91 v 95 v 98 Octane..

[TranceZiggy]

Thought this was a noob question, so it should go here..

Searching for the difference between the different octane fuels generally only yielded results about whether you get more kpl (or mpg..) with 98 RON as opposed to 91 RON & whether this increased kpl offsets the cost etc..

I'm not bothered by this. From what I've seen (tried all 3 RON's), theyre about the same in terms of kpl.

What I would really like to know, is whether 98 is any better for your engine in terms of performance & general engine health than 91 or 95.. I drive an EK1, so the minimum recommended RON is 91, however, since purchasing it, I've only been running 98 or 95, 91 once or twice.

I don't know if it's just in my head or not, but it feels to be a bit more responsive on 98 & generally sounds like it's running smoother.

Does anyone know whether 98 RON actually does improve performance &/or improves long-term engine health?

Oh and, Ethanol is just plain bad. Leave that crap out of this, lol.

Cheers..

[mugen_ctr]

91 = cheap and cheerful

95 = its ok, could b better but usually cheapskates will use it cause they think they are saving money over 98

98 = best we got, performance and get more kms outta a tank, though usually ur car has to be tuned for it to maximize the full potential of the fuel, most cars tend to run better on 98, even if they are tuned for 91, but yes 98 is the way to go, its cleaner fuel, burners cleaners, smells better, has much better anti knock properties etc etc

ethanol, unless specified by car manufacture, than dont touch it as it might eat out ur rubber fuel lines :)

[integragsi96]

98 = best we got


not entirely mate.
some places sell 100 octance but its hard to find.
if your car is tuned for it e85 is better.

[mugen_ctr]

not entirely mate.
some places sell 100 octance but its hard to find.
if your car is tuned for it e85 is better.

true that, but generally most places 9/10 wont, although i do remember mobil used to do it ages ago, and before they got taken over...

And E85, shiiiet some of the power gains are pretty good... if tuned right that is hahahaa

[TranceZiggy]

Yeah cheers guys.

I actually care about my EK, so I'm gonna be sticking with 98 to keep it running nice & healthy. Plus I like the increased response that I've noticed ;).

I've seen some places advertising 100 RON, but it's Ethanol crap.. Haven't seen any legit 100 in SA. There's even 96 RON, but again, Ethanol..

[curtis265]

There is not much point running 98 if your car's not tuned for it. The stock ECU can advance the ignition timing a little but it won't make that much difference unless you're properly tuned on it's knock resistant properties. The only benefit is that the 98's a little cleaner than the others as they add more detergents to keep your intake path clean.

You also have to constantly use 98 to see benefits. The ECU adjusts slowly

I can't tell a difference between 98 and 95. I suppose my butt dyno isn't very sensetive.

[kenny07]

i thought ethanol is like an octane booster... welll from what ive read..

... or maybe i read it wrong?
well dont know..

they go its fine for your car so long as you change the oil filter regularly..

i pour the 100 premium from united petrol and its got 10 percent ethanol in it

car runs fine and feels abit more smoother and responsive than 98

[FAITHLESS]

They were talking about E85 which is 85% ethanol and is only for use in particular cars built for the fuel. Makes big power.

[kenny07]

They were talking about E85 which is 85% ethanol and is only for use in particular cars built for the fuel. Makes big power.

yeah i know about the E85 tune on particular cars, but i was referring to the first comment...

"Oh and, Ethanol is just plain bad. Leave that crap out of this, lol."

so yeahh

[EJ1]

With E85 the price is somewhat cheaper but at the same time you will notice a rapid increase in your fuel consumption. Trying to source it is the only hard part in some states as its not readily available as opposed to 98ron.

[TranceZiggy]

There is not much point running 98 if your car's not tuned for it. The stock ECU can advance the ignition timing a little but it won't make that much difference unless you're properly tuned on it's knock resistant properties. The only benefit is that the 98's a little cleaner than the others as they add more detergents to keep your intake path clean.

You also have to constantly use 98 to see benefits. The ECU adjusts slowly

I can't tell a difference between 98 and 95. I suppose my butt dyno isn't very sensetive.

Well, point is, I generally put $30 in my tank every week, whether it be 98 or 91, I still pay $30. 91 makes my fuel gauge go up higher, sure. But 98 lasts just as long as 91 does, I don't find myself needing to put a bit more in when I'm running 98, which tells me that the ECU/Injectors are doing their job & squirting less fuel in when running 98 to keep optimal oxygen/fuel ratio. (As far as I know, 98 is a little denser? And thus the injectors use slightly less fuel to maintain optimal oxygen/fuel ratio? Don't quote me, I'm no expert.)

So, I get the same mileage with $30 of either 91 or 98 on my 'untuned' EK, so I basically choose between my fuel gauge going up higher (91), or knowing that the 98 is burning cleaner & keeping my intake clean.

Plus, as you said, over time my ECU will adjust slightly.. Providing slightly better performance eventually.

[amant02]

i thought ethanol is like an octane booster... welll from what ive read..

... or maybe i read it wrong?
well dont know..

they go its fine for your car so long as you change the oil filter regularly..

i pour the 100 premium from united petrol and its got 10 percent ethanol in it

car runs fine and feels abit more smoother and responsive than 98

And killing your seals at the same time.

I was under the impression that ethanol damages the motor, as its slowly eating up rubber seals, fuel likes etc etc also from memory year12 chemistry ethanol burns at a higher temp.

Using E10 in my dads camry did made it feel smoother in the lower rpms but felt like shit at higher rpms. Barely got the KM/L that using 91 or 98 offered in it.

[DakDak]

BYP is running e85 on their Evo8. And pretty much all of thier Honda's past and present.
No issues

[Mikecivic78]

If your car has a B series engine, I recommend 98

For your car (an EK1 D series) I recommend 95.

[connorling]

i would just put 98 because there isnt much difference in dollar.....

my EG has a small 32L tank or so, 14cents difference between the 91 and 98, so i only pay $4.48 more.

since my car tuned with 98, my car went like shit when i used 95 (98 wasnt available and i was running out of fuel), the car just revv hunt at stationary.......

put 98 in and it went fine again.

[mooshie]

Not going to get in to the whole ethanol/octane/best fuel debate as it has been covered in so many different ways so many times.

Just FYI, in Adelaide the only place that I know of to get 100 octane fuel (or higher) at a retail level is from the Speedshop on OG road- the one with the car on the roof.

[EJ1]

Hey mooshie do you possibly have the exact address of the speedshop which your talking about. Kind of new to Adelaide and the surrounding areas and would be interested in taking a look one day when I have the time..

[sensei_]

If your car has a B series engine, I recommend 98

For your car (an EK1 D series) I recommend 95.

Any idea what i should use for a C series engine?

It says 91RON is fine, but i might give the higher octanes a try. But with 65L fill up, it cost me roughly $10 more/week

[curtis265]

give 95 a few runs and then 98 if u get greedy with the butt dyno gains

[1900-hustler]

95 will be more than fine for your cars if you are just daily driving it

[Mikecivic78]

Any idea what i should use for a C series engine?

It says 91RON is fine, but i might give the higher octanes a try. But with 65L fill up, it cost me roughly $10 more/week

I reckon 95 will do just fine as long as you use a reliable servo like BP. Some of the cut-price 95 octane are crap, like Freedom fuels etc...

[senna]

I've been trying different fuels for the last few of weeks in my EK1 daily. I've found there isn't a lot of performance difference, but I get the best range from caltex 95ron. 600k's from a tank, mixed driving

[sensei_]

I reckon 95 will do just fine as long as you use a reliable servo like BP. Some of the cut-price 95 octane are crap, like Freedom fuels etc...

thanks.

how about shell/caltex (95RON) compared to BP?

[curtis265]

I heard bad things about shell and generally avoid it

I prefer caltex and cbf with bp premium prices

[sensei_]

fair call. might give it a go once ive dried up this tank with 95 at BP

[Evok]

Get a test sample of 91,95 and 98
Pour it somewhere and watch it dry up

91 will leave left overs where as 98 will dry up nice and clean.
98 is already proven that it gives more km"s then 95. 98 also help keep the injectors clean

IMO, I always fill up 98 octane unless it's a work car that's not mine.

People say Bp works the best with Honda"s .. There was a thread about it
On ozhonda

[sensei_]

how should i test it?

500ml in a clean glass jar?

[curtis265]

how should i test it?

500ml in a clean glass jar?

clean glass jar, put like 100ml in if you really must..

the ide ais that 98 is more processed and filtered etc. so it's cleaner and better for your engine inthe long run

[senna]

thanks.

how about shell/caltex (95RON) compared to BP?

I get around 30-40 kms more from caltex over bp 95

[mooshie]

Hey mooshie do you possibly have the exact address of the speedshop which your talking about. Kind of new to Adelaide and the surrounding areas and would be interested in taking a look one day when I have the time..

http://www.ogspeedshop.com.au/

[sensei_]

I get around 30-40 kms more from caltex over bp 95

good to hear. just curious if it is a standalone caltex (starmart) or is it a caltex woolies cobranded one?

i have been told that the fuel quality at the caltex woolies one is slightly lessor quality. (personally, i think its a myth)

[eLtrix]

I've tried both BP and Caltex, feels much better than any other place. But between the two, i personally can't feel that much of a difference. As for that quality of caltex and woolies.. never heard of that one before

[EJ1]

Get a test sample of 91,95 and 98
Pour it somewhere and watch it dry up

91 will leave left overs where as 98 will dry up nice and clean.
98 is already proven that it gives more km"s then 95. 98 also help keep the injectors clean

IMO, I always fill up 98 octane unless it's a work car that's not mine.

People say Bp works the best with Honda"s .. There was a thread about it
On ozhonda

The same goes with Nissan turbocharged RB's. The guys on SAU talk extremely highly in regards to BP98 ron, As does my tuner who is probably one of the top competitors in South Australia if you cannot find BP98 ron anywhere the bare minimum you should fill up with is one step down in quality being Shell.

I was told to steer clear of anything else. If a high performance motor like a turbocharged RB can run exceptionally well on BP then it's good enough for your Honda. Unfortunately though Australia is one of the country's in the whole world with the worst fuel quality and some of the highest prices as opposed to Japan. There they have 109 ron + fuels, Living here we're essentially downgrading to a lower octane fuel which the motors weren't really designed to enjoy.

BP98 ron whenever you get the chance in my books.

[Mikecivic78]

Get a test sample of 91,95 and 98
Pour it somewhere and watch it dry up

91 will leave left overs where as 98 will dry up nice and clean.
98 is already proven that it gives more km"s then 95. 98 also help keep the injectors clean



that's what fuel injector cleaner is for -10 bucks a bottle for nulon

[mooshie]

Woolies are Caltex fuels, that is the agreement they have together with the dual branding. There is absolutely no difference.

TBH you will just as much variation between different stations of the same brand as between different fuel companies. You do realise that of the 1600+ Caltex branded stations, only around 240 are actually run by Caltex. The rest are franchisees and with that comes all kinds of different tank monitoring and maintenance that can have all kinds of effects on fuel quality once it goes in to the ground. BP is the same a Caltex and Shell really only supplies Coles sites which are all company run. Woolworths runs almost 500 sites with another 130 which are branded Woolies but actually run by Caltex/franchisees.

Just go to the busiest place in your area so you know the fuel is fresh and the newer the station the better to ensure they have fibreglass tanks and lines and not rusty old steel ones.

[Indie]

Just go to the busiest place in your area so you know the fuel is fresh and the newer the station the better to ensure they have fibreglass tanks and lines and not rusty old steel ones.This is actually the best advice, really.

[sensei_]

Just go to the busiest place in your area so you know the fuel is fresh and the newer the station the better to ensure they have fibreglass tanks and lines and not rusty old steel ones.

very good point you have here. luckily for me, the closest caltex/woolies one is very new, so fuel should definitely be fresh, not to mention, i usually buy fuel at night 10pm+