My WRX 03 PPP goes much better on SUL than Optimax, it's smoother and faster, don't know what the MPG will be yet but what a difference.

Anyone else noticed this?

Barney

 

Exact opposite to be honest Which just goes to prove...er nothing. I've also find BP Ultimate to be very good. Better MPG and much smoother. But a lot of people will disagree with me. So I would use what you're happy with and don't worry.

Chris

 

BP ulitmate is not a "performace fuel" - p.s. it makes by SAAB run bad never mind my scoob

 

well we had to take out some timing on mine with SU and we had to add 2 bottles of ob to get the same result as optimax with booster det allover the place with BP its CRAP!!!! ..... chris

 

I normally tun Optimax in my STi8 ( uk ) and all is fine , the other day I ended up having to put a tank of SUL from sainsbury's in and it ran absolutely superbly , very odd

 

Always used Optimax and always will, you read so many threads containing bad comments to other fuels.

simb

 

run both my motors on optimax

 

Wouldnt even put optimax n my lawnmower...

Too many unanswered questions as to varying RON ratings, why it was only ever registered as an UL rather than a SUL etc etc

Plus my car detted like a bitch with Optimax but was fine with Esso SUL

 

couldn' disagree with you more my car runs better on optimax and i don't use anything else now...

Andy...

 

Tried Optimax after reading about it on here and hearing the advert 'feel the difference' .... well I tried it and I can honestly say I felt the difference almost as soon as I left the pump

.............. A GREAT BIG FUNKING FLAT SPOT IN THE MID RANGE

I knew I shouldn't have trusted anything Quentin Wilson is involved in

Returned to Esso SUL and everything is fine again.

 

bp is far better than optimax. .scoobymania owner is the the one to ask as he had the equipment showing the diffrencehe will never use optimax.my opinion the car is smoother and quicker and not as noisy. correct if im wrong but the bs marks for optimax is for 95 and bp is for 97.plus if it was 98 +they would mention it ,which they dont. ive heard figuers of 99.8 from scoobynet ( which is bull****).

below is an email from BP MAKE YOUR OWN MIND UP



Thank you for your interest and comments on the BP Ultimate Unleaded grade within the UK.

To answer your questions,the research octane number for BP Ultimate Unleaded is indeed guaranteed minimum 97 for the United Kingdom market.
As the RON is only one of many components which make the properties of a gasoline, we have developed the product to benefit a wide range of vehicles.
Only a small population of the performance vehicles within the market can take advantage of the increased octane rating. BP Ultimate has many benefits, for example increased friction reduction, which will benefit all cars.

A significant amount of research, development and testing has gone into the BP Ultimate project. For more details, please visit the UK website at: https://www.bp.com/ultimate/uk/testi..._procedure.asp

We have tested many different model vehicles and on average found that new BP Ultimate Unleaded provides many benefits compared to regular unleaded and the old Super Unleaded products. It is both interesting and concerning that you have heard majority of people perceive that the old Super unleaded grade performs better than the new BP Ultimate.

BP Ultimate unleaded does have instantaneous benefits, but we do recommend continuous use, or at least 5 tankfuls to allow the properties of the fuel to take effect.

We have launched BP Ultimate in other markets and plan to continually be at the forefront of technology for fuels development. Continuous development of the products is underway for both short term and long term opportunities.

I take your comments and concerns on board and once again, thank you for your interest.

Regards,
Bradley Cameron
BP Global Product Strategy

 

MORE BP STATIONS !

 

My observations for what they're worth on my STi7 PPP.

Optimax - best economy and generally (but not always) best performance BUT always causes flat spots particularly when running from cold and at lower revs

Esso SUL - economy worse than optimax, flat spots disappear but performance not quite as good as optimax

BP Ultimate - not impressed on any front.

ps does the guy above work for BP or something?

D.

 

My findings on a car mapped on Optimax to the border of det, where a single tank was then used with the ECU logging knock, and one degree is removed for each knock instance recorded. The stability of Optimax seems suprisingly good as well, given that a tank can sometimes sit in the car for 3 weeks.

Optimax: suprise suprise, no knock as this is what it was mapped to .

Esso SUL: really pretty good. Engine's a bit sparkly at peak VE (4,500rpm ish) but no knock (with Optimax there isn't even any 'sparkle'). I'll happily use this stuff if there's no Optimax around. The map after 250-odd miles ended up pretty close to the original - a degree of advance had been removed by the ECU above ~1.4bar in the 4-5,000rpm area.

BP 'Ultimate': used it once. I actually didn't complete this 'test' as I feared for the engine. I used it until it was safe to stop, then bunged in some booster. 4 degrees ( ) had been removed in the 4,500rpm area from 0.9 bar and above and 1-2 degrees above ~1.1bar pretty much across the entire 'used' range.

Ultimate, ultimately, is appauling in my books. Q8 & Total are a lot better, Esso is the 'best' standard SUL & I think more reliable than Optimax, although I haven't had a batch of Optimax yet which is worse than Esso SUL, although it does vary a little.

I think 'THOMO' must work for BP marketing - no-one from BP proper would spout all that junk!

 

NOT JUNK NOMPTY MY OPINION AND OTHERS YOU STICK TO OPTICRAP

 

I stuck a tankful of Ultimate in my WRX Wagon and the knocklink went crazy. Back to Optimax and all is well again. Just my two penneth.....

Rich

 

I think it's about time we had the option of 100 RON Unleaded, it would save all the confusion on what is the best fuel.

There must be some kind of demand for it, especially with some other European Countries having it - Why can't we!

 

Hmmm, well i sell Shell SUL, cos Optimax is not available here.

BUT, i was across last week and with BP Ultimate and Millers O/B i had a problem with the Speedo (run with GPS nav sat) it dont go round far enough!!

I have run it with optimax when across before and Ultimate (with O/B) is the bizz


Ta Ta
Richard
Scooby Island

 

my brother fixes 'em for a living and ALL he will use in them IS optimax... they break down a LOT less often... as do strimmers, plate compactors, generators, block cutters, floor scrapers, power floats... etc etc...

and my GTFour loves it, although i've not tried BP Ultimate as i'm still boycotting BP stations as part of the fuel protest! old habits die hard i guess...

Owain

 

isnt optimax advertised as a guarenteed 98 ron or higher, as opposed to bp's 97.

in a jap import isnt optimax a bare minimum as the car is mapped for 100ron

 

The problem is that RON is an outdated measure of knock resistance in modern turbocharged engines. Two fuels can be 98RON, say, but one might knock really badly depending on the blend. This includes two different batches of Optimax

 

Does it matter if u use various SUL and Optimax, I tend to go to various garages sometimes due to travelling and end up with BP/ESSO SUL or Shell Optimax. Not gonna do any harm is it?????

 

I guess the jury is still out then - speak as you find and all that. Different cars probably respond slightly differently to different fuel and the quality of most fuels at the pump is probably variable as well.
Forgot to say but the SUL I used was Esso - gets my vote, no throttle wobble either.

Barney

 

Not sure about the octane rating issue but if you ask Shell, they will say it is typically 98 RON, but ask them what British Standard they produce it to and they will tell you they produce it to BS EN 228 which is the British Standard for regular unleaded (and requires a min 95RON) and not BS7800 which is the Super Unleaded std (and a min 97RON).

This is another reason why I wont use it - from what I can gather Optimax is modified Normal Unleaded with addatives whereas SUL leaves the refinary as SUL & is more stable

 

I have to use Esso SUL or BP Ultimate and Optimax...it depends where i am at the time. Quite frankly, i'm blown if i can tell much of a difference. The fact is Uk petrol supplies all come from the same batch of oil depots.

 

my99uk, full decat and boost up to 16.5psi.
optimax is a-ok here, ultimate made my knocklink light up like the proverbial xmas tree,
esso sul at a push, only put a fiver in to get me to a shell garage.
it works for me so I'm sticking to it.

Andy

 

so it would seem for a jap import, optimax will be the best route.

what method you using to boost to 16.5 psi mate

 

FWIW

Optimax = feels punchier but rough, avg mpg 21.9
Ultimate = feels smoother, avg mpg 23.4
Texcao = runs like a dog, avg mpg 19.1

Generally I go for Optimax, but not many Shell stations near me so quite often have to use BP

 

I seem to get better throttle response in my STi8 when running Esso SUL, and would agree with the flat spot theory running Optimax.

Rgds, Alex

 

If I had my 'favourite' threads or the ability to search I'd bring up the 'SUL report' and 'SUL Report 2' thread where I compared both in my car. My car ran faster, smoother and better on SUL than optimax when modified. When back to standard the fuels seemed about the same but Optimax is cheaper