Hi there,

What fuel do Subaru recommend for a bog standard 2001 / 2002 WRX. Will it runn on normal unleaded or is super unleaded / Optimax required?

Cheers.

Martin.

 

Here we go! Assuming that it's a UK/EU car, it will run on 95, but most people notice a marked improvement in smoothness and economy by using Optimax and in some cases Esso SUL. Sainsbury's SUL has its fans too.

Simon

 

95 Ron is fine, however its qouted power figure will be when in use with SUL.

 

I have the car in question. I used Optimax (98RON) even when the car was standard because it felt ever so slightly faster, smoother and generally more responsive than when run on normal unleaded. I also got slightly better mpg on the good stuff.

 

It makes me laugh when people say there car is faster just because of different fuel. What bollocks! Obviously if your car is mapped for different fuel then maybe there is a difference but even still the extra performance is so minimal you wouldnt feel the difference.
Yes optimax is my prefered petrol and yes it is better for my engine but fact is there is no noticable gain in performance just by changing petrol

 

ECU on the new-age cars is able to adjust for the use of higher octain fuel. There is a performance gain to be had from running on optimax that can be noticeable to some. Probably easier to notice the drop-off when switching back to 95RON after running the car on 98RON for an extended period.

 

As I said earlier. . . . .

I look at it this way: It's a performance car, you get out what you put in! Why pay all that money for insurance and then scrimp on petrol to save yourself a few pence.

My car runs very sweetly on Optimax. I would -at a push, if I were stuck- put other brands of SUL in it, but never 95RON

Aside from whether people notice any difference or not in the way a car runs, the fact remains that: the higher the RON, the more resistance against det and the less likely your ECU will retard performance to protect the engine.

NS04

 

Our 02 WRX always runs on 95 ron from Tesco, with a tank of Optimax every now and again. When we went to the 'ring we had 4 tanks of 100 ron and it made no noticable difference in power.

Adam