What petrol stations have 98RON petrol?

Elessar

It seems we're getting ripped off (again) in that, as far as I can see, a lot of petrol stations only stock the 95RON stuff and charge an awful lot for it.

I'd like to see the effect 98RON has on my car, aswell as just wanting the best fuel I can get. What petrol stations stock it? And generally how much more is it?

5500

Noone has been selling it for a year or so now but allegedly maxol are now doing E5 which is rated at 99.2 ron.

Ive filled up in maxol the past two weeks and noticed no improvements in the car's performance (it's mapped for 100 from factory) but its possible E5 is not in stock yet in the maxol i used (lucan)

Elessar

So you're saying nowhere at all sells 98RON in this country?

I'm hesitant about biofuel

JHMEG

Elessar wrote:

I'm hesitant about biofuel

All cars made in the last 15 years or so are made to run on at least E10 (a few can run on E85 without modification). I don't think I'd therefore class E5 as biofuel!

E92

98 RON makes NO difference to almost every car. If the car is designed to run on 95 RON, then 98 RON has no effect at all.

If a car is designed to run on 98 RON, the using 95 RON has a marginal effect on performance(eg BMW E46 330i, designed for 98 RON: Max Power on 95 RON 221 bhp, MAx Power on 98 RON 231 bhp).

Only high performance cars are desinged to run on 98 RON. Most cars with direct injection are too. If they run on 95 RON(95 RON btw for those who don't know is normal unleaded), the engine management adjusts the engine for this, by reducing the power slightly.

Esel

You could try an octane booster additive. Not sure about the long term effects of these though.

Elessar

My car was designed to take 98RON for maximum output (BMW M54 engine). I just cant believe noone sells it here??

Del2005

Elessar wrote:

It seems we're getting ripped off (again) in that, as far as I can see, a lot of petrol stations only stock the 95RON stuff and charge an awful lot for it.

I'd like to see the effect 98RON has on my car, aswell as just wanting the best fuel I can get. What petrol stations stock it? And generally how much more is it?

You could always go up North and get it. Then see how much we are getting ripped off for petrol:)

BTW I've no idea where they sell it, but I remember a thread on this a while ago and people where saying you can get 98RON in Northern Ireland.

Stephen

Yeah, 98 RON is widely available throughout the UK.

rowanh

Elessar wrote:

It seems we're getting ripped off (again) in that, as far as I can see, a lot of petrol stations only stock the 95RON stuff and charge an awful lot for it.

http://www.aaroadwatch.ie/eupetrolprices/

Take into account the cost of living/wages and id say ireland is second cheapest after the US.

Head The Wall

Maxol E5 replacing their unleaded petrol from now. 99 Ron and 5% Ethanol

http://www.maxol.ie/e5/q&a.html

MarkN

Maxol on Navan Rd don't have it yet anyway!!

It really angers me the way it is not available (Maxol aside) - the government were good enough to take the VRT for my car off me, the least they could do is make sure I can run it on the fuel it is meant to be run on.

Esel

MarkN wrote:

Maxol on Navan Rd don't have it yet anyway!!

It really angers me the way it is not available (Maxol aside) - the government were good enough to take the VRT for my car off me, the least they could do is make sure I can run it on the fuel it is meant to be run on.

You need E85, not E5.

Neilw

esel wrote:

You need E85, not E5.

Not true, only a few cars will be able to use E85 (85% bio ethanol 15% regular unleaded) and I don't think an audi S3 is one of them

S3 should be run on 98 octane as per audi, not E85, should be ok on E5 (5% bio) as this is rated at 99 octane according to maxol.

Neil.

MarkN

esel wrote:

You need E85, not E5.

My car needs 98.

E92

Cars designed for 98 RON will manage pereftly fine on 95 RON. What happens is that the engine management detects which fuel is being run, and adjusts valve timings, fuel/air mixtures etc accordingly.

You only need 98 RON on cars that are designed for it if you're planning to go flat out with it. It does no damage to the car under Normal Driving, because the difference in power in normal driving is so small that it makes no difference, and anyway, the engine management system will adjust the engine for 95 RON. I think that direct injection engines designed for 98 RON need it all the time, perhaps somebody who knows better than I do could explain why.

There is also 91 RON, which is not available in these Isles. It is more common in Eastern Europe. AFAIK It is not recommended because it is AFAIK not refined to the same degree that 95 and 98 RON are. Engines will accept using it, but it is best to use it as little as possible, especially with direct injection engines and high performance engines.

Esel

Soz, I misread MarkN's post - thought he had a biofuel car.

'Normal' petrol cars should never use E85.

Anan1

MarkN wrote:

Maxol on Navan Rd don't have it yet anyway!!

It really angers me the way it is not available (Maxol aside) - the government were good enough to take the VRT for my car off me, the least they could do is make sure I can run it on the fuel it is meant to be run on.

How is the government responsible for the non-availability of 98 ron?

E92

esel wrote:

Soz, I misread MarkN's post - thought he had a biofuel car.

'Normal' petrol cars should never use E85.

Well they can, if you don't mind wearing out the valve seals very quickly and wrecking the cylinders!:D

Esel

E92 wrote:

Well they can, if you don't mind wearing out the valve seals very quickly and wrecking the cylinders!:D

Doesn't it bork loads of seals? :eek:

Jumpy

Can anyone confirm the E5 is now sold in Maxol?
Mine is designed for 100RON. Additive is costing me a bomb.

Seth Brundle

Maxol claim to sell E85 (www.maxol.ie/E85/index.html) which is 104 Octane

Seth Brundle

JHMEG wrote:

All cars made in the last 15 years or so are made to run on at least E10 (a few can run on E85 without modification). I don't think I'd therefore class E5 as biofuel!

Just on this note, I sent off an email to BMW Irl to see if I could use this in my car. The (fairly prompt) response:

Thank you for your email regarding the fuel variants for the BMW 5 Series.

BMW Ireland would confirm that we do not endorse the use of Bioethanol or Biodiesel for our vehicles. We are aware that there are external companies that specialise in conversion, but BMW does not officially support this practice.

Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience caused in this matter.

I wonder do many other manufacturers not endorse it?

Matt Simis

kbannon wrote:

Just on this note, I sent off an email to BMW Irl to see if I could use this in my car. The (fairly prompt) response:

I wonder do many other manufacturers not endorse it?

I wouldnt imagine they do, E85+ conversion requires engine mapping/ECU piggy back to change injector fuel mix etc. Possibly fuel line changes too. Thats a fairly large change from stock and obviously they cant cover that.

Note however this has almost nothing to do with E5 which should be covered as many pumps across Europe already sell it as the standard Unleaded fuel type.

Cars on high boost (like mine, 28PSI!) will love E5, just need to find a Maxol with it.
Everyone else is prolly better off with 95Oct as it has a higher calorific value than 98 and unless you are getting knocking/pre-ignition you dont need more. 98 is a slower, cooler burning fuel, opposite of what the layman thinks (ie "will 100octane burn out my engine?")

MarkN

Anan1 wrote:

How is the government responsible for the non-availability of 98 ron?

I didn't say they were reponsible for it not being available, I said it would be nice if they made it compulsory for it to be sold - not like they're going to miss out on excise, VAT etc

Anan1

MarkN wrote:

I didn't say they were reponsible for it not being available, I said it would be nice if they made it compulsory for it to be sold - not like they're going to miss out on excise, VAT etc

Nice for who? The government have no right, either legal or moral, to force a petrol station to sell anything.

E92

98 RON doesn't even provide that much(actually hardly any) benefit for cars even designed for 98 RON, and a very marginal benefit for cars designed for 95 RON. See here for more info.

MarkN

E92 you're prob spot on, I'd just be someone who would spend the extra 15/20c a litre to run the car and what the manufacturer says.

Anan1 wrote:

Nice for who?

For people who might want to buy it

It'd be nice to have the choice and whoever was the bright spark who decided to stop bringing it into the country when everywhere you look in Dublin these days there's a Ferrari, a Continental GT or a DB9 beside you in traffic, just made a serious error of judgement.

Mayshine

E92 wrote:

98 RON doesn't even provide that much(actually hardly any) benefit for cars even designed for 98 RON, and a very marginal benefit for cars designed for 95 RON. See here for more info.

Thats might be the case for a 1.6 focus, but try it on a Honda S2000 with 11.0:1 compression ratio. Having bought mine and owned mine in the UK and running with 98RON before coming over here I can guarantee you there is a difference on my car between the two.

By the way in the late 90's you could get the good stuff. However out idiot government slapped exise on it as as you can see below - So of course SUL was so much more expensive than the normal stuff that it never sold and was I presume dropped from the forecourts.


17. The current rates of excise duty on petrol and diesel are as follows:

unleaded petrol £ 294.44 per 1,000 litres

super unleaded petrol £ 357.22 per 1,000 litres

see http://www.finance.irlgov.ie/viewdoc.asp?DocID=1175&CatID=18&StartDate=01+January+1999&m=

As for those saying why do we need it, well we are the only country in western europe that I know of that doesn't sell it. Says it all for me....

E92

Mayshine wrote:

Thats might be the case for a 1.6 focus, but try it on a Honda S2000 with 11.0:1 compression ratio. Having bought mine and owned mine in the UK and running with 98RON before coming over here I can guarantee you there is a difference on my car between the two.

Have a look at it again. There is a comparison of the Golf GTI with 98 and 95 RON and that car IS designed for 98 RON fuel(like all VAG cars with FSI engine technology).

The Focus doesn't need 98 RON.

As for the S2000, I did say in previous posts the following:

E92 wrote:

98 RON makes NO difference to almost every car. If the car is designed to run on 95 RON, then 98 RON has no effect at all.

If a car is designed to run on 98 RON, the using 95 RON has a marginal effect on performance(eg BMW E46 330i, designed for 98 RON: Max Power on 95 RON 221 bhp, Max Power on 98 RON 231 bhp).

Only high performance cars are desinged to run on 98 RON. Most cars with direct injection are too. If they run on 95 RON(95 RON btw for those who don't know is normal unleaded), the engine management adjusts the engine for this, by reducing the power slightly.

The S2000 revs to 9,000 rpm(how many other cars can do that?) and has 120 bhp per litre(again I ask the question how many NA cars have 120 bhp/litre, not even Ferraris or Lamborghinis have such a high specific output), it is not surprising that it runs a bit better on 98 RON.

Matt Simis

E92 wrote:

98 RON doesn't even provide that much(actually hardly any) benefit for cars even designed for 98 RON, and a very marginal benefit for cars designed for 95 RON. See here for more info.

Would have been nice if they tested some more interesting cars.. Even the Golf GTI is a perfectly mainstream car with a sports slant.

E92

Matt Simis wrote:

Would have been nice if they tested some more interesting cars.. Even the Golf GTI is a perfectly mainstream car with a sports slant.

I agree, that said What Car? have gone to the dogs IMO, its like a guide to cars for socialistic greenies rather than a magazine for people who actually like cars.

Its sister Magazine Autocar is far superior, at least it is still what could be called a car mag anyway.

The Golf has direct injection, and direct injection cars need 98 RON anyway(apart from the Volvo S40 with the Mitsubishi engine which Volvo say can use 95 RON perfectly well).

Nevertheless the tests show an improvement in the performance and economy of the Golf so small that it is as near as makes no difference.

Matt Simis

E92 wrote:

The Golf has direct injection, and direct injection cars need 98 RON anyway

Yep, sounds like you heard it before, but Im looking at a copy of Audi Driver and they have an article on the TFSI engine. Its mainly about the issues with the new type fuel regulator (a fully electronic, ECU driven FPR) in them which is experiencing some failures in the field when under high boost and high fuel pressure (1449PSI!).

There seems to be a general issue with these FPRs and their measurement of data, but the note at the bottom states:

"One final important point with any FSI engine: only ever use fuel of 97 RON or above. The system cannot run on lesser quality fuel and the combination of high compression and poor fuel combustability is not good".


Does VAG really officially state T/FSI engines cannot run on 95? Sensible as it maybe, seems like a bit of a limitation.

zilog_jones

E92 wrote:

There is also 91 RON, which is not available in these Isles. It is more common in Eastern Europe. AFAIK It is not recommended because it is AFAIK not refined to the same degree that 95 and 98 RON are. Engines will accept using it, but it is best to use it as little as possible, especially with direct injection engines and high performance engines.

Can most cars run on 91 RON normally? The manual for my Fiesta says you have to take out a certain fuse for it to run properly. From what I've seen it seems to be the "regular" unleaded available in a lot of countries (e.g. Australia), with 95 being the "premium". And according to Wikipedia, in Russia it goes down to 80 RON! So in all fairness we're not that bad off