JayRaj

Who supplies the best quality SUL?

I personally think that Texaco is v. poor, Shell again poor and Esso the db's.

Anyone agree?

Also saw over the weekend that Esso had a '98 Ron' sticker at the pump. Is this correct?

Cheers

Jay

mutant_matt

I've tried Texaco (pants - not smoother, worse fuel consumption and no more power) and Esso (v.good - smoother, more power and more mpg). Have yet to try Shell as my local garage never seems to have any SUL.

Matt.

DJB

Oh dear, the 98 RON story again.

98 RON has been replaced by 97 RON. Some petrol outlets have not updated their pumps stickers yet (although the change took place more than 6 months ago so they certainly should have).

Regarding brand choice, there is said to be no difference since the fuel comes from standardised supplies at the same refineries. Having said that, I prefer Shell or Esso. I don't like Texaco.

D.

RichB

Well a brand new BP garage near me now has 98 RON advertised as 'cleaner' unleaded. As expected the person behind the counter gave a wonderfull story about 98 RON fuel

Paul Wilson

I think a lot depends on individual garage and not the brand, if they are not turning over a lot of SUL, the fuel can go "off" a bit apparantly.

JayRaj

What about the supermarkets? Sainsbury's round the corner from me are selling SUL @ 82.9p per litre. Tempting price, but is there grade lower than the Esso and co.?

RussP

Strange....

Three people all say that Texaco's poor - i actually find my Sti loves it - more economical and smoother(with a capital SMOOTH!)

Is this in Sti's or Uk cars?

Russ

bennetm

Rich I know the one you mean, Mountbatten Arms right? Have they opened that pump yet, its been coned off every time ive gone on a SUL hunt!

On the petrol subject, I have an informant who told me supermarkets don't put in the same additives as the main companies which is not much good for the engine. They may all fill their tankers from the same place but its what they do with it afterwards. I know a lot of people in the business who don't touch it and neither do I!

Mark.

SteveB

iTrader: (1)

Sainsbury's for me - At 81p lt who can complain ? Runs as good as all the others.

Steve.

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

I agree with SteveB, sainsburys is ok, cheaper than the local texaco garage by 7p a litre!!!! feels just as good if not better, still feels very smooth (but then ive run my car on sul for 8k miles, since new)

Tony

JayRaj

Tony and Steve,

Are you two driving UK cars?? I wouldn't dare filling my WRX at Sainsbury's.

If you were running a UK Scoob it would be good value filling up SUL at the supermarkets. Supermarket SUL Must be better than 95 RON and this is at the same price as most garages charge for 95 RON!

Jay

boothphi

82.9p for ESSO SUL!!! Widely available in London. TOP!

Dippy

Don't forget that the 95/97 figure is the MINIMUM octane rating. Refineries try to produce fuel to this minimum, but generally their technology is crap and they don't manage it.

Sainsbury's will buy the cheapest fuel on the market. You can be fairly sure that their 97 RON will be pretty close to 97.

Refinery owners will keep the better blends for themselves as they make more profit. Therefore their fuel may often be higher than 97 RON on their forecourts.

So anyone with a Japanese Sti/WRX which has been designed for 100 RON (AFAIK), is indeed sensible to avoid Sainsbury's.

AWD

Isn't the new Optimax petrol (can't rememer if it was from Shell or BP) meant to be 98RON?

I heard that it was coming to the UK after trials in Europe.

Sonic Boom

First got my STi5 back in March 99. Used to use BP as it was 98 RON.

As DJB says, BP and others then dropped the rating of SUL back to 97. I guess you all noticed the price didn't drop with the rating

I use Shell now as I find it suits MY engine better. However, I'm sure there will be differences from engine type to engine type. ECU setup will also have an effect.

e.g. I used to prefer BP over Shell on my old Rover Tomcat.

I have ordered some Octane+ to added to the SUL I'm feeding the beast to give it a go, bring the rating up a bit..... but now been waiting for the stuff for 2.5 weeks from Scoobymania.... Come on lads, please get moving....

Sonic

muddy

Did you know that SUL has only got a shelf life of 6 weeks.
Something to do with the addatives they put in it to raise the octane, cannot remember what the actual name of the addative was though!!.
Your best bet is to buy from a Motorway service station or in a large city, no good buying in rural areas cause it could be out of date.
Doh!!! I can only buy SUL in a rural area.
I do use octane boost as well!!.


Muddy.

SteveB

iTrader: (1)

My car is a UK MY97 - run on SUL since new- 27k.

I hear what everyone is saying here but can't agree that BP or Esso and Shell are any better than the SUL at Sainsbury's. I bet that more often than not we pump the same stuff. I also don't see why the supermarkets get the rubbish and the oil companies keep the good stuff for themselves. I don't think they're that charitable. If you think you're getting 98 or 99 then I think you're kidding yourselves.

Are some of you guys with STI's running just 97 Ron without octane booster and no ECU mods to cope ?? Would have thought that was more risky than worrying about the differences in fuel.

Steve.

schuey

"You can be sure of Shell"
OK who's old enough to remember that.
Shell SUL 81.9, my local BP garage is charging 86.9!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was only paying 87.9 when UL was 81.9.
No problems with Shell or Texaco if I've been in a hurry ( nearer ) but BP and my MY99 just do not agree, and I've tried several different garages.

Jon

Gordon Shek

Talking about UL and SUL, I'm currently running my UK car on normal UL 95 RON but am considering changing to SUL 98 RON. How do I go about making the ECU "see" that I'm now using SUL? Also on the subject, would putting octane booster in the tank make the car happier?

kenny.c

I think you would need to reset your ecu.
Not sure on how to do it on a scooby though.

SteveB

iTrader: (1)

Gordon,

Firstly, You can only buy 97 ron now.

Your car will see the fuel and alter the various parameters. Try a tank or two of SUL and see. If you're not pleased with the results, try the reset.
Mine is a MY97 and had a few resets(for other reasons), and I can't say i've noticed much difference.

Steve.

Rikki23

I have a 95 WRX. Was using SHell SUL but switched to Sainsburys because of the price and the engine seemed to like it.

But get this....filled with normal unleaded not long ago because it was all the nearest station had and the car was quicker?? Boost was high enough to cut out. Any ideas???

mutant_matt

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by AWD:
<B>Isn't the new Optimax petrol (can't rememer if it was from Shell or BP) meant to be 98RON?

I heard that it was coming to the UK after trials in Europe.[/quote]

It's Shell Optimax and I think is 99RON. It's available in Germany but I didn't think it was comming to the UK. I do know someone though who is thinking about importing this and selling it in London.....

Matt.

MattOz

Never had any problems with my STI 5 Type-R V-ltd running on Sainsburys SUL. Car seemed to like it and so did my wallet!

Matt