Have been running my octy vRS on Shell Optimax from day one as i understand it is designed to run on 98 ron fuel. But as mine has not been running fantastically recently and picking up on some comments from one of the other postings was wondering what everyone else uses in their vRS and if anyone recomends one fuel over another ?

BP Ultimate in my vRS more than not, i had used normal unleaded once but didnt get the same range from the full tank and the car didnt seem to respond as well.

if i cant get to a BP i use Optimax.

Mainly I use BP Ultimate, but sometimes Optimax in my Octy vRS. Have used 95 RON unleaded and Sainsburys 97 RON, but MPG was down by 2-3 and a lot less responsive.

Always use a premium fuel,Optimax generally or any of the other 97+ron fuels.

Usually Esso or Shell as they are the garages i pass on my route to work.

It is interesting all this fuel talk. I have had lots of different petrol cars. Small n/a, highly strung n/a, and petrol turbo's.

The only car that responded well to optimax was my 2002 Saxo VTR. My m3 worked best on 95 ron. And my current volvo is mapped for 98.

I would say non supermarket 95 ron has to be the best value for money, although the higher octane is better for removing carbon deposits !?!!?

Avoid the supermarkets.

After that it's down to price / preference and which petrol station is closest IMHO.

I've always used 95 RON, mainly Shell (the points come in handy) but thought I would give Optimax a go next time I fill up. Now the price of fuel has dropped Optimax is no more expensive than standard unleaded was a month ago. I'll let you know if I notice any difference.

I think Optimax is around 83p per litre up here now

Have tried running mine (Revo'd Octy) on both BP Ultimate and Optimax, found that with Ultimate it was smoother at lower revs round town but when accelerating hard it was not as responsive as when using optimax. When using optimax it seems a little hesitant at lower revs round town but is a lot more responsive and is defo faster. Another thing I have found is that when easing off on the motorway with optimax that car surges a bit (think its called over boost) with BP it doesn't do this, but also with BP it is not as quick to respond to acceleration either. Perhaps this is down to the timing....am I right in thinking it would be more advanced using Optimax as it is a higher octane fuel?

Anyway am using Optimax at the moment with Millers Octane Booster

I have a quick question,

What fuel should I be using on a un-modded 1.8T 4x4 Estate????

I have a quick question' date='

What fuel should I be using on a un-modded 1.8T 4x4 Estate????[/quote']

Your handbook will prob say 98ron for best performance, 95ron is ok but will slightly reduce performance. I would personally either use Shell Optimax (98 ron) or BP Ultimate (97 ron).

I was speaking to the guys at Jabba yesterday who all said Optimax or Sainsbuys's SUL were the best - Sainsbury's petrol being EXACTLY the same as BP but you save 5p/l if you buy loads of groceries in the store first.

I was speaking to the guys at Jabba yesterday who all said Optimax or Sainsbuys's SUL were the best - Sainsbury's petrol being EXACTLY the same as BP but you save 5p/l if you buy loads of groceries in the store first.

My Jabba'd RS tends to run on Sainsbury's SUL (97) as it's by far the cheapest (79.9 atm) and runs with no performance problems for me. It does tend to get a little sluggish after 10 or so tanks so a clear out with Optimax every so often seems to sort her out.

Your handbook will prob say 98ron for best performance, 95ron is ok but will slightly reduce performance. I would personally either use Shell Optimax (98 ron) or BP Ultimate (97 ron).

Thanks very much for your help

Use Esso Premium, I get about an extra 3 - 4 mpg depending on how heavy my foot is!! this is about .81p a litre otherwise use BP ultimate - you cant go wrong with that unless ya wallet aint so deep?!

thanks guys.

On my second tank of Optimax after always using standard 95 RON. Not much difference on fuel consumption but would say performance is increased. Depends if you can afford an extra

i'd have thought if optimax could make a car 1% more economical or 2 %faster, shell would be shouting 'it makes your car 2 %faster and 1%more economical !!' - but they aren't, which always made me doubtful.

I'd be interested to know if anyone can find the original source for this story, which appeared in the Motoring section of the Daily Telegraph recently -

Shell's Optimax petrol probably won't improve the performance of your car, according to the media regulator Ofcom, writes Matt Warman. Shell was censured this week for implying that its 98Ron fuel could provide extra power for all motorists, when in fact only a small number of appropriately tuned cars derive any performance benefit. Ofcom ordered the commercial off the air and called the statement misleading.

Shell's Optimax petrol probably won't improve the performance of your car' date=' according to the media regulator Ofcom, writes Matt Warman. Shell was censured this week for implying that its 98Ron fuel could provide extra power for all motorists, when in fact only a small number of appropriately tuned cars derive any performance benefit. Ofcom ordered the commercial off the air and called the statement misleading. [/i']

In Poland, Shell recently started branding its premium fuel as

"V-Power Racing"

*friction reducing formula

(pictures of prancing horses - and "opinions" from Micheal Schumacher himself! ) - no explicit claims however.

All the usual marketing hype yet again.

i'd have thought if optimax could make a car 1% more economical or 2 %faster' date=' shell would be shouting 'it makes your car 2 %faster and 1%more economical !!' - but they aren't, which always made me doubtful.

I'd be interested to know if anyone can find the original source for this story, which appeared in the Motoring section of the Daily Telegraph recently -

[i']Shell's Optimax petrol probably won't improve the performance of your car, according to the media regulator Ofcom, writes Matt Warman. Shell was censured this week for implying that its 98Ron fuel could provide extra power for all motorists, when in fact only a small number of appropriately tuned cars derive any performance benefit. Ofcom ordered the commercial off the air and called the statement misleading. [/i]

I *think* that was a magazine test (can't remember which though where they got a Focus 1.6 C-Max, and tested it on Superchips rollers with 1 gallon 95ron, then 1 gallon of Ultimate, and then 1 gallon of Optimax... so not only was there not any time for the ecu to adapt, the Ford is also mapped to run happily on 91ron, so even standard unleaded (95ron) is a luxary to it!!

I used to feed my LCR only on Optimax... tried a tank of 95 and the engine performance suffered, and it just didn't sound right. Now running Ultimate most of the time as it's 5p/l cheaper around these parts... also run on Esso SUL and Total SUL in the past and it's been ok.

Optimax I would say gives the best performance, but it does seem to go off quite quickly in the tank... Ultimate seems to be more consistent throughout the tank...

always run my octy rs (222 bhp) on optimax or bp ultimate, doesnt seem to be much difference between the two. i avoid all supermarket fuels like the plague as they caused a severe flatspot around 2300rpm which disappeared as soon as i changed to bp/shell. keep those injectors clean!!

interesting to hear everyones opinion. i have been trying different fuels recently just to see if there was any difference and must say that 95 ron fuel, shell,bp etc gave less performance albeit slight i admit. personally am going to stick with ultimate or optimax.

I use shell 95 ron all the time with no probs in my Octy vRS.

Have made the switch to Sainsbury's SUL after reading this thread (was on any old unleaded before) - definite difference in power delivery, flat spot at 2500rpm has gone and for only 3p a litre more. Bargain-licious. Doubt that mpg will improve as feel the need to boot it now that it pulls even better - doh!