Do Not Sell My Personal Information Jump to content


Any Point/advantage In Running On Super Unleaded?


Recommended Posts


ive been swapping between optimax and regular unleaded (doing 5 tanks of each), on longer journeys the optimax did improve the mpg considerably, other than that didnt notice any difference. just lately ive been using tesco unleaded (lots of clubcard points!!!) and i have to say my mpg has been as good as it was with optimax. so i wont be forking out for optimax again, not worth it IMO but others feel the benefit so give it ago and see what you think mate.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

just some info on petrol and some facts - use Unleaded from Sansburys,

long distance - from Potters Bar Herts, London A1 too Edingbough

One Tank Full -( 430miles). Also stoped off...more then once.....

and did it back, used M6-M1 one tack once again ..

thats the most i did with one tank full.....

Link to comment
Share on other sites


Have run with Optimax only since March and over 10k now, have just literally today started trying out the fuel additives to see what she's like at very high octane ratings.

If the car is modded it becomes much more important to use higher octane I think - the sc'd cars for example run like dogs on standard petrol.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i dont even know how to work out mpg i just go by how many miles i get out of a tank of petrol, used to be 260-280 on esso unleaded, 330ish on optimax and the same with tesco. ive only once managed over 400 miles from one tank of petrol and i had to drive really slow to achieve that and i aint used to driving conservatively!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

just lately ive been using tesco unleaded (lots of clubcard points!!!) and i have to say my mpg has been as good as it was with optimax

It more than likely Shell or BP perhaps Esso fuel you were using when filling up at Tesco's etc.

Safeway is defo BP they have a agreement.

But depending on where you stay Tesco's etc will pick up fuel from the nearest oil terminal.

Only when there is a shortage will they pick up from the likes of Conoco or Mabanaft.

BP Ulitimate is the best (but I would say that I work for BP).

See Ya :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 6 years later...

Is there any advantage in running my RX on Super Unleaded fuel. I imagine a knock sensor would make any neccessary adjustments to the engine, but would it help performance/fuel consumption in any way???

ALWAYS USE SUPER UNLEADED.

If my memory serves, the RX has a compression ratio of over 10:1.

97 RON fuel self ignites at a higher compression ratio than 95 RON.

Your car can compensate for 95 RON with its anit-knock sensor, but it does this by backing off the timing. This is less efficient; the whole idea of high compression!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Is there any advantage in running my RX on Super Unleaded fuel. I imagine a knock sensor would make any neccessary adjustments to the engine, but would it help performance/fuel consumption in any way???

I find about a 10-15% increase in mpg over long distances on motorways ie 29ish with 98 and 25 with 96. Only makes sense really at sainsburys where I only pay 2-3p premium.

RX350SEL

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I tried it with my old RX300 without any obvious benefit, so no. RX400 seems perfectly OK with 95 RON BP fuel.

The only occasion with mpg fell off markedly was using cheap supermarket petrol.

Link to comment
Share on other sites


I cant believe people actually monitor the MPG of their cars.me i haven't a clue what mine does(nor care) if it needs petrol i fill it up,i dont hunt around for optimax or any of the other alternatives.

Hahahaha - Well said Scorpion !

I don't bother with driving extra miles to put supa-dupa 200 octane unleaded in and I don't believe for one minute with mixed driving it makes a jot of difference.... it's a great marketing ploy.

Claims of "I can get a million miles out of a gallon...blah, blah" or "I have been using Suprendo Unleaded from Shell Spazzomax and I got an extra 47 feet per tank out of it" are all pointless....

Your car needs petrol..... you fill it up. end of story!

Nope..... don't bother trying to convince me otherwise..... My hands are over my ears and I'm not listening... lalalalalalalalalala :P :P :P

The Ed

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well no point listening to me then Ed :whistling:

I have been a proponant of buying "super unleaded is a waste of money" ever since I tried it years ago in one of my Jags (4 litre XJ) and had little or no measurable difference.......but, a couple of weeks ago I whipped out lunchtime to do some shopping and found myself very low on the go juice the nearest splash station was a Tescos so I filled up, then realised half way through I had started using the "momentum" pump (super unleaded), well it was the 710's card so I carried on :lol: .

The following week was the usual 15 mile A & B road journeys to work and back and nothing out of the ordinary. But I did notice the consumption was easily better, hmm interesting. End of that tankful and I had averaged 24.8mpg, usually on normal unleaded I get 22.1/22.3 or so. The second week I filled up as usual at my locol ASDA with normal unleaded, mainly I think because I thought it might be a fluke the better consumption, maybe weather or temperatures. The unleaded tank gave me exactly the same as it had before......last week I filled again with Tesco momentum (pretty sure thats what its called) and once again my average so far on this tank is around 24/25mpg.

Being a sceptical old s0d I worked it out thinking there would be little or no cost advantage, but in fact I could save between £160-200 per year using super unleaded, the fuel costs approx 3.5% more but I am getting around 10% better mpg......so this time it works, for me at least!

Best thing to do is try it yourself....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

Thought I would revive this old thread since a number of people have joined the club since it was last updated.

So...

- standard unleaded or super unleaded?

Is it worth the extra cost?

Does it really make any difference?

- Premium brand petrol vs supermarket fuel ?

Is it worth the extra cost?

Does it really make any difference?

I personally consistently use standard unleaded in my 400h from either ASDA or Sainsbury, simply because I have easy access to either. I have never had any problem. I once used super unleaded because my local supplier had run out of the standard fuel and I can't say that I noticed any difference in consumption or performance.

Thoughts anyone?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thought I would revive this old thread since a number of people have joined the club since it was last updated.

So...

- standard unleaded or super unleaded?

Is it worth the extra cost?

Does it really make any difference?

- Premium brand petrol vs supermarket fuel ?

Is it worth the extra cost?

Does it really make any difference?

I personally consistently use standard unleaded in my 400h from either ASDA or Sainsbury, simply because I have easy access to either. I have never had any problem. I once used super unleaded because my local supplier had run out of the standard fuel and I can't say that I noticed any difference in consumption or performance.

Thoughts anyone?

What will anything have changed simply because " a number of people have joined the club since it was last updated"? The cars and petrols concerned have not changed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 7 months later...

Hi Chaps,

I can say that I do get results from Tesco Momentum, and Shell Optimax Nitro, about 2mpg around town and 3-4 mpg on a run. Not tried Sainsburys Super over a period of time just the odd tank so cannot fairly comment on it. On a recent run to Southern Spain ( only choice of 95 and 98 ron) there was a clear 3 mpg difference running 98.

Just my 2 penneth! :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

just did our first trip up to midlands and back over weekend. having the 5p of tesco voucher i just put in the momentum stuff.

Would say in total was about 275/300 miles round trip including local driving.

was really monitoring on the M1 and was about 28/29 mpg. did put my foot down a little just to get the feel of the car as only had a few weeks and wife is the every day driver.

in comparison to my 2.0ltr mondeo which did about 27 i was impressed as the Rx400h is a bigger car and more weight to drive.

as motorway mile is less frequent (hence the purchase of the hybrid) it will be heard to compare. think I will just stick day to day regular unleaded and if we do a motor way journey ill stick in something a little better.

I may just get some redex or good treatment to compensate maybe.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I reset my MPG info on Saturday in my 400h .... Having filled up with standard 95 RON at Tescos, Morrisons, Shell and BP over the holiday period driving from East Anglia to Scotland and the Midlands as well as local running .... The last 2246 miles has been 32.8 mpg I think that this is more than reasonable as I have a heavy right foot most of the time.

As some-one intimated in an earlier conversation ......... I doubt if you will ever get a comparison between Super and Standard as people drive differently each and every day ......... After 50 years of motoring I have resigned myself to just putting the stuff in and burning it ...... Life is too short to worry about getting an extra 20 yards out of a gallon :D

Happy motoring chaps .......... :driving:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I reset my MPG info on Saturday in my 400h .... Having filled up with standard 95 RON at Tescos, Morrisons, Shell and BP over the holiday period driving from East Anglia to Scotland and the Midlands as well as local running .... The last 2246 miles has been 32.8 mpg I think that this is more than reasonable as I have a heavy right foot most of the time.

As some-one intimated in an earlier conversation ......... I doubt if you will ever get a comparison between Super and Standard as people drive differently each and every day ......... After 50 years of motoring I have resigned myself to just putting the stuff in and burning it ...... Life is too short to worry about getting an extra 20 yards out of a gallon :D

Happy motoring chaps .......... :driving:

Then factor in the higher price of the higher octane liquid and you do not benefit by switching.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share



×
×
  • Create New...