98Ron Vs 95Pulp

[adrian]

Hi everyone

With regards to our IS250's.... living in Perth, we have either BP Ultimate 98 or Caltex Vortex 98. Was wondering if anyone actually used the 98 fuels on a regular basis and noticed any difference in:

1) L/100km on your trip computer

2) (this one's a bit harder) - difference in wear/tear on the engines as 98 RON is suppose to "clean and protect the heart of your car"

3) BP98 or Vortex98 better?

I drive long distance and usually get 7.0L / 100km which is great... doubt I'll get significant improvement from 98RON.

Anyone can comment on the supposed hype of cleaning and protecting your engine? Worth the extra $ you pay?

Thanks all!

Adrian

[DANSLEX]

Hi, I always buy 98 RON. I haven't used 95 RON so can't compare, but my city fuel economy is usually about 8.8-9.2 l/100 (I do have a heavy foot though). I have used both the vortex and ultimate. I have noticed I get a few more kays out of ultimate for some reason. I normally refuel when almost completely empty, and I fill up all the way, with ultimate I get an extra 30+ kays out of a tank.

Can't comment about how clean it is, or how it protects an engine, I'm just gonna take their marketing word for it haha.

[Atlantis]

I never use Vortex, so can't comment on that. In order of km I get out of a tank I get the lowest on V-Power, slightly more from Ultimate, then most from Mobil 8000.

Not sure how they mix that Mobil stuff, but it's fantastic.

Bear in mind, there will be different refineries in each state, so your milage may vary according to the mix.

[adrian]

Bear in mind, there will be different refineries in each state, so your milage may vary according to the mix.

Did a bit of research and you're right. Over here in Perth, we have the BP refinery. They keep their 98RON for their own petrol stations only. Not sure where the other petrol stations source their 98's.

Guess I'll give it a go and see what happens!

[Oliver Twizt]

In order of km I get out of a tank I get the lowest on V-Power, slightly more from Ultimate, then most from Mobil 8000.

I get almost the same results, but I find I get far less mileage from V-Power than Ultimate.

My fleet card doesn't have Caltex as an option to fill up at, but some of the GSX-R boys swear by it..

[Atlantis]

I get almost the same results, but I find I get far less mileage from V-Power than Ultimate.

To be honest, my Smart car used to get 60-100km more per tank using Ultimate over V-Power. The gap between Ultimate and 8000 isn't much though.

[Lexus Nerd]

1) An NRMA test with identical Camrys (which, like Lexuses, has an engine management system that can take advantage of higher-octane fuel) found that 98 octane fuel had the better fuel efficiency than regular 91 octane or E10 fuel. On highways, the efficiency ran close to the theoretical improvement of 98/91 = 8%. I would expect a similar level of improvement over 95 RON (98/95 = 3%). The improvement is less noticeable in city driving. Given the current fuel prices and the 5c differential between 95 and 98 octane, highway drivers might as well get 98 octane and get the added benefit of improved response when accelerating.

2). Vortex 98, Vortex 95 and all Shell fuels (including 91 RON) contain detergents that prevent and even remove existing engine deposits. They just make a bigger point of this in the 98 octane fuels' marketing.

3) I defer to the experiences of others.

[dis-lex-sic]

Great post Lexus Nerd. You've supplied actual facts.

As you mentioned the Engine ECU in our cars have the ability to adapt to what fuel you put in. That way there is no pre-igniting or "pinging" on 91....however if you do use premium you get a benefit in the right conditions.

Some cars ECUs are tuned to only run smoothly on premium. Others are tuned to run on 91 so there's no benefit from "premo".

In our cars driving in Sydneys traffic at low speeds the benefit of premo is reduced & to a certain extent wasted. However if you are getting out of town & doing some open road driving then premo makes use of it's benefits.

There are many variables that haven't been mentioned in any of the fuel threads I've read on here. Tyre air pressures can have an impact on fuel consumption but is rarely thought about.. Also performance can be affected more by temperature than octane sometimes. You're car will always feel like it's got more response on a cold morning or evening than on a hot day. I think it's factors like this that give some people false impressions of the benefit of premium fuel.

[IronFist]

I found that some remote parts or small towns sometimes either don't sell premium (95/98) fuel or in act their Premium pumps are out of order!!

It seems the two readily available are 91 or diesel. I took a 91 RON car just to be safe. Places like Albury you might be forced to use 91 :(

I'm a little hesitant taking the Lexus outside big cities where I can ensure 95+ is available - unless I stick to main routes like Sydney to Melbourne or Sydney to Brisbane.

[Oliver Twizt]

Nothing a bottle of octane booster won't temporarily fix! :)