Well, here's the official word from BP. Bit long mind you! :-
We found through extensive research that a sizeable proportion of the market in our UK-wide sample were very interested in a fuel that would deliver more performance AND less pollution; this is exactly what we are offering with our new advanced fuels.
The RON (Research Octane Number) for BP Ultimate Unleaded is guaranteed 97. For Performance vehicles it is also helpful to know the MON (Motor Octane Number). This is where the Antiknock quality is tested at full throttle and High engine speed, and part throttle and low&high engine speeds. The MON for Ultimate Unleaded is guaranteed 86, however is typically higher and up to
87.4. Which I believe is equivalent to Optimax!
BP have not sold Super Unleaded, but our Superplus grade was also 97 RON. I can reassure you that BP Ultimate is a new technology, produced through a very intensive development programme that took at least 18 months; whereas Superplus was developed just for high performance vehices, Ultimate Unleaded is for ALL vehicles.
Superplus will remain in the network for a while but will progressively be removed as BP Ultimate becomes increasingly available.
Increased octane rating does benefit some vehicles and overall BP Ultimate gives significant benefits relative to unleaded 95. There are other important features of the BP Ultimate formulation that benefit all vehicles, such as its exceptional cleaning performance - twice the cleaning power of normal fuels; deposits are dissolved by the additives and are burned in the engine. Also BP Ultimate burns more efficiently and cleans your engine as you drive to deliver sharper acceleration and improved responsiveness while producing less harmful emissions.
We have tested BP Ultimate and Optimax back to back in a range of performance cars, and saw very similar results for Optimax and BP Ultimate. However, BP Ultimate has been developed to give benefits in ALL cars, as opposed to just performance cars, where the outstanding cleaning performance and friction reduction properties of BP Ultimate are particularly important.
A few figures that you may find interesting regarding BP Ultimate Unleaded compared to standard unleaded:
Average Up to More Performance More power 3.7%
7.1% Sharper Acceleration 3.0% 5.2% Improved Fuel Consumption 3.4% 5.8%
Less Pollution Lower Hydrocarbons 5.6% - Lower Carbon Monoxide 14.5% - Lower Nitrogen Oxides 5.3% - Lower Carbon Dioxide 2.2% - Lower Noise 18.6%
52.0%
Cleaner Engine BP Ultimate Unleaded prevents 97% of (intake valve) deposits forming BP Ultimate Unleaded removes 75% of (intake valve) deposits
We believe that there will be no detrimental effect on you engine only benefits. May I thank you for your interest in BP.
Kind Regards
Customer Care