What fuel do you guys use?

[Firestick]

Hello all.

First post as I have just become the proud owner of an 89 MR2 and was wondering if you guys use any of the higher octane fuels such as Tesco 99 etc?

Are there any benefits or is this a no no?

[LimeyMk1]

I don't believe there are any benefits to using higher octane fuels in the Mk1 unless you've done some tuning/modding that requires it.

You'll be fine with the standard stuff, altho I tend to avoid some very cheap supermarket fuels.

Welcome to the club.

[MartG]

All three NA Mk1s I had pinked on 95RON fuel, so I always ran them on Super. My current SC always gets Super too.

[LimeyMk1]

All three NA Mk1s I had pinked on 95RON fuel, so I always ran them on Super. My current SC always gets Super too.

Really? The only time any of mine did was when I increased the compression ratio.

[un1eash]

I just use BP and Shell unleaded. I try to avoid supermarket fuel as it doesnt seem to last as long.

[Charged]

In my NA I'd use a tank of decent super (BP, Shell or Tesco) every month or so.. and use 95 the rest of the time... the car seems to run quieter and smoother on super. In my turbo I use super everytime.

[NDR008]

I just use BP and Shell unleaded. I try to avoid supermarket fuel as it doesnt seem to last as long.

Slight crap, even if there is a difference (and I would say Bristol's TESCO fuel tends to last longest), the difference is not down to the brand, but more likely to the locality. Fuels contain the same basline fuel based on the country region. I.e. for example in Coventry, Shell, BP, Esso, Tesco, ASDA, etc, all get their fuel from Shell.

While in Bristol it might be all from example ASDA. The final additives are different - and though most might argue that the additives make a major difference (and I do agree) the way the basline fuel has been formulated makes an enormous difference. I can vouch for this based on the benchmarking tasks I do at work, but obviously I cannot release any exact numbers or info.

But trust me - people that fuss on the brand of the fuel and spend that 'extra' is for nothing. It is too expensive to transport fuel for say all UK BP stations to use true BP fuel. It all depends on how many and which fuel depo is closest. In most cities one depo exits.

In places like London, it is likely to be more than one, just becuase if the second depo only had to supply 5% of the pump stations, 5% of London's consumption is still enough for a decent turnover. But most localities - this won't be the case.

[NDR008]

All three NA Mk1s I had pinked on 95RON fuel, so I always ran them on Super. My current SC always gets Super too.

Really? The only time any of mine did was when I increased the compression ratio.

I would agree with you Limeymk1. My 4E-FTE engine ran on factory timing as defined for Japanese fuel, and Maltese fuel is 89RON, I only had to use octane boosters when I ran a bigger turbo, higher boost, and a slightly advanced timing - and in Maltese summer weather (~28 to 36 degC)

[un1eash]

Well my car runs better on bp and shell fuel then on tesco fuel. Also my C2 VTS returns better mpg on bp and shell then on tesco fuel. My old Nova TDi modified to 90bhp ran much better on bp and shell diesel then on tesco fuel.

Conclusion, think i'll stick with bp and shell and avoid tesco. The price is the same half the time also. If i'm feeling rich i put some V power in every now and then but it doesnt really make a difference.

[Tom G]

NDR008, that's interesting, I've never noticed a difference between supermarket fuel brands, except premium ones with higher ron, E.g. my bmw is rated at 220bhp on 95ron and 230 on 98ron as timing can be retarded.
I take it all fuel advertised as being higher RON really is; regardless of locality?

[BIGBOBO]

I always put 98 in mine.


Manual says 98 witout cat, 95 with cat If you're wondering.

[Hybrids]

I use Tesco 99 in the race car, running quite a bit of advance with no pre-detonation issues

[NDR008]

Conclusion, think i'll stick with bp and shell and avoid tesco. The price is the same half the time also. If i'm feeling rich i put some V power in every now and then but it doesnt really make a difference.

The price is generally super similar within the same locality but very different between say Shell up north and Shell down south - and contrary to whatever example Shell say on their site regarding it being a means of being competitive, it is actually because it all depends on from where they get it and at what price hehe which is likely to be the same for all the rest.

[NDR008]

NDR008, that's interesting, I've never noticed a difference between supermarket fuel brands, except premium ones with higher ron, E.g. my bmw is rated at 220bhp on 95ron and 230 on 98ron as timing can be retarded.
I take it all fuel advertised as being higher RON really is; regardless of locality?

I am not sure on the 'premium' fuels, I would imagine again the baseline fuel contained is identical, and just the additives are different.

Also don't forget the way RON is defined is not very scientific and bullet proof. 2 fuels with the same ron rating could behave differently, and hence why there have been several ways of trying to define a fuel's ability to compression without igniting, these being:
RON - Research Octane Number (original)
MON - Motor Octane Number (invented because it was felt RON is a bit too theoratical and does not factor the way fuel behaves under higher loads - higher temperature ranges and different chemical reactions, such as the generation of NOx)
AKI - Anti-Knock Index - Probably the most recent term - which is the average of both RON and MON.

(Btw, most of this is available on wikipedia at :http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octane_rating)

Oh and one more thing, not sure what happens in the UK, because fuel companies never reveal what they do their fuel, even when like in our case, we are meant to be doing a joint venture test experiment, but most countries, alter fuel content with season changes to alter things like rate of evaporation, cold start properties, etc.

[WeirdNeville]

Ohhh, goody, this debate again!

I can confirm (with 20 years worth of logs) that my car gets the same Mpg regardless of the fuel it's run on.
If Supermarket fuel is inferior, would it return the same Mpg?

I stick whatever is cheapest in it. It ran fine on track with Morrisons 95 RON in it, bouncing off of the rev limiter all the time. In my opinion any Unleaded fuel available in the UK is perfectly adequate, so you may as well save £2-3 a tank.

If it's forced induction, that's another matter....

[crazybrightman]

a standard mr 2 will run fine on 95ron and see no advantage from a higher ron fuel unless you are running more ignition advance, higher compresion ratio or some sort of forced induction. you only get more power from a higher ron/mon fuel not because it contains more energy but becuase its more stable under higher pressures and temperatures therefore you can alter the above factors.

[Blue1984]

We use 99Ron in both our MK1's - they seem to run better on it, tried 95 ron and it seemed to run quite rough.

At the local Tesco's 99Ron is 111.9p so thats even better.

The other Toyota's that we have always have 95Ron to drink - at the end of the day it's personal choice, but we won't stop putting 99Ron in them.

[IanClements]

When I first put Optimax in mine years ago there was a big difference in smoothness and it was more revved better. This improved further over time so I believe in the engine cleaning properties.

I run with 2 deg advanced timing now and get an extra 20 miles per tank which I couldn't do with 95 RON petrol.

[oukie]

When I first put Optimax in mine years ago there was a big difference in smoothness and it was more revved better. This improved further over time so I believe in the engine cleaning properties.

I run with 2 deg advanced timing now and get an extra 20 miles per tank which I couldn't do with 95 RON petrol.

Exactly tha same as what I use/found/do
I use only Optimax and Ive even got my optimax savers card so I can get money back on fuel,Im not saying that it makes a performance increase but it DOES run smoother now.

[Lemon Secretary]

i avoid supermarket fuel like the plague; not because it necessarily behaves any different in terms of performance i.e. mpg, acceleration etc but simply because of the fiasco they had in tesco a while back with it bu88ering up a lot of ecu's. there are reports to suggest that supermarket fuels, or should i say just cheaper fuels in general have a higher silicone and water content than the more expensive ones because they are "stretching" their resources. similarly, if there were to be a nation-wide fiasco with bp or shell i'd be sure to boycott them too!!

we treat all of our vehicles (sports car or not) to a tank of bp ultimate or shell vpower about once every 3-4 fill-ups to benefit from things like the redex. we have noticed a rise in things like acceleration and a very, very slight improvement in mpg when using the higher octane fuels.

who knows?? as with all these things it is always subject to media spin and government reporting so will the british public ever know the truth?!