BP Ultimate vs Optimax

I filled the car up with BP Ultimate the other day, as I wasn't near a Shell station to get Optimax, and I must admit it seems to be running better.

I'd been thinking that it was running well, every time I'd been out in it for the last few days, and then realised that it coincided with the BP Ultimate.

Anyone else found the same?

Try the Tesco 99 octane stuff.....seems to be the best out of all 3 IMO and cheaper

I'll have to be stranded outside the SouthEast (at the moment) to go for anything else than Tesco99 RON mate.

It kicks arse.

£6 billion profit in 6 months

I filled up in France with it but their petrol is different anyway (you can tell just by the smell of it), and I never actually really caned it, ho hum. Noticed no difference, so it wasn't worse either

Someone on here experienced audible det on BP Ultimate and on Optimax it was inaudible without det cans. Hmmm. Maybe BP Ultimate gives you a tad more power but with less knock protection additives, who knows. I'll stick to Optimax, I know mine runs well on it now

-Ian

I filled the car up with BP Ultimate the other day, as I wasn't near a Shell station to get Optimax, and I must admit it seems to be running better.

 

I'd been thinking that it was running well, every time I'd been out in it for the last few days, and then realised that it coincided with the BP Ultimate.

 

Anyone else found the same?

Spooky I was just talking to terribleturner about this last night. I usually put optimax in my car. About 3 weeks ago I filled her up with BP Ultimate and the penny didn't drop at the time, but the power was applied much more smoothly than before.

Yesterday I put BP ultimate in my car again, and she is running much better, when the mivec kicks in, the power is more smooth and the uptake much quicker. I think I will definately be sticking to ultimate now.

I've also switched to Ultimate for a trial period of time and I've noticed a smoother delivery of power. On my UK-spec there used to be a slight hesitation when the 2nd turbo delivered its power, but since on Ultimate it feels like the hesitation is nothing like what it was before.

I was speaking to one of the shell garage workers and asked what the RON was for Optimax these days and he said "about 96"....no wonder they have taken the pump number labels off.

But I think I'll be sticking to Ultimate... until Tescos take their finger out and start selling 99RON in our area that is.

How does Ultimate compare price-wise?

It depends where you go. Its about the same as Optimax. It ranges between 89.9pence to 96.6pence round me

Is there any news on whether Tesco are going to roll out the 99 stuff to other areas?

Knocking (well, abnormal combustion) can sometimes happen without you noticing anything from the cabin - except from the smoke cloud eventually in the rear view mirror, lol..

R&D departments like those of Toyota tend to have a lot of confidence in their knock-filtering algorythms, so they can afford to start with lots of advance and start trimming off as early knock is being 'heard'.

Aftermarket generic Knock 'listeners' cannot hope to be as successful though. They are better than nothing, but you never know. During the pressure spike that damaged my Calibra's engine a few months ago KnockLink was quiet as a mouse, unlike previous times when it would make a racket on dodgy batches of Optimax or BP Ultimate. I gave up on BP Ultimate in the end, it would vary as much as Optimax, maybe my local garages were being creative, who knows...

Esso SUL felt the most consistent to me.

I have the choice of Optimax, Ultimate and Tesco Super Unleaded near my house... can never notice any difference between them!

I only use Ultimate because... well... because everyone says you should The Tesco ladies are always in a strop because they're stuck in the petrol kiosk instead of the main store, and the Ultimate garage has a nasty turn into it off a dual carriageway (just a straight-off-the-dual-carriageway-into-the-forecourt jobbie, no slow down lane or anything ), so Optimax it is. Plus they have a disproportionately large selection of various Gentlemen's Book of Ladies on display that I can sneak a quick gawp at while my card is going through.

I appreciate that this reply adds no value to this thread whatsoever.

Is there any news on whether Tesco are going to roll out the 99 stuff to other areas?

its appeared at a tesco in bristol recently and apparently there are a fair few tescos in devon that have it now too, i wouldn't have thought it would be too long before it gets to oxford

I too have access to all three types near where I live... I prefer to fill up with Tesco 99RON. I haven't yet tried to see what mpg I get (keep on forgetting to reset the mileage!!), but it seems that I do get better economy from the Tesco stuff (plus it's about 2p cheaper per litre than Optimax). Will try and get round to verifying the difference a bit more scientifically and update....

A friend of mine has reported a dramatic improvement in the mpg of an MR2turbo using Tesco99 RON, mainly used on the same commuting route every day, so mpg trends can be seen easily.

It must be moving to a more efficient map, as it runs higher boost and some MR2 ECUs are quite overprotective...

I can't say for myself because my trip counters are being reset before I have a chance to fill her up, either because the battery is disconnected or the instrument panels are off, lol...

Can someone please give me a more 'scientific' reason why I should buy more expensive petrol than normal unleaded? Saying "smoother delivery of power" and "uptake much quicker" doesn't do much for me. I always thought it was a con by the oil companies to get you to spend more on something that is essentially the same just by rebadging it. I have been running normal unleaded for a year, and I am quite happy. Petrol is petrol, my car goes fast, it does not judder or make funny noises and it has not blown up. Or am I missing something?

you're running 95RON on a BPU JSpec?

I just fill up with the normal stuff, yeh. Big mistake? Petrol's expensive enough as it is!

its appeared at a tesco in bristol recently and apparently there are a fair few tescos in devon that have it now too, i wouldn't have thought it would be too long before it gets to oxford

Which Tesco is that then bud?

Left TOTB yesterday running on fumes. Limped to the nearest Shell and filled up - £79.60 (I tried to squeeze the last 40p in but she'd have none of it!). 83 litres! 95.9p a litre!!!

Has anyone ever put more in a supra or had a more expensive fill-up?

What the...

The UK-spec tank is only supposed to be 80 litres!

What the...

 

The UK-spec tank is only supposed to be 80 litres!

That's what I said as it went to 81, 82 ... 83!

I just fill up with the normal stuff, yeh. Big mistake? Petrol's expensive enough as it is!

If you can't afford to run the car, then why not get something smaller?

Even stock JSpecs are unhappy with 95RON unleaded, a BPU would be pulling back timing every time you are over a few psi boost. This will hurt fuel consumption and if you insist on pressing the pedal hard it will lead it to overheat as well (I assume that "BPU" means it is running higher boost, right?)

If you can't afford to run the car, then why not get something smaller?

Even stock JSpecs are unhappy with 95RON unleaded, a BPU would be pulling back timing every time you are over a few psi boost. This will hurt fuel consumption and if you insist on pressing the pedal hard it will lead it to overheat as well (I assume that "BPU" means it is running higher boost, right?)

okay Petrol is expensive, that much is true

but that said, I'm with John on this as well. Plus look at it this way, if normal unleaded is 85.9pence per litre, and ultimate or optimax what ever your fav tipple is on average 85.9pence, it only works out to be a couple of quid more, no more than £7 in my experience depending on how much I Pay at the pump and how much you can squeeze in etc

But for an extra couple of quid you DO get better MPG, and it will care for your engine. I can get up to 75 miles more if I use a higher ron petrol.

I've heard rumours that supermarket normal unleaded is the worst type of petrol to put in any car, as its made up of all the cr@p that's left over.

Can someone please give me a more 'scientific' reason why I should buy more expensive petrol than normal unleaded? Saying "smoother delivery of power" and "uptake much quicker" doesn't do much for me. I always thought it was a con by the oil companies to get you to spend more on something that is essentially the same just by rebadging it. I have been running normal unleaded for a year, and I am quite happy. Petrol is petrol, my car goes fast, it does not judder or make funny noises and it has not blown up. Or am I missing something?

clickey clickey [or knock knock ]