[rss]

I used to use Optimax (98RON) and sometimes Tesco Super Unleaded (99RON) in my M3.

Now I've upgraded to my 320d I've seen BP Ultimate Diesel at the pumps.

Does anyone have any experience of this ? Is it worth the extra cost? Or is it just another form of snake oil !

[London320d]

A colleague of mine, who had been driving a Diesel Vectra for over a year swears by it. He does a tremendous amount of mileage for his job, and is a fountain of knowledge for this kind of stuff. He rates it abouve anything else availiable in the UK.

I've only had my 320d for 3 weeks now (doesn't time fly when you're enjoying yourself!) and only had to fill it once in that time - but I've taken his hint and started using it.

[Paul330d]

They did a test on Fifth Gear a couple of months ago and concluded that paying extra for premium fuel provided no more power, or so little that it was insignificant. Waste of money, IMO.

[porscheneer]

Originally Posted by London320d

A colleague of mine, who had been driving a Diesel Vectra for over a year swears by it. He does a reamendous amount of mileage for his job, and is a fountain of knowledge for this kind of stuff. He rates it abouve anything else availiable in the UK.

I've only had my 320d for 3 weeks now (doesn't time fly when you're enjoying yourself!) and only had to fill it once in that time - but I've taken his hint and started using it.

Faak all that " you filled once in three weeks"

[London320d]

Originally Posted by porscheneer

Faak all that " you filled once in three weeks"

Well it did have a full tank when I picked it up .

I filled up with about 80 miles range remaining, and it is currently projecting a range of about 190 to the next enforced pitstop. I currently have about 670 miles on the clock. This suggests a range of 470 miles/tank. This comes out at 35MPG. OBC says 34.5MPG, all with a 50/50 City / Motorway split.

In the UK fuel is much more expensive than in the US. Diesel is about 4% more expensive than basic unleaded, and cheaper than premium unleadeds. I'm reckoning on 20% better MPG than my 318i(2002, 2.0L).

I have been driving gently during that time, but still fairly briskly. The odd transgression has told me there is a lot of fun to come after I complete the run-in.

[Broken1]

Originally Posted by Paul330d

They did a test on Fifth Gear a couple of months ago and concluded that paying extra for premium fuel provided no more power, or so little that it was insignificant. Waste of money, IMO.

I could be wrong, but the top gear test was on different octanes of PETROL!

The OP was asking about BP Ultimate DIESEL. Which would probably have lower sulphur levels than regular diesel.

We don't have BP Ultimate Diesel here, but we do get Shell V-Power Diesel (as a premium diesel) with Shell Dieseltech (as the not so premium diesel)

I find a huge improvement (at least .2-.3l/100km's) in fuel consumption in normal city driving using the premium diesel. It also makes the car feel alot smoother and more refined - and definately cuts down on the cold start clatter that a diesel makes.

Because the car is "smoother" - it even feels more zoomy or powerfull according to my but dyno ;-) There might be little to no power difference, but the general smoothness and "nice feeling" the premium diesel gives my car over regular diesel is worth the premuim (about 30c ZAR here)

I would say, if you can afford it...do it...

At least try it? Get a tank of the premium brand from BP - and then get your next tank non-premium brand...and you make the decision.

Since we got the new 50ppm premium diesel here, I have been constantly amazed at how smooth my engine has become. The diesel is an absolute dream now...with fuel consumption to boot.

[E90Fleet]

Originally Posted by Paul330d

They did a test on Fifth Gear a couple of months ago and concluded that paying extra for premium fuel provided no more power, or so little that it was insignificant. Waste of money, IMO.

Thge 5th gear programme I posted here a while ago that tested Petrol showed that higher octane fuel could make a big difference in the more powerfull engines hat can make use of it.


The diesel cars here also run much better on the higher cost lower sulphure fuel than the regular stuff. Better consumption and smoother

[Broken1]

Originally Posted by London320d

I have been driving gently during that time, but still fairly briskly. The odd transgression has told me there is a lot of fun to come after I complete the run-in.

Fuel consumption gets alot better after run-in.

My car started out using 10.5l/100kms in the city...
and now I get a very good 8.7l/100km's in the city with my very heavy foot :-) It goes up to 8.8l/100km's on a bad day...

[London320d]

I knew that there was more economy to come, but THAT much?? .

Oops, we'd better shut up. We're making the others jealous.

[Broken1]

Originally Posted by London320d

I knew that there was more economy to come, but THAT much?? .

Oops, we'd better shut up. We're making the others jealous.

I have done nearly 12000km's :-)

Note to self: Sheesh...car is getting old.

[thebigman]

I swear by the stuff.

The benefit to refinement alone is enormous on this car. I also find I get around 6mpg more from the Ultimate too.

[mjh93sa]

I've been using BP Ultimate since it came out, except for a single tank of Esso or Shell once a year on the Isle of Man (no BP garages).

Switching to Ultimate improved my fuel consumption by 3 or 4 mpg, but what has really sold me on it is that it seems to run a little smoother and quieter, develops more torque at really low revs (beneath the turbo) and doesn't put out quite so much soot when you really put your foot down. Of course (other than the mpg figures) it might be psychological considering the cost of the stuff.

As stated above my annual pilgramage to the Isle of Man for the Southern100 races means that I have to put a tank of something else in once a year, so I get a chance to compare another fuel. With both bog standard Esso and Shell I found myself having to drop to 1st whilst negotiating a steep uphill hairpin coming out of the cottages where we stay, whereas with ultimate it just pulls from idle in 2nd.

It gets my vote every 500miles.

[JonMad]

6mpg more, blimey, that's worth a go. Will see what difference it makes to startup clatter too.

Cheers
Jon

(any more UK 320d or 330d owners wanna post in this thread? )

[rss]

thanks for all your replies folks - think I am going to give it a go for a while. It's about 9-10pence more expensive than the standard stuff.

[Paul330d]

Originally Posted by Broken1

I could be wrong, but the top gear test was on different octanes of PETROL!

You're quite right (except I think it was Fifth Gear, not Top Gear) - my mistake

[petesamprs]

Originally Posted by Paul330d

They did a test on Fifth Gear a couple of months ago and concluded that paying extra for premium fuel provided no more power, or so little that it was insignificant. Waste of money, IMO.

You missed the conclusion of that test. e90 Fleet is right. It makes little difference on less powerful/tuned engines, but can make a noticible difference on more powerful/tuned engines that can take advantage of it.

The video is floating around here so re-watch it.

[thebigman]

I agree with all 'OilBurner' comments.

I don't notice any great difference in refinement at start-up, but certainly when you rev the tits off it there is a real difference.

Costs around £0.94 a litre up here.

[N1]

Im not an expert on the issue but i believe they said higher " Cetane number is the key measure of diesel fuel combustion quality. The number relates to the ignition delay - the period that occurs between the start of fuel injection and the start of combustion. Good quality combustion occurs with rapid ignition followed by smooth and complete fuel burn. The higher the cetane number, the shorter the ignition delay and the better the quality of combustion. Conversely, low cetane number fuels are slow to ignite and then burn too rapidly, leading to high rates of pressure rise.
Because the loss in performance from ordinary fuels can be a gradual process, and correspondingly the performance benefits of using BP Ultimate increase with time, vehicle fleet testing is conducted over significant mileages. For example, in a typical test a vehicle will be operated for several thousand miles on an ordinary fuel and its performance measured. Then the fuel is switched to BP Ultimate and the performance measured again. This shows the immediate benefits of using BP Ultimate. But we then push the cars - and the fuel - even further. The vehicles are run for a further distance and in many cases as much as another 10,000 miles to see how the benefits of using BP Ultimate grow with time.
Overall the test programme evaluates the benefits of BP Ultimate in many different areas of vehicle performance, including power, acceleration, fuel economy, engine cleanliness and exhaust emissions.
Wide ranging peer review
The rigour of methodologies used and the quality of data generated have been subject to wide ranging peer review by relevant public institutions, motoring organisations and the relevant advertising authorities.
Based on the extensive scientific testing conducted, we are confident that motorists will experience significant benefits by using BP Ultimate Unleaded.
And BP Ultimate Unleaded reduces emissions of unburnt hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and carbon dioxide. The greatly enhanced cleaning power of the fuel removes carbonaceous deposits from the engine enabling it to work more efficiently which improves combustion, and in turn helps to reduce exhaust emissions."
For greater endurance i believe it is the best but for 2 years and small mileage the objective cleaner, increased power, sharper acceleration, better economy and less pollution are only for new, brand NEW vehicles?

[imageWIS]

Originally Posted by OilBurner

I've been using BP Ultimate since it came out, except for a single tank of Esso or Shell once a year on the Isle of Man (no BP garages).

Switching to Ultimate improved my fuel consumption by 3 or 4 mpg, but what has really sold me on it is that it seems to run a little smoother and quieter, develops more torque at really low revs (beneath the turbo) and doesn't put out quite so much soot when you really put your foot down. Of course (other than the mpg figures) it might be psychological considering the cost of the stuff.

As stated above my annual pilgramage to the Isle of Man for the Southern100 races means that I have to put a tank of something else in once a year, so I get a chance to compare another fuel. With both bog standard Esso and Shell I found myself having to drop to 1st whilst negotiating a steep uphill hairpin coming out of the cottages where we stay, whereas with ultimate it just pulls from idle in 2nd.

It gets my vote every 500miles.

You would think that Clarkson would open up his own BP just for the higher grade of fuel…

Jon.

[imageWIS]

Originally Posted by thebigman

I agree with all 'OilBurner' comments.

I don't notice any great difference in refinement at start-up, but certainly when you rev the tits off it there is a real difference.

Costs around £0.94 a litre up here.

$1.64509 a liter? That’s insane.

Quickly doing some math:

My car holds 18.5 gallons, which is 70.0225 liters.
70.0225 liters @ $1.64509 a liter = $115.19331!

What can I say but: Fuck That!

Jon.

[Barrie]

I have a 318d in the UK, so may have to give this diesel a try and see if it makes a difference in my little engine.

[thebigman]

Originally Posted by imageWIS

$1.64509 a liter? That’s insane.

Quickly doing some math:

My car holds 18.5 gallons, which is 70.0225 liters.
70.0225 liters @ $1.64509 a liter = $115.19331!

What can I say but: Fuck That!

Jon.

$100+ to fill a tank - which is why most of us run diesels. :mad: Although fairly reasonable considering what some of the Euro members pay for fuel.