Rovertech 2.0

Just wondering which fuel people use and why, have you noticed any benefits/drawbacks of using a certain fuel apart from the cost?

V power always, mainly due to having a shell station 100yards from my house

seems to make my car run a lot smoother if that makes sense? not really noticed any difference in mpg though

v power, local bp dont do ultimate for some reason

any superunleaded.Top man (Darryl) at Motobuild told me it gives an extra safeguard against detonation after he fitted my boost valve,although 12psi is pretty safe in itself anyhow (apparently).

I use Tesco 99 ron... no option for that

Patrick... yes, it does safeguard against detonation... but you should know that Motobuild are not very well respected on here, I have no experience of them personally, but others have had issues with them.

calibrax wrote:I use Tesco 99 ron... no option for that

thatll be the super unleaded generic

Generic super unleaded is 97 ron....

V-power and octane booster.

Runs hot (20psi with a spike to 21/22) and runs 12.5/12.6 AFR at highest, so I prefer to have a lot of octane in there, not really overly clued up on fuel etc so have always gone for the higher the ron the better, no problems in 2 years so I stick with it.

Ross

Tesco 99 RON is pap

I use Shell 95 because it's just as cheap as the supermarket stuff round here. I did try BP ultimate but didn't notice any improvement in fuel economy or running.

95 tbh. Optimax or any of the other stuff wasn't about in 1994 so my car wasn't designed with it in mind.

MEMS is too inadequate to accommodate anything else anyway, we don't drive intelligent Hondas.

calibrax wrote: Patrick... yes, it does safeguard against detonation... but you should know that Motobuild are not very well respected on here, I have no experience of them personally, but others have had issues with them.

Hi,yeah I gathered that.....& it's a shame for anyone to have work done that's not to their satisfaction.

But I can only speak from my own experience and have had maybe about 10 jobs done by them over the years,on both a 420 turbo,my 220 turbo & my old Maestro efi,& had no problems at all.Darryl's a one man band now,& seems like a really nice bloke as well as knowing the engines inside out.

Punx0r wrote:Tesco 99 RON is pap

Works just fine in my car...

excellium unleaded £1 a litre

esso i think or some big name garage can't remember ... and sadder yet its only a 2 min drive away hehe

i think its a 97 or 98 RON

i'll try to find out but it does make a huge difference from normal crap that i've used like asda homebrew standard and esso standard

Shell V-Power for me, convenient for me as not far from home and my car was mapped with it so thought I might aswell stick with it, seems to run no probs with it although I have had the odd tank of BP Ultimate / Tesco Super and Texaco Excelium when I could get to the shell station which I couldn't tell the difference in performance to be honest.

V-Power if i'm feelin rich but usually just normal cheap 95ron sometimes add in a little redex just as a treat...

Personally, I put Shell Diesel in mine.

*runs*

V power or BP Ultimate in mine, try to stick to higher RON especially now in the SX.

V Power in mine. Used it occasionally in the 220 not for the extra power, but mainly for the extra cleaning properties that it has.

I also noticed better economy when using Optimax in the 214.

I've never had any luck with BP fuel in any of my Rovers so stay away from it if at all possible. Had to fill up with BP 95 on Saturday and the car was causing me all kinds of problems.

I used to run the 216 on Asda/Shell 95, whatever I was near... higher ron stuff made sod all difference. The ATR runs on V-Power... did use Tesco 99 for a couple of tanks but it sounded rather harsh on vtec. Going to try BP Ultimate at some point (the normal stuff not the £2.40/ltr stuff).

V-Power whenever possible. I have a very useful booklet that I got from Shell showing me where all the Shell stations are in the UK - has been very handy at times when I'm in unknown territory.

It was mapped by Emerald on Optimax so I shan't go any lower in RON.

I sometimes chuck in Millers CVL Turbo additive on track days which supposedly takes V-Power to 103RON. I take this in a 20-litre container and chuck it in when I'm confident on the track - you can feel a difference!

If BP Ultimate 102RON ever drops in price and becomes more available, I'd try this. Also, I have been tempted to try Sunoco FR 102RON and/or Sunoco Turbo Competition 102RON but again, these are pricey.

Anyone tried any 102RON stuff yet?

Either Shell 95 or supermarket diet juice. Never noticed any difference so I fill up when it is empty wherever I may be.

V Power (Optimax) or BP ultimate and nothing else. I'll actually drive well out of my way to get to one that sells these fuels. Not a fan of the cheaper stuff but to be honest I've not noticed any power improvements between any of them. I spose it's just for peace of mind that I'm doing my best to run her on the best. Bloody car gets looked after better than I look after myself lol

If BP Ultimate 102RON ever drops in price and becomes more available, I'd try this. Also, I have been tempted to try Sunoco FR 102RON and/or Sunoco Turbo Competition 102RON but again, these are pricey.

Anyone tried any 102RON stuff yet

Haven't found a station that sells it down here. When I do I'll give it a try.

I just usualy use supermarket stuff.
But ive tryed using the std 95 ron shell stuff as the car does run a little bit smoother on it.

It's a complete myth that you get more power from high octane fuel.

High octane fuel just means it has more resistance to detonation. Which means you can tune the car more by advancing the timing without problems, and get more power that way. Simply changing the fuel without any other changes wont get you more power though.

But the perception is that because sportscars use high octane fuel, people believe that using it will make their car more powerful, just like a sportscar.

Rich people wear Rolex watches. But it doesn't mean that if you wear a Rolex watch you will be a rich person!

V-Power for my reasons:
Its not much more expensive,
Car runs better with it,
Do better MPG,
Greater cleaning properties
More protection against the dreaded det incase somethings gone wrong.

I really like my Japanese Rolex watch!

victor3 wrote:
If BP Ultimate 102RON ever drops in price and becomes more available, I'd try this. Also, I have been tempted to try Sunoco FR 102RON and/or Sunoco Turbo Competition 102RON but again, these are pricey.

Anyone tried any 102RON stuff yet?

Its very unlikely to drop in price and become more widespread - its aimed purely at the "trackday market". There isnt enough demand from the average user to make it viable.

calibrax wrote:It's a complete myth that you get more power from high octane fuel.

High quality/high octane fuels may have a higher energy content though, which will make a difference in any car. Plus loads of beneficial additives. The exception being tesco 99

I agree that some people think octane = power, but high octane fuel isn't necessarily a complete waste in our stone-age rovers

Put fuel into the car for the first time this year, therefore first time i have used V-Power over Optimax.

First impressions is the car accelerates smoother, and cruises at lower revs easier.

But i dont mind spending £93.9 / lt for it, with the drive it produces.

rover400turbo wrote:Put fuel into the car for the first time this year, therefore first time i have used V-Power over Optimax.

First impressions is the car accelerates smoother, and cruises at lower revs easier.

But i dont mind spending £93.9 / lt for it, with the drive it produces.

If it was that price then i might be tempted to use it, closer to £1 a litre though and with regular 95 ten pence a litre cheaper its no contest for me, normal 95 ron all the way.

First tank on this engine was V-Power however so any problems might have come accross the fuel could be eliminated when problem searching.

I use petrol.

8 months away and the whole world of petrol has changed!!! i haven't heared of v-power. But I have allways used ultimate as it is a syntheticaly enhanced fuel rather than optimax wich is natural and therefore deteriorates.

I remember a test they did and found out that unless you get optimax within a few days of delivery it has the same propertys as normal 97RON.

What is y-power?

Glyn

V Power is Optimax with a name change, to match the continent. Supposedly an increase in RON by a notch too IIRC.

V-power as the nearest Shell garage is a country B road away

I using BP ultimate at the moment- i think it was Si, showed me BP's demo of its cleaning propertys, where they ran a V8, with one bank on regular petrol, the other with ultimate. And after 10k, and inspection with an edoscope, the ultimate side looked brand new.

Thought it was worth a try, since after 14 years, im sure my fuel system and injectors could do with a clean.