EVO Magazine - Fuel Test ?

[hmmm]

I heard somewhere that the current issue of EVO did a test on different fuels including BP Ultimate, Tesco 99 and Shell Optimax.

Any truth in this? Might be worth a read .

 

[Jonny H]

Yes i heard about this..... The results werent what people were expecting!

 

[marcymarc]

Any one got any details of the results then

 

[Jonny H]

Supposedly they carried out shit loads of Rolling Road/Diagnostics test etc and BP came out tops overall.

 

[MarkTurbo]

I remember reading another article somewhere where Bp ultimate just beat Optimax too

I'd always stuck to Optimax until i tried some Bp ultimate a couple months ago, theres absolutley no difference betweeen them so i use whatevers nearest now

 

[hmmm]

I remember reading another article somewhere where Bp ultimate just beat Optimax too

I'd always stuck to Optimax until i tried some Bp ultimate a couple months ago, theres absolutley no difference betweeen them so i use whatevers nearest now

Might be a bit different for you as you have a UK Spec car and it's originally mapped to run 95 RON fuel . I say this because I thought I heard people say that their cars ran rubbish on BP Ultimate :?.

 

[Jonny H]

Ive used BP, Optimax and Tescos 99 before and couldnt tell the difference between them! I have started to use the Tescos 99 recently though as its a tad cheaper and closer......killing 2 birds with 1 stone and all that!

 

[GTiR_Mic]

The only time I have put BP fuel in the R is if im desperate as the car hates it and won't use it again. I will only put Optimax or Esso 97 Ron.....not seen the Tesco 99 Ron to try.

Mic

 

[hmmm]

...

Doesn't Optimax have some sort of cleaning agents in it? Or do they all have that? :?

 

[Stoned]

Hmm. I know a month back I said I couldnt notice the difference between Tesco 99 ron and Optimax but now i'm not so sure

Optimax felt more responsive at the lower end. The Tesco stuff feels a bit weaker when you put your foot down from low revs

 

[Aimee]

Th Bp stuff for us made it so un responsive and made the car tink alot, used it once and never again, optimax all the way, havent tried tesco yet - cant wait to try it and see.

Aimee

 

[MrMarf]

Did they remap for each fuel or just empty the tank and reset the ECU?

Must say my GTxx felt sluggish on BP Ultimate. Its much better on tesco99/optimax, but can I tell a difference? Only in the wallet.

 

[GTiR_Mic]

If it was done like th one on the TV they just emptied the tnaks and reset the ECU.

Mate that is a nice Charade in your Sig.

Mic

 

[MarkTurbo]

Arent i good to you all :mrgreen:

The test car was run on each fuel until its onboard computer showed a range of 3 miles or less, filled with 10 litres or more of the test fuel, then run down to a range of 3 miles or less again and filled with 20 litres or more of the same fuel

No need to re-map the car, the Golf used in the article (and most modern cars) can alter running settings automatically using the engines knock sensors

For anyone that hasnt seen the article heres the results from the tests using a 197 bhp/207lb/ft Golf GTI at WRC technologys rolling road at Silverstone

Shell Optimax: 209 bhp, 242lb/ft.

Shows useful gains compared to Shell 95. Compared with other high octane fuels, its on a par with Tesco 99 low down but lacks its mid-range (and that of Bp ultimate) with torque fading slightly earlier. Driver notes: (Tried after the 1st batch of bp ultimate) The Golf suddenly discovers a top end - you want to rev it right to the redline. Of all the fuels the GTI felt the crispest and most fun to drive on this. It would be my choice.

Tesco 99: 212 bhp, 242 lb/ft.

Highest octane rating of the pump fuels didnt quite give the top results. Massive gains over our sample of Tesco 95. Dosent deliver like the Bp ultimate low down but then gets ever stronger matching its power and staying stronger for longer. A fine result, and its part bio-ethanol. Driver notes (After Shell optimax) Mega mid range but feels a little laboured to the redline. Somehow less clean feeling. Sound was less positive too.

Bp ultimate: 212 bhp, 250 lb/ft.

Level pegged with Tesco 99 on peak bhp but significantly out performed it and every other pump fuel in terms of torque (and even matched the race fuel into the mid-range) Very strong right from the off and stays ahead of the others right up to 5000rpm. Drivers notes (Tried after a 95) Explosive low down - really quick on boost and sharp response too. Wooly top end though - the last 1000rpm is a struggle, strange.

Some other quotes from the article:

Its worth noting that in WRC's experience some cars respond better to Optimax (turbocharged Subaru's for instance) and some to Bp ultimate (Mitsubishi Evo's) so its possible your car will prefer one or the other, or Tesco 99.

Drivers perceptions are interesting: Some fuels make the engine FEEL a lot keener to fly to the redline.

 

[MrMarf]

Mate that is a nice Charade in your Sig.

Thanks Mic, still gotta fit the new engine, ECU and throttle body which is happening shortly. 8)

edit: interesting to see the extra torque from the BP stuff, was there any mention of detonation resistance of each fuel?

 

[MarkTurbo]

Shame if they did test that way, might have expected more from EVO magazine.

Why is it a shame :?:

Maybe should have added this bit too :lol:

To allow the car to adapt to the fuel, it was then driven hard, allowed to stand overnight, cold started, driven hard again and then tested on the rolling road dyno

 

[MrMarf]

Shame if they did test that way, might have expected more from EVO magazine.

Why is it a shame :?:

Because of my lack of knowledge

I didnt realise that modern ECU systems now advanced and retarded the timing based on the sensors, I thought there was a predetermined advance limit it would remove timing from on detection of knock, and only return to that preset limit, no more.

 

[R called Jay]

One of the Ford mags did a much better test last month.
Engine on an engine dyno and tested back to back so all conditions as similar as poss. No fuel tank to drain through either so no contaminating of different brands.
Tested power and torque, and then went onto test det and how far they could advance things before det occurs.
A much better test imo, rathwer than a rr on different days where conditions woukld be hard to keep constant (my car back to back power runs lost 20bhp :shock: so consistancy is an issue)
Optimax tops, and tesco's bottom of the pile from memory.

Ben

 

[Fast Guy]

I didnt realise that modern ECU systems now advanced and retarded the timing based on the sensors

I was assuming they had done this for a long time. They reckoned you lost 40bhp on the Lotus Carlton if you switched to unleaded from SUL when it came out.

 

[ShayneG]

I tried the BP ultimate and the Tesco 99 but the Optimax feels far more responsive