Should I bother with Premium Fuel?

[Mazda3Girl]

My Mazda 3 is ordered and on its way. I note that in the specs they suggest 91 ULP as a minimum.

What are your experiences with higher octane ie 95 or 98 in the Mazda 3? Really worth it? Performance/efficiency differences? Or is it just extra money for nothing?

[MattMPS3]

PULP fuels do burn a little cleaner than regular ULP, and you will typically experience a longer service life from your injectors using PULP, you will only notice a performance gain if the ECU is able to make advantage of the higher octane in the fuel (i.e adjust timing).
As far as value for money, if you dont mind paying a few extra dollars per tank then I would say its worth it, if you are concerned about the price of petrol (as we all are at the moment) then running on 91 should be fine, just be sure to buy it from one of the bigger name servos.

[gtc]

On the subject of 91ron, I was talking with a mate who owns a major brand petrol outlet and he said that 91 will disappear in the not too distant future because the oil companies are under government pressure to stock more E10 and most garages don't have sufficient tank capacity to carry 91, 95, 98 and E10, so his guess is that they will replace their 91ron stock with E10. The other option is to drop 95.

[Mazda3Girl]

Yeah, I noticed a few years ago the big Shell I go to got rid of one of their premium fuels. They now only stock E10, 91 and 98 from memory.

[kevzneo3]

wat is E10? its it better for my car? my tank recommends that but i just use 98 cos i cant find E10 anywhere.

[eck0]

E10 is an Ethanol based fuel. Or "Biofuel"

http://www.qgm.qld.gov.au/05_supply/ethanol.htm

[Dark Authority]

I know BP have got rid of 91 altogether and named it 91 unleaded with 10% ethanol

I've been using 98 for the past 3 months, and i have to say the car is more economical.. and it actually works out cheaper.. [i have a spreadsheet]

[Kikuchi]

I've been using unleaded, thinking that premium makes it soo much more expensive to buy.. Then I sat down and worked it out... it only adds about $4-5 per tank. Which is a happy meal at maccas.

Sooo the next tank I'm filling up will be 98 =D Treat my baby right from now on.

[Carbon3MSport]

This is a topic done to death already. In summary, do your own test runs and sums, but most who uses 98 worked out that cost per km is cheaper or at least equal to using 91 because of the fuel lasts longer. Provided you don't blow the economy off by making more use of the better performance (yes a 3 can make use of the different timing of 98).

Using 91 because it's "cheaper" is just false economy, or for those too lazy to work out the real numbers.

[stainzy21]

I've used BP Ultimate in my car since the first dealer tank.. and I'll keep using Ultimate till the day I sell the car. We spend so many thousands on buying a new car, why not spend the extra few $ a tank and put good fuel in your car rather then the normal crap?

Oh, and to take advantage of the 98RON, do the advanced timing mod. You'll notice more get up and go :)

Trav

[dezza]

Originally Posted by Carbon3MSport

This is a topic done to death already. In summary, do your own test runs and sums, but most who uses 98 worked out that cost per km is cheaper or at least equal to using 91 because of the fuel lasts longer. Provided you don't blow the economy off by making more use of the better performance (yes a 3 can make use of the different timing of 98).

Using 91 because it's "cheaper" is just false economy, or for those too lazy to work out the real numbers.

LOL. If the engine isn't designed to run high octane fuel you will not benefit
from extra mileage. The fuel doesn't last longer. Tests have proven this.
If the engine has been modified to benefit from high octane fuel then you
should get more power from the expensive fuel.

If you have a stock engine that doesn't require PULP then I beleive it is a waste
of money buying the premium fuel.

[Glenn]

Hmm i try to use that e10 stuff. Never had troubles with it, and consumption is good.

[Batty]

Originally Posted by Glenn

Hmm i try to use that e10 stuff. Never had troubles with it, and consumption is good.

Same here, my 3 has been drinking E10 for the past year, I ran RON 98 for a month and as I didn't do the timing, just saw a bigger hole in my pocket.

[arubaato]

Originally Posted by stainzy21

I've used BP Ultimate in my car since the first dealer tank.. and I'll keep using Ultimate till the day I sell the car. We spend so many thousands on buying a new car, why not spend the extra few $ a tank and put good fuel in your car rather then the normal crap?

Oh, and to take advantage of the 98RON, do the advanced timing mod. You'll notice more get up and go :)

Trav

What is the advanced timing mod and how is it done? at the dealers or DIY?

I've been using Vpower last couple of tanks and have noticed an extra 40-50kms per tank

[Dark Authority]

Originally Posted by dezza

LOL. If the engine isn't designed to run high octane fuel you will not benefit
from extra mileage. The fuel doesn't last longer. Tests have proven this.
If the engine has been modified to benefit from high octane fuel then you
should get more power from the expensive fuel.

If you have a stock engine that doesn't require PULP then I beleive it is a waste
of money buying the premium fuel.

Depends on car to car. I have to admit.. im a cheapass student who is looks at his finances alot. At the start of April, i started to track my petrol spending with normal 91. After much convincing from OMC, i decided to trial PULP 98 for a month to see the results. I have a spreadsheet to track my progress.

I found that the first tank, i got TERRIBLE economy! Around 10.3L/100kms, but i gave it 3 weeks, and now, the car is much more economical.

With 91, the best i could get was around 9.4L/100kms. Now, the car is averaging around 8.2L/100kms

*i ALWAYS fill up at shell, so i used 91 form shell before, and now i use V-power. I might try BP ultimate to really see the difference but i doubt there is

A car may not be tuned to used PULP98 and it may seem like a waste of money, but its around 3~5 dollars every week. Just test it out and if it benefits your economy, GREAT, if its the same as 91, then go back to 91. Its all about doing your own testing. Every car is different

[ifie]

Maybe you guys should try some good ole diesel and see if it makes your car more economical LOL

[dezza]

Here is a short video some may find interesting




and another

[Zooming Bravo]

as I'm on a lease I choose to put 98 in my 2....

[Dark Authority]

Hmm.. i've watched those videos before. I have to say though.. im quite happy with the economy of my car these days =)

[Black 6]

As some of you will know, I have occasionally kept track of my fuel usage over the years

I can categorically state that the difference I attained with 98RON over 95RON and 91RON was minimal.