Petrol brands

[Grant Freeman]

#2910

After all of my intermittent problems with Fuel and Hall sensors and one of the initial suggestions that I may have picked up some bum fuel, I started experimenting with different brands of fuel and have now come to Caltex with the Techron additive and find this stuff to be amazing.I have used in my car for three tankfuls and now find that I am getting better mileage and smoother running, so I use it in my bike now as well. The Techron additive is supposed to clean the engine, but with only 54000 Kms on the clock (bike and car) I would not have thought that there was so much carbon deposit that has cleaned up?  Has anyone found a particular petrol supply is better than the other? or has anyone used a fuel system cleaner in their bike?Cheers,Mike

[Mark Williams]

#11879

Hi Mike,One of my cars is a Merc Sportline of '92 vintage.  I am registered on a site called benzworld to keep up to date with solving the issues the car may develop.  It seems to me a lot of users in the USA have BMW bikes as well as Mercs and many of them swear by Techron, they get it from Chevron.  I keep regular fuel stats on my bike but not on the type of fuel.  The type of fuel I use is often decided by any loyalty card or handout from the supermarket. I use my bike for commuting so my trips are pretty well defined so, in the light of your information I will try out my local Caltex place with Techron and see if there is any advantage.CheersMike

[Grant Freeman]

#11880

Hi Mike,Thanks for your reply. A Merc sportline - very nice. My car is a BMW M///tech 318ti compact and I have run it on all brands of fuel so far but the 95 Caltex with techron runs like I am running my car on 98 octane and gives much better mileage.It is hard to tell if I am getting better mileage with my bike as I have only had two tank full's but it seems to run well on it.If you google Techron, there are all kinds of stories (mainly from the US) to say how good it is - they even seel it in small bottles as a fuel system cleaner over there. I am sure you will feel and see a difference. I have no affiliation to Caltex and I too was driven by the supermarket coupons, but Caltex will allow 4c per litre on your coupons anyway.Cheers,Mike  🙂 

[Mark Williams]

#11881

Mike,So far I have used one full tank of Caltex with Techron. the result was 4.92 l/100km.  Before that, with Shell VPower I did 4.94 l/100km,  I am not sure fuel efficiency is all in the fuel itself.  If I take my bike on a Sunday ride, the consumption goes over 5 as I tend to ride harder and have lots more fun. I have had our Merc drinking at 15 l/100 km, 😀 then again it can do 8  :|.  It's nearly all in the way you drive.  However, something that can keep the innards of your engine clean can't be bad.  In the wider scheme of things having a buzz on a bike that's using only a tenth of the fuel a V8 would getting a somewhat inferior buzz, can't be a bad thing.I will try out Caltex for three more tank and see what I get.Cheers  😎

[Grant Freeman]

#11882

Hi Mike,I agree with what you say about how your drive. I drive (in my car) 32 Kms there and back every day to and from work and I opted to try doing 90Kms in 100Kms areas to see how much effect it had and the fuel savings were there to be counted for sure.I am onto the second tank of Caltex with Techron now in my bike, and I am sure it makes a difference, but I have done a couple of early morning rides in the waikato fog and I think the wet and dense air certainly adds to the perceived increased performance.I would be interested to see how you go two or three down the road with Caltex in your bike.Cheers,Mike 

[Anonymous]

#11883

I filled my Diesel BMW with Gull Bio-diesel last week and within a K from the garage I notice a drop in power this happen while I was accelerating. The tank was almost empty so the Gull Bio-diesel come through quick. This backed up a test which was completed on cars in Australia last year which advised a lose of power and higher fuel consumption. All the hybrid fuels cost less than petrol but cost more than the over priced 98 once the test results came in.I have been using Shell up to this last diesel fill and have found a increase in power on my 1200 adventure as well the car using Shell. I will never use BP even if they have better fuel. BP are always the first to put the price up and the last to drop there price. 

[Anonymous]

#11884

Hi teamInteresting thread. I agree about BP being first to go up and last to go done. But I have never used Shell for the last 15 years after what they did in Sierra Leone with their exploration/ exploitation. (They may not have noticed any difference to their bottom line, but at least I feel better about that.) I have used the BP high powered stuff for the ML 430 and it works a treat, but I was somewhat discombobulated by Henry's instructions to me when I bought the bike about the fuel to use. So now I will continue with BP for the truck and try Caltex Techron for BR4, the new bike! Cheers Loins

[Mark Williams]

#11885

This is becoming really interesting.  I generally buy from the place where I have got to know the folks.  That's generally Shell.  As for fuel consumption and brands.  My mini test reveals not much, diddly squat actually.Shell with Vpower, last 4 tanks average 4.90.  Last 4 tanks with Caltex and Techron 4.94.  Actually, my bike does about 20 Kms per litre, whatever fuel I use: that's the way I see it. I am off the Christchurch and beyond next month so I will be interested how it will perform then.BIODIESEL  this stuff doesn't have the same calorific value as normal diesel, in fact I have read it's about .98 of the standard stuff.  That will explain the loss of power.  Cheers 

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