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Just changed car to a 1.6 litre Fiat Multiwagon. Can't decide whether to run on premium or super unleaded. Old car, 2.4 litre Mitsubishi, ran well on Optimax. Is new engine too small to justify extra cost?
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Personally speaking, normal commonal garden unleaded should be fine for a 1.6 litre engine.
I don't see any advantage in paying extra for a higher grade of petrol when it isn't necessary. For the record, my 2.2 litre Vauxhall runs quite happily on Sainsbury's unleaded.
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Im surprised to hear you recommending running long term on supermarket fuel, Dave. HJ himself, has consistently cited this as a major cause of many problems experienced with multi-valve engines due to the absence of the necessary cleansing additives in these fuels. I can't imagine that any improvement in performance could justify paying the premium for a fuel like Optimax but if using cheap petrol is going to cause problems, as HJ suggests, surely using them is false economy. I suppose, however, if you're only going to run the car for a couple of years and couldn't care less about a subsequent owner running into trouble, it would be OK.
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See:
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?f=2&t=32...9
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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Im surprised to hear you recommending running long term on supermarket fuel, Dave.
Ken,
I don't always use supermarket petrol, but I guess I do use it more often than Esso, for example. I also tend to keep my cars for longer than a couple of years.
HJ himself, has consistently cited this as a major cause of many problems experienced with multi-valve engines due to the absence of the necessary cleansing additives in these fuels.
HJ has his views, as does everyone else, but it doesn't mean that those views are gospel.
If supermarket petrol was inferior, then they wouldn't be allowed to sell it. All fuels have to meet a British Standard. As for it having no additives, this previous post by a retired tanker driver suggests otherwise.
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?v=e&t=67...5
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Dave
Point taken. I admit I do tend to take HJ's views as gospel but I have to say that in this case they seem to be borne out by the owner of the independent garage I use to service my cars who has also experienced problems with sticking vales in multi valve engine vehicles that have been run largely on cheap fuel.
Have Sainsburys or any of the other supermarkets ever made a statement about what additives, if any, they actually put in their fuel? If they could be persuaded to do so that would surely clear the matter up once and for all.
Incidentally, I was thinking about company cars drivers, rather than private individuals in my remarks about not caring about subsequent owners. Nothing personal intended.
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The tanker driver must have been delivering only to supermarkets: the additive package, if available, is put in at the point of delivery. No wonder he thinks they are all the same! HJ is right, and although the BS (or EN) covers basis requirements, the additive packages are extra to this. The only factual info on the performance of additives is in the test conducted by Evo of Optimax in 3 differnet makes of engine, stripped and examined after a number of miles on the BS standard fuel (no additives) and then on Optimax. Deposits left on the valve stems etc were cleaned off by the better fuel. No doubt someone will be along to say its all marketing puff:)
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Should point out I have 20 years experience in the oil industry.
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Thats not 20 years with Flora then Thommo?.. ;-)
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I'm not sure what the benefits of using Optimax over a good 95RON are for non-performance engines, unless you're planning on racking up astronomical six-figure mileages. You certainly won't increase rated power or enjoy better economy, so what's the point? I suppose there's the inner satisfaction of knowing that you're treating your wheels to the best petrol on the UK market, but whether it's worth the premium is another matter.
I wouldn't use anything but Optimax in my Civic 'R, but that's for quite practical reasons - most engines don't rev to +8000rpm on a regular basis.
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Well the point, which has been done to death, is that all crude in to the refinery is within a set specification so is for all intents and purposes identical. All petrol that comes out is within a set specification and so for all intents and purposes identical and as the tanker driver says it comes out of the same tank.
The ONLY difference is these 'detergents' IF you run a high performance car or you do only short start stop journeys maybe you need these 'detergents' and maybe you don't but even if you do a quick shot of an additive like Redex now and again will do the same job much cheaper.
Nearly all my experience was upstream but I had some exposure to downstream with Mobil (and a very nice pay off thank you Exxon). The bottom line is that the oil companies have been trying to brand petrol for decades and have always failed.
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