Optimax/BP Ultimate etc. Worth it or not?

Is Optimax/Ultimate etc. worth using or not?

  • Yep, worth the extra few pence.

    Votes: 27 67.5%
  • Its just marketing, makes no noticeable difference

    Votes: 14 35.0%

  • Total voters
    40
  • Poll closed .
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PJayUK

Active Member
Joined
Oct 6, 2008
Messages
504
Location
Surrey, United Kingdom
Car
ML320 W163, E320 W210 & Jaguar X300-XJR6
Probably been asked a million times before but what the hell!

Worth it or not in my S320 LWB with 117K, good or bad for the engine long term?

(Not worried about the cost, company pays for petrol!)
 
You should get slightly better MPG if nothing else. So if you're not paying for the fuel it's surely a no-brainer?

I put V-Power in my SL.
 
All my calculations show that the extra MPG is cancelled out by the extra cost. Which shouldn't really bother you.

The cleansing agents are supposed be good for your engine although a friend of mine who works for one of the companies says it is all marketing.

The general consensus on an Aston Martin forum I run is to use a tankful of Optimax every 4th of 5th tank for cleansing.
 
Yes I have heard similar advice, that a tankful every now and then is a good move.
 
When I first got my E55 I filled it up with Shell "normal" unleaded.

Since moving over to Shell V-Power I have noticed a BIG difference in both mgp and performance.

Price Unleaded 94.9p
V-Power 101.9p
Diff 7p
Diff 7.4%

Diff in mpg = 9%

For me, it is really a no brainer. :rolleyes:
 
according to all the independant tests i've seen it only makes a difference on cars with ECU's that can alter the fueling and ignition timing for a different range of fuels, and even then only a few of them get enough of an MPG improvement to cover the extra cost, it gives a few extra horses on some cars though.
 
This is a slightly different though as the OP doesn't care about the cost. The cleaners etc. in the fuels are a 'good thing' regardless ... IMO.
 
Ok BP Ultimate then for my next tankful. We'll see how the SClass performs. I might even drop a line or two reporting the outcome.
 
When I first got my E55 I filled it up with Shell "normal" unleaded.

Since moving over to Shell V-Power I have noticed a BIG difference in both mgp and performance.

Price Unleaded 94.9p
V-Power 101.9p
Diff 7p
Diff 7.4%

Diff in mpg = 9%

For me, it is really a no brainer. :rolleyes:

Quite shocking how much difference it makes on the E55 k......i would guess 30-50hp down on reg unleaded....personally I like v-power above all the other super fuels....fuel consumption is truely shocking but so is the power
 
Not convinced by v power to be honest.

My reasons are below -

1. My last car (w202 c240) saw an increased performance and increase in mpg

2. The current car - C32 AMG gives no additional power or mpg, in fact it used up more fuel which I found most odd.
 
Quite shocking how much difference it makes on the E55 k......i would guess 30-50hp down on reg unleaded....personally I like v-power above all the other super fuels....fuel consumption is truely shocking but so is the power

Well, I did forget to mention that the handbook does not state that I "must" use V-Power (or similar). In fact, it only mentiones "95 RON" which is normal unleaded.

May or may not be up on power, but personally I think 476 bhp is a stupid amount of power as well. In fact, since the dealer changed some leads (corroded) power delivery is now seriously stupid.

At 80 mph with CC on I used to get around 23.4 mpg, since V-Power in the tank, I get 25 something. Town.... about 15-18 mpg :eek:
 
Not convinced by v power to be honest.

My reasons are below -

1. My last car (w202 c240) saw an increased performance and increase in mpg

2. The current car - C32 AMG gives no additional power or mpg, in fact it used up more fuel which I found most odd.

Not all engines like it.

Most of my cars have liked it, but one didn't. The Volvo S80 2.4 170 bhp. Very strange indeed. The Ford Sierra 2.0 went nuts with it....
 
Last car w208 clk 55 amg didn't notice that much difference apart from sh!ty asda petrol
 
Seriously though, I am not expecting my S320 to turn into a S500 just by adding this stuff. What I am looking for though is better running though and maybe doing th engine some good with the additives that the fuel includes.
 
Last car w208 clk 55 amg didn't notice that much difference apart from sh!ty asda petrol

Hm...in my opinion all cars should be fed only with "proper" petrol/diesel from the big ones like Shell or BP.

Personally, I am a Shall man and have never used anything diffrent.
 
One of the car mags tested ordinary fuel against the ultimate brands with a Fiesta, Golf GTI & Subaru Impreza.

Conclusions were that the humble Fiesta and the fuel injected Golf showed no difference, the Subaru did see a power increase. Highly tuned engines with an engine management that can differentiate between grades of fuel will show some increase, as for the rest, you are wasting your money.

Russ
 
Seriously though, I am not expecting my S320 to turn into a S500 just by adding this stuff. What I am looking for though is better running though and maybe doing th engine some good with the additives that the fuel includes.

Give it a try. But only one tank will not make much difference. Try 3-5 tanks and you should see a difference. Don't forget that these cars are made for motorways/autobahns etc and their engines are most likely working at their strides on such roads.

The W204 C280 I just had as a loaner were terrible using normal unleaded, filled her up with Super and what a difference! It really felt alive!!
 

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