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A friend of a friend has a model steamboat. He fuels the boiler with a 50:50 mixture of paraffin and petrol. He and all his steamboat club mates have switched to Optimax because, unlike other petrol, it leaves their engines and smokestacks clean as a whistle. I kid you not. Interesting.
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I'm tempted to try it in my petrol camping stove - boil a kettle in 30 seconds? Maybe!!
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>Interesting.
Maybe.
As you know, I am a doubting Thomas on this one. Whilst some engines may benefit from a higher octane rating, for the rest of it, I'm sure it is snake oil.
If it weren't snake oil, then Shell would (surely!?) have proper scientific evidence to justify charging more for Optimax. In the absence of that, it's no more likely to do the engine any good than it is to give you better dress sense (wasn't that what it claimed?).
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I can't vouch for Shell but the aditives company I worked for did extensive testing both in the lab and running fleets of field test vehicles. Good additives in fuel do work I have seen
direct comparisons on cars run with the same fuel with and without.
The additives industry is very cut throat and most fuel companies only use a clean up dose of additive rather than a clean up dose so I expect the cost of optimax and Ultimate includes quite a premium for a clean up dose of additve as well as the fuels additional octane rating.
If you have a car that has run for many years with ordinary fuel I dont reccomend changing. All you will do is strip the dirt from your fuel tanks and lines.
If it works for you use it but I suggest a change of fuel filter
before the recommended time.
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AFAIK Optimax has a higher octane rating & cars that can use it get a benefit. Certainly TVRs & most of the TR register cars TR5 & 6 which were designed with higher octane ratings in mind benefit. Some modern cars with fully mapped ignition & anti knock sensors would also be able to make use of it.
Don't bother in the V8 cos it's only 9:1 but would if it was higher.
Its pretty much the same as the old Super Plus.
Jim
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yesterday's sunday-times has a test of shell-optimax and bp-ultimate versus regular unleaded.
(i believe this site does not allow links to sunday-times, so you will have to search for the item in their online motoring section yourself).
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To quote the Sunday Times article: "We may have only been testing one car over one gallon of fuel". That's even more absurd than the most extreme claims for the fuels themselves.
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To quote the Sunday Times article: "We may have only been testing one car over one gallon of fuel". That's even more absurd than the most extreme claims for the fuels themselves.
But it was in a respected lab under very controlled conditions.
>>Optimax: evidence of effectiveness?
About as much as life after death
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Ive just run a week on optimax in my 3.0 omega,It cost me an extra £2.76 over normal unleaded and it returned an extra 1.5 miles per gallon over the same route and milage i use weekly.
It may clean your engine better but on a milage basis it aint worth the extra cash!!!
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A respected lab it may be; a respectable piece of research it wasn't.
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A respected lab it may be; a respectable piece of research it wasn't.
So I expect Shell/BP assesment is an example of respected research? I don't see any way of accessing any of their research data on Optimax etc. just their marketing conclusion.(aka hype)
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Wouldn't it be interesting to see Shell's results if they carried out tests on BP Ultimate and BP's results if they carried out tests on Shell Optimax. It might give us a more realistic result, providing they didn't collaborate.
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The ultra-low sulphur levels in Optimax (lower than low-sulphur regular Shell unleaded, or comparable 95RONs, I believe) and the supposedly more effective detergent package is as big a reason to buy as the high octane rating.
I run a performance car that I know is not adversely affected by 95RON, but since I may be keeping it for the next 4-5 years, I believe Optimax is the best long-term bet for the engine and I don't use anything else.
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Sorry Roger,the problem being i drive a CAR not a LAB!!!
I could have run it for a few weeks but i expect that the results wouldn't change that much...same journey
,traffic conditions etc.etc.
What do you suggest,believe what you are told by the multi nationals or decide for yourself?
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I don't know for sure whether Optimax is a superior fuel; I choose to believe that it is, so I use it. I do know that no scientist would regard the test conducted by the Sunday Times team, albeit in a reputable lab, as a serious piece of work.
From all the opinion and what little evidence I have seen, the effects from using Optimax or any other premium fuel are:
* Slight if you car's engine does not have a high compression ratio and therefore cannot benefit from the high octane rating -- 98 RON, and HJ reminds us that it is the only one on the market at 98 RON.
* Highly unlikely to be manifested in the short term, let alone instantly.
* Possibly significant in terms of engine cleanliness over the long term, specifically because of the detergent additives. The report from the model steamboat people appears to be consistent with this.
I take no more notice of those who claim instant improvements than I do of those who declare the product to be rip-off rubbish after one tankful. I do take notice of serious sources (e.g. HJ) who say that many people (certainly dozens and possibly hundreds) report perceptible benefits and improvements over the long term. I have asked the Consumers Association to conduct proper long-term comparative tests; the request has been acknowledged, and I am now prompted to remind them. Indeed, I am going to copy this response to them as evidence of serious interest among motorists.
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