RE: BP expands 102-octane pumps
Tuesday 22nd August 2006
BP Ultimate 102: at a pump near youBP's announced that it will expand the availability of its 102 octane grade fuel, following a successful initial trial earlier this year.
BP expands 102-octane pumps
30 outlets now for high-grade fuel
BP Ultimate 102: at a pump near you
The ‘handmade’ BP Ultimate 102 Unleaded's formulation meets exactly the same specifications used in Formula 1 and the World Rally Championships, according to BP, and the decision to target a further 30 sites follows extremely positive reaction from customers after the fuel was introduced at six locations in April this year.
This octane level is, reckons BP, the highest octane available on any UK forecourt, while remaining road-legal. 102 is crystal clear, and is less than 0.1 per cent benzene. This makes it the only automotive petrol available not classed as carcinogenic, and it’s also unique in containing a high performance ‘bio-component’ which works to reduce greenhouse gas emissions -- that's according to the BP press office.
BP Ultimate 102 is intended for the growing numbers of highly tuned, high performance cars available, and for use on track days or for race testing.
The price of the fuel, at £2.42 per litre, reflects its advanced components and small-batch production at BP’s Speciality Fuels Technology Centre.
Product manager Paul Beckwith said: “This fuel was developed to satisfy the need for an extreme high performance fuel that’s easily available to private motor sporting enthusiasts. People who invest in supercar-engineering naturally want to fill up with similarly advanced fuel, which has all the properties of the fuels used at the pinnacle of motor sport.”
Discussion
I suspect that if they place the stations selling the stuff nearby to the UKs racetracks there will be a market for it. Some of the PCGB Trackday crew are willing to pay for race-fuel at Silverstone...why wouldn't they buy this stuff just outside the track?
I imagine it will also sell in central London filling stations for different reasons entirely...
Clearly it isn't going to sell in much quantity to the general motoring public...
I imagine it will also sell in central London filling stations for different reasons entirely...
Clearly it isn't going to sell in much quantity to the general motoring public...
Does anybody know of an outlet in the West midlands area? I have to race on fuel which must be forecourt available. Most competitors have been using blended '76 racing fuels to absolute toleranced to max forecourt specification. All in humble club motorsport
. I could redress the performance deficit within my budget by the the looks of things....!!
At £2.42 a litre I'd bite BP's arm off compared to the cost of blended forecourt spec racing fuels. Just get a quote for 20 gallons of '76 racing fuel and you'll see why.....
. I could redress the performance deficit within my budget by the the looks of things....!! At £2.42 a litre I'd bite BP's arm off compared to the cost of blended forecourt spec racing fuels. Just get a quote for 20 gallons of '76 racing fuel and you'll see why.....
jon- said:
For a few pence more you can buy 106/112ron race fuel in barrels, ie the stuff the GT's use.
Very true but beyond the first 25 litres the only place at home you are allowed to keep the fuel is in your car's fuel tank. Having a 50l (or bigger) drum in your garage is regarded as very dangerous by local councils and likely to cause a big problem if they find out about it.
So you *could* buy a few 50l drums of the stuff and fill the tank with one and store the others until you need them but what happens on long journeys, do you carry that fuel drum around on the back seat? you are only allowed a single 25l jerrycan... same problem.
Putting the fuel on the high street makes life an awful lot easier and significantly more legal.
Personally I wouldn't want my car mapped to use the stuff unless I knew for sure that the supply was guaranteed and given the limited locality of those BP stations (thus far - haven't seen the new list) it seems like a bad idea to adopt it. Great idea all the same and what a way for fuel companies to make more money out of the stuff.
For racing purposes I will be sticking with the 76 racing RFT (stupidly expensive but rather good - just rather annoying when people think they can borrow a few litres from the stores at the workshop).
From what I have just read on the BP website about 102-octane, it is best suited to Turbo engines, and to get the best performance from the fuel you car need to be re-calibrate, to take advantage of the 102-octane. If anyone out there has had there car Revo, and has an SP3 unit, it can been done by this.
can i ask a stupid question??
Does the petrol, to be at its best need to be fresh?? There's a pump in Portsmouth and i've never seen anyone use it... Would the value (to us as the users) of this petrol drop significantly if the petrol stations arent regularly changing it and refreshing the stock??
Does the petrol, to be at its best need to be fresh?? There's a pump in Portsmouth and i've never seen anyone use it... Would the value (to us as the users) of this petrol drop significantly if the petrol stations arent regularly changing it and refreshing the stock??
Fuel goes off - especially noticeable when held in Jerry cans. Try the difference. Always get fuel from a busy filling stations.
I was on fumes in Scotland and had to get fuel in the middle of nowhere (payed £107.5 for the privilege tho') at the Spittal of Glenshee. Asked the attendent how often they got fuel there. He said the fill up was ever 2 months. Wasn't at all surprised when my Puma felt lethargic afterwards.
I was on fumes in Scotland and had to get fuel in the middle of nowhere (payed £107.5 for the privilege tho') at the Spittal of Glenshee. Asked the attendent how often they got fuel there. He said the fill up was ever 2 months. Wasn't at all surprised when my Puma felt lethargic afterwards.
I'd love to know BP's real plan for this product.
At £2.42 a litre they're never going to shift any meaningful quantities.
Which makes me think they are not ready to ramp up volumes yet, hence setting the price at a level where demand is subdued down to output.
I wouldn't be surprised to see the price coming down steadily as the number of outlets increases.
If that is the case, then it's great marketing as the 102 ultimate brand is now positioned in customers minds as an ultra premium product.
At £2.42 a litre they're never going to shift any meaningful quantities.
Which makes me think they are not ready to ramp up volumes yet, hence setting the price at a level where demand is subdued down to output.
I wouldn't be surprised to see the price coming down steadily as the number of outlets increases.
If that is the case, then it's great marketing as the 102 ultimate brand is now positioned in customers minds as an ultra premium product.
waynepixel said:
From what I have just read on the BP website about 102-octane, it is best suited to Turbo engines, and to get the best performance from the fuel you car need to be re-calibrate, to take advantage of the 102-octane. If anyone out there has had there car Revo, and has an SP3 unit, it can been done by this.
Indeed, the real plus of this fuel must be the knock resistance which high boost turbos suffer from due to huge temperatures of high compression charge. Throw some of this in, wind the timing forward a few degrees and you're laughing. Ideally you need something like a MOTEC and laptop to adjust the timing depending on whether you manage to find this fuel, or an ecu that will allow 2 maps.
fwdracer said:
Does anybody know of an outlet in the West midlands area? I have to race on fuel which must be forecourt available. Most competitors have been using blended '76 racing fuels to absolute toleranced to max forecourt specification. All in humble club motorsport. I could redress the performance deficit within my budget by the the looks of things....!!
At £2.42 a litre I'd bite BP's arm off compared to the cost of blended forecourt spec racing fuels. Just get a quote for 20 gallons of '76 racing fuel and you'll see why.....
. I could redress the performance deficit within my budget by the the looks of things....!! At £2.42 a litre I'd bite BP's arm off compared to the cost of blended forecourt spec racing fuels. Just get a quote for 20 gallons of '76 racing fuel and you'll see why.....
I'd be very wary of using this fuel for motorsport events in the UK. The specification show RON of 102 and MON of 90. The limits under MSA Regulations for Pump Fuel are max RON 100, MON 89. Therfore Ultimate 102 does not comply with MSA regulations. It probably will comply with FIA regulations for international permit events, but I don't have access to those figures just now. If you use it in a national race or rally and you are fuel tested, or if another competitor protests you, then the penalty may be exclusion.
Have a look at [url]www.bp.com/liveassets/bp_internet/bp_ultimate/STAGING/brand_assets/downloads_pdfs/f/102_Fuel_Specification_table.pdf [/url]
The MSA have already stated that fuel testing will be happening more frequently in the future as they suspect that use of illegal fuel is comonplace in race and rally events.
Having said that, you could still use it for trackdays.
Edited by renny on Tuesday 22 August 16:16
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