Caltex better than Shell?

[Newredbug]

Re: Caltex better than Shell?

tried voltex GOLD todae....... but reallllllly cannot feel the difference as compared to Shell 98....

then again, i added one whole bottle of OWS octane booster the last time rd i top up gas and guess wat, also cannot feel the difference............. my nerves are numb

 

[mistraele]

Re: Caltex better than Shell?

sorry, but those 500ml bottles of octane booster that the sell will do exactly jack and s%$$ for your engine. at most, you will get a octane boost of .1 or .2.

in order to raise your octane by any significant amount, i.e. 98 to 99 or 100, you will need LITRES of octane booster. at least in the region of 4-6 litres.

its a question of simple maths. most octane boosters will have an octane rating of 120-140.
so its a question of averaging i.e. say you fill a full tank of 60 litres 98 octane, how much 120 octane will u need to add to it, to get 100 octane?

also, even if you can increase your octane level, your ECU needs to know what to do to make maximum use of that octane.. but if it is not programmed to push ignition timing as far as it can.. then again, u wont realise any extra power.

 

[bmw4life]

Re: Caltex better than Shell?

My experience is opposite. I have been pumping Caltex for the last 12 months or so. Recently switched to Shell and actually found out that i actually get better mileage from Shell!

hmmm.....:thinking:

 

[pg7170]

Re: Caltex better than Shell?

i agree... no obvious significance between switching from V power to Platinium...

in fact now i'm told the there shouldnt be any diff... just go with the brand that gives the most discounts or rewards...!!!

 

[Joe Raif]

Re: Caltex better than Shell?

Well I had the same problem with my earlier 316. I had always used Mobil but there was one time I felt a bit rich and I decided to use V-power and after that my perfectly fine car started pinking. I couldn't accept the fact that it could be petrol. Anyway, I switched back to Mobil but the pinking didn't stop. I have since sold the car and have kept away from Shell. I am now trying Caltex since its price is still unchanged and so far so good.

 

[Ahbengdriver]

Re: Caltex better than Shell?

Well I am SHELL-all-the-way type driver all my BENG life, until someone who previous owned a beemer told me that under my bonnet, there is a engine oil cap which says "BMW recommends CASTROL". haha ditched shell 98 immediately and 'dried' my fuel tank that day like a straw on a last sip of coke, then filled up with techron 98[engine cleaning additives added supposedly]. Any difference? well dont really noticed though, maybe engine still not run in having so far done only 1700km. I shall add some techron platinum today[skip lunch for that matter to make up thr price difference], and will drive to new budget airport terminal and kia lai kia kee....anyone wants to go there ?

 

[louis]

Re: Caltex better than Shell?

engine oil =/= petrol

 

[Ahbengdriver]

Re: Caltex better than Shell?

may i know what is a supercharged police edition E90 u r driving. see i addicted to mods. interested to find out what u do to ur ride..

Its a MATA-CHIA ......if u see one on TPE later, just chase after it at 120km/h. if its me, just wave yr hands, if its a real TP just pay $200 fine lor

 

[Ahbengdriver]

Re: Caltex better than Shell?

Well went to the budget airline terminal yesterday since so bored nothing to do this week. Wah the terminal simi also dont have, really budget man. drive from central to airport, then to tampines, over to pasir ris, down to clifford pier, back up to YCK, west to Tuas, back to pai kia town.....there goes half a tank of caltex gold. topped up with caltex techron platinum last night....kekeke....going for anothe round island trip after lunch.

 

[hitmee]

Re: Caltex better than Shell?

My experience is opposite. I have been pumping Caltex for the last 12 months or so. Recently switched to Shell and actually found out that i actually get better mileage from Shell!

hmmm.....:thinking:

based on my personal exprience:

shell gives good mileage
Caltex better acceleration but mileage lesser by 30 to 50km per tank
mobil very smooth but completely no power
esso is comparable to shell but harder to find their stations
MP good balance of mileage and power. meaning both also average.

sometimes after using one brand for a long time, eg Shell, when u switch to another brand, the first tank will feel significantly different. however, the next few tank you will feel it back to normal or sometimes worst. IMHO

 

[oomph]

Re: Caltex better than Shell?

based on my personal exprience:

shell gives good mileage
Caltex better acceleration but mileage lesser by 30 to 50km per tank
mobil very smooth but completely no power
esso is comparable to shell but harder to find their stations

i never thought about it that way but concur on your observation... shell though is rough, especially on my previous ride, a vw. in the 523 manual, it says that the car will adjust itself to the petrol with changes in power delivery.

 

[CGT]

Re: Caltex better than Shell?

sorry, but those 500ml bottles of octane booster that the sell will do exactly jack and s%$$ for your engine. at most, you will get a octane boost of .1 or .2.
.......
also, even if you can increase your octane level, your ECU needs to know what to do to make maximum use of that octane.. but if it is not programmed to push ignition timing as far as it can.. then again, u wont realise any extra power.

Ditto.

The higher the octane number, the slower it combust. That'ss why some turbo cars that run insanely high boost will require higher octane gas so as to keep temp down.

A little OT... Normal days I go Mobil..... stomach ache in the morning I go Caltex (cleaner toilet).... stomach ache in the evening I go home... if I am rushing for time, I go BP.

 

[m3magic]

Re: Caltex better than Shell?

based on my personal exprience:

.....
mobil very smooth but completely no power
esso is comparable to shell but harder to find their stations
...... IMHO

hur? Isn't ESSO and Mobile one and the same company using same product liao?

 

[daveweng]

Re: Caltex better than Shell?

i find both the same, i work in benoi shell
but of cause caltex cheaper

 

[Newredbug]

Re: Caltex better than Shell?

based on my personal exprience:

shell gives good mileage
Caltex better acceleration but mileage lesser by 30 to 50km per tank
mobil very smooth but completely no power
esso is comparable to shell but harder to find their stations
MP good balance of mileage and power. meaning both also average.

sometimes after using one brand for a long time, eg Shell, when u switch to another brand, the first tank will feel significantly different. however, the next few tank you will feel it back to normal or sometimes worst. IMHO

Hmmmm...i finally see the light....... now i know why my mileage sucks and i'm getting 50km lesser per tank.....tot it was my CAI/sparks that were clogged...... hmmmmm

 

[yendor]

Re: Caltex better than Shell?

I would like to share some info on fuel.

M54 engines work best when you fill up with 98 octane and above. Therefore anything below it is a no brainer. The car will still run but at a retarded ignition advance. Hence lesser power. Technically when you run 98 octane, your car should be able to produce maximum power. Although when the wallet feels a little bloated, a tank of 100 octane does produce a little more power given a little time for the car to optimise the ignition advance.

The ECU will occasionally advance the ignition curves by 1 degree and check for detonation or commonly known as "pinging". There are knock sensors on the block that detect detonation even before they become audible. So given the right ambient temperature (ECU also compensates for hot intake air), a fresh tank of 100 octane stuff will deliver better "go" after about 50km of travelling give or take.

Why does Shell deliver better ecomony? The V power range of fuels are more volatile given the same octane rating as Caltex. That is why they can cause detonation in some highly tuned cars. For Caltex, the addition of Techron is a godsend. I used to buy Techron to clean the injectors and intake ports. The web site for techron is this.

http://www.chevron.com/products/prodserv/fuels/additives/concentrate_plus.shtml

This is so far the best cleaner that i have tried, damn fast cleaning power.

So for cars that have dirty injectors and ports, Caltex is good to clear up the gunk to restore power. You may not feel the increase immediately cos it take some time to clear the deposits but given a couple of tanks and long runs up NS expressway, All the original power should be restored.

As U might have guessed, Caltex gets my vote for now.

Cheers

Anyone wanna do group buy on Techron? Dunno how to ship from US though.... sigh...

 

[rex7_vtec]

Re: Caltex better than Shell?

Ditto.

The higher the octane number, the slower it combust. That'ss why some turbo cars that run insanely high boost will require higher octane gas so as to keep temp down.

A little OT... Normal days I go Mobil..... stomach ache in the morning I go Caltex (cleaner toilet).... stomach ache in the evening I go home... if I am rushing for time, I go BP.

Agree on both points, especially the toilet part MUAHAHAHAA

Anyway I remember about 2-3 years back, I was watching my mate's car getting tuned and apparently he was able to advance his ignition after switching to Caltex Platinum. Perhaps there is indeed higher octane rating but yet again there are other variables in play... Temperature, air humidity, etc...

 

[Ahbengdriver]

Re: Caltex better than Shell?

side track a while.....

SHELL station gave me a cute cartoon cow decal, which is now pasted on my windscreen. apparently, if spotted you get petrol vouchers FOC....mmmmm......

ok back to shell/caltex

 

[KiLrOy]

Re: Caltex better than Shell?

side track a while.....

SHELL station gave me a cute cartoon cow decal, which is now pasted on my windscreen. apparently, if spotted you get petrol vouchers FOC....mmmmm......

ok back to shell/caltex

Hard to spot when you have a tinted glass and interior is black. The decal background is transparent, the outline of the cow is black and the only colored part of the cow's body are the flowers [mine is pink]. Sorry off topic..

 

[pingman]

Re: Caltex better than Shell?

paiseh OT a bit. may i know what is the shell and SPC equivalent of caltex platinum. thanks.