Got my WRX yesterday and I'm having trouble finding a petrol station that has SUL ?

Its a pain in the a$$ driving around trying to find the stuff...

Went to HULL(ish) today to visit my sister and was getting low on fuel. On my way back I couldnt find a garage with SUL, just 95Ron unleaded, I even tried a BP garage less than a mile from the BP refinery and they don't stock it!
I ended up putting a tenners worth of 95 in then filled up with SUL when I got home.

Is this going to happen to me every time I'm out of my local area?

As if spending £90 on SUL in 36 hours wasn't bad enough :eek: I now have the problem of finding a garage that sell's it :(

Its still worth all the hassle though...My first scoob and loving every minute of it :D

BOB :D

Bob,

Why are you putting SUL in ? My MY99 has run superb for nearly 3 years on standard unleaded. The brochure for the MY02 says 95.

Don't waste yer money, car will run just as well on 95 despite what is sometimes said on here. Now if you had PPP fitted then thats a different story....SUL a must ! Glad you are enjoying the car. What is the standard fit stereo like ? Autocar said it was terrible, but they would wouldn't they ? Is it worth fitting one of the 2 DIN units available from Subaru accessories i.e. Sony or Clarion.

Yorkie

Hi again Yorkie,

Chris at Bentley's recommended using the SUL instead of normal 95Ron unleaded...also from past threads I read, it was preferable to use SUL or Optimax instead of the 95Ron

Its my first scoob so I haven't a clue...just taking on board other peoples opinion's.

If sticking with 95Ron unleaded is OK then its gonna save a lot of hassle!

BOB :D

BOB - re the last response - is your WRX a Jap import? - if so then disregard above comments and DO use SUL else you will have engine problems - theres a couple of things you can do:

1 - buy some octane booster and keep it in the car - this means if you ever cant find SUL you can pep us 95ron fuel.

2 - Ring Shell UK and tell em you want to run your car on optimax - they will sent you a brochure of where all their filling stations are - with phone numbers - when youre going on a journey check which stations are on your route and give em a ring to see if they stock optimax (Ive done the same thing with ESSO)

Bit of a hassle - but well worth it!!!

Phil

Phil,
Its a Brand New WRX I collected yesterday morning, not a Jap import.
Not having owned a scoob before its all new to me. All I do know was learnt from this BBS over the past 6months.
95Ron is alot cheaper so if its fine to use then great!

Thanks

BOB :D

Bob

I believe your car is a european spec car (i.e. UK equivalent) so 95 should be ok. But if Bentleys said use SUL that seems strange. When I first bought my Turbo I asked the dealer just to be certain and they said 95.

Agree with above post, SUL is also a must for Jap imports

Yorkie

Bentley's didn't say "don't use 95Ron unleaded"

Chris said that "in his opinion the WRX runs better on SUL and the ECU will recognise SUL over 95 after a couple of tank fulls"

So its just his opinion, not gosple, so I'm open to other views on this...

BOB :confused:

Like I said, my MY99 turbo goes like stink on 95. In the early 90's when SUL first came out I was in the Peugeot GTI owners club and they called it "rocket fuel" and recommended everyone put it in their 205 GTI 1.6/1.9. I tried it and I couldn't really notice any difference. The car may have been merginally smoother. Have a look at the SIDC frequently asked questions page, theres something on there about it.

Yorkie

Yorkie, did you ever try running your MY99 on SUL (especially after an ECU reset)?

The car will run fine on NUL, but IMHO will run better on a higher rated fuel. I used to run my MY00 (uk spec) on SUL + octane booster, the difference between just SUL & using the OB as well was noticeable.
To say it wont make a difference is incorrect, the ECU will adust to suit.

It will make a difference, on your pocket :D:D

Only joking, yes I am aware of the ECU, but I thought you had to fill up with a tankfull of SUL then disconnect the battery for 30 minutes so that when you next start up the ECU is reset checks the octane of the fuel and adjusts accrodingly...may be wrong but recall reading that somewhere...

Yorkie

Yorkie,

1/2 right..I think...

The ECU reset will make it adjust to SUL quicker... but if you just run it on SUL it will have adjusted after a couple of tankfulls of driving anyway!
Which is what Chris at Bentley's was saying to do..

Unless I'm talking out of my ar$e ?

BOB :D

Bob,

If you are unsure, try running on 95, then after a dozen tankfuls if the car doesn't seem the same to you, revert back to SUL. But I heard somewhere recently that the un popularity of SUL has lead some petrol stations to phase it out. Anyone else heard that ?

Yorkie

shells web site has all the garages that sell optmax on it.

steve

can't remember the address, someone might, or search will pick it up
:D

The newer ECUs (99 onwards) adjust quicker than those on older cars, which did need the reset to take full advantage of things, by reseting the ECU (which disconnecting the battery for a period will do) you are just speeding up the process. You are right Bob :eek:

Lots of filling stations do not stock SUL because of the lack of use the pumps get (the additives to make it SUL deteriorate over time, so if stocks aren't replenished on a regular basis it will return to 95 RON) which is highly annoying for those who need / use it. All the more reason for all scooby owners to use it ;)

optimax stations

Hey I got something right then!

QUESTION:

Is it worth me putting SUL in a brand new car?

taking into account its new, so I'm not using the max performance of the engine etc, which is gonna be tight anyway!

Would I be as well putting 95Ron unleaded in the tank for the first 1k ?
Then changing to SUL later...?

Sugestions please...because if I can save a few quid every time I fill up, and not have the hassle of finding SUL...!

BOB :D

Use 95 until you're past the 1000 miles. Then try the SUL. Just my opinion. ;)

Work out what you will save over 1000 miles. Not sure how much SUL is these days.

Try this site for your nearest cheapest station: www.ispypetrol.co.uk/

Yorkie

Bob, only a question which you yourself can ultimately answer :D I found that mine ran smoother (all revs) & gave more mpg, which cancelled out most of the cost difference. If you can get SUL locally (as you said above) I'd say just use it, it is only a few quid more a tank, and 1000 miles is not many tanks, so you would (assuming you saw no difference in mpg for some reason) only be about £20 better off using NUL, not a lot in the grand scheme of things. Ultimately, every car is different, and only you will be able to find out if it does benefit your particular car. (how's that for not answering a question? ;) )

I have a jap car and run it on optimax... Find it is cheaper than SUL, performs well and provides better MPG than NUL. Friend with a UK99 used to get about 10% better MPG on SUL over NUL, worth bearing in mind... And if you modify the car stick to SUL :)

How much is SUL a litre ?

95 UL 69.9p locally

I ran my WRX on NUL for approx 6k miles then after hearing of the great advantage of SUL changed before Xmas. Personally it took about 5 tankfuls before i noticed any great difference. IMO the car definately now runs smoother although the MPG hasn't changed (heavier boots? :) ) To be perfectly honest once the summer weather and more miles arrives (mine is a toy only) i think i'll go back to NUL. The fact that i can get NUL for about £23 per tank within 25 miles or £40 for SUL locally hasn't swayed my mind at all. ;)

BEW, how do you get NUL for 42p a litre?

Last time I checked:
NUL = 69.9 ppl
SUL = 74.9 ppl

Yep best here is NUL 68.9p, SUL 73.9p

It's the benefit of living near the Irish border (25 miles anyway)
last fill of NUL worked out at £23 when the CC bill came in. The nearest SUL over the border is 60 miles 1 way :eek: It would pay if bought in quantity but not keen on carrying petrol jars in car, i do like a smoke ;)

Bob & Yorkie - have a go at Optimax - slightly more than NUL, but cheaper than SUL, and easier to obtain. My understanding of the ECU issue is that it averages out the octane rating of all the fuel you have used since new (or since the last reset). Therefore, if you put NUL in, it will (at least in theory) take and infinite length of time to adjust to SUL once you start using this.

Out of interest, I used to have a Corrado VR6, and a lightly modded Mk2 Golf 16V, plus a modded Audi A6 Avant. All went noticably better on SUL. But, there again, Optimax wasn't available then.

On the hifi front, have a look at my thread on the ICE section - a lot of the guys here have commented on how poor the standard Kenwood double DIN is. Pioneer, Sony and Clarion all make double DIN replacements. But, there are some seriously clever pieces of kit on the horizon (including Sat Nat etc). So, if you're in the market for a replacement double DIN, it might be worth waiting a few months and upgrading the standard "cardboard" speakers in the meantime!

WRXBOB said he thought the std fit speakers were the weakest link, so its goodbye to them I think first. Then maybe the head unit if its still poor.

Yorkie

Hi Yorkie - this is what the guys over at the ICE section of the board reckon as well. Have you seens some of the new double DIN aftermarket untis though? Pretty cool...

As I understand it, the ECU will constantly adjust to whatever octane fuel is used. The reason why they say it takes 2 tanks of SUL for the ECU, is that when you first put SUL in after having NUL, it is diluted down by the NUL already in the tank. By the time the second tank full of SUL has been used, all traces of NUL has gone...

Filled up with NUL today, works out at £5.50 a tank cheaper, dont think its gonna have a big effect on my performance or mpg figures... well not the way I've been driving!

BOB :D

After non stop use all weekend the stereo is growing on me :)

Yeah its not the best head unit money can buy, but as far as OEM units go its not bad.
Speakers are DEFO' the first thing to change. If your still not happy then, try a new head unit.
For the time being I'm keeping things standard. If / when I change the head unit it will be with a mini disc unit.

BOB :D

Hi Bob - let me know what sort of speakers you are looking at. Might be worth a 'small' group buy!