98 RON - Can your car tell the difference?

[anonymous-user]

[redacted]

[Chas88]

No, tried twice with it in, runs exactly the same and made no difference to performance or economy so I just use the regular 95. My cars a mk3 mx-5 for reference.

[CraigVmax]

the only car I could noticable tell the difference in was my griffith 500, that you could just feel it ran a bit sweeter and was a little bit more punchy.

[Deluded]

Depends on the car.

Most of the cars I've owned ran no different on Vpower so I never bothered.

The prelude in my profile though, ran like a bag of st on 95 compared to how it ran on Vpower. It was still perfectly drivable on 95 but was so much smoother and more responsive on Vpower.

[kambites]

My car doesn't have a knock sensor and is set up for 95RON so no, it makes bugger all difference.

[mnkiboy]

I could tell the difference when I had the Leon Cupra. The idle seemed a bit smoother, and it was a little bit more urgent in the mid-range. Not a massive difference - air temperature probably made more of a difference than the fuel.

[markCSC]

My car will go bang if I run it on 95 RON

[RPastry]

not noticed a difference. heard high octane fuels can deteriorate if sat around a while so who knows what your extra 5p a litre is actually getting you if nobody else uses it.

[Chr1sch]

Weirdly i cant tell the difference between 95 and 97/98 from Texaco, but I can when using Tesco 99 or VPower whatever its called now...

[garycat]

You see a bigger difference on turbo cars as the knock sensor plays an important part in the ECU mapping.

On my re-mapped WRX I can feel more mid-range urgently with V-Power or Tesco-99 and I get about 5% better economy which means the fuel pays for itself.

[Deluded]

Chr1sch said:

Weirdly i cant tell the difference between 95 and 97/98 from Texaco, but I can when using Tesco 99 or VPower whatever its called now...

With the Prelude I mentioned, it ran worse than 95 on Tesco 99. It only liked Vpower and Optimax when it came to high octane fuel.

[Sid Denham]

My car (Monaro VXR) is like chalk & cheese on 95 vs 98 RON, despite what the regulars on the Holden board will tell you. I ran it on 95 for a while without really thinking about it, and there was such a drop in performance that I was going to have it RRd to find out what was going on. Ran it low and topped up with 98, and normal service was immediately resumed. I never had it RRd in the end but the seat of the pants measurement was easily accurate enough to tell the difference.

[HonestIago]

I've noticed my 182 Trophy runs better on 98RON. Seems to pull harder and is less lumpy at idle.

[Some Gump]

Porsche 996's (esp turbos) are very noticably different 95-98.

[Drive Blind]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Only when I come to fill up.

I get 5-10% better MPG using SUL

[jimbobsimmonds]

S60T5 engine definitely seems more responsive, particularly below the turbo on the 98.

Could be in the mind but I certainly think there is a difference...

[Alfa numeric]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

That depends on what you consider "expensive". It's typically 5p a litre dearer, which means that a 55 litre tankfull costs you an extra £2.75, less than a pint of beer would cost you. My car's only ever had super unleaded and it seems to run just as well no matter what brand it's running on.

[monthefish]

Slightly OT, but why have the different manufacturers all gone for different RON for their super-unleaded?

Esso 97
Shell 98
Tesco 99

Why?

[tonyvid]

Deluded said:

Chr1sch said:

Weirdly i cant tell the difference between 95 and 97/98 from Texaco, but I can when using Tesco 99 or VPower whatever its called now...

With the Prelude I mentioned, it ran worse than 95 on Tesco 99. It only liked Vpower and Optimax when it came to high octane fuel.

My 95 hates Tesco99 for some reason. It certainly goes a lot better on 98 then 95 and I tend to use Sainsbury's as it's only 3ppl more than normal petrol. I also get about 50miles more per tank - just as well as it cost me £94 to fill it this morning

[Matt_N]

monthefish said:

Slightly OT, but why have the different manufacturers all gone for different RON for their super-unleaded?

Esso 97
Shell 98
Tesco 99

Why?

Shell V Power is 99.

Sainsburys SUL is also 97.