to deliver sharper acceleration and
improved responsiveness while producing less harmful emissions.

We have tested BP Ultimate and Optimax back to back in a range of
performance cars, and saw very similar results for Optimax and BP
Ultimate. However, BP Ultimate has been developed to give benefits in
all cars, as opposed to just performance cars, where the outstanding
cleaning performance and friction reduction properties of BP Ultimate
are particularly important.

A few figures that you may find interesting regarding BP Ultimate
Unleaded compared to standard unleaded:

Average
Up to
More Performance
More power 3.7%
7.1%
Sharper Acceleration 3.0%
5.2%
Improved Fuel Consumption 3.4%
5.8%

Less Pollution
Lower Hydrocarbons 5.6%
-
Lower Carbon Monoxide 14.5%
-
Lower Nitrogen Oxides 5.3%
-
Lower Carbon Dioxide 2.2%
-
Lower Noise 18.6%
52.0%

Cleaner Engine
BP Ultimate Unleaded prevents 97% of (intake valve) deposits forming
BP Ultimate Unleaded removes 75% of (intake valve) deposits

Thank you once again for your interest in our new BP Ultimate fuel and
please do not hesitate to contact us if you have anymore queries
regarding BP Ultimate Unleaded or Diesel.


Regards,

Bp Customer Care.

[notsofast]

Thanks for that, old Hogweed.

We have tested BP Ultimate and Optimax back to back in a range of
performance cars, and saw very similar results for Optimax and BP
Ultimate.

Being just a little cynical myself, that quote from BP Customer Care can only mean that their Ulitmate has come out worse against Optimax in the head to head!

Look forward to seeing the results of your economy test!

Cheers.

[hogweed]

Yeah, absolutely! Otherwise they'd have said it was better... but didn't BP and Shell used to be the same group... maybe it's the same petrol!

[Ziggy]

How the FCUK can a different petrol reduce noise by 52%?!?

[320Touring]

How the FCUK can a different petrol reduce noise by 52%?!?

simple-you pay more so you want to believe it does!

[Jhonno]

How the FCUK can a different petrol reduce noise by 52%?!?

its not stated as bein 52% - its 18.6%

and it depends on how it burns, a 'softer' burn will make the engine quieter

[orangecurry]

standard petrol for all petrol stations / outlets tends to come from the nearest refinery - the petrol is the same, simply branded 'Shell' or 'BP', or 'Tesco' - 'supermarket petrol' is a myth; do you really think they have their own refineries?
Obviously they deliver it in their own tankers.

Shell are a dutch company, and are fierce rivals with BP; not sure who owns BP now!

BP UlimateWOW will be a marketing answer to Optimax, both of which I assume must be actually different and come from different refineries?

I haven't worked in the industry since they brought out 'special' branded superpetrol, so I can't say for certain. I'll ask my brother who's still working for an Oil Company, but he's more concerned with getting it out of the ground than marketing nonsense.

As I understand it Optimax is treated with chemicals to achieve over 98 RON, but the BP stuff is actually refined to a higher RON?

ps Good old 'Super unleaded' with 97(?) RON again will also be 'shared' from the nearest refinery.

[Nostrils]

Edited: Orange Curry, you took the words out of my mouth

ALL fuel for ANY supplier, Esso, BP, Shell, Texaco, Tesco, Sainsbury is supplied by a depot run by one of the above, but used by ALL of the above. West London fuel is supplied by The West London Terminal based at Heathrow. This depot is run and owned by Esso and it is supplied by underground pipeline from Farley in Hampshire.

Any Optimax, Ultimate, Sulphur Free, bla bla bla is added at the petrol station by the delivery driver - just like we could do with the product REDEX.

My dad worked for Esso for over 20 years as delivery driver and then at Heathrow refuelling aircraft - I dont know if you remember the old slogan "Esso Blue" - Because the fuel had a blue tint to it - Which was added at the forecourt. My brother still works for BP after 11 years and they both have never purchased these designer fuels.....I wonder why cos they arent short of a few bob and can certainly afford it!

Its just like anything else we buy - Give it a slogan or a new name or a new 'function', we the consumer are hooked and we pay more for it! - Its called marketing.

Different Scenario: Toothpaste for example: Colgate do many variations like Whitener, Oxygen, Total, Tartar Control - Why dont they just put it all together and we will have the 'Ultimate' toothpaste. Creative marketing makes more money.

[orangecurry]

I can just type faster, Nostrils!

having said all the above, in a modern car (Impreza Turbo) on a long journey driving fast on motorways and singletrack A-roads, I did see a 10% improvement in mpg using Optimax over 95 RON unleaded.

Improvement in performance? Only a rolling road will tell the truth on that one.

[320Touring]

I can just type faster, Nostrils!

having said all the above, in a modern car (Impreza Turbo) on a long journey driving fast on motorways and singletrack A-roads, I did see a 10% improvement in mpg using Optimax over 95 RON unleaded.

Improvement in performance? Only a rolling road will tell the truth on that one.

so a 10% improvement on economy?!thats good! just wondering tho-does it balence out the extra cost of the fuel?!

[hogweed]

Any Optimax, Ultimate, Sulphur Free, bla bla bla is added at the petrol station by the delivery driver - just like we could do with the product REDEX.

Wow. Now that IS interesting.

Are Redex or any of those other things worth a toss? Some of them make claims for de-coking your engine etc, which I find very hard to believe, but I reckon my 155,000-miler is ready for a decoke and I don't want to do it...

[Nostrils]

I can just type faster, Nostrils!

I am a good typist at over 50wpm I just get so wound up with people trying to compare fuels.....Granted, these additives can make an effect on the more modern cars with their sophisticated electronics - Compare the extra mpg / bhp to extra cost of the fuel over a year and what is the real saving.....negligable I would think.

Diesels are marketed for their MPG, which are great figures, but when you actually check the cost to the consumer, in many case (as per 5th Gear), many drivers would have to do at least 10000miles to start getting their money back!

My car is 15 years old in July and when it was born it did not have these designer fuels to use and the electronics are the equivalent of the ZX80 compared to the current models - The 7 series IIRC has 7 computers on board...

[Nostrils]

Redex has its place just like other additives. Too much concentration will do damage to the engine, but if used as instructed with a full tank of fuel, it acts just like a detergent does for your clothes.

I used Redex with my old Cortina 1.6S (my 2nd ever car) and it did help clean it - Expect some smoke for a short while - I am not sure I would use it on my M3 though.

My mate plumbed in a small pump from REDEX direct to this carb in his MKIII Cortina GT and at the lights he would 'inject' some REDEX in and wait until he pulled away......the white smoke was so bad, the remaining cars did not even move off the line. Needless to say, his engine gave up on him after going through 2 bottles over a weekend.

[orangecurry]

320 Touring - exactly; 10% increase in MPG over a long journey vs 10% increase in cost? So why do it?
(Nostrils - you beat me that time )

If you do the fabled 'hardware reset' on the Subaru (i.e. disconnect the battery overnight so the ignition timing memory gets wiped) when the tank is full of Optimax, then gun it around a bit, allegedly the electronic brain decides that it has always had a high RON and sets the engine timing accordingly, and you have the best possible BHP from the engine......

Well I've tried it and yes it feels faster, but is that just because you bothered with all that nonsense?

And then the wife fills up with 95 RON and the Subaru management system says 'crap petrol - set timing accordingly' and you're back to square 1.

If you do lots of short journeys I doubt whether you'd see any worthwhile mpg increase, and is the E30 brain clever enough to reset the timing dynamically anyway?

[Nostrils]

It seems REDEX has expanded (and owned by Honeywell strangely!)

See here.....http://www.honeywell.com.au/business/ho ... fault.html

[Nostrils]

I know the E30 M3 ECU has physical setting switches for 95RON and above which was set differently for each country/continent is was going to - Not sure what mine is set to at the moment.

Your are right OrangeCurry - Drive with a Lead Foot, the ECU will adjust appropriately and will re-adjust when the driving is changed after so many miles (30 miles springs to mind!)

When I got my car, I was told the last owner was a motorway driver so the car is a little lumpy around town - This appeared to be the case - I had read an article about a 'reboot' and when the alarm was fitted, the battery was disconnected for the whole day.

When I got to drive the car again, it seemed no different - just as the article said - but after driving around the local roads over the next couple of days, the car did appear to be different around town, certainly more responsive and not so 'lumpy' at idle.

Who knows if this is really the case, it could be just our perception!!

How many of you have thought that your car sounds better and is more responsive after a long (over 60 miles) motorway run! It stays like this for a few days then suddenly you start thinking "it was running well the other week when I went to so and so's"

[Ziggy]

How the FCUK can a different petrol reduce noise by 52%?!?

its not stated as bein 52% - its 18.6%

and it depends on how it burns, a 'softer' burn will make the engine quieter

Lower Noise 18.6%
52.0%

...for each criterion, the smaller figure is the average, the larger the maximum achieved.

Still, maybe it is just the formatting, but 52%'s mentioned & I'd be very surprised if a 52% reduction could be achieved on any statistic, in any car!! & 18.6% is a huge figure for an average noise drop.

I've heard all the other claims a million times, but never that my car's gonna be loads quieter...

[Guest]

In section 4 page 2 paragraph 9 of the owner's manual,

After lengthy periods spent in heavy traffic or in a slow moving queue of vehicles, you are recommended to let the egine 'breathe deeply' by driving for some distance above 3000 rpm. this will disperse any soot deposits in the combustion chamber.

I guess a cokey engine would be lumpy.