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Super Unleaded Fuel


edwardio
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Ok people, you need to fully read the below links first before commenting. Both are very interesting.

GTR Optimax review

Super Unleaded review

I have always said that BP Ultimate works a whole lot better in my 140 Celica vvti than Shell Optimax. I didn't know why but it just did. It was more responsive and lasted longer, though I bought Optimax as my closest garage is a Shell garage.

Going by the links above, Optimax is worth the money and you'd be better off buying standard unleaded. That is unless you get the fuel in your tank and fully used within days of it being refined. That's the only way you'd get the best out of it. In a nut Shell, the way Optimax is put together means that it degrades very quickly.

It seems the best Super Unleaded to buy in this country (going by the links), is Tesco 99 ron.

So if you want Super Unleaded buy it in this order:

Tesco 99

BP Ultimate

Standard Unleaded - no joke!

Shell Optimax

Please post your thoughts.

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Erm do Shell even still do Optimax? (Which I always said was overated rubbish ;))

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Yeah they still sell it.

Just a quick add to this from lower down:

"Well my local has a sign on a pump with it. Though I'm guessing they just haven't replaced it with a V-power one. It is rather tatty I must admint, that's why I said they still sold it."

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Yeah they still sell it.

Not in any Shell garage I've visited in the last year or so.

They do sell V-Power nowadays.I find it excellent in all my cars.

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Well my local has a sign on a pump with it. Though I'm guessing they just haven't replaced it with a V-power one. It is rather tatty I must admint, that's why I said they still sold it. I'll make sure to tell them about it next time I go in.

I have used Optimax in the past and I've used V-Power, to be honest I couldn't tell the difference between the two. I can tell the difference with Ultimate.

From the links above, it does seem that 'Super Unleaded' can be labeeled as super unleaded if it reads a certain mixtue, even though that could match standard 95, which in it's self can be allowed at 89 ron (if I remember right).

So when we buy petrol, are we really getting what we think we are?

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On a side note, I really notice a difference with BP ultimate diesel and V power diesel... the Hilux runs far smoother, quieter and faster. Better MPG too.

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For the past hour I've been trying to find a direct and independant test between Super Unleaded manufactures, but I'm hitting a brick wall.

I have read a lot on each of the manufacturers themselves. Bp Ultime has been around for a good while now and I'm sure a lot of people would rate it very high.

With V-Power though, is it a totally replaced Super Unleaded from Optimax, or is it a fixed job from Optimax. Shell has been work with Ferrari for a long time, so that would've started with the development and lauch of Optimax. Then as in the links above, it seems that Optimax was a major let down, so then replaced by V-Power which is 1 ron more (Optimax - 98, V-Pwer 99).

Shell claim V-Power is far better than Optimax, but if you read the link below, there is no real numerical evidence to prove it. Therefore is V-Power totally new or a tweaked Optimax. If it is just a tweaked Optimax, have that just put a little more octane in it and that's it!

V-power replaces Optimax

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There are no fuel secrets out on the internet - i've been looking for a long time now.

I also would like to know exactly what is the difference in the make up of regular Shell and vpower. I found nothing, nothing leaked or no really good lab tests. A lot of lab tests seem to be based on performance increases or MPG increases. I'm not interested in that.

What i REALLY Want to know is, is vpower better for your engine due to the additives it is suppose to have. Some tests suggest yes.

But the closest i ever got to finding out the truth was an employee would wouldn't disclose a single thing apart from when asked he said he used nothing but vpower and you wouldn't believe what goes in the fuel.

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well the rolla is mapped on V-Power and its what i always use, i have torn the engine down a few times and never had any signs of detonation. before the rod let go i had a tank of Tesco 99 as id heard the reviews on it. after tearing the motor down this time there is severe det signs on 3 pistons. it may not have been the tesco fuel but i wont take that chance

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Well they all say Super Unleaded has more octane and cleaning agents. Although they state 99 ron or 97 ron, you don't really get that as it can be as low as 94 ron in reality.

We all know we can buy decent cleaning addictives off the shelf, yes some don't work but others do. We all know you can buy octane addictive as well, which is normally 'add 2 points of octane'. This only add 0.2, as each 'point' is 0.1.

So what are we as you say Dawesy, getting in our fuel? As you're also right that there is nothing on the net to say what goes in it.

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If you have a high powered turbo car, I would say only put Vpower in it.

Any other car... what's the point???

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If you have a high turbo powered car, you don't want to be putting V-Power in. You want to be using BP Ultimate 102!

Super Unleaded is designed to 'improve' all cars, but the full benifits are only really seen in Turbo powered cars.

What we want to know is, what's in it and are we really getting what we're paying for!

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We can all debate the worth of different brands but I know for sure that my old Nissan 350Z used to run best on Tesco 99RON :thumbsup:

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in my case my t180 is diesel

i dont care if it gives me more power - i know anything less than impreza type of turbo power it isn't worth it for power.

But in my case i use vpower diesel purely for its additives. My fuel injection system with 5th injector is an expensive replacement and i will happily spend an extra 3-5 pounds per tank to feed it cleaner and more protective fuel.

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i've started using both tesco 99ron and vpower for a while on my levin, n to be honest i find it that the tesco stuff makes my car run smoother for some reason, now calll me crazy but i find that the with the tesco fuel my car is quieter in terms of the exhaust note n when i use the vpower fuel it is louder! not a lot but i notice anyway! i dont have ice in my car and i got a rsr backbox, so listening to the lovely note she makes is what i do everyday to work.. and the other horrible little noises which makes me really paranoid but anyways..

i thought my exhauset was blowing but when i swapped over the tesco fuel it was smooth and quieter again. which is what i stuck with for a while, i commute to work every day, doing the exact milage, £30 will see me to the next week... only just! she is alwys runnin on fumes by the end of the week. i get about 100km per £10 i put, so the light comes on at around 265-270km

then i started using vpower stuff one day, only becasue i was sure i would run out of fuel if i was going to chance it to the tesco petrol station, and from then on i stuck with it coz it was handy. now i have noticed that by the end of the week the fuel light seem to come on later n later, recently i get about 320km before the light comes on n it is actually nearing 330km! this is me driving normal with the ocasional blip on the throttle which i used to do with tesco fuel n i was only able to go 300ish km. so im thinking, not only does vpower give you power, excuse the pun, but it also give you extra milage! im fueling every monday evening with £30, and i do exactly the same milage, so if im right my fuel light in a couple of weeks time wont come on till 350km so well see if im talking gubbins or not!! :D

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The way the cleaning agents in Super Unleaded fuels works, means that the longer you use it the better your car will run, plus the longer the fuel will last.

I'm sure we all know that a clean engine (no deposits inside) works the best. So using Super Unleaded tank in tank out, should mean your fuel lasts longer. This is down to the cleaning agents in the fuel.

It would be good to know what these cleaning agents are and if they're the same as off the shelf cleaners. The higher octane means you should get better combustion and less wasted fuel. Though as I've said before, it would be good to know if we do get the exact displayed octane rating in the fuel we buy, as I'm betting we DONT.

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but my car has always been running on super unleaded since it arrived, it most probably ran on better octane before it got to the uk! what i was tryin to say was, you get more mpg with vpower even tho the tesco fuel has the same ron! and also bearing in mind i used to get it for 103p per litre and i still couldnt acheive the milage im achievin now by using by using vpower which cost 112p (i think).

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I've no doubt that Super Unleaded does work better than normal petrol, and I'd also say that there are differences between all the different makes (normal Tea is all made from the same type of plant, but they all taste different!).

Out of the 3 main Super Unleadeds I put them in the order of:

BP

Shell

Tesco

I've used all 3 and regardless of how often I use V-Power, Ultimate is always better.

My whole arguement in this topic, is that we don't get what we pay for. Standard Unleaded is 95 ron, however in reality it can be as low as 89 ron, as that is the minimal limit for standard unleaded. 92 ron is the minimum limit for Super Unleaded. So if we take V-Power for arguements sake, we expect to get 99 ron, but we could be being supplied with less than that.

I'd recommend everyone buys Super Unleaded, due to what its meant to do. Though you might not fully get what you're paying for.

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Unless you car is deigned or mapped to run at higher octane levels you get no real benefit.

Any benefit felt under these conditions is psycological ;)

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Well my local has a sign on a pump with it. Though I'm guessing they just haven't replaced it with a V-power one. It is rather tatty I must admint, that's why I said they still sold it. I'll make sure to tell them about it next time I go in.

I have used Optimax in the past and I've used V-Power, to be honest I couldn't tell the difference between the two. I can tell the difference with Ultimate.

From the links above, it does seem that 'Super Unleaded' can be labeeled as super unleaded if it reads a certain mixtue, even though that could match standard 95, which in it's self can be allowed at 89 ron (if I remember right).

So when we buy petrol, are we really getting what we think we are?

Mate of mine who knows everything ( sometimes :lol: ) says all petrol comes out of the one big tank @ the Docks (Ireland)

However, I do feel that my car goes better on Shell. Generally speaking, it is very difficult to find different grades here. One of my local Filling stations used to have a pump for Texaco Super. It was always empty & has gone now, I think, :boxing:

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Unless you car is deigned or mapped to run at higher octane levels you get no real benefit.

Any benefit felt under these conditions is psycological ;)

the benefit of getting more mpg does it for me! and i agree with what you say, wasnt that proven on 5th gear or something?

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in my case my t180 is diesel

i dont care if it gives me more power - i know anything less than impreza type of turbo power it isn't worth it for power.

But in my case i use vpower diesel purely for its additives. My fuel injection system with 5th injector is an expensive replacement and i will happily spend an extra 3-5 pounds per tank to feed it cleaner and more protective fuel.

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