ethanol in fuel

[Payne]

Just a quick question

does Mobil Synergy 8000 contain ethanol? or BP Ultimate for that matter?

I asked my mate the other day what fuel he uses and he says Optimax is the best. When I said Mobil Synergy 8000 and BP Ultimate are better he clicked it at me and said that they contain ethanol. He is the type of guy who hates being wrong and will go to the other side of the world just to prove you wrong.

[LBR33]

We have been over this many times. Optimax has a claimed ron of 98 but is really 95 and Ultimate has solved pinging problems in cars where optimax was used.

[ferni]

i think it comes down to opinion, i haven't done any tests, but from what i've read/heard optimax is 95ron engineered up to 98ron, and only has a lifespan at 98ron for 2 weeks

where as synergy and ultimate are manufactured as 98ron, and last longer than 2weeks..

but as long as your car doesn't ping, shouldn't make a differnece

[rb25]

....Ultimate has solved pinging problems in cars where optimax was used.

I hear this alot.

[Payne]

no one has answered my question I will say it again

does Mobil Synergy 8000 or BP Ultimate contain ethanol?

[SLY33]

they arent supposed to contain ethanol. There were some cases a while back where ethanol was found in some fuels, but its illegal or something coz it can cause damage? so id say none of it has ethanol at present.

the 8000 and ultimate 98 are both quality fuels, your pretty safe using them. Better than using optimax in my opinion. I tried it for the first time when i took my car to NSW and the car just didnt want to rev out. I put it down to a bad batch of optimax, as i had to use some a while ago and it was fine. but that said, i have optimax in there now, been sitting there about a week and a half, and now i have the same problem, it pops and wont rev out, so i wont be using it again unless i have to.

[SKY031]

From ESSO:

Mobil Oil Australia does not currently blend ethanol into the petrol we supply in Australia.

Couldnt find anything on BP's website, but they have been known to use it in the past.

[SKY031]

OK just did a bit more research.

(The things you can learn after midnight!)

BP did do a short trial with ethanol in QLD in 2002.

This little snippet has all the answers:

As no BP fuel contains ethanol they do not need to state anything on the pump. Mobil and shell are the same. Shell has by choice decided to label their pumps anyway regardless of the fact their fuel contains no ethanol and they do not legally have to do it.

[EDIT]

All that aside, I wouldn't even think of touching OPTIMAX, my car is NA, and if i use optimax it pings... i cant imagine the sort of damage it could cause to a turbo car.