Super Unleaded Fuel in UK

Hi Charles,

I use super UL all the time in my '98 9000 2.3T - and used it most of the time in my '94 2.0 LPT. I seem to get better mileage so the extra cost per litre is not something I worry about. Better performance too, especially noticeable in the LPT using Shell Optimax.

Regards,

Piers (-xs for email)

I presume that as is the case here in Australia, the oil companies which have a presence in the UK are in the process of phasing out, or have already phased out, production of 'older' fuels and are attempting to co-erce us into buying more expensive, lower-polluting but higher-toxicity fuels for our vehicles.

LRP (Lead Replacement Petrol) is already off production at the Caltex oil refinery at Kurnell (here in Sydney) and almost every service station has replaced LRP with one or more 'premium' fuels such as Shell's Optimax, BP's Ultimate, etc. 9000's have been around since about 1985 so they can presumably run fine on higher-octane 'premium' unleaded fuels and work better for it.

What's interesting is that premium fuel production is going up (here in Australia at least), while production of 'standard' unleaded fuel is about the same. Partly this seems to be because the larger demand and desire for higher-performance cars, and partly due to way car company marketting (and fuel company marketting) pushes up the demand for higher-performance cars and for people to get better performance from generic cars.

Regards,

Craig.

As far as unleaded fuel is concerned *ordinary* unleaded is the commonest. In Britain (IMHO) people are not prepared to pay for premium priced fuels. There again the UK probably has some of the most expensive fuel in Europe.

Having been to Greece this summer, the oil majors were advertising unleaded fuel at 100 octane etc etc etc. Maybe in the right country there is a market for more expensive fuels.

Apologies for being OT. :-)

Charles

Perhaps. Here, BP has just begun pushing it's 'Ultimate' fuel again. 98 RON apparently. Very good for my Saab if it is, but the price (about 15 to 20 percent more than regular unleaded and about 10 percent more than most of the mid-range 'premium' unleadeds) is prohibitive.

Craig.