Super

[Thunderstorm]

Project Optimax Update:

Finally pulled into Shell Station again this evening for a fill up.
This time around, I managed to get 249 Miles out of approximately 42 Litres of Optimax.

This is awesome methinks!
Indeedy doody, there definitely is something in them thar Optimax fuels!
According to my Fuel Program on my PDA, this works out at 27 MPG!!
The above isn't motorway miles (none at all actually) but actual driving around in the city everyday. Crawling in traffic, short journeys (about 5 miles to work and another 5 back), travelling around with 4 passengers in the car, hey, did I mention LOTS of short journeys?
Oh, and I wasn't doing an economy fuel run either (Trying to eke out mileage by driving like a snail and winding up all the other motorists.

"Bat out of Hell" would accurately describe the performance being wrung out of "Blackbird".
Racing around (when the engine is warm of course...... ) and enjoying the warp like acceleration and smoothness of the MX-3 RS powerplant. Nothing over 4000 RPM though....usually 3500 RPM Max.
The usual fast driving. Not yobbish though you understand?
But very Nippy indeedy!!

So!! 249 Miles, 27 MPG, 42 Litres! Oh, yeeaaahhh!!
That is a big difference from 23.3 MPG last fuel cycle.

Despite the rise in the cost of fuel across the board (Chancellor of the Ex-chequer "chancing" us motorists in the UK again )
I am sticking with Optimax! I am sure my MX-3 is benefitting from it in more ways than one.

The exhaust no longer gives me that weird horrid chemical petrol like smell in the mornings. Actually, the exhaust now smells sweet! Don't ask.
You feel more of the fuel is actually burning during combustion - the exhaust smells way cleaner than when I just bought the car.
That's a fact.

Just for the record, I had a 1988 Honda Accord 2.0i PGM-Fi DOHC 160HP beasty which I ran for 4.5 years, using only Optimax (or Super Unleaded in emergencies). I got the car at 117,000 Miles. In 4.5 years I took it to 148,000 Miles before I sold it for 300 Quid! In 4.5 years, that engine never missed a beat. The Honda is still running around, the new owner is in awe at it's performance too. I believe Optimax played a role in protecting that engine too.

So, Optimax is my fuel of choice till further notice.
Or until somebody designs real working anti-gravity pads for the MX-3, a la "I, ROBOT"

[EZ_4_FUN]

[snellgrove]

lol, nice one Thunderstorm im glad its working wonders for you too..

sooo thats 2 absolutely gleaming reports on Optimax, i'd suggest everyone gives it a try for 2 or 3 tanks... you wont want to go back, paying for cheaper 95RON is probably a false economy, when you gain 4 or 5 mpg!!

[Thunderstorm]

Project Optimax Update:

"It Just Gets Better & Better!!"

Pulled into Shell Station again this evening, running on gas fumes or so I thought. I had run up 271.5 Miles on the odometer from when I last filled the tank. 271 Miles! Never got that much before....





<Slap's self out of shock...>

Filled up the tank, it took 43 Litres before it tried to throw up.
Calculations on my PDA revealed I had acheived 29 MPG!!







29 MPG!!! <Gasp! Gasp! - Hyperventilates......>

271.5 Miles, 43.03 Litres, 29 MPG.
And the "Blackbird" is due for a service too.
Okay, it seems that Optimax does have benefits.
It may have cleaned my engine, injectors, optimized my fuel usage.
It seems very likely.

Only Optimax goes into Blackbird till further notice.
As T'Pol of "Enterprise" would say, It seems the most Logical course of action.
Seven of Nine would concur with "Cost is irrelevant - the fuel must be efficient".

Extra benefits noticed:
The exhaust doesnt stink anymore - there was a rather horrid unburnt fuel smell coming out of it when I just bought the car.
Now it smells sweet, and clean!
Smooth powerplant operations under partial or full thrust.
Vibrations reduced significantly.
Acceleration - very good and "on tap". Good instant reponse.

Only disadvantage:
Last time I looked, a Barrel of Crude Oil had hit $58.
Got to the pumps this afternoon and got financially raped.
Taken over a Barrel - so to speak.......
At 90.9 Pence a Litre, it's rather very expensive.
Mind you, you WILL be the UK Chancellor of the Exchequers best friend for buying fuel at that inflated price - out of which 80p in every pound spent ends up going to the Govt as TAX!

Taken over a Barrel......ow, ......ow,......ow,.....

[snellgrove]

I filled up today, and after a week of giving my MX-3 more of a hammering than normal, (and yesturday especially, I went out driving and gave it some real stick) I have managed a...









...wait for it......



.....I hope your sat down nice and safely......




......32MPG



UNBELIEVABLE! I really just am amazed at what its doing, I really was expecting low 20's this time, but wow.. absolutely incredible.. but yes, it was 89.9p / litre ! not nice, but to be honest... at 32mpg, its actually paying for itself, compared to the 24mpg I got on 95RON / normal fuel!!!![/b]

[Thunderstorm]

I filled up today, and after a week of giving my MX-3 more of a hammering than normal, (and yesturday especially, I went out driving and gave it some real stick) I have managed a...

...wait for it......


.....I hope your sat down nice and safely......


......32MPG



UNBELIEVABLE! I really just am amazed at what its doing, I really was expecting low 20's this time, but wow.. absolutely incredible.. but yes, it was 89.9p / litre ! not nice, but to be honest... at 32mpg, its actually paying for itself, compared to the 24mpg I got on 95RON / normal fuel!!!![/b]

Followed by......



And.....



Then more......





Did I mention the.....uh....

Okay, Questions!!
What on earth is REALLY in "Them Thar Optimax Fuels"?
Why is my engine running very clean?
Why has our MPG improved rather quite well?
Why isn't my MX-3 choking to death on Optimax "Rocket Fuel"?
Why does it actually like the stuff?
Why are we having to use 95RON fuels which clearly degrade the efficiency of the RS & GS Powerplants?
Would 95RON users benefit from using engine cleaning additives regularly to increase the efficiency of their MX-3 Flying Saucers (if they insist on sticking with 95RON)?
Would anybody in the UK want to try that out for us please?
Request to a UK MX-er only for a realistic result - UK fuels may differ from other countries methinks.


Theory:
Were the 1996 - 1998 MX-3 RS & GS engines actually designed to handle Optimax? Looks like they definitely were.

Are we sad downtrodden motorists in the UK victims of a conspiracy whereby - we purchase 95RON fuels at the pumps which are simply NOT good enough for our late 20th Century engines and get lousy economy in return for premium prices? Naturally, nobody in the trade cares....
If you want more performance or better engine protection, PAY MORE!!
How cynical in a society that claims it WANTS to protect the environment and correspondingly taxes us motorists to the hilt for lousy petrol, and even more for good petrol.

On a realistic note, Snellgrove and I seem to honestly confirm that Shell Optimax (or perhaps it's BP Fuel equivalent) is not only good enough for our MX-3's - there are benefits to be had too.
At a price. If you love your MX-3 that much, methinks it's worth it.

Extra News:
Just serviced Blackbird!
Engine is even smoother, having to throttle back now as car is jumping away at the touch of the accelerator.
It is now very very quiet indeed.
Can't hear the engine over the road noise - except for the "wraith like" wail (or moan?) of the exhaust tip when I accelerate. Very nice.
Flat spot has completely disappeared after the service.

MX-3 Blackbird? I'm loving it!!

Thunderstorm.

[snellgrove]

Yes, I should add that my car had a major (the 72k) service done recently, and its cambelt.. so that might have helped with the increased MPG? I mean, its had new plugs and stuff.

I'm going to change the oil next week again though purely on the basis that its got 10W40 in it and the HLA's sometimes rattle at startup.. usually they dont at all (the usual case) sometimes they do for 5 seconds (normal to for an HLA really!) and once every now and then, maybe like once or twice a week tops, there'll be one in there, rattling away for like a scary 5 minutes

So, I'm going to approach a Mazda dealership and get the official 10W30.. and I dont care how much it costs and it wont be cheap, I'm fairly sure

anyway, thats O/T for this thread...

I think maybe one day.... i'll be tempted to use 95RON and see if the MPG actually goes down and negative side-effects and things like that... possible that the cleanliness that Optimax has brung (I've given it a few doses of Redex since ownership too) may last for a few tanks of fuel after you stop using it.. but then again, not too sure if I want to run 95RON through it to be honest!

[rasheedn]

am glad to say that i have started to use Shell's optimax i think

i am not happy with the price though.!!! 0.92 per L !!! i was like noooo!! hehe anyways filled her up yesterday
will keep u guys updated and see how it goes with me.

i am a bit agressive with my driving. racing with someone is a normal daily thing for me. so i hope this will save me a bit of petrol or make me faster hehhee

[rsroadkilla]

i put ultimate unleaded in my car all ast week. Didnt notice any difference til i went back to your usual 89p unleaded!

When i filled her up with basic umoeaded the car felt so more responsive and a lot less un restricted.

If yo ask me, i think its all a big con!!

[Thunderstorm]

The Shell Optimax & BP Ultimate fuels are NOT a con.
As long as your car can take advantage of them, they do more good than harm.

Increased MPG, a clean engine, and improved responsiveness (as documented by dedicated members of this board who have been kind enough to actually test these fuels) do NOT add up to a con by anybody.

On the contrary to what rasheedn has said above, I recently had to pull into a BP station in desperation as I was running very low indeed and there wasn't a Shell station around for miles.

I filled up with 42.73 Litres of BP Ultimate.
When that tank of fuel ran out, i did the math - and the results are rather interesting.

42.73 Litres of BP Ultimate gave me 277 Miles.
This worked out at 30 MPG.
Easily the best MPG I have had so far, all with city driving only, no motorway cruising.

The engine must have liked the stuff too since hard acceleration modes were way quieter, and very, very smooth.

Yes, it costs a whole lot more to put this stuff in your tank.
But the end results cannot be denied.
Have I been conned? No.
I have cleaner injectors, as optimum a burn as my engine really would like to have, reduced engine vibration & improved responsiveness under acceleration, and even the exhaust smells, well, sweet!.

Sorry, but this in not a con. Do the math.

[Thunderstorm]

On the contrary to what rasheedn has said above, I recently had to pull into a BP station in desperation as I was running very low indeed and there wasn't a Shell station around for miles.

Ooops!!

Correction to the above, rsroadkilla made the "its a con" statement, NOT rasheedn!

Apologies to rasheedn.
Sorry!!
Presently kicking myself for that mistake.

[valdigre]

Hi there,
Let me revive this topic a little bit.
I have been using 95 octane neste in (european regular) fuel in my '97 Mx-3 V6 for a long time, and ever since I remember, was always getting 470 kilometers from the full tank in spring-summer (292 miles) and about 400 kilometers (248 miles) from the same tank in winter.

Your low numbers are scaring me, either you are driving your cars like racing drivers whole the time, or the V6 and DOHC do not compare in that matter.

I once fulled up the tank with 98 octane from Neste but didn't notice a thing, I guess I would have to make some more fillings to start observing some minor effects...

[Thunderstorm]

Just crossed my mind, perhaps the petrol being passed of as 95RON is actually 98RON, but the retailers are not telling.

That might explain the fact that you detected NO difference in performance.
Sometimes you need to fill up to or three times before you notice the difference.

I noticed it right away though - well within 5 miles of filling up from empty.

Perhaps the ignition setup of your car might explain it - though this eems far fetched.

Oh, and the mileages we are getting in the UK seem to be within acceptable parameters for these cars.


Thunderstorm

[Thunderstorm]

One other thing, when I go to fill up my tank at a petrol station (having managed to squeeze about 280 miles out of the tank - I don't have a fuel warning light like your MX-3 V6), there is usually still enough petrol in the tank to take me up to about 290 to 300 miles - before I fill up.

So this pretty much tallies wth what you get.

When we do get less down here, it's due to terrible traffic conditions we have to put up with in the UK - particularly places like London.

Thunderstorm.

[valdigre]

Thunder, two things:

1) My V6 does not have a fuel reserve light as well. This is funny, cause it has reserve ligth of front "sprinklers" and no fuel reserve light
Those 293 miles I told you, was the distance that my car stoped after I drained the tank completely waiting till the light flashas saying I need to refuel...It was so funny, the fuel indicator passed "E" letter long time ago so I was saying: "Wow, what a car, passed "E" already and no reserve...respect...Will probably make 60 miles more...well nope, I didn't "

2) As for the traffic...I live in the capital as well, many people from U.K. say we got jams as in London (when they come here) and I have to deal with them every day I go to work.
Actually you might say that my mileage is only made in the city, I don't drive this car on highways.

My driving style is like not getting further then 4 thousand rpm's. When I want to accalarate, I do it and up to the red 7 k rpms...
But for the most time I try to drive easily and calm...but it's hard you know cause drivers here suck and you have to sometimes throttle down to the floor and show someone where is his place...

I promised myself to try to make next fuel up's with 98 from Neste, I will loose some 2 euro on each tank but hell, worth to try.