Unleaded vs Premium Unleaded

[Iain]

My mechanic said that BP has the highest octane and is the best of the premium brands .... no discount docket and no flybuys means that it is Shell for me.

I've got a BP 2c discount card, they just gave it to me when I filled up and I just present it when I don't have any Safeway or Coles vouchers.
Next time you're in a BP outlet ask if they still give them away.
Sorry,, it's for LPG only but might be of interest to some

[Harry72]

My little runabout must run on 95+(ST170 Ford Focus), even with the 95 it feels sluggish down low but fill it with opti or synergy(and drive several 100k's to tune too it)and my little 4 scares the hell out of a lot of 8's!
Once I got stuck with normal ULP 3/4 a tank, pinged till I stuck a whole bottle of octane booster in it... @$35 a bottle got barely 300ks before needing more fuel, on the way over(800km)used 3/4 of a tank(optimax).
Moral of the story is if your car has a low compression ratio it may only run smoother... if its high like mine(10.5:1) the extra few cents is well worth it, because milage near doubles.
Compared to europe/japan aust has crap fuel, some imports must be detuned to suit!(for instance PTC's Honda Integra Vtir)

[Jack E]

even with the 95 it feels sluggish down low

Come on Harry, it is a Focus
If you bought a Table saw with a ridiculously undersized motor it would feel slugggish so why do it to yourself with a car

Jack

[Harry72]

Yeah guess youre right I went from a 5.4ltr BA falcon ute to the 2ltr focus ST... but its not the normal focus as it has 170bhp instead of 120bhp of the normal 2ltr focus(zetec).
If my old ute had the same power per litre as the ST170 it would have 340kw/550nm not 220kw/470nm but thats not a real way to compare as the ute doesnt weigh 2.5 times as much, so power to weight wins... but only just on the 1/4mile if I was to lap both cars around say mallala here in SA the ute would get totally wooped!

[Schtoo]

im not in the petro industry but my understanding is that when they boil crude oil it seperates - all the more viscious stuff sinks to the bottom and the less vicious stuff rises to the top. they then skim all the stuff off in layers to get the various products. examples are bitumen at the bottom and fuel at the higher end - avgas etc at the top... I also understand that the stuff at the top is more volatile thus "more bang for buck" - therefore the premium must be lighter ? ??? :confused: :confused:

feel free to correct me here - i'm happy to be wrong. I'd like to know if i'm right ..

cheers

I'm not a fuel fella either, but what you put up there sounds correct for quite a few years ago.

Nowadays they have newer refinery towers. Catalytic cracker was what I was told, and they can, within reason, just dial in what they want out of the crude. Say they need a bunch of regular ULP, they can get what would normally come out, and the heavier stuff can be broken up (technical term, don't use it outside your own home.) into more regular. The lighter stuff, I don't know. Some of it stays heavy, some of it is junk, but it works out better in the end for profits, etc.

Told to me by a petrochemical guru, but the details might be as fuzzy as a few beers are likely to make it.

Just out of curiosity, what are they stinging you guys for fuel these days? Here, regular is 122 yen/L, premium 132 yen/L and diesel is about 90 yen/L. Works out to about $1.45, $1.57 and $1.07 respectively, however the petrols are 95 and 100 (don't know how it really compares though) and pretty much sulphur free diesel.

Just gotta get a car than might actually be able to use the good stuff now. The Honda we got now (5 cyclinder, N-S engine, front wheel drive and Camry sized) just aint doing it, even though it's pretty cushy to run around in, as long as I stop touch-parking in the stoopid thing.

Wonder how much a nice new Ute would cost me to import...

[ptc]

Harry.
Honda went like the clappers on Optimax (QLD)
7000 rpm redline 100klm in Second gear.
ulp here is $1.15-9c tas top left hand corner.
It might have run on huon pine wood chips ???

[adrian]

I get noticably better mileage in my Prado using premium but I haven't yet done my sums to see if it is financially worthwhile.

[Lucas]

Got told yesterday that Coles Express/Shell will be giving instead of 4c discount
They will give 8c discount to Coles/ Myer card holders

wonder if they will deem this as unfair trading like they just did with liquorland

[Harry72]

Harry.
Honda went like the clappers on Optimax (QLD)
7000 rpm redline 100klm in Second gear.
ulp here is $1.15-9c tas top left hand corner.
It might have run on huon pine wood chips ???

Hmmm they must have a little bit higher final drive ratio than mine... 120 in second @7500rpm, not that you need to rev it that far as its a close ratio thru all 6 gears(unlike holdens rediculous 6th gear)

[Honest Gaza]

I have an XR6-Turbo. The handbook advises that you can use either "regular' unleaded, or "premium" unleaded....as it is tuned for both.

I have had the car for approx 18 months and have mainly used Shell Premium, but turn into a cheapskate when the fuel cost per litre gets too high. I keep regular figures on petrol consumption as it is a Novated Lease vehicle. I have to tell you that in relation to petrol consumption, any differences are negligable ( in my experience )....54,000k's over 18 months.

I do think that there is a performance benefit in terms of power ( but this may be a perceived benefit ), and "apparently", it is better for my engine.

[Optimark]

I run a high compression twin cylinder motorcycle. As it's my work vehicle I very closely monitor the running costs.

One of the ways to observe one of running costs is to take the total cost of the petrol for the year, take the total kilometres travelled, then work out how much the cost of fuel is for every kilometre travelled.

Prior to Shell Optimax coming on the scene, I used normal premium fuel. My fuel cost was almost exactly 5 cents a kilometre. Shortly after Optimax turned up I decided to give it a go, but monitor it carefully.

I noticed after about the third tankfull, I was travelling further on a given tank. I run a large tank on the bike and my fuel range went from about 600 Klm's a tank to about 680 Klm's before starting to need filling up. Eventually I was able to travel about 740 - 760 Klm's before needing a fill. This has merit for anybody who travels in the country, as fuel stations outside of the main roads are quite few and far between.

Anyway, after 9 months of Optimax the fuel cost was still at 5 cents a litre. The extra distance one was able to get from that fuel, negated any price difference.

I have now been using for close to 5 years, different suppliers optimum fuels and have always gotten the same results, whether it is Shell Optimax, Caltex Vortex or BP's version.

If your vehicle is a high performance one, then the better fuel, in my observations, will be the same cost for every kilometre travelled, so there is nothing to be gained there, but you will travel further on a tank, so you gain there.

We also own a Hyundai Excell which runs bog standard fuel. I decided to test it with the premium fuel and found it goes no further on a tank after 4 tankfuls, so I gave it up as I was just throwing money away.

As a point of interest we are currently at the 11 month stage into the financial year. I just did the sums for this year so far, the increased cost of fuel, has finally put the cost up to 5.21 cents per litre. The last 3 years have been steady at 5 cents, so this, the 4th year, is costing more!

Mick.

[Harry72]

I have an XR6-Turbo. The handbook advises that you can use either "regular' unleaded, or "premium" unleaded....as it is tuned for both.

Actually its not tuned for either, the BA is self learning/tunning like my focus... thats why I said after 100km or so its better, you can test this, fill up with a different rating fuel and time how fast your car accelorates or 1/4 mile, when you get towards the end of the tank full you'll find your times will improve by a fair amount and be using less fuel.

[Daddles]

Actually its not tuned for either, the BA is self learning/tunning like my focus... thats why I said after 100km or so its better, you can test this, fill up with a different rating fuel and time how fast your car accelorates or 1/4 mile, when you get towards the end of the tank full you'll find your times will improve by a fair amount and be using less fuel.

Sorry officer, I wasn't hooning. Honest. Yes, I know I'm too old to be a young hoon but ... It's all the fault of the woodwork forum. Yes officer, I know that I've done four runs down this suburban back street tonight and I know I was doing it last week, and the week before, but officer, this bloke on the woodwork forum. Yes officer, I know that hooning has nothing to do with wood working, but this bloke on the forum, he TOLD ME TO.

Perhaps Dan P would like to comment on this scenario It'd have to be one of the better excuses wouldn't it?

Cheers
Richard

[RufflyRustic]

I used to have a 98 nissan pulsar plus. Ran ok on standard fuel, then optimax came out. We noticed the difference in performance, fuel economy and services almost immediately.


Now we've upgraded to a Mazda6. When we bought it, they forgot to fill up the tank, so we put in the Optimax - wonderful, drove like a dream. Next tank they paid for - BP with 10% ethanol. Wasn't happy, drove like crap, splutter stall &*^%$%#* b*********! Back to the Optimax - all systems go!

Cheers
RufflyRustic