102 Octane

[Tango]

Sorry folks, I know the timing is a bit sensitive but:

On 18 April 2006 BP Ultimate unveiled its revolutionary high-octane fuel. BP Ultimate 102 Unleaded is the most advanced, high-performance petrol sold on any forecourt in the UK. Launching at selected sites in the south east, private motor sport enthusiasts will for the first time have access to a precision engineered, high octane fuel direct from forecourts on their way to motor racing circuits. Designed specifically for private motor sport enthusiasts , BP Ultimate 102 Unleaded is a tuned engine's dream come true. Meeting the same high specifications of fuels used in the pinnacle of motor sport in Formula One racing and the World Rally Championships, the fuel has an octane number of 102 and has been formulated to allow highly tuned engines to perform at their best. What's more BP Ultimate 102 unleaded also fully complies with BS:EN228 (the UK specification for unleaded petrol) which means that it can be legally used on the road.

BP Ultimate 102 Unleaded is so exclusive that it is 'hand made' in small batches at BP's Speciality Fuels Technology Centre in the UK, using the same expertise employed for Formula 1 fuels manufacturing. Paul Beckwith, VP, Fuels Product Management for BP comments:

"BP is widely acknowledged for its fuels technology expertise across a range of transport fuels and has an excellent reputation in Formula 1 circles, having been involved in the development, manufacture and supply of fuels to the F1 community over the last twenty years. Fuels of this type have not been readily available to the public previously, but now we have introduced BP Ultimate 102 unleaded specifically for private motorsport enthusiasts to use at track days and other events, based on our product technology in this field. This fuel has a range of features to allow increased performance from the most highly tuned engines, alongside all of the benefits that drivers expect from BP Ultimate fuels. We are delighted to make this remarkable fuel easily accessible from our forecourts."

Testing

BP Ultimate 102 Unleaded has been developed for vehicles tuned for increased performance. In the range of vehicles we tested, where the ignition was remapped, Ultimate 102 gave typical power benefits of between 4.0 and 7.5 per cent above normal Ultimate Unleaded 97. On a very high performance, turbo charged vehicle, with boost pressure increased, the power benefits seen included an increase in maximum power of 37 bhp (8.6%), and as much as 60 bhp (16%) at some points in the engine speed range.

High Octane

BP Ultimate 102 Unleaded has the highest octane rating available on any forecourt in the UK. It is the only service station fuel which truly reflects the properties of fuels used at the cutting edge of motorsport, making it the most highly specified unleaded fuel available at forecourt.

Crystal clear purity

BP Ultimate 102 is a precise recipe using a completely different manufacturing process compared to conventional refining. This processing results in a fuel with exceptional quality without the main impurities found in ordinary fuel. This is demonstrated by the crystal clear appearance, compared to the yellowish colour of typical petrol - the only forecourt fuel in the UK to boast this characteristic.

Less harmful to the environment

In addition to its unique performance qualities, BP Ultimate 102 is also less harmful to the environment than ordinary fuels:

• Its unique purity and superior evaporation properties improve the combustion process in the engine, which means that less of the fuel is emitted as partially burnt pollutants, such as carbon monoxide and unburnt hydrocarbons.
  
• Its sulphur free formula will improve the operation of the catalytic converter, reducing exhaust emissions.
  
• With less that 0.1% benzene, BP Ultimate 102 unleaded is safer to handle and less harmful to the environment and is the only automotive petrol not classed as carcinogenic.
  
• The fuel contains a high performance oxygen containing bio-component, which means that overall greenhouse gas emissions - associated with global warming - are reduced, helping to protect the environment.
  

[lee_iceman]

Hmmmm, trypical tho, only down south.

Could certainly tell the difference when using the Shell 100ron, so this will be interesting to try.

[Bazza]

its also £2.42 a litre :duh:

[MrADeveci]

I noticed this today too ... and was like WTF !!

[Tango]

At £2.42 a litre I guess it'll be (mostly) track only use, which is what it was developed for.

I wonder what the folks in the USA would think about it as I noticed on the news last night that one guy was pawning his family heirlooms for gas money. This is at less than $3.00 a gallon for 87 octane.

[Kazi]

There cars must run really groggy. Can't be as good for your engine to.

I assume then, that this newer Ultiamte stuff will be sold alongside the current 98 ron premium fuel?

[SHAHZ]

Sounds like good stuff but around £150 a tank

[norkep]

There's a few garage's near me that is selling this, but at £180 for a full tank, not sure I'll be filling up with this though

[legendswraith]

There's a few garage's near me that is selling this, but at £180 for a full tank, not sure I'll be filling up with this though

To be honest who is going to fill up at that price per litre its only ever going to get bought for track days etc so its a waste of time selling it if the HP is that important. it costs me £65 for a full tank rather than £180 that means in 12 months by not having the HP delivery gain from the higher octane i will save £4140 i'm sure i can do some serious modding with that

Austin

[Bazza]

There's a few garage's near me that is selling this, but at £180 for a full tank, not sure I'll be filling up with this though

To be honest who is going to fill up at that price per litre its only ever going to get bought for track days etc so its a waste of time selling it if the HP is that important. it costs me £65 for a full tank rather than £180 that means in 12 months by not having the HP delivery gain from the higher octane i will save £4140 i'm sure i can do some serious modding with that

Austin

the garages selling it have been selected due to their location near to the race circuits

[MacRS200]

I really don't see it taking off, at that price they won't sell much of it and the stock in the petrol station tanks will just go off. And petrol does go off as I have found to my cost a couple of times.

Also most modified cars have had their ECU's remapped for a particular grade of fuel so the question is, will putting 102 RON into a car set up for 97 or 99 RON make any difference to performance anyway? Bit like putting 97 into a car designed to run on standard unleaded for the day. Just a thought.

[Tango]

Anyone serious about using it would need to remap then continue to use it.

As it stated in the release - 'Ultimate 102 Unleaded has been developed for vehicles tuned for increased performance. In the range of vehicles we tested, where the ignition was remapped, Ultimate 102 gave typical power benefits of between 4.0 and 7.5 per cent above normal Ultimate Unleaded 97'.

Can't see it being used much for track days with road cars.

Would be unusual for BP marketing to get it so wrong though, so there must be a perceived demand. Perhaps the boys and girls in R&D had a personal agenda

[MacRS200]

Anyone serious about using it would need to remap then continue to use it.

As it stated in the release - 'Ultimate 102 Unleaded has been developed for vehicles tuned for increased performance. In the range of vehicles we tested, where the ignition was remapped, Ultimate 102 gave typical power benefits of between 4.0 and 7.5 per cent above normal Ultimate Unleaded 97'.

Can't see it being used much for track days with road cars.

Would be unusual for BP marketing to get it so wrong though, so there must be a perceived demand. Perhaps the boys and girls in R&D had a personal agenda

I hear what you say mate but would anyone seriously pay 150% more for fuel for a 5ish% increase in power. If it is not targetted at road cars why is it going to be sold in ordinary filling stations where non road legal cars can't get to, also from what Bazza has said it is being sold close to race circuits so target surely must be road cars going to a circuit (QED - race day?).

[Tango]

When I used to Hill Climb we trailered the cars but still had to get the fuel from the petrol stations!

[Dave-Ellen]

What you do is get a whizzy ECU thingmagig with 2 maps.........one for "normal" fuel one for this or race fuel.........fill it up click the switch & off you go........

I know it works coz I have it on mine :winky:

race fuel is expensive BTW

[Tango]

It's very expensive, but I 'm still finding it difficult to understand where the demand for it has come from to justify not only selling it at regular service stations, but also the logistics operation necessary for distribution.

[legendswraith]

I really don't see it taking off, at that price they won't sell much of it and the stock in the petrol station tanks will just go off. And petrol does go off as I have found to my cost a couple of times.

Also most modified cars have had their ECU's remapped for a particular grade of fuel so the question is, will putting 102 RON into a car set up for 97 or 99 RON make any difference to performance anyway? Bit like putting 97 into a car designed to run on standard unleaded for the day. Just a thought.

Yep petrol goes off as its hygroscopic it absorbs water

[Tango]

Yep petrol goes off as its hygroscopic it absorbs water

It's actually the ethanol blended with the petrol that's hygroscopic. Ethanol/petrol blends can suffer phase separation of the ethanol from the petrol which can lead to the engine burning pure ethanol (not good). In addition any water present in the fuel system will extract the ethanol from the blend which has the effect of concentrating the water and ethanol into a single phase which sits on the bottom of the tank (the petrol floats on top) and the water/ethanol phase can cause both corrosion and operability problems.

It's not normally a problem providing you have good housekeeping at the refinery and the retail outlet, especially as most blends are E5 - E10 (5%-10% ethanol). Thing is more ethanol highers the octane and reduces harmful emmissions so drive is to increase.

By the way...biofuels are completely hygroscopic :D

[Lord Ripper]

Hi guys

- At the risk of sounding like a bit of an idiot....If I wanted to try a bit of this stuff on my trip to the petrol station, would it be safe to put in in my car ? It is completely standard, engine wise for an IS200 SE Auto. I'd be interested to know if I'd get any benefit if I tried it :)

[Tango]

Hi guys

- At the risk of sounding like a bit of an idiot....If I wanted to try a bit of this stuff on my trip to the petrol station, would it be safe to put in in my car ? It is completely standard, engine wise for an IS200 SE Auto. I'd be interested to know if I'd get any benefit if I tried it :)

The ECU would need to be reset directly after refuelling with the 102 Octane..there's a method for doing it on this site somewhere. so do a search. Alternative would be to leave the ECU to set itself, but as that's likely to take at least two tankfuls that's the expensive option.

Could always try a percentage..say try 25% then work up to 100% over a period of time.

[Lord Ripper]

Hi guys

- At the risk of sounding like a bit of an idiot....If I wanted to try a bit of this stuff on my trip to the petrol station, would it be safe to put in in my car ? It is completely standard, engine wise for an IS200 SE Auto. I'd be interested to know if I'd get any benefit if I tried it :)

The ECU would need to be reset directly after refuelling with the 102 Octane..there's a method for doing it on this site somewhere. so do a search. Alternative would be to leave the ECU to set itself, but as that's likely to take at least two tankfuls that's the expensive option.

Could always try a percentage..say try 25% then work up to 100% over a period of time.

OK Thanks. I thought of the mixing but I was worried that would not be wise. So I can safely mix the 102 bp ultimate with any other regular unleaded ?

[Adie]

Hi guys

- At the risk of sounding like a bit of an idiot....If I wanted to try a bit of this stuff on my trip to the petrol station, would it be safe to put in in my car ? It is completely standard, engine wise for an IS200 SE Auto. I'd be interested to know if I'd get any benefit if I tried it :)

The ECU would need to be reset directly after refuelling with the 102 Octane..there's a method for doing it on this site somewhere. so do a search. Alternative would be to leave the ECU to set itself, but as that's likely to take at least two tankfuls that's the expensive option.

Could always try a percentage..say try 25% then work up to 100% over a period of time.

OK Thanks. I thought of the mixing but I was worried that would not be wise. So I can safely mix the 102 bp ultimate with any other regular unleaded ?

But why would you want to run a standard car with this petrol anyway. I doubt you'll see any real benefit and the cost is

[Lord Ripper]

Hi guys

- At the risk of sounding like a bit of an idiot....If I wanted to try a bit of this stuff on my trip to the petrol station, would it be safe to put in in my car ? It is completely standard, engine wise for an IS200 SE Auto. I'd be interested to know if I'd get any benefit if I tried it :)

The ECU would need to be reset directly after refuelling with the 102 Octane..there's a method for doing it on this site somewhere. so do a search. Alternative would be to leave the ECU to set itself, but as that's likely to take at least two tankfuls that's the expensive option.

Could always try a percentage..say try 25% then work up to 100% over a period of time.

OK Thanks. I thought of the mixing but I was worried that would not be wise. So I can safely mix the 102 bp ultimate with any other regular unleaded ?

But why would you want to run a standard car with this petrol anyway. I doubt you'll see any real benefit and the cost is

Just pure curiosity hehe only a one off - I wouldnt fill her up just wait till I was near empty then pop in a quarter tank to see how she sounded/felt :winky:

[Tango]

I would say the minor benefit you would get from a standard set up wouldn't be worth the money....