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Topic: Another Fuel Question (Read 865 times) |
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r33per
Junior Member
1998 S Reg 2.3 Ultima Saloon
Posts: 72
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Another Fuel Question
« on: Sep 7th, 2006, 8:18pm » |
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Recently, I've been hearing stories about other motorists having problems with the "Supermarket Grade" fuel. Some vary from a lower than normal MPG to serious performance lag and flushing out the fuel lines...
Has anyone here experienced any problems like this with the Scorpio?
Stu
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TiberiuS
Senior Member
Ex. 1996 2.3 Ultima - RIP P789 KHJ
 
Posts: 2257
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Re: Another Fuel Question
« Reply #1 on: Sep 7th, 2006, 8:48pm » |
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Well, I filled my 2.3 up at Sainsbury's once when I ran low, it might have been me but the car didn't seem as responsive on the drive home. I normally fill up at Shell (yes, I even use Optimax when I feel flush, forgive me) and it suits me, normally a couple of coppers less than the BP down the road too.
One problem with cheap fuel is the sulphur content, google 'Nikasil' and you'll find a lot of information on the problems it causes with the Jaguar X308 XJ V8's and some Beemers, the sulphur content dissolves the cylinder lining, trashing the engine; one morning you start the car and get no compression...
The moral is, never buy a 'bargain' 1998 model Jaguar XJ with the original engine, you'll live to regret it as I nearly did (dreaming out of my price range  ).
Regards, TiberiuS  .
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Bruce - '07 Jaguar XKR coupe, '95 Jaguar XJ Sport 4.0, '82 Ford Capri 2.0 Ghia, '15 Honda Civic (sloooooww..)
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Matt
Senior Member
Manual'd and a 4.0 in the making
Posts: 2816
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Re: Another Fuel Question
« Reply #2 on: Sep 8th, 2006, 4:42pm » |
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any one found a shell garage selling that v max stuff yet, the one near me still has optimax on the pumps 
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FDS2000 Scans - Birmingham
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TiberiuS
Senior Member
Ex. 1996 2.3 Ultima - RIP P789 KHJ
Posts: 2257
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Re: Another Fuel Question
« Reply #3 on: Sep 8th, 2006, 9:00pm » |
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The two near me have Vmax on the pumps, pretty sure it's just a rebranded Optimax though
Filled up tonight, 89.9p/litre; first time I remember it being below 90p for quite a while, won't last long though, the tank full or the price 
Regards, Bruce.
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Bruce - '07 Jaguar XKR coupe, '95 Jaguar XJ Sport 4.0, '82 Ford Capri 2.0 Ghia, '15 Honda Civic (sloooooww..)
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Matt
Senior Member
Manual'd and a 4.0 in the making
Posts: 2816
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Re: Another Fuel Question
« Reply #4 on: Sep 9th, 2006, 5:35pm » |
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almost vmax has a higher octane rating then optimax
matt
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r33per
Junior Member
1998 S Reg 2.3 Ultima Saloon
Posts: 72
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Re: Another Fuel Question
« Reply #5 on: Sep 9th, 2006, 9:26pm » |
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on Sep 9th, 2006, 5:35pm, Matt wrote:| vmax has a higher octane ... |
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Yeah, I was speaking to a guy at work about the octane thing. He said that it was to do with the height of the piston when it ignites the fuel.
Higher piston = better push on the downstroke = more power. However, because the piston is higher, it requires less fuel and so (theoretically...) the fuel economy should improve as well.
Is this correct, or have I missed something here?
Stu
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TiberiuS
Senior Member
Ex. 1996 2.3 Ultima - RIP P789 KHJ
Posts: 2257
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Re: Another Fuel Question
« Reply #6 on: Sep 9th, 2006, 9:53pm » |
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I think he's right, the compression ratio has a bearing on output power, hence why cheap (low octane) fuel causes pinking and knocking.
The Scorpio handbook says that using higher octane fuel 'has no notable benefits'. I thought the main thing about Optimax was that it burned clean and contained additives to clean the engine. The higher octane can't be a bad thing though.
Whatever it is, the car seems to like it so I'm happy
Regards, Bruce.
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Bruce - '07 Jaguar XKR coupe, '95 Jaguar XJ Sport 4.0, '82 Ford Capri 2.0 Ghia, '15 Honda Civic (sloooooww..)
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taliban aka Cheekyboy2
Senior Member
I'm a YaBB newbie!
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Re: Another Fuel Question
« Reply #7 on: Sep 9th, 2006, 9:54pm » |
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interesting, i thought the higher the octane the purer the petrol and therefore a cleaner more efficient burn.
isnt the height of the piston determined by the valves opening to let fuel into the chamber?
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Matt
Senior Member
Manual'd and a 4.0 in the making
Posts: 2816
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Re: Another Fuel Question
« Reply #8 on: Sep 9th, 2006, 10:12pm » |
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the octane rating is something to with the fuel air mix, e.g. less fule is needed to produce the same power (cant remember the exact tech part right now, i'll find out again) normally, the octane rating has no effect on normal engines because it's not tuned to use the benefits (they wouldnt know it's a hight octane, so it prob just run rich), so any power increases experienced are from the additives being burnt. Car engines tuned for it, or high performance engines like the v6's would see some improvement, but as the newest cars are coming up to their 10th b'day, the technology is old and then we’re back to just burning additives
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cossie_al
Full Member
Ex 24v
Posts: 902
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Re: Another Fuel Question
« Reply #9 on: Sep 10th, 2006, 11:46pm » |
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I dont disagree with any of the above but one of the guys that goes to my local drives a fuel tanker and he reckons tankers from all the major companies fill up at the same place.
So when does the fuel change ie why is shell unleaded any better than sainsburys or tescos? 
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mr._floppy
Junior Member
Posts: 100
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Re: Another Fuel Question
« Reply #10 on: Sep 10th, 2006, 11:55pm » |
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There are only a handful of petrol refineries in the UK and they're all run by the big companies Gulf, BP, Texaco ,Etc.
So the idea that Morrisons, Asda and Tesco have their own refineries is mistaken.
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granorpio
Full Member
1998 Silver Facelift Cosworth
Posts: 589
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Re: Another Fuel Question
« Reply #11 on: Sep 11th, 2006, 12:02pm » |
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on Sep 7th, 2006, 8:48pm, TiberiuS wrote:| Well, I filled my 2.3 up at Sainsbury's once when I ran low, it might have been me but the car didn't seem as responsive on the drive home. |
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Funny you say that my sister put some petrol in her Vectra (only because we couldn't find a decent Scorpio at the time) from Sainsburys the other day and she commented that it ran like a bag of bolts afterwards. Normally theres no problem with the likes of Tesco's etc.
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- Mike -
So nearly said "goodbye" but now Scorpio will see another day, alongside the replacement! eek!
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LiverpaulH
Full Member
My bird!
Posts: 423
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Re: Another Fuel Question
« Reply #12 on: Sep 11th, 2006, 1:35pm » |
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Technically the base product is the same. Its what the company's add to the base product that makes the difference. Personally if I didn't run a diesel car (fuel from work - a haulage company) then I would use shell as a preference. We order our diesel for work from different suppliers (price can vary a penny a litre, which on 12,000 litres makes a difference!) and they pull from the same terminals, but the fuel is dealt with slightky differently by each of them.
A number of people I know have poorer running of their cars due to supermarket brand fuel. One person who really advises the use of branded fuel especially optimax is honest john of the telegraph newspaper (saturday motoring section) and his own website.
If I had a cossie then it'd be optimax only for me.
HTH
Paul
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Still hankering after a new scorpio- Aus BA Falcon, 5 years later and I still love it!
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martin_rowe
Full Member
I love YaBB 1G - SP1!
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Re: Another Fuel Question
« Reply #13 on: Sep 12th, 2006, 8:20am » |
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octane value refers to the fuels resistance to detonation, higher octane has more calorific value, and burns slower, but longer.
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Rally Drivers Do It Sideways
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