Best Fuel For Astra

[EAK33Y]

Hey guys just been discussing this on another forum and was wondering what your oppinions are

What is the best fuel for my Astra im currently using Optimax cause i find i get an extra 100-150k's out of Premium Petrol and i get this cause its a Tad Cheaper then Synergy and i get 4c of a Litre,But i have had a few people saying that i shouldnt use it cause its 98ron and ecotec should unly use 91 ron

What are your oppinions??

[blackSRi]

The Ecotecs run on 98RON in Europe without any issues - the ECU will adjust fuel input to ensure engine operates efficiently.
Who said to you not to use it and why did they say that? Personal experience? Technical reasons...?
Would be nice to know otherwise run it - I have run my 2.2 Ecotec engine on BP Ulimate 98 RON since June2002 without any issues (so have many others here).
Also, there's different brands of 98RON and there are many other threads in this forum already where people have described their encounter with Optimax and Ultimate - have a look.

[EAK33Y]

No they just said they wouldnt think the computer wouldnt be able to handle the optimax

Is BP Ultimate better then optimax cause i heared it is but its like $1.20 plus a litre?

[Dee]

here is one of the other threads
http://opelaus.com/phpBB2-3/viewtopic.php?t=2966

Ultimate is just under $1/L here

[rjastra]

None of the AStra engines (1.8L or 2.2L) will derive any benefit from fuel higher than 95RON.

[imay]

I agree with rjastra on this one!

You guys running expensive fuels in your Astras and Barinas in the quest for extra horsepower . . . you are kidding yourselves! Let's face it guys, we don't have performance machines to start with, so why try to turn yours into one by adding the expensive stuff? Next you'll be telling us you run fuel additives to gain "the edge."
Shell and BP aren't the only ones laughing at this topic!

[Dee]

i dont claim to get any extra power or even really want any.. its the 100+km per tank extra i am getting.... i think it is worth the extra 8c/L

[EAK33Y]

Thats all im after is the extra fuel i get from using NONunleaded i get 500k's out of unleaded and 600-650 with Premium

[blackSRi]

How to Prove/disprove extra kW claims over:
* 98RON
* Airbox de-restriction
* New exhaust system (eg fatter pipe etc)

Answ = dyno test!

My main reason for using 98RON was for the cleaner fuel.
I haven't dyno'd it - I just went on the (substantial) amount of info about on the 'net - but that's not definitive. Could always email Opel in Europe for an answer I suppose - they should know!

Surely extra km's per tank is proof of it's value?

Rjastra/Imay, where's the evidence that the 1.8/2.2 Ecotech engines don't derive any benfit from 98RON? I think further on a tank is proof you're both wrong.
As for kW Imay, well the only answer to that is a dyno test, don't you agree?

[imay]

I agree 11-SXI, the extra km out of a tank might be worth the extra $$s (I haven't actually done the sums recently). And I reckon it runs smoother, too.
But so many of these "kids" are using the expensive stuff in the mis-guided belief that they are gaining POWER!

And I don't mean to be derrogative when labelling you guys as "kids." It's just that you are being conned to spend more in the belief that it's going to transform your 1.8 into a V8 killer! Not going to happen. The only thing it's going to kill is you if you drive it too hard!
Take it easy out there guys, it's a dangerous place to be!

[Dee]

and since i have a 1.4L i know its not gonna do shit to my power... although i do have a smoother (slightly quicker) take off.. now im not claiming more Kw... it may just be the cleaner fuel getting into the engine quicker.. but its a quicker off the line take off

[blackSRi]

Don't get me wrong, 98RON doesn't make your Astra a V8 killer I agree, but, are you calling BP's published info untrue imay?

Do you agree 98RON does give you a few more kW's - not like supercharging or turboing, but it does provide some more power.
Have a look at http://www.bp.com.au/ultimate/pages/why_should_i_buy.asp

The only way to prove/disprove any company claims on fuel is to:
1. Get the fuel tested by a lab and make sure it's 98RON,
2. Put the fuel in an Astra and dyno it.
Easy.

I agree, it's not a justification of stupid driving or thinking you are a monster power machine driver, but who here says they are expecting so because they put in 98RON?? please explain?

[blackSRi]

rjastra - do you mean any old or new engines?
For older engines with RON plugs, have a look at http://www.topbuzz1.carenthusiasts.co.uk/info/ron_plugs/ron_plugs.htm
Hmm...seems 98RON plugs are mentioned?

[imay]

Whoa, guys! I surrender!
PULP =
Enhanced fuel economy -- YES!
Smoother running -- YES!
Cleaner running -- Dunno, hasn't been debated here!
Extra power/performance -- YES, but . . . (according to Holden figures, from memory, Astra 1.8 achieves 90 kw on ULP, 92 kw on PULP, and I stand to be corrected on those figures) 2kw is nothing to get excited about!
I was merely, before this topic became a debate about "How big mine is!", suggesting that the few kw extra @ up to 12c/litre more is, to me, bad maths . . . that is, IF it's power you were after!
And I know of "kids" who run PULP because they believe that the extra POWER makes it all worthwhile.

[blackSRi]

Yeah, I agree - plenty of other more cost effective power mods eg ECU/chip remaps, exhaust etc
I go for 98RON due to cleanliness and more k's per tank (like 11-SXI).
I track my fuel use by fleet card account and it is worth it for me, with my driving style.

Having a little 'extra' when overtaking in the country doesn't hurt either.
:)

Sorry to all for re-hashing the previous 98RON topics..
:oops:

A frank exchange of ideas is always healthy I think... isn't that what this forum exists for?

[em]

From experience my Astra runs better on optimax, than any other petrol. it seems to splatter and choke on other premium fuels and if I go normal ULP it's responsiveness is a LOT slower (like what Donna said "off the line etc").

this is jut my thoughts

[NPR]

yeah in the ASTRA brochure it says that running PULP means 92kw over 90kw and 170nm of torque over 165. You do gain power but its so marginal its not really worth it based on performance alone.

[NUTTTR]

Astra DOES gain slight power from ultimate over premium, etc, i find ultimate the best (but it's purely personal, i find the optimax after 2 weeks is pretty dead feeling, car runs rougher, etc...) The astra's computer is continuously variable and DOES allow the car to advance the timing a fair bit with ultimate vs premium... (courtesy of Courtney Sport in the UK from memory!).... However, i do it for the k's per tank too, i'd hate to see what i'd get on regular!!! However, the difference in price between premium and ultimate is small and pretty much non of the garages i go to now have premium, only 98ron
Aaron

[astrix]

I've tried to measure the the increase in milage using premium over normal unleaded three times now without much success.
Infact last time I tried I actually achieved 8.1 lt/100kl using PULP and 7.7 lt/100kl using normal unleaded.
There are so many veriables on the road it's hard to duplicate exact conditions.
However I thought I would have seen some increase in milage using PULP if the difference is as great as 150 kl per tank.
Don't get me wrong I'm not saying PULP is worse than unleaded, it's just that I have not been able to measure the difference.
As far as power or being more responsive or smoother I cannot feel any difference.
Next time I go on a trip I'll give it another go.
City driving is so variable it's pretty impossible to compare one tank full to the next.