guys, since i got the daily back, i have almost done 1000 kms with various brands of petrol.

anyway, i used to run the 8 on either bp ultimate, shell optimax or mobile synergy and have found them pretty good, but personally i found synergy and ultimate best.... until last week, i have decided to switch brand, to caltex vortex (mum shops at woolies now :D ) and found the 8 is a "slower" car to drive. i have even gave it another go this week to make sure i was "feeling" right :eek:

now the quiestion is.... those with that sacnner thingy, would you be able to tell the differences between diff. brand of petrol when plug it up?

was chatting to a mate of mine today and got the similar results, both of us have the G flash, factory exhaust and similar wheels/suspension setup :confused:

so what do you guys think.....? time for another car :D

I used to drive an SP20 and tried all of the these, but in the end I never found betetr than the optimax for feel and economy.

I have tried them all with the 8 and of the "Premium" fuels found the Ultimate the best, however I have to say that the BP standard unleaded is even better (so far) after 2 tanks.

Regards

Andrew

after running on only BP ultimate and optimax I switched back to shell premium unleaded. I found no difference in power and the engine felt smoother. I haven't noticed any economy difference but that would be most noticeable on highway driving.

Hmmmm

I don't think the BP still with the standard yet, even the 98 RON one. I used to track the car with BP fuel but now I use OPtimax. Not big difference but the economy is there ;) :p.

I agree that I found the normal unlead Shell and Caltax is quite bad, BP is much better, but their pump price is 1 cent higher than Shell in most places.

I used to track the car with BP fuel but now I use OPtimax. Not big difference but the economy is there ;) :p.

See that Hymee.. :rolleyes:

When I first got my car I would use shell optimax, then tried BP Ultimate, and I just noticed I would do more kms with BP than I would with Optimax. However, I think it does depend how you drive the car too right...? I found whenever I drove the car a bit harder/crazier my BP would use up a bit quicker than Optimax would.. Dont know if that was my imagination :confused:
Ive never tried vortex in my car, but my mum puts vortex in her 323 Astina and the lil car fliessss, mum seems to think she overtakes everyone :rolleyes: (However she knows she cant beat an 8, we tested that :cool: ).
One of my friends studied Environmental Law and told me not to use Mobil Petrol :confused: She told me why, but dont think I was paying much attention.

I tend to use BP Ultimate but I won't pretend to notice any huge difference when it occasionally gets a tank of some other kind of premium. Haven't used ordinary unleaded but I've read posts in previous threads to the effect that it makes no difference.

Getting back to Ezzy's main question - does the scanalyser help here? If so, anyone keen on volunteeering to do a fuel comparison?

My own query is whether each brand is a consistent quality - I bet it varies a little over time and place but what would I know?

I've also noticed that BP Ultimate seems to be the better performing of all the exotic brews..... I've noticed marginally better economy and responsiveness.

My own query is whether each brand is a consistent quality - I bet it varies a little over time and place but what would I know?

That's a pretty good point.. Out where Hymee lives there are two super high volume BP service stations - so I believe that his fuel would be very fresh... The BP near me does not get much business because we are surrounded by Shell stations and Coles stores... :eek:

4 cents is 4 cents :D Especially when you are married to the Finance Director!

But not even the Finance Director will use caltex fuel unless we have no money, we are out of petrol, there is an ambulance strike and Miss 5 has to get to hospital. (We have a "free" $25 Caltex card in out glovebox) :D

I've also noticed that BP Ultimate seems to be the better performing of all the exotic brews..... I've noticed marginally better economy and responsiveness.

Ditto ;)
Definetely......... my car runs more responsive and gets better fuel economy :)

cheers
michael

We have a "free" $25 Caltex card in out glovebox

That is a hell of a sensible idea.

Cheers,
Hymee.

Believe it or not, I actually gave a tank of BP e10 a go the other day :eek:

Ran smooth and all that. Initially though consumption was high, but seemed to equal out by the end of the tank.

Scott's car runs on Methanol ;) :D

Cheers,
Hymee.

My own query is whether each brand is a consistent quality - I bet it varies a little over time and place but what would I know?

One of the companies that I work for does the re-badging of most of the major Petrol companies. They do some crazy things and if you have ever wondered why you are getting poor fuel aconomy, its probably because the pump you used is due for calibration. I would also avoid using Premium fuel from a station that has had a major re-fit as they may have done a pump shuffle and they seldom drain the Tanks before refilling them, we have heard of as much as 250 litres of Standard ULP being left in a tank that has been repurposed for PULP.

Andrew

xxup,

Your deleted post is frigging hilarious! ROFLMAO !! :D:D:D

But it is more like 25 km, from personal experience :o

Cheers,
Hymee.

I decided that I may have gone a little too far... The other party may not have the same sense of humour... :p

Rats - missed out on the gag. :(

You know I have always thought there would be a market out there for a test kit that you could splash a couple of drops of petrol into, while you are filling up your tank at the petrol station, and it would give you a octain reading.

You could be really sure that you are getting the PULP you are paying for!

I guess the petrol companies wouldn't want you knowing that sort of thing, it might cause them a few problems if the consumer really knew what they were getting.

so anyone care to answer the question with the scanner thingy.
taka, since you have one of those scanners... maybe we should assign this task to you :D y/n?

You know I have always thought there would be a market out there for a test kit that you could splash a couple of drops of petrol into, while you are filling up your tank at the petrol station, and it would give you a octain reading.

That is a great idea!!

So many petrol stations and fuel companies are dodgy in my view.

Do the scientists out there think this sort of thing is feasible?? Could it sit in the glovebox or boot with our tyre pressure gauges (because we all know how reliable the gauge is on the air hoses. :rolleyes: ) and spare oil?? Come on Labrat - time to show off that white coated brain of yours.

Speaking of gauges, etc, is the dip stick on the 8 the most contorted stick of metal in history or what. I just about have to perform a twist with half pike and roll to get the damn thing back in. :p :D :D Would love it if they could fit an accurate oil meter (not just pressure).

Sorry, got a bit off the thread there - must be stream of consciousness time again. :o :D :D

must be stream of consciousness time again. :o :D :D

In other words, it is time for you to leave work and head home.. :D

Nup - having a short mental holiday and then back into it for another few hours - the guy I work for is a real p#*@k!! ;) :D

I track my petrol every fill-up, including where it was purchased. Now this isn't be most scientific analysis. But going through my records and noting where I had purchased fuel and seeing what the L/100Km were at the next fill-up, then averaging the results here is what I got:

Shell Optimax - 11 fill-ups, 11.71909 L/100Km
Caltex Vortex - 24 Fill-ups, 12.02417 L/100Km
BP Ultimate - 9 Fill-ups, 11.7811 L/100Km
Mobil 9000 - 5 Fill-ups, 12.142 L/100Km

The reason I use Caltex more than any other is that I hadn't determined any noticable difference and it is the most convenient to use as I pass one leaving home and arriving home.

This should cover a lot of different driving styles. I have purposely excluded the time I went on the track as that isn't normal driving. The only other possible statistical anomily would be that on a long drive to Arrarat / Great Western the only place that had Premium Unleaded was a Shell, and the same when I take trips to Hamilton. Given driving to and from these places is usually highway driving for 3 - 4 hours constantly Shell is likely to have received a better than normal fuel economy.

Also, for full disclosure, the average of all my fuel fill-ups is about 53L, which means that even when switching brands there would be around 10% of the previous fuel still in the tank. All up, it doesn't look like there is a huge difference in fuel economy between brands.

Shell Optimax - 11 fill-ups, 11.71909 L/100Km
Caltex Vortex - 24 Fill-ups, 12.02417 L/100Km
BP Ultimate - 9 Fill-ups, 11.7811 L/100Km
Mobil 9000 - 5 Fill-ups, 12.142 L/100Km

This takes a lot of dedications to record all these Draco.

Nice work http://www.xs4all.nl/~ernstmul/images/yahoo/57.gif

I will take it there is not much difference.. since the best and worst is only 0.4L/100km.

Draco, do you find sometimes that different pumps will fill up to a different "full" level?

I use my Camry a lot on the same road and BP pump is generally 2L less "full" than the Shell. So my fuel consumption is about 0.4L/100km difference sometimes.

I guess the fuel consumption needs sCANalyser to accurately determine it.

One time I fuelled up to full and go back home (1km away) and the fuel level is only 93.4% :eek:

I've been conspicuously anal about fuel consumption records, and -- after 45,000k -- can't see any correlation between the fuel brand used and fuel economy. There's no significant difference that might not equally be due to other factors (temperature, wind, mood ;) etc)

There may be some variation due to fuel grade; early on, I trialled using standard unleaded for a while, and it might be possible to argue that using this lower grade of fuel reduced fuel economy by 0.5L/100k, but I subsequently made a 'policy' decision to stick with PULP (usually 98, except when it's over $1.20 or something ridiculous :eek: )

I used to be an Optimax fan, however I switched to Ultimate, then I lowered the standard a little and use BP Premium Unleaded 95 RON, I have found it the best of the lot to date. No difference in performance between it and the Ultimate, so for the past 3 months the 8 only drinks BP Premuim Unleaded, at 4c a litre cheaper than Ultimate and Optimax I am no goingto complain either.

This takes a lot of dedications to record all these Draco.

Not really, I've been doing it since October 2000. It used to be easier when I had a Palm Pilot and software to input as I carried it around with me. The current system is write on the receipt, which has L and price/L on, my trip counter, reset the trip to 0, start engine. When I get home or work I enter the details into a spreadsheet, this gives me lots of different calculations and graphs. When I get some time I'm planning on writing a pocket PC tracking system that will export to Excel.


Draco, do you find sometimes that different pumps will fill up to a different "full" level?


Hard to tell. I usually wait until the warning light comes on and then visit a petrol station at the next convenient point. I know that when the light comes on there is at least 10L in the tank (from experience) so I can travel between 50 and 75Km.

The most I've ever put in was 60.16L and it is usually 53-54L.

You all know where I stand on this one!

After almost 30,000km on 91RON I'm totally happy with economy and power. I don't think I am losing out on anything (except less money leaving my wallet at the pump each week).

ran the remaining caltex almost empty tonight and filled up with bp, im happy with and will never touch caltex again... well not on the 8 anyway :rolleyes:

You all know where I stand on this one!

After almost 30,000km on 91RON I'm totally happy with economy and power. I don't think I am losing out on anything (except less money leaving my wallet at the pump each week).

Dan

There is a 60% chance that if you get married you may in up divorcing at some stage leaving your X with a percentage of your hard earned flying dollars , so why bother trying to save a few cents on petrol ;) :p

cheers
michael

Rotaries traditionally perform better on lower octane fuel, and that is the reason I switched in the first place. There are many threads and people on this forum that support this argument. Saving an average of 8-10c/litre is a bonus.

I'm not phased at all that most guys here will never stray from Premium, but I think it's worth keeping everyones eyes open to the other possibilities. Not everything Mazda says is gospel.... hell some people wont even take their car to a Mazda dealership any more, so why trust them on this?

Rotaries traditionally perform better on lower octane fuel, and that is the reason I switched in the first place. There are many threads and people on this forum that support this argument. Saving an average of 8-10c/litre is a bonus.

I'm not phased at all that most guys here will never stray from Premium, but I think it's worth keeping everyones eyes open to the other possibilities. Not everything Mazda says is gospel.... hell some people wont even take their car to a Mazda dealership any more, so why trust them on this?


Really??? why is that??
I'm more than willing to try different things if there is sounds logic behind it.

Rotaries traditionally perform better on lower octane fuel, and that is the reason I switched in the first place. There are many threads and people on this forum that support this argument. Saving an average of 8-10c/litre is a bonus.

is there a "settling in" period for switching from rich 98RON fuel to less-rish normal unleaded fuel? do you have to reset the ecu?
i have tried the 95 and cant tell the diff from the 98 fuel.

EDIT: on the subject of resetting the ECU, will you still be able to retain the new re-flashed program.... im my case, i have gone from F to G code, so if i reset my ECU, will i still be able to run on G code?


Not everything Mazda says is gospel.... hell some people wont even take their car to a Mazda dealership any more, so why trust them on this?
true that, even ppl work at mazda told me that too :p

is there a "settling in" period for switching from rich 98RON fuel to less-rish normal unleaded fuel? do you have to reset the ecu?
i have tried the 95 and cant tell the diff from the 98 fuel.

EDIT: on the subject of resetting the ECU, will you still be able to retain the new re-flashed program.... im my case, i have gone from F to G code, so if i reset my ECU, will i still be able to run on G code?



resetting wont effect your flash.
I recomend resetting the ecu when changing down to 95ron. my car was running a little rough and the reset smothed it out.

...I recomend resetting the ecu when changing down to 95ron. my car was running a little rough and the reset smothed it out.

That's intertesting.. It suggests that there is a difference... We have only used 98 in our car, but during the cruise we may have to use 95 as 98 is not generally available away from the coast..

Really??? why is that??
I'm more than willing to try different things if there is sounds logic behind it.

Something to do with the longer flame propogation length and the burn rate of the fuel.

Renesis has a little more compression than the earlier rotaries. I recall reading that Curtiss Wright did a bunch of octane research.

Cheers,
Hymee.

Basically lower octane fuel burns faster and hence more completely in the combustion chamber. Also, there are less additives in regular unleaded and hence more actual fuel. There's plenty of info on this already on the forum and the internet if you search for it. Here is a sample: