high octane fuel really worth it on FR?

[stephenSF]

I saw this interesting bit from fifth gear. They tested three different cars (clio, golf gti mk5, and imprezza) and three different fuels. On the GTi the difference between the 95 "supermarket" fuel and the Shell Optimax showed only a 5 HP difference.
they didn't test for mpg but still, really beginning to wonder if it's all worth it.

http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=1169484006664297223&ei=NsgKS87nEYe62wL_9Lj8CA&q=octane+fifth+gear&hl=en#

 

[Poverty]

I saw this interesting bit from fifth gear. They tested three different cars (clio, golf gti mk5, and imprezza) and three different fuels. On the GTi the difference between the 95 "supermarket" fuel and the Shell Optimax showed only a 5 HP difference.
they didn't test for mpg but still, really beginning to wonder if it's all worth it.

http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=1169484006664297223&ei=NsgKS87nEYe62wL_9Lj8CA&q=octane+fifth+gear&hl=en#

If its standard not really that much although some will argue otherwise

If its mapped though Id try and always only run the good stuff.

 

[DOLBY]

dont always see massive gains, but peace of mind beacuse its better for the engine etc...if you work it out it is probably a fiver more expensive over the course of a whole tank to the 95 stuff.....its a no brainer really buddy....v power all the way

 

[Fl@pper]

try a couple of tankfuls of the best you can find locally then go back to supermarket usual 95 standard stuff then see what you think - be surprised

many thread's about it in here but end of the day it's you paying for it so it's wether you think it's worth it and without testing it who knows

if you are after pub chat numbers for power you won't find it

 

[DOLBY]

but its not all about the power.....a clean engine is a happy engine

 

[uuf361]

I'd never put it in TBH, not sure it's worth the extra on a family non super performance car.......in my other car only use Super as it does make a difference

 

[DOLBY]

i put it in all my cars ive ever had...even non performance ones...

 

[jcp]

On a modern turbo (or supercharged) car higher octane fuel will allow more power to be developed - but not very much as the engine management will be set up to run properly on a range from 95-99 octane. A remapped car CAN be set up so less than 97-99 will show a real loss. The original set up has to allow for ordinary real life conditions throughout the region where the car is sold. To be honest if you exclude old style eastern block petrol the difference while detectable on a dyno in carefully matched conditions will only really show in the cars wetware- the driver's brain!
I still pay for it though!!

 

[DOLBY]

an extra fiver though people, what can you buy for a fiver these days

 

[Nath.]

^^^^Is 2 BHP for 250 miles really worth a fiver?

The supermarket stuff is perfectly good for thousands of people every day with thousands of different cars and engines.

I wouldn't be surprised if they put the 95 ron stuff in the 99 ron tanks underground, after all it's only a placebo effect. Anyone that can honestly detect a 2 BHP increase from even a 100 BHP car must be superhuman.....................or a major geek.

Or maybe they are actually a robot with a downloaded rolling road application.


As for cleaner engines....you'll never know unless you have the head off of 2 engines in a controlled experiment.

 

[Fl@pper]

As i said above - suck it and see

 

[Blade]

As for cleaner engines....you'll never know unless you have the head off of 2 engines in a controlled experiment.[/QUOTE]

My 2p,s worth;

I ran my LCR exclusively on Shell 99 and after 14k took the cat off - it looked brand new. A colleague ran his LCR on anything he could - he had his cat off after 10k to fit a Milltek and it looked very used. That's what you get with good quality products such as V power.

 

[Nath.]

As for cleaner engines....you'll never know unless you have the head off of 2 engines in a controlled experiment.

My 2p,s worth;

I ran my LCR exclusively on Shell 99 and after 14k took the cat off - it looked brand new. A colleague ran his LCR on anything he could - he had his cat off after 10k to fit a Milltek and it looked very used. That's what you get with good quality products such as V power.[/QUOTE]

Maybe he did a lot of cold starts and short trips where as you didn't

Hardly a controlled experiment methinks.

As said, give it a go, it's your credit card/wallet.

How much does a CAT cost vs how much extra does 100k miles worth of V power cost?

I run my car on regular stuff and if this causes a problem the person who gets it after my warrenty runs out can clean it all out with Vpower, if it's that good.

 

[Blade]

I my eyes it just demonstrated that there is a reason why Shell invests millions of ££,s in fuel development. Supermarket fuel is exactly that, its manufactured to a price and you don,t get the additives in it that fuels such as V power provide. If you want to look after your performance engine you need to feed it the right stuff.

 

[Nath.]

I my eyes it just demonstrated that there is a reason why Shell invests millions of ££,s in fuel development. Supermarket fuel is exactly that, its manufactured to a price and you don,t get the additives in it that fuels such as V power provide. If you want to look after your performance engine you need to feed it the right stuff.

VW spend millions of £ developing engines to run on regular fuel. in some countrys the highest octane is well below 95ron. In canada this year I only spotted 86ron and 89ron and in Canada VW cars sell very well and list the engines with the same power as in Europe.

IMO Shell invest a few million so that with clever advertising they can make lots of millions from people buying the expensive stuff in "Rip Off Britain".

 

[DOLBY]

nath...

did you not read that it has nothing to do with power....

also, it has been proven you will have a cleaner engine..think it was in evo magazine,...would you rather pay an extra fiver for a tank for peace of mind, a little bit more smoother and quicker.....or....have a lumpier ride and who knows....

dont tell me 95 fuel isnt lumpy because it is....i run my car on v power, have done for 30k miles...once i put £10 in (just a tenner) and the car felt horrible, really horrible....i drove up to milton keynes and back to flush that **** fuel out....

it seems your in the old school 'ive used 95 fuel for years and it has done me well' brigade lol

 

[Blade]

Well Nath its obvious your set on carrying on putting lower grade fuel in your car. Before i started tinkering with mine i did experiment using 95 and 99 fuels to see if i noticed the difference. I did notice a distinct lack of throttle pick up on the crappy stuff, it also seemed reluctant to rev out - my observations remember

 

[Nath.]

nath...

did you not read that it has nothing to do with power....

also, it has been proven you will have a cleaner engine..think it was in evo magazine,...would you rather pay an extra fiver for a tank for peace of mind, a little bit more smoother and quicker.....or....have a lumpier ride and who knows....

dont tell me 95 fuel isnt lumpy because it is....i run my car on v power, have done for 30k miles...once i put £10 in (just a tenner) and the car felt horrible, really horrible....i drove up to milton keynes and back to flush that **** fuel out....

it seems your in the old school 'ive used 95 fuel for years and it has done me well' brigade lol

Yes I did read that it has nothing to do with power but that was what you posted and there are others on this thread that say it IS about power.

Yes, I have used regular stuff now for 22 years and I have never had a fuel related problem and have never had a poor running problem. I must have saved myself enough money to buy a car with I reckon......I have kept a log of how many miles I have done in all the cars I have owned over the years and I have driven some 660,000 miles in my life so far.

 

[jase20vt]

last 2-3 weeks iv been using normal 95 ron in mine (mapped LC) but this i was near a shell garage so put V power in,this week, the engine feels much more alive using it. so il be sticking with now. iv even tried the tesco 99 and that doesnt seem very good. even though my mate swears by it (over 400bhp scoob)

 

[Nath.]

Well Nath its obvious your set on carrying on putting lower grade fuel in your car. Before i started tinkering with mine i did experiment using 95 and 99 fuels to see if i noticed the difference. I did notice a distinct lack of throttle pick up and the crappy stuff, it also seemed reluctant to rev out - my observations remember

Yep, don't get me wrong, I have given Vpower a good go but I couldn't see any difference other than the price.