http://www2.shell.com/home/Framework?siteId=uk-en&FC1=&FC2=&FC4=&FC5=&FC3=/uk-en/html/iwgen/yourcarormotorbike/Optimax/questions_answered_0312_0921.html

I hope this works... it should answer alot of questions... otherwise goto www.shell.co.uk and search for Optimax....

 

OK guys help me out here, When I bought my starndard UK Turbo model from the dealership I asked the dealer what to run it on, and I was told unleaded not optimax or any other fuel so am I hurting my car by doing this, any advice welcomed.
Cheers
Colin

 

SCOOB99 - Run your car on whatever it feels right using. Preferably not 95 RON Premium unleaded though.

Dealers might say its OK to use crap petrol (it helps them sell the car). Some people might not buy a car as they begrudge paying another 6p a litre for decent fuel.

Again; you get what you pay for.

 

IIRC, this is how it goes:

MY99< - after running dodgy batch or crap (95RON) fuel, ECU will need to be reset after putting proper fuel back in.

MY99-00 - ECU will learn over a couple of tanks of fuel how far it can advance the ignition so a reset is not usually required.

MY01> - this will run at the limit of knock/det the whole time so will run as much advance as the current fuel will allow. Obviously, resetting the ECU in this case has no effect.

On the point of Octane Boosters Robb,Well I would disagree and I think many others would too. There are some test results floating about which compare the different OB's on the market, with NF being the leader IIRC, but most people that use OB's, can tell the difference and I'm fairly certain the tuners on this BBS have stated in the past that they can run more advance using OB's than without.

I would question the quality of the advice your "tuners" are giving you.....

Matt

 

Its a real commonm myth that you reset the ecu and then go out an thrash the car . No need if you reset the ECu will learn no matter how you drive it. MY01 ECU learns very quickly the 99-00 cars over a few miles and pre 99 over several tankfuls. The early cars did need a reset but you are better to run on SUL for a couple of tanks before having a reset done IMHO.

To the guy with the 306 a guy at work brought a new 2002 206 GTI and I told him to try optimax and he reckons its so much smoother and only once did he have to put in NUL and said it ran terrible at low revs and now only uses optimax which is handed for him as shell is his local station .

To the guys who have foudn no difference it probably becuase you only ran one tank and didnt give the ECU time to react (see above)

Last point I was fortunate enough to buy a MY98 UK turbo from a knwoledgable Subaru garage and they told me to run on SUL and nothing less if I did run on NUL I would be missing out, so I did and I didnt .

cheers

chrisp



[Edited by chrisp - 6/4/2002 6:00:09 PM]

 

i use standard U/L.

cant be bothered with the other stuff.

 

mutant matt ,

one of the tuners runns an engine dyno and has tried them all.he can hear det and load / unload engines easly unlike your common tuner who may drive on the road or test on rolling road.

 

I think you will find most of the bigger RR tuners use a set of det headphones and a sensitive microphone to pick up dett. Also you can always fit a knocklink. One of the things a RR is particularly good at picking up.

 

I use the normal stuff as i refuse to pay 5p a litre more for SUL [img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img]
When i was in France it was a few fractions of a Euro difference What we need is a revolution [img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img]

 

The MINIMUM fuel that you should run a uk spec car (even a P1) is 95 ron fuel, running the car on a higher octane fuel WILL improve drivability and better MPG (unfortunately you wont see the latter as you will be ragging the guts out of your car cos shes smoother )
I have only ever put 1/2 a tank of u/l fuel in my scoob (has just under 24k on the clock and had 7miles on when i picked her up) and i added a bottle of octane booster to that 1/2 tank
I now only run my car on optimax as its cheaper than SUL and has a higher rating but you wont have any problems running U/L on a uk scoob but give her the best fuel you can to make your car and your driving more enjoyable Oh and the dealer who said that Scoobs shouldnt be run on anything other than 95 ron fuel should read the owners manual and i wouldnt buy a car from em!!

Tony

 

The MY00 ignition map runs 4-8 degrees more ignition advance on high octance fuel around the peak power point. Case closed as far as I am concerned.

 

Agreed, I didnt quote figures but exactly what I said early in the thread. Pays ya money .......

 

on the inside of my fuel cover it states "Super unleaded gas only", do other cars say this?

UK MY98

 

Most cars that use Knock detection will gain PS using higher grade fuel. The further the ignition can be advance. The more power can be gained. I use Optimax in MY02 which has a noteable effect over standard UL fuel.

Dave

 

Changed from 95 to optimax on my 98 turbo and noticed a huge improvment. Now I would not run my STI on anything else. AS stated elsewhere EVO proved the point
Steve

 

Use SUL plus octane booster, my car severely dislikes Optimax.

 

For those using Optimax a few questions:

- How long have you been using this product?
- What sort of improvements (or not) have you seen?
- Are you sure this product is safe for use in your car?
- Give a rough location in the UK as to where you buy this prodcut (this is to give an idea of availability against geographical spread).

On the question of safety, IIRC, some ears ago Shell brought out an "improved" petrol product that had the effect of stripping the oil from the cylinder walls of BMW's, causing serious damage to most engines. It made massive press headlines at the time and, IIRC, the product was canned.

I'm not trying to scare anyone and I am not saying there is anything wrong with Optimax. I just want to get an honest assessment from users before jumping in.

Thanks

WB