Attn NZ LS1 Owners - PULP Concern

[Thumper]

I see that the 96 PULP has been replaced with 95 octane as from 1 October. This is because of a Government eddict re content of benzene levels. The Service Station Guy at Shell did not know if 98 is going to be supplied or not, so I checked out Shell's website and no mention whatsoever of 98, so what gives?
In my city New Plymouth, no-one stocks 98.
My main concern is the first tank of 95 did not impress me at all, R8 seemed to be dead, in comparison to 96 fills.
I have emailed Shell Products so will pass on any info I receive.

[BadMac]

Try the BP Connect on Powderham street, I think they have 98 instead of 95/96. By the way they work fine on 91 as well but there is a noticable power drop. However given the cost of fuel there is also a noticable difference in the pocket.

[Thumper]

Did not receive an email answer from Shell, re Optimax availability, so I contacted a Shell Rep whom I knew would know the goods directly, he said that Shell have no plan to market Optimax NZ wide and are withdrawing it from sale where it is sold at present. This confirms why there's no mention of it on their NZ website.
He said, NO DEMAND!!! What a lot of BS, so you can bet their existing customers are going to go and get BP Ultimate (only Shell and BP sell 98 in NZ, but here's the crunch - with no competion, how long will they bother to market it?
Incidently, rang BP HO, and they said only BP owned sites will sell Ultimate, unless the site owner puts it in himself.
So it looks like Wynnes Pro Octane booster from the Red Shed $NZ20 per fill, anyone have any experience with this stuff? It says that 95PULP will go to 97.5 octane.

[V-Car]

I see that the 96 PULP has been replaced with 95 octane as from 1 October. This is because of a Government eddict re content of benzene levels. The Service Station Guy at Shell did not know if 98 is going to be supplied or not, so I checked out Shell's website and no mention whatsoever of 98, so what gives?
In my city New Plymouth, no-one stocks 98.
My main concern is the first tank of 95 did not impress me at all, R8 seemed to be dead, in comparison to 96 fills.
I have emailed Shell Products so will pass on any info I receive.

Gday Thumper, id go for BP Ultimate 98 over Shell Optimax anyday....generally considered to be more consistant in quality over here, but unfortunately it looks like the closest places to you are Te Kuiti and Wanganui.
But if you hassle BP, they might also stock it in New Plymouth.

http://www.nowwhere.com.au/BP/NZLocator/StoreSearch.aspx

PS: Bit of trivia, the Ultimate you get in NZ is imported from the BP refinery at Kwinana near Perth in WA. :)

[Thumper]

Gday Thumper, id go for BP Ultimate 98 over Shell Optimax anyday....generally considered to be more consistant in quality over here, but unfortunately it looks like the closest places to you are Te Kuiti and Wanganui.
But if you hassle BP, they might also stock it in New Plymouth.

http://www.nowwhere.com.au/BP/NZLocator/StoreSearch.aspx

PS: Bit of trivia, the Ultimate you get in NZ is imported from the BP refinery at Kwinana near Perth in WA. :)
Not important, but BP reckon the NZ Ultimate comes from Brisbane.
WRT BP, over here the servos are of 2 types, those in private ownership, and those owned by the oil company. In New Plymouth, the BP sites are all privately owned, so in order to get Ultimate in NP, the owners would have to foot the bill to install tanks, pumps etc. In New Plymouth, of the 4 BP sites, the 2 biggest are owned by a guy I used to know, but in saying that, I know he's got deep pockets too, so I don't have high hopes of ever getting 98 in NP. :(
Might check out if I can source it in 200l drums. (It would be ok to store it at home, cos I live on a farmlet just out of NP).

[HSVMAN]

Hey Thumper, quite a few LS2 owners here are using 91 and dont report any difference although as you know there is a slight power drop.
What the LS2 management system will do is allow your engine to run on lower Octane without damaging the internals however by using higher octane you will get better performance and economy so I would use 98 when I could.
Try the Octane booster, I have one customer who claims it makes a difference but I wouldnt gaurantee it.
Problem with Fuel companies is they are catering for the masses.
I'm currently working with a group of guys that have developed a fuel suppliment system that shows massive savings, small power increase and lower emmissions (if you go top member's tech section you can read more) so will keep you informed :)

[hqracer]

Hi

Have you tried Mobil as well. We have Mobil 8000 in Wellington which is 98 octane.

Cheers

[HSVMAN]

Hi
Have you tried Mobil as well. We have Mobil 8000 in Wellington which is 98 octane.
Cheers

Synergy 8000 its called
There is a Mobil on the corner of Coronation & Leach in NP? I filled up there couple of weeks back

[V-Car]

Not important, but BP reckon the NZ Ultimate comes from Brisbane.

Youre probably right, i was going by BP NZ website, and it might need updating.

http://www.bp.co.nz/about/env_fuelsqa.html#eight

[Thumper]

Synergy 8000 its called
There is a Mobil on the corner of Coronation & Leach in NP? I filled up there couple of weeks back
No 98 at that servo, closest Synergy 8000 is Hamilton or Bulls.
BTW did a spreadsheet on the economics of filling a 200 litre drum from the closest 98 servo (Ultimate from Wanganui) which is 150km away (no drum supplys either, from any of the oil co's), vs. octane booster and the booster won no matter how many drums could be filled.
The octane booster adds about 28.5cents/litre depending on which type, I can get Klotz for about $NZ17 per bottle which will get the added cost down to 24.3cents/litre. Will give some feedback on how it performs.

[HSVMAN]

No 98 at that servo, closest Synergy 8000 is Hamilton or Bulls.
BTW did a spreadsheet on the economics of filling a 200 litre drum from the closest 98 servo (Ultimate from Wanganui) which is 150km away (no drum supplys either, from any of the oil co's), vs. octane booster and the booster won no matter how many drums could be filled.
The octane booster adds about 28.5cents/litre depending on which type, I can get Klotz for about $NZ17 per bottle which will get the added cost down to 24.3cents/litre. Will give some feedback on how it performs.

Bloody hell, I remember the good ol days of Farm supply (I'm from the Naki) when we had a 400 litre tank on a stand next to the implement shed....
BTW i referenced LS2 earlier - i meant LS1.
Just called into the nearest couple of Mobil Stations here and you are right, the privately owned dont carry 98. Even more frustrating, I have a mobil fuel card with unlimited use - only for 91 :(