Running on shell super currently. Was on Esso, but think car did not run as smoothly, donno, maybe just psycological...
I find Shell and Petronas can be "inconsistent" but so far, I enjoy Caltex cos my butt-dyno feels the car has more muscle and low-end pull in low to mid-range. I don't like how sedated the car can feel on Mobil or Esso. It's as if the octane in the latter brands have been diluted.
I regularly fill with BP (now BHP) as I was told that the additives content is the highest amongst all the oil companies. When I do get a chance then I Projet top up for better mileage. So is it true that Projet gives you 30-50 kmh more than all other petrols for a full tank of fuel??? Romeo
i am not driving a bimmer but i have try most of the brand, caltex is the last brand that stop me from changing and sticking to them .......... really POWER, i can really feel the pickup, never change to other brand till now.
I'm quite indifferent when it comes to brands, but my observations are such: 1. Shell V-Power; *slight* increase in rev-ability, and power. No difference in economy. 2. Mobil/Esso/Caltax; all same, same. Middle of the road stuff. 3. Petronas; very inconsistent. Sometimes damn good, sometimes damn bad. 4. Pro-jet; I don't see what all the hype is about. In fact, I rank it below Mobil/Esso/Caltax. Have never felt any extra power or seen any added economy.
the best way to test the best fuel is ... early morning just start yr car and straight away "jalan" dont warm up first ,if the car jerking it shows low octane, if the car can run smoothly or less jerking it's mean that the octane is high and better fuel burning! off course run the car without warm up is not a good practice but this is just to test the fuel only! if u warm up ! u cant really see the different! I did it with many type of fuel but Mobil gave me the best... no jerking! but it was in year 1990...dont know now ! may be different ! Fuel manufacturer also inconsistence mixing the octane everytimes one... sometime less sometimes more...like bancuh nescafe sometime more susu and less!! the best way we add octane ourself but we have to pay extra $ in every litter but the power is there...! let's try out...
mr burn... where got petrol didn't move our car, all petrol can move our car but the burning level among them are different! if more octane will cause easy to burn then no need to press pedal much... :nyehehe:
I find Petronas the best for my BMW... I used to use Shell but mileage was worse and when the tank was nearly empty I get some hesitation when I stomp on the accelerator :dunno: . No issues with Petronas.
Just my observations: Caltex = Good mileage,so so power Petronas = Good mileage,erratic power(sometimes good,sometiems bad) Esso/Mobil = so so mileage,so so power Shell Super= so so mileage,so so power Project = so so mileage,sucky power Shell V Power = so so mileage,good power So far I am sticking to Petronas and V Power. P.S. Guys,just checking with ya. Is V Power now RM2.15 per litre?? I pumpued it over the weekends in Mlk and the price is as above.Shouldnt it be RM2.08 with a 30 sen increase? Used to be RM1.78. Does that mean the V Power increase more than 30 sen or is it I kena tipu? Thanks h34r:
It's not so much that the manufacturers are inconsistent with the blends but rather the fact that retail outlets sometimes [DO] tamper with the stock. Refineries are highly automated and product composition rarely deviates from spec. Retail Outlets can blend - commonly using kerosene to increase profits (don't really know at what % concentration). That's why you sometimes feel that petrol taken at the same outlet varies in efficiency (km/litre). Maybe we can all go round and start mesuring the densities, s.g and vapor pressures of our fuels. Hell, shouldn't someone from consumer affairs or the trade ministry be doing this??? I feel that Petronas and BP give the best mileage. That's if it comes out of a retail outlet that does not tamper with stock. V-Power (Optimax - Europe)has excessive detergents and sometimes washes out the engine too much. On older cars running on unleaded fuel, V-Power washes out the lead seals which in turn causes the engine to suffer in compresion. Also, word in oil and gas circles - suspect Shell reduced "good stuff additives" level in regular unleaded to make V-Power feel very powerful. How else can you sell fuel at a higher price. Don't know how true but their straight unleaded sucks big time. Bad mileage and very noisy engine. May not be the same with other vehicles / ppl. Projet if feel has a higher octane content, hence the power increase some are experiencing from controlled combustion and not pre-ignition under load. Contrary to popular believe, octane is harder to burn then other hydrocarbon constituents due to its higher activation energy (harder to start reaction) Which in turn leads to controlled combustion (once it starts!) which harnesses optimum chemical energy stored in fuel . Also there's this very strong ridsect/insect aerosol smell from the fuel. Not sure if this is what makes it better (could just be some sort of additive??). Fuel is made out of a number of hydrocarbon cut points. N-heptane (designated 0) and isooctane (deignated 100) are added to modify the knock tendencies (pre-ignition) of the fuel. RON 97 would have the same knocking tendencies (under controlled conditions) as 97% isooctane and 3% n-heptane). So if the octane content is lower, theoretically the fuel should pre-ignite. This is where the RON number comes from (Research Octane Number). MON numbers (Motor Octane Number) is standard testing on engines with realistic loads througout the power cycle to stress the fuel more compared to RON tests. MON numbers would be 5-10 points lower than RON (but would give a better comparison of fuels). Having said that, if the car has excessive carbon build-up, the early morning starts with optimum octane levels would still be jerky and cause the car to idle poorly - so this I feel would not be a very accurate way of testing for octane levels in a fuel. To wrap it up, keep mileage tabs on the fuels you ppl use. Listen for engine and accelartion characteristics of the fuel you're using. If you think a particularly outlet is dodgy - then stop filling up there. I'm sure you'll arrive at favourite brand/ blend. As for me, petronas and BP have my vote.
I have been using Petronas for the last 6 years 2nd choice would be Esso V-Power is just to damn expensive!
Petronas and Projet are my favourites. I don't mind Esso but I find the pumps to be the SLOWEST of the lot. Takes a LOOOOOOONG time to fill up in Esso. Don't know. Maybe it's my imagination.
