shell petrol

[944]

V-power or Regular?

[Stafford]

Depends how wealthy I'm feeling

[He11cat]

I watched a racing program they ran a grand prix car on race fuel then shell v power to prove it would run on it and looked at the fuelling .

The driver was shocked by Vpower he thought it would be pants.
It wasn't far out from race fuel!!

It was really interesting .

[Paul_]

V-Power :thumbsup: its the bikes favourite tipple by far! :booze: Besides its what they fill the tank with from the factory.

I watched that programme as well, the driver was Alonso driving what I believe was his current F1 car. They concluded that with some slight engine map tweeks the car would run as well on V-power as on their race fuel with minimal difference on power, most of the difference they could fathom was in the engine pick up from a closed throttle, which isn't too much of a surprise as it's only 1-2% different in blend than the stuff we can buy from the pump.

[He11cat]

Yes that was the one ... it was quite interesting :)

[Twentytoo]

I always leave 10 miles in the tank to get my V-Power. I drive past the petrol station 500 yards from my house just for the pleasure.....sad? hmmmmmmm

[Funkatronic]

really notice differece in the s2r 1000, it just feels much happier, ticks over better and pulls away smootther. not really noiticed difference in the other 2 bikes

[Phatty]

Hmm, never tried my s4 on super.

[buzzbomb]

I always try to fill up with V-power and I know that some dealers will only use V-power in their demo bikes, but make sure its petrol because I know of a couple of cases were customers have put V-power diesel in...:banghead:

[S4Rs MacK]

V-Power or Super Unleaded (97 or higher) is all I use in my RS.
Although I had to use normal on one occasion and noticed a distinct difference.

[chris yeatman]

Bike has a pc3, and was dyno'ed on v power so only use vpower, unless im getting very low. but doesnt like it

[rac3r]

Isn't petrol expensive enough!

Hmm never tried V-Power :scratch:

[The Red Devil]

Isn't petrol expensive enough!

Hmm never tried V-Power :scratch:

8p a litre more... 13 litre tank... thats £1.04p per fillup or per 100 miles will it make that much difference to performance?... on a standard bike? i heard it takes more than 1 tankfull to get the on board computer to adjust the fuelling to compensate for the higher octain fuel...:drunk: i am gonna try it after my evo is run in....!

[Phatty]

Filled up with V Power last night

Still isn't quick enough, no noticeable difference.

[JerryT]

I use V-Power at every possible opportunity, or at least a super 97 octane. I didn't choose a bike like a Ducati to then go and run it like a cheapskate! I don't do a high enough mileage for it to be a serious financial issue but anyhow I think you get better mileage out of a tank with the higher grade fuel. Also, I believe V-Power keeps the engine running better and prevents the build-up of combustion deposits on the valves. Just my two pennies worth! :-)

[mintyhit]

Unless I am very much mistaken, all monsters are setup for 95 RON?

As the ECU does not have any Lambda input or the ability to self tune you wouldn’t see any benefit in using a higher octane other than a slightly lighter wallet.

As for cleaning your engine - the Shell website uses the usual marketing talk stating that it "helps prevent the build-up of deposits" but compared to what? Regular fuel? Of what quality? Where from? There is no science or evidence posted.

[JerryT]

So I've been suckered then?!

[mintyhit]

So I've been suckered then?!

Afraid so, Shell saw you coming! :)

Seriously though, if you are intent on using the high grade stuff then get your bike to a dyno. I suspect a good tuner should be able to coax a few extra horses by advancing the ignition a bit.

You might even be able to do this with the standard ECU as I am pretty sure the maps can be altered– although internet information on this seems sketchy.

[BenM900]

I can't tell any difference in my M900, because it has carbs its not like theres a computer to adjust itself.

I've got V-power in at the minute and if anything I thought it ran worse. I guess the jets and needles are set for normal 95ron

[bex]

I stuck some V Power or whatever its called in this morning as my bike was feeling particularly nice when I hopped on I thought I'd spoil him today.

Can't say I felt any noticeable difference, it was just as bonkers as usual. Did 135miles before the light came on, which seems alright. Though I'm not sure how many miles I get on the normal stuff to compare.

[Capo]

i heard it takes more than 1 tankfull to get the on board computer to adjust the fuelling to compensate for the higher octain fuel...:drunk: i am gonna try it after my evo is run in....!

I think you heard wrong, the ECU can not measure the octane rating.

[bialbero]

All the higher octane fuels contain detergent to prevent the build up of carbon deposits in the combustion chamber which would work against the benefit(s) of a spark advance.
In order to get the most out of hig octane fuel you need cylinder pressure indication or a knock detector, which will allow the ECU to find the optimum POI. some kind of knock detection you will usually find with charged engines and rarely on normally aspirated engines......
Most of the gains are in our head

[Phatty]

I think you heard wrong, the ECU can not measure the octane rating.

Correct, it can't. What they do is advance the timing until it knocks/pinks (as 'heard' by the knock sensor). With the higher octane fuel there you can run more advance without knocking.

But as has been stated, the monster ECU doesn't have knock sensors, so unless it's mapped t run advanced ignition (or indeed if there's anythign you can alter yourself to advance it, those with power commanders should for instance) then there are no gains to be had from running higher octane fuel.

Most modern cars will be conservatively mapped to run on super, but because manufacturers know most people will stick in any old cheap supermarket rubbish they have the knock sensors so the ECU knows when it's knocking and retards the ign timing to suit the fuel. In that instance, you would see gains from running on super.

There's lots of power to be gained from remapping ECU's and ramping up the ignition timing if you KNOW for a fact it's always going to be run on high octane pump or race fuel. Factory maps are always a compromise for economy, longevity and smoothness, not ultimate performance.

Im not sure what the "race" ecu's are meant to use, like you get for use with the termi's and cut airbox. If they were set up to run on super unleaded them mine (having the termi's, airbox, and ecu) should have died by now as i've always ran it on regular unleaded since the last fill up.

[Phatty]

also, my bike stalled 3 times yesterday morning, and once this morning, (within the first 100m of riding) since I put the tank of V power in.. explain that?

[JerryT]

So... it looks like Shell have been cleaning my wallet just as effectively as the engine then?

Ho hum...

[mintyhit]

also, my bike stalled 3 times yesterday morning, and once this morning, (within the first 100m of riding) since I put the tank of V power in.. explain that?

I had this problem as well:

http://www.ukmonster.co.uk/monster/showthread.php?t=40483&highlight=Allergic

Never could explain it although new plugs and coils solved all my other running issues.

[slipperyweeguy]

try
http://www.petrolprices.com/about-fuel.html
http://www.tesco.com/Momentum99/files/Tesco-Momentum-99-Fuel-Report.pdf

Most modern vehicles, especially world market vehicles, are actually designed and developed to run on the worst crap fuel you will find on a bad foreign trip. Fuels sold in this country are routinely tested and commonly found to be higher than the advertised octane ratings. As stated in various posts above, most of the performance improvement is happening between your ears, and unless your bike is running very high compression, or very advanced ignition curves, (or both) you just don't need it. In traffic jams and slow traffic it just costs you extra for no benefit.
I used to have a turbo car with no knock sensors and it needed 4*, then super-unleaded, as well as careful set up of the ignition timing so as not to melt pistons. When years later I did try a real life test of super unleaded in a Honda B16 engined car it gave no better economy or performance than the regular unleaded.
Your experience may vary.

[Nickj]

I found that it's good at low air temperatures. I did half last winter on standard fuel plus pro fst, the rest on v alone.
Not noticed any difference in performance other than that.