What fuel?

[shortos]

Sorry if this is a thread thats already been discussed at length, but i am a new 182 user. Is it necessary to constantly use Super unleaded petrol of or other high octanes? Is there a noticeable difference than if I were to use standard unleaded? I am happy to pay the extra but only if it actually makes a difference.:S

 

[Alan]

Well i run super unleaded in mine and have done since day one, i've tried normal 95ron and it idles a fair bit more lumpy....also on the higher octane fuel it pulls away from standstill a lot easier too...

Tho others will say its all in the head, IMO its not, it doesnt tell you to run it on the better stuff for nothing!

 

[shortos]

Cheers mate, I'm of the same opinion, but some mates have told me that you only have to use Super on every 4th fill up or so. I think I'll stick with the Super. Shortos

 

[Woodentop]

I also found 95 to cause my car to be lumpy changed to 97+ and it seems to be happy now

 

[Fletcher]

I try to use Shell optimax or Tesco 99. I find that it runs better on the higher octane fuel, i also get higger mpg returns.

 

[shortos]

Cheers.........I find Optimax is pretty sweet...As an aside, I am averaging about 30-31mpg. I've only had the car for a month so I'm still fairly heavy footed..Does this sound about right? My last car was a VTR and this was a lot more economical....but light years slower.

 

[thedoc]

Optimax & BP Ultimate I find are good, better economy & performance. Tesco 99 drops the fuel consumprion loads & normal 95 stuff makes the old girl run rough...
All IMO.

 

[Fletcher]

Cheers.........I find Optimax is pretty sweet...As an aside, I am averaging about 30-31mpg. I've only had the car for a month so I'm still fairly heavy footed..Does this sound about right? My last car was a VTR and this was a lot more economical....but light years slower.

30-31 mpg sounds fine to me, i average around the 33mpg mark.

 

[Neil G]

Always used SU 97RON petrol in the 172 and found it to be fine

Best MPG I've got with it is 36

 

[sneeks]

I've found that standard unleaded returns 35-36mpg and Optimax 33-34mpg, I don't notice any difference with engine idle etc using the cheaper fuel. Do many 172/182 owners here use standard fuel all of the time?

 

[gazcaddy]

renault say use 98ron so mine has only had optimax since birth

 

[sneeks]

I'll probably continue to use Optimax but I do sometimes question if it really is required. It's also close to £1 per litre now

 

[Shorty_mk1]

I swear by BP ultimate in my valver (when i can afford to put some in, poverish stoodent you see ). The car pulls a lot smoother low down in the revs and i do notice a difference in consumption. A lot of people will say is all in your head but in my opinion its not.

A high octane fuel has less tendancy to predetonate which will be why people think it makes the car pull smoother. Also high octane fuels have a much mroe controlled burn, allowing the flame front to spread better throughout the combustion chamber. the better the burn the rate of pressure rise and hence the more power can be harnessed from the process.

It is not true though, that higher octane means more power within the fuel as a litre of deisel contains more energy than a litre of petrol yet it has a lower octane rating.

The basic idea is yeah, its well worth using higher octane fuels if you can afford it. Cant do any harm can it!

Hope this helps

Shorty

 

[ant]

i alternate between the cheapest and optimax.

cant honestly say i notice any difference between the 2!

 

[tomehb]

super unleaded all the time any1 go a link to show the garages that have this tesco stuff?

 

[Nick_R182]

tesco 99 for me. Ive tried optimax and Ultimate and didnt notice a difference. Tescos is cheaper and is pretty much at the bottom of my road! 95 ron definatly makes the car run slightly lumpy though.

 

[Turkish]

For me its either optimax, super or ultimate.

 

[Daz]

BP Ultimate in my Williams.

Unleaded is Ok, Optimax isn't much better, BP Ultimate is noticably better.

That's all I use now..

It doesn't work out that much more expensive, as I get an extra 2mpg average it seems..

 

[sneeks]

I think I'll try Ultimate as Optimax returned worse economy for me compared with standard unleaded.

 

[paul_h172]

optimax or tesco 99 runs best for me

 

[sneeks]

super unleaded all the time any1 go a link to show the garages that have this tesco stuff?

This lists some locations

http://www.greenergy.com/products/99_octane_locations.html

 

[kully]

done the change to optimax

 

[Djw Dave]

The engine runs a high compression ratio and aggressive ignition and cam timing which means it will benefit from running high octane fuel, however the ECU learns while using lower octane stuff and will r****d the timing to prevent det on the lower octane petrol

this means just filling the tank with 98 and driving off will give little gains if the cars been run on 95 for a long time. resetting the ecu's adaptive map by disconnecting the negative battery terminal for a period of time once youve filled it with 98 octane fuel will provide much better gains

simply running 98 octane petrol once the timing etc has already adapted itself to a retarded state for 95octane will actually lose power and fuel economy

 

[sneeks]

Dave would the timing not automatically adjust again over time if you use the higher octane fuel? I have no idea what fuel my car was running for the first 32k miles of use but I'd hazard a guess that it was standard unleaded.

 

[nathanH]

always used optimax, drove very reserved all this week and managed an average mgp of 36.1 and got 365 miles from a tank, well impressed.