Simple Q - Super unleaded in the race car?
Discussion
I've had a bit of a discussion with a couple of racers in the Toyota MR2 Championship about fuel.
I've only been using regular stuff in mine but they seem to have been putting in V-power etc in theirs.
Question. Would it make much difference in a car with stock internals, stock ECU. The only upgrades we have allowed in the championship are air intake and exhaust.
I drive a MR2 Mk3, the 1.8 one.
I've only been using regular stuff in mine but they seem to have been putting in V-power etc in theirs.
Question. Would it make much difference in a car with stock internals, stock ECU. The only upgrades we have allowed in the championship are air intake and exhaust.
I drive a MR2 Mk3, the 1.8 one.
In terms of power from the fuel, it's unlikely. I don't think the MR2 has an ECU that can advance the ignition far enough to make use of the higher Octane, it can only retard for lower quality fuel.
However, V-Power has more additives which can really help 'clean' out your engine and help it give the power it should do.
Try it and see. The additional cost isn't massive for racing, and it won't make you go slower. If your laptimes don't decrease or your results don't improve (assuming engine life, tyre age, track condition etc are comparible) then go back to the normal stuff and save £4 per race.
However, V-Power has more additives which can really help 'clean' out your engine and help it give the power it should do.
Try it and see. The additional cost isn't massive for racing, and it won't make you go slower. If your laptimes don't decrease or your results don't improve (assuming engine life, tyre age, track condition etc are comparible) then go back to the normal stuff and save £4 per race.
I think I saw something about this this month in Evo.
In general the suggestion is that it is a good thing but you have to run a few tanks of it through first and whilst you should notice a slight improvement it is of the "I think that is better" rather than the "Wow, I gotta get me some more of this stuff" level.
Having used it in all my road cars at one point or another I have to say that both Porsches knew/know the difference between V power and BP against all other super juices and that the Golf also ran better. The only difference on the Audi was a minimal MPG improvement (like 0.1 - 0.2mpg).
In general the suggestion is that it is a good thing but you have to run a few tanks of it through first and whilst you should notice a slight improvement it is of the "I think that is better" rather than the "Wow, I gotta get me some more of this stuff" level.
Having used it in all my road cars at one point or another I have to say that both Porsches knew/know the difference between V power and BP against all other super juices and that the Golf also ran better. The only difference on the Audi was a minimal MPG improvement (like 0.1 - 0.2mpg).
I run proper race fuel in my car, so haven't paid too much attention to this for a while, but just a word of caution.
In the illustrious Grey Book, the MSA refers to 'Pump Fuel' but - even though you can buy it from a road side filling station - one of the BP Ultimate fuels is (or at least was, when last I looked) illegal for club motorsport.
As indicated, above, I prefer to pay the extra dollar for Sunoco RMR and jolly lovely, and water free, and fresh, and LEGAL it is too.
But it is, off the top of my head, about twice as expensive as road side fuels.
PS
Other race fuels are available.
In the illustrious Grey Book, the MSA refers to 'Pump Fuel' but - even though you can buy it from a road side filling station - one of the BP Ultimate fuels is (or at least was, when last I looked) illegal for club motorsport.
As indicated, above, I prefer to pay the extra dollar for Sunoco RMR and jolly lovely, and water free, and fresh, and LEGAL it is too.
But it is, off the top of my head, about twice as expensive as road side fuels.
PS
Other race fuels are available.
Rude-boy said:
I think I saw something about this this month in Evo.
In general the suggestion is that it is a good thing but you have to run a few tanks of it through first and whilst you should notice a slight improvement it is of the "I think that is better" rather than the "Wow, I gotta get me some more of this stuff" level.
Having used it in all my road cars at one point or another I have to say that both Porsches knew/know the difference between V power and BP against all other super juices and that the Golf also ran better. The only difference on the Audi was a minimal MPG improvement (like 0.1 - 0.2mpg).
I find it hard to believe that you could conduct a test that might be accurate to 0.1mpg, to be honest.In general the suggestion is that it is a good thing but you have to run a few tanks of it through first and whilst you should notice a slight improvement it is of the "I think that is better" rather than the "Wow, I gotta get me some more of this stuff" level.
Having used it in all my road cars at one point or another I have to say that both Porsches knew/know the difference between V power and BP against all other super juices and that the Golf also ran better. The only difference on the Audi was a minimal MPG improvement (like 0.1 - 0.2mpg).
Was that on Shell OptimISM?
REALIST123 said:
Was that on Shell OptimISM?
[Was a highly scientific reset combined MPG trip and fill up with Tesco Super only for a month and then repeat but only using V Power. Audi trip would read to one decimal place. And I did this a few times to see if there was any gain. As said the Audi gave nothing, other cars had a small but noticeable improvement in performance and MPG on V Power over 'normal' super juice.
Hi Stuart
For me it is simple... We're already spending so much money being there and trying to be as competative as possible, that another few quid for higher RON fuel is worthwhile. It certainly won't make you SLOWER.
This weekend I got my best finishes as you saw, and incidentally it was my first time running Tesco Momentum99 as none of my local Shell stations had vPower instock. So I think i'll be sticking to Tesco Momentum from now on, its my lucky charm
For me it is simple... We're already spending so much money being there and trying to be as competative as possible, that another few quid for higher RON fuel is worthwhile. It certainly won't make you SLOWER.
This weekend I got my best finishes as you saw, and incidentally it was my first time running Tesco Momentum99 as none of my local Shell stations had vPower instock. So I think i'll be sticking to Tesco Momentum from now on, its my lucky charm
UH-Matt said:
So I think i'll be sticking to Tesco Momentum from now on, its my lucky charm
I'm all for lucky charms!!!! Well it turns out Rogue Motorsport actually use the super stuff for my car on race weekends anyway, so I'll switch to it for testing and trackdays.
As everyone said, its not going to make me go slower so why not!
Gassing Station | UK Club Motorsport | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff