Optimax Fuel versus 95 RON consumption results so far

[Warthog]

A few weeks back there was a thread that I now cannot find despite several searches. It was about how 95 and 98 RON fuels compared in general and if it would make any difference in the GS and I decided to have a play seeing as I have too much time on my hands.

And here are the results of my highly scientific research. Before I get hordes of complaints about the unthorough nature of the exercise here are some confessions. The fuels were not compared on the same day, but over a mixture of temperatures and weather conditions. In some case there was more town miles than others and vice versa, and this was not a uniform use over the different fuels. I just filled up on 95, ran it till the light came on, repeated with optimax for a further two fill ups.

Results:

Reg unleaded (included 75 miles of motorway, rest urban): 188 miles needing 20.08 litres, costing £17.89, or ~10p a mile and yielding 42 mpg

Optimax 1st fill (included 100 miles of motorway, rest urban): 157 miles needing 18.36 litres, costing £17.61, or ~11p a mile and yielding 38 mpg

Optimax 2nd fill (included 75 miles motorway, and 85 miles of country lanes, rest urban): 177 miles needing 19.50 litres, costing £18.31, or ~10p a mile and yielding 40 mpg.

So, what does this teach us?
Optimax is not more economical (on the contrary it would seem) and I noticed no perceivable increase in power in my 1150gs and hence is a waste of money.

Also, either my GS is incredibly uneconomical, or I am ham-fisted with the throttle . NB I have managed 45 on the open road and 50mpg on the M4 on 95 RON, when I was getting more used to the bike.

Either way, when I take my bike in tho the dealer, next time, I'll ask them to check the mixtures.

 

[shuck raider]

Put a couple of tankfuls in my 1150 during last summer, went like sh!t off a shovel for a few weeks and still got my usual 200 miles between yellow lights. Went back to the vin ordinaire which is considerably cheaper, but in future if I fancy a hoon around now and again, I'd stick the Optomax in for a laugh.

 

[Roge]

We get the choice here of 91RON unleaded 95RON Premium unleaded and 98RON my 1150 seems to perform far better on the semi skimmed 95 than on the non fat or full fat varieties but it does take a while after a few tanks of 91 for the 95/98 to show any difference at all the 98 seems to have a bit more umph but is more expensive and the bike uses more so it gets 95 most of the time asit gets around 500km / tank against 450 for the others.
I'm hoping to replace the cat' with a Y piece soon which should give a little more range I think.

 

[MMC]

Tried the same thing - Optimax vs Essence Ordinaire. No noticeable difference in performance. Slightly higher fuel consumption on the expensive stuff.

I'll stick to the younger Ron.

But then I'm a tightwad - and change my oil every 2k on cheapy stuff from the local Motorists' Centre.

 

[Captain Beaky]

Yeah - I found the same on the 1150GS - runs a whole lot better - but the fuel economy was about the same.

To get a better MPG from a higher octane, you need to advance the ignition (which you can't do an any of the efi gs's (that I am aware of)

I found that optimax made a huge difference in my Saab 900 Turbo.
Much more power - and 2-3MPG more. But then the Saab sets the boost pressure and ignition timing by an advanced knock sensor.


Being honest - I reckon a deviation of between 38 and 42 mpg is more likely to be caused by traffic conditions/air temperature/mood of rider than by fuel type.

To get an accurate reading, you really need to run 5-10 tankfulls (1000 - 2000 miles) through.

 

[alimey4u2]

Da Doo Ron Ron ??.....