98 RON

[Matt-16v]

Hi all, I have just bought a 182 FF on 18K miles. It has been run on 98 RON for the last 2 years of ownership. Will I damage the engine if I use standard 95 RON a few times.
Petrol stations down here that sell 98 RON are few and far between Lol. just wondered if i fillled the odd tank up with 95 it might damage the engine?

Thanks

 

[jack_davey]

Should be fine, the cars knock sensor should adjust the ignition timing slightly to compensate for the lower octane fuel.
However I run mine on super unleaded because I like to think it keeps the car healthier and the performance in check, probably makes sod all difference though!

 

[Fred@BTM]

its a clio, not an F1 car, whack any old s**t in there and it'll be fine

super is pointless in a clio

 

[bartebk]

Mine seems to run better with 98 ron in,doesn't seem to hesitate with the 98 in.Generally feels fitter

 

[Martin_172]

lol it will run on stuff a lot worse than normal 95ron fuel, renault do recomend 98ron to get the best performance but you likely wont notice a difference unless its mapped for 98ron fuel

 

[Ex-User (19928)]

lol it will run on stuff a lot worse than normal 95ron fuel, renault do recomend 98ron to get the best performance but you likely wont notice a difference unless its mapped for 98ron fuel

LOL indeed.

I think a lot of people forget 95 is a relatively high octane when you look at other countries.

In the states they use 90ish for a regular fuel don't they?

I only put super fuel in my cars if I've been smoking the crack pipe or fancy taking the F50 or LP640 out for a spin.

 

[BenR]

In the states they use a RON/MON average so its not comparable......we get flaked off by the marketing man who uses the highest number.

And i personally wouldnt waste a penny on super for daily use, i always ran 95.

 

[Bash]

No unless the conditions are perfect its ok to use 95, but I have been the only unlucky one on this forum to have suffered preignition due to fuel temperature and timing. The reason why Renault recommend high octane petrol is to stop preignition in your high revving short stroke engine.

http://www.cliosport.net/forum/showthread.php?t=351663&highlight=octane

http://www.cliosport.net/forum/showthread.php?t=341391&highlight=octane

 

[r8byb]

In the states they use a RON/MON average so its not comparable......we get flaked off by the marketing man who uses the highest number.

And i personally wouldnt waste a penny on super for daily use, i always ran 95.

I got a good lesson off your Dad about fuel company tricks and stuff. Your Dad's a legend Ben so many story's !

 

[BenR]

:S

First off, generalised and sweeping statements like that cause havoc and urban legends on forums.

The RON rating we get at the pump is the research octane number and is conducted at a significantly lower rpm than MON (motor octane number) which is about 50% higher in rpm and 60% higher in intake air temps. Thus this rating is high.....and almost pointless since it does not represent the performance of the fuel under 'stress'.....the MON of vpower is 87...and thus in the states would be advertised as 93 octane.

THEN you have the discrepency between manufacturers and fuel batches as formulations are different...i.e tesco 99 has the same mon and ron as vpower but uses a higher portion of bioethanol to increase knock resistance, however the calorific content is lower and thus is less 'powerful' (for want of a less complicated word) as a fuel.

EN228 specifications state that '95' ron fuels must have a ron of 95 and a mon of 85, BS7800 state 97 ron and 86 mon.......so in the high stress tests the octane rating is a mere 1 point higher, although the average between the two is still 3 octane points different.

As for 'perfect' conditions, Renault test their engines running on the crappest fuel commercially available and under the most stressful conditions you are likely to encounter just for the reason of reliability.

I for one drove my 172 in Hong Kong with a limiter of 8000rpm on 95 all day long where conditions can reach 40 deg C with a humidity of just under 100%.......and we (I say we as we ran the HK renault agency) never had a problem with warrently claims or engine failures due to fuel.

I didnt read the threads you listed too deeply because i couldnt find a post of yours explaining your problem, but from what I browsed it seemed driving back frmo germany something happened. Cruise conditions are about as gentle as an engine will see with little throttle opening and alot of ignition timing (unless you were on the 'bahn). So your auto ignition or preignition problems could of stemmed from something else entirely such as a blocked injector or a heavy breathing engine as oil vapour reduces the effective fuel octane.

Especially since you state that you have been the 'only' unlucky one..........and I think 'unluky' sums it up perfectly.

Sorry for the rant, but these cars run perfectly well on 95.

 

[BenR]

In the states they use a RON/MON average so its not comparable......we get flaked off by the marketing man who uses the highest number.

And i personally wouldnt waste a penny on super for daily use, i always ran 95.

I got a good lesson off your Dad about fuel company tricks and stuff. Your Dad's a legend Ben so many story's !

lol.....he was on more environmental and automotive agency boards then I care to remember.......so the stories your hearing are engrained in my head....which is why i walk away when he talks to customers lol....still, keeps you occupied whilst we work lol.

Maybe i should get him a rocking chair and a fluffy carpet for story time at AWT!.........He smokes with one of those black long filter queer things from 1923.

 

[Bash]

Was on the autobahn, will never know the exact reason why. If you like here is what happened, judge for your self:

130mph all the way back from the ring, straight onto the train with no waiting, through the tunnel at bellow sea level, car cools down for 35minutes, straight onto the m20 at 130, 10 miles away from Folkestone, big bang. Spark plug out the top of the engine.

Could be perfect condition or could be something else. Engine was refurbed no problems with ecu etc, it was preignition as spark plug was out but I will never know.

I did state it is ok to run ur car on 95 as I have never met anyone who has had this but I want you to know the problem I had may be due to the choice of petrol and circumstances.

 

[Iceberg_172]

Who sells 98 ron fuel? ive never even seen it before! i always thought V power was but after some research i found out its 99 ron! I use sainsburys 97 ron and it works a treat but thats cos i cant find 98 anywhere

 

[Martin_172]

10 miles away from Folkestone, big bang. Spark plug out the top of the engine.

cylinder 3 by any chance? its a common fault, afaik it happens in these engines when the spark plugs arnt torqued properly and cylinder 3 is always first to go.

 

[Bash]

1'st, thats whats got me soooo stumped!

 

[partyboy23]

mine felt alot more nimble with 98ron but it seemed to drink the fuel alot more

 

[gazza82]

According to the Mail last week, we're all just wasting money with the higher RON fuels ... didn't read it as I was busy and never buy the stuff anyway.

 

[Laura]

mines been on 95 for the last 6 months and all is well

 

[Mark One]

Was on the autobahn, will never know the exact reason why. If you like here is what happened, judge for your self:

130mph all the way back from the ring, straight onto the train with no waiting, through the tunnel at bellow sea level, car cools down for 35minutes, straight onto the m20 at 130, 10 miles away from Folkestone, big bang. Spark plug out the top of the engine.

Could be perfect condition or could be something else. Engine was refurbed no problems with ecu etc, it was preignition as spark plug was out but I will never know.

I did state it is ok to run ur car on 95 as I have never met anyone who has had this but I want you to know the problem I had may be due to the choice of petrol and circumstances.

Sorry mate, that is no way to treat an engine. You can't hold them at those RPMs for that long, they just get too hot. did you even have an oil cooler? (not saying that it was related to you popping a plug out the top).

 

[Mark One]

Who sells 98 ron fuel? ive never even seen it before! i always thought V power was but after some research i found out its 99 ron! I use sainsburys 97 ron and it works a treat but thats cos i cant find 98 anywhere

iirc optimax is 98 ??

 

[Iceberg_172]

Who sells 98 ron fuel? ive never even seen it before! i always thought V power was but after some research i found out its 99 ron! I use sainsburys 97 ron and it works a treat but thats cos i cant find 98 anywhere

iirc optimax is 98 ??

yeah optimax was but its V power now which is 99 ron iirc

 

[mattjk]

Very informative posts Ben, well worth the read

 

[BenR]

Was on the autobahn, will never know the exact reason why. If you like here is what happened, judge for your self:

130mph all the way back from the ring, straight onto the train with no waiting, through the tunnel at bellow sea level, car cools down for 35minutes, straight onto the m20 at 130, 10 miles away from Folkestone, big bang. Spark plug out the top of the engine.

Could be perfect condition or could be something else. Engine was refurbed no problems with ecu etc, it was preignition as spark plug was out but I will never know.

I did state it is ok to run ur car on 95 as I have never met anyone who has had this but I want you to know the problem I had may be due to the choice of petrol and circumstances.

Plug out the bonnet doesnt sound like pre-ig at all lol......just pure bad luck.

 

[Ex-User (19928)]

Sorry mate, that is no way to treat an engine. You can't hold them at those RPMs for that long, they just get too hot. did you even have an oil cooler? (not saying that it was related to you popping a plug out the top).

Sounds like he was mollycoddling it imo... 130? I thought 172s could do 140

 

[caister]

Would 98ron make much difference if the car was mapped for it?

 

[edde]

According to the Mail last week, we're all just wasting money with the higher RON fuels ... didn't read it as I was busy and never buy the stuff anyway.

Yep but they only based it on N/A cars from memory which isn't fair turbo etc need the higher ron stuff for the power etc usually.

Would 98ron make much difference if the car was mapped for it?

Nope not realy