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100 octane Fuel for Canberra??

6K views 53 replies 23 participants last post by  StuJones 
#1 ·
Was speaking to my former boss who owns the service station at the airport. He is attempting to get Caltex to let him sell the new 100 octane Platinum(as they call it) fuel. Supposivly this is good stuff and is nie on the same fuel you can buy in Japan.

Nothing 100% confirmed yet, but he usually doesn't say this unless he has access to it.
But the testing done on this fuel indicated that STI's and all those imports that have been detuned for Aussie fuel really excel on this fuel and it has a lower carbon deposit factor than the Optimax.

All sounds good to me.
Will keep all Canberran's up to date with the news when i get it
 
#4 ·
A mate of mine has brought over his car from the UK that was mapped on Optimax there and he's been having problems with it here pinging...

So borrowed an octane tester from Sydney Uni and did some testing. Took 5 samples of Optimax from multiple garages ranging from the Northern Suburbs to Western Sydney never got over 93.2 ron with the worst result was 89.4 ron. He did a test on one sample of BP ultimate and it came out at 98.5 ron.

He's waiting to see what Shell say when they reply to the letter he's sent them.
 
#5 ·
Apparantly Optimax loses octane at a rate of 1ron perday as it sits in a tank...

Someone once told me that... not sure how tre it was, but my car runs OK on Optimax.

The Ultimate is quite limited in its availablity in Geelong - 1 BP station out of 9 have it - unlike Optimax which is available at all Shell servo's...

To get to the BP from my house I have to go past 2 Shells and I Mobil... IF I head in a different direction, I go past 2 Shells, 2 Mobils, 1 caltex, 1 APCO (dont ask), 1 BP without it....

So you can see why I use Shell most of the time!!

Todd
 
#6 ·
yes well the reality of all fuels is that yes they all go off. I know that optimax is supposed to create alot of carbon. you can see that as they use optimax in the V8Supercars, they all ploom out black smoke under power, yet many teams have tested other fuels and state that there is nothing comming out using the BP and others premium unleadeds
 
#7 ·
i've been told on numerous occasions that Ultimate is a MINIMUM of 98, and optimax is an AVERAGE of 98....
ultimate also has a lot less sulfur in it (as in about 90% less or something like that).

I only use ultimate, but that's 'cos I've got a BP fuel card. (and a caltex one which I've only ever used on the Eden trip.... there are NO BP's in that part of the world)
 
#8 ·
MickyD said:
I only use ultimate, but that's 'cos I've got a BP fuel card. (and a caltex one which I've only ever used on the Eden trip.... there are NO BP's in that part of the world)
Just as an aside, I got an email the other day, BP will no longer be discouting Premium fuel purchased using a BP card :mad:

party's over - but it was good while it lasted :(
 
#10 ·
Interesetingly enough, where my dad got his Cobra built, they only use Mobil 8000...

They built the motor and dyno'd a car - Red camaro Z28 - IOOOHP - from street machine about 6 issues back...

It made significantly more power using Synergy 8000... like 25hp!!

They also found when they pulled the motor down after using Optimax, there was a fair bit of carbon build up... so they told dad to use 8000 as much as he could...

I heard a rumour that Mobil were coming up with a 100 Octane fule also - cant remember what it was called though...

Todd
 
#11 ·
yeah im with todd, the only fuel i will put in my car is mobil syn 8000..optimax is :bad::bad::bad::bad::bad::bad: and burns your cat out..Even when i had my gti-r running 25psi i was using the mobil fuel and did dyno tests between fuels ( yep helps having a mate with a dyno late on friday nights ) and saw plain and simple that the mobil fuel out performs optimax easy..if you want more ron go but a drum of the HKS booster it will put your fuel to 104ron
 
#12 ·
7nut said:
A mate of mine has brought over his car from the UK that was mapped on Optimax there and he's been having problems with it here pinging...

So borrowed an octane tester from Sydney Uni and did some testing. Took 5 samples of Optimax from multiple garages ranging from the Northern Suburbs to Western Sydney never got over 93.2 ron with the worst result was 89.4 ron. He did a test on one sample of BP ultimate and it came out at 98.5 ron.

He's waiting to see what Shell say when they reply to the letter he's sent them.
A friend works for a motor bike importer. They were having trouble with their bikes pinging. The specs out of Japan said they ran fine on 89-90RON so it was a big mystery. They did a similar test and found what you're talking about. When they did the testing, premium (specs = 96) was lucky to get to around 90-91. Fuel bough from independent retailers could be as low as 80. They now specify premium in all their bikes :eek:

Just a word on Ultimate exceeding specification, I went to a fuel talk by them recently. I asked why my lotus that I had carefully tuned had recently started pinging, and they said when they started refining it was actually 100RON, and as volume increased they had reduced it to specifations.
 
#13 ·
Oh to be able to choose. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on which way you look at it) we are only able to get Ultimate in the West. Every BP servo appears to have it and on every pump. Wonder if the others will try and compete?

Cheapest price today for it in Perth is 113.9cpl.
 
#20 ·
CanberraCooperS said:
yes well the reality of all fuels is that yes they all go off. I know that optimax is supposed to create alot of carbon. you can see that as they use optimax in the V8Supercars, they all ploom out black smoke under power, yet many teams have tested other fuels and state that there is nothing comming out using the BP and others premium unleadeds
I thought the V8's used pump premium also, but it seems not. Shell have a blend of premium unleaded for the V8's and "other CAMS classes" called Shell Unleaded Research Gasoline (CAMS A).

Maybe the only difference is it is 98ron but you never know....
 
#21 ·
new skool said:
if you want more ron go but a drum of the HKS booster it will put your fuel to 104ron
Guys and Gals with Works Kits, do a bit of checking before you add octane booster to your tanks. I had been adding octane booster for track days. It was only a seat of the pants thing, but I felt the car was a little out of sorts. So, back in June, I took it to the motorsports crowd that I use, (The owner used to set up Bob Morris' BMW Super Tourer, amongst others.) By the time I got back to work, there was already a message to give him a call.

His words, "You've been using octane booster, haven't you ? - eats the catalyst of the plugs your running." Ouch, at $360 for JCW plugs (and no NGK won't sell them direct - they are licensed only to JCW/BMW.)

Set of new plugs and the car was smooth as silk again.

Now when I am travelling in areas where I can't get Ultimate, the old plugs go back in, and I add booster as required.

Don't know if it happens with all off the shelf octane boosters, but with plugs that expensive, I'll let you guys do some testing for me.
 
#22 ·
Dont bother with Genuine Plugs... they are an absolute Rip off... its not like you need Platinum Plugs in an inline 4cyl engine which is easy to gain access to.

The JCW Plugs are BKR7EQUP (laser Platinum) About $93 each
Get to Autopro and get BKR7EIX-11 (NGK IRIDIUM) $25 each
Pack of 4 and 20 mins to change them, dead easy to do.

Default MCS plugs are BKR6QUP (platinum) and are the same cost as JCW plugs.
Default MCS plugs are BKR6EIX-11 (in the Iridium) $25 each

Have a Read of the technical specs on Iriduim plugs http://www.ngk.com.au
The Iriduim is far less susceptable to corrosion or heat.. These plugs where designed for the Jap modified cars... they all run Octane booster over there...
I put the colder heat range in as to pull more heat out of the engine, yet at the same time provide a bigger Spark.
 
#23 ·
Ive been running on optimax for quite a while now....it thought it would be similar to that of ultimate....maybe i should consider changing.....just checking: can you mix your tank of ultimate with optimax or is it best to run it close to empty b4 topping?

i ahvent seen much synergy around my area....sould check out the mobil around the corner....luckily for me i ahve a shell, BP, and mobil really close to me!!! hehehe... :D
 
#24 ·
Did any one see the news item on last nights Nine news about the upgrade that they have just started on the Caltex refinery in Sydney? Apparently they will be able to produce the highest quality fuel, with the lowest sulphur content in the country but unfortunately it won’t start to flow until January 2006.
 
#26 ·
I filled up with Ultimate last night in Braddon and I could have sworn that it smelt like paint thinner not petrol. Is this how it's meant to smell?

My previous flat mate comes from near Tamworth and "likes the smell of petrol" :rolleyes: so maybe I'll have to check it out with her. If anyone sees a brunet woman having a hoof out of an IB/W MCS in Canberra, you'll know why.
 
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