Shell Optimax Extreme - 100 Octane

[btm]

Would any one use it?

www.shell.com.au/extreme

[InsaneAsylum]

NO - lame marketing ploy to get people to use an ethanol blend fuel.

it's a bit like smoking adds back in the day showing people on a beach chilling out and having fun.

(even though smoking does make you hang out at the beach with hot chicks)

[Mr T]

I dont have a problem with ethanol...

Holden as well as other Aussie Manufacturers have cleared the way for its use and Shell have made good use of it ! ! !

Some people will be negative about Ethanol because of those scamers selling fuel with over 20% blend in 2003 and not stating it.

I read that with 100 RON you can run 8% leaner than 98 fuel...and that mean power...!!!

I was told on Saturday about a skyline that produced circa 260kw atw with 98 RON...when using 100 produced 8 kw more and when tuned for 100 produced circa 290kw atw...

Certainly has potential.....

[mr_sikma]

i heard people saying that with ethanol your motor would have to be rebuilt more sooner, warranty may be voided etc

i am guessing thats with the 20% blend?

[oneightoo]

havent some of the manufacturers put their support behind ethanol blending fuels? if they have then if you get any engine problems because of ethanol than they cant exactly say it's not covered by warranty..

[mr_sikma]

its not in sa yet, so you guys can check it out 4 me and say if its good or bad :D

i reckon if its bad, it wouldnt even make it here!

[oneightoo]

i guess if the manufacturers are backing it, it "should' be good..

i dont know much about it, only what i've heard from the guys here and what was in the paper..

[woody]

Quote from the FCAI Website:

Australian Automobile Manufacturers

HoldenAll petrol engine vehicles since 1986 will operate satisfactorily on E10 except as listed below.
The following models which do not operate satisfactorily on E10 fuel:
Apollo (1/87-7/89), Nova (2/89-7/94), Barina (1985-1994), Drover (1985-1987), Scurry (1985-1986), Astra (1984-1989).

[SSS_Hoon]

yeah i would use it, when it comes closer out my way(like the 4th time ive posted this :lol: ) i will be getting the gf to put a tank full in her new GTi, as i cannot use it in my car nissan say not too.


there is nothing wrong with Eblended fuels as long as they are not splash blended and are blended at the refinery.

some cars wont notice any difference and some will, to get the potential out of it you will need a retune as there is more oxygen in ethanol there fore making run leaner. but leaner is good mmm power.

SSS_Hoon

[CJB]

Being apart of the EPA I am suppose to endorce this fuel - but I don't know. I don't know much about fuel, but I won't be using it.

I have heard the same thing that it rots your engine and in just a few short years will require an engine rebuild.

[SSS_Hoon]

its the rubber and plastics that it eats away at they say that at only 5% it aint a problem.

and most cars these days are made with materials that can withstand it according to the ppl that say you can use it

SSS_Hoon

[MK]

Well... marketing ploys aside, manufacturers statements aside and so on... I WILL ONLY USE IT IF THE PRICE IS RIGHT!

Sick and tired of all these claims and statements from pertol companies through the car manufacturers right to politicians and not seeing any price drop!

So what if its going to give me few extra Kw yet it "eats" away a hole in my wallet! yet Shell will make profit out of it in the end... if the government steps in, sets some proper rules as to the ethanol blending and so on, forces shell and other petrol companies to lower their price per litre (because ethanol apparently is cheap) and it gets handed down to the end consumer (us drivers) i will use it...

at the moment i use only the ones that meet my price bracket.

[GeeeAus]

This is a direct dump from a Vectra Forum where I've provided this post already. It seems relevant here.


O.K., Now for my $.03c worth.

Fuel octane response and engine compression ratio have a direct correlation to each other. As compression rises, an engine becomes more sensitive to octane response.

Higher compression means higher-octane requirements.

In many cases this means Vectra engines (with exception to the V6 models) are not particularly dependent on high-octane response fuels.

That said there are clear advantages to running some of the more prestigious fuels.

BP Ultimate is an excellent fuel in terms of managing combustion chamber and fuel system deposits. It is interesting to note that BP Ultimate has less than 10% of the benzene content of Shell Optimax. Benzene is bad, it causes cancer, water contamination and fatigue to fuel system components over a long duration.

We own a JR 97 with C20SEL Family II Engine. This engine has a compression ratio that is only moderate by 4 cylinder standards. While it is O.K. on 91RON in a technical sense, it’s designed for fuel with a SLIGHTLY higher RON than regular 91 unleaded.

What this means is that there WILL be an improvement in driveability and economy in MANY cases, as the 91 RON stuff doesn’t quite saturate the engine’s compression ratio of 9.6:1 and therefore the ECU will retard it’s ignition advance curve.

This is all well and good, but RONs aren’t RONs and neither are they MIONs.

Fuel formulations are extremely complex and sensitive to a multitude of variables that can completely change their appropriateness for a particular engine, class of vehicle, operating environment, etc, etc…..

A formulation for one engine in summer, may be no good for the same engine in autumn.

This needs to be considered when conducting any experiments. In reality experimentation would take place over AT LEAST ONE YEAR to accommodate the four seasons and as many brands as possible.

I think for most drivers 91RON is fine, however the engines of Vectras that run 91RON for long periods with only domestic Kms travelled generally end up suffering poor idling problems due to increased accumulation of carbon and deposits in the combustion chamber. Of course added carbon there changes the engines compression ratio and in doing so alters the cars behaviour toward a given fuel formulation. In addition the IAC valve, which also facilitates Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR), becomes increasingly peppered with carbon debris from the incomplete combustion process. This causes the valve to stop functioning and the car to stall at low speed/idle, use more fuel and present poor performance and driveability.

In short, use better fuel for your engine, not for performance.

Now in regard to E10.

Those of you who drive a Vectra with the C20SEL may be interested to know that this engine is widely used and developed in Brazil for its alcohol accommodating diet.

http://www.answers.com/topic/gm-family-ii-engine

- - - - -

Extract From Linked Page

GM do Brazil

GM do Brazil specializes on SOHC, alcohol-powered and FlexPower (alcohol+petrol powered) engines.

* C18YE - 1.8 L ethanol
* C20SEL - 2.0 L DOHC
* X20SE - 2.0 L FlexPower

- - - - -

So it seems very, very likely to me that C20SEL powered Vectras (at least) will work fine on alcohol-blended fuels.

More information on E10 along with manufacturers recommendations can be found here.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au...E31037,00.html

And also here.

http://www.autoindustries.com.au/eth.../00000001.html

I have read suggestions that E10 formulated gasolines are better than pure refined hydrocarbon products because they contain higher levels of oxygen.

I don’t want to say that this sentiment is wrong (it isn’t’) but I do think it important to clarify what this unique chemical addition to gasoline entails.

The Oxygenates used in gasolines, (like Ethanol) are useless to the combustion reaction from a power delivery perspective as the oxygen is bonded to the other components of the ethanol structure. It is not released until AFTER combustion has taken place.

The resultant “revised” mixture that exists because of the ethanol’s presence in the combustion process results in lower emissions. (Though dangerous NOx emissions are still produced.)

This is why many drivers report poorer drivability and fuel economy alcohol-blended fuels. Less is present to be converted to kinetic energy.

A better example of a substance that contains available oxygen is Nitrous oxide. This product is useful because under the tremendous heat and pressure created by the compression stroke of an engine, the oxygen is released and is free to participate in the combustion process.

So in summary…

1. Higher compression means higher-octane requirements.

2. Putting a tank, or several of x branded and rated fuel in your tank and running it for x time does not constitute a scientific test.

3. RON and MON ratings are indicators only and do not directly correlate between fuel and/or engine design.

4. Alcohol fuels contain no more (and in fact less) available oxygen than more conventional petroleum only refined fractions.

5. The state of deposits within an engine has a direct influence on the compression ratio/octane relationship between engine design and fuel formulation. The Stoichiometric balance alters with such variances in design. (Particularly to Vectra 4 cylinder models due to the additional nuisance of the duel EGR/IAC valve system.)

Not Relevant to X25XE and Y26SE Engines Which REQUIRE a 95RON Fuel.

6. While RON gives some indication as to a fuel’s chemical resistance to detonation (pinging), the less publicised MON represents a better benchmark for conducting fuel suitability testing. This is because the MON represents the Motor Octane Number of the Fuel rather than the RION or Research Octane Number. Therefore the MON is taken from the perspective on the engine which combusts a given formulation rather than the laboratory theoretical standpoint.

7. Higher octan fuels do not necessarily produce conspicuous horsepower gains. Though to some extent, formulations that are octane response optimised usually contain components that yield better outputs. These include Toluene, naphthalene, xylene, benzene and other aromatics.

Cheers


GeeeAus
97 JR Vectra 1998cc 100Kw. BP Ultimate Fuelled For A Cleaner Engine & Environment.

[Mr T]

Very Informative...

[pred8r]

Of course the car companies would back it, if it eats your engine, then it will speed up the turnover of cars. Its not like it needs to be covered under warranty, in testing it probably has no/few effects until over 150k so they are free anyway. Even then they'd say it was abused.

[NUTTTR]

I've used it..... so far haven't noticed any difference so far... feels like ultimate.... BUT - it is optimax..... it definately doesn't feel like optimax in my car (it doesn't like it...)... it's been in the tank for 3 days... so far it hasn't seemed to have lower performance....... cars definately not pinging or running funny that i've noticed..... seems more willing to rev too :D Not that i let that stop me, i do it anyway :)
Wait and see, it was only $1.23/L the other day for 100 octane.... which is pretty good!

[corsa2nv]

i filled up the tank yesterday with 100 octaine, i could feel the change, the engine ran smoother, and loved the upper revs, also ive noticed better mid range torque (on my corsa c 1.4) its good petrol, would always use it if wasent so expensive:)

[mr_sikma]

how much a litre?

how much was normal unleaded.