Vortex 98 in WA

[JustCallMeOrlando]

Hi all,

Was wondering about the current opinion of Vortex 98 over east? It's recently become available as an alternative to BP Ultimate. Does anyone have an idea the differences between the two fuels? I know that different companies approach the 98RON mark in different ways, in differing results.

The reason I ask is twofold. Firstly, Caltex-Woolworths vouchers, would save me some doneros...in theory. Secondly, all petrol in WA comes from BP originally. Hence my original question is partly to determine whether it's the additives that make BP so special, or the base stock they start with?

Any info would be splendid.

Cheers,
Nathan

[theprotest]

When a service station orders the fuel, they specify the additives that will go into it. The general rule with high performance fuel is that the additives have a lifespan, so as long as you are going to a high traffic servo, the chances of 'bad batches' is very small.

The family business used to be Caltex servos, and I have only ever put Ultimate in my cars. I can't see why BP would sell 'the good stuff' to a competitor, and keep crap for themselves. So my thinking is, BP is either equal or better than anything else out there.

Cheers,
Nik

[JustCallMeOrlando]

Yup, I know

I only go to servos that have high turnover, I pretty much go to the same pair all the time.

I'm not suggesting BP provide a superior fuel for Caltex than for themselves. Whats going to happen though, is they'll deliver the refined base stock (given they're the only WA refinery) and then Caltex will provide their own additives to make it "Vortex 98".

Main purpose of my question was, is it likely to be as good as Ultimate, thus meaning I can get cheaper fuel of the same quality?

[theprotest]

As far as I know (unless it's changes in the last few years) the product that is delivered by BP is unchanged at the caltex storage - basically we used to order fuel and additive levels from BP - and that was what got delivered - in a Caltex truck

I would be confident in saying it will be as good as Ultimate.

Cheers,
Nik

[Joshstix]

My opinion is that I would not put it in my car unless it was the only option better than regular unleaded available.

Again that's just my opinion.

[MR22ZZ]

The injector cleaning additives and detergents in Vortex 98 are really good.

I used to find Ultimate a little flat at times (but way better then Optimax which would ping to buggery)
I then used to always run my car on Vortex98 and never had an issue.
Then I changed back to Ultimate for a while again and it felt better then it did before.

What I suggest is to use Vortex98 every few tanks to keep the injectors healthy but run Ultimate, if that's what you are used to.

[EldarO]

i tried vortex 98, car pipped up a bit.

but went back to ultimate as it was costing me $5 extra for vortex for 30 litres :| (not exactly, but my bum felt a little raw afterwards, i didnt like the price )

Elmo.

[Vios-GT_07]

if u're using an older car i don't suggest using the vortex .. it scrapes the deposits off the tank and clogs fuel filter and injectors.. it's happened to me once.. drained the petrol and chunks of crap followed it out.. and yea injectors had to be cleaned..

didn't realise WA had no optimax.. i had this docket saving me 4 cents and drove around for half an hour visiting all the shell stations around here.. stupid stupid me..

[YLD-16L]

it scrapes the deposits off the tank and clogs fuel filter and injectors..

Does it contain razor blades, screw drivers or paint scrapers to do this scraping? Fuel tank>filter>pump>filter>injectors..........and it still clogged your injectors

I've got two 30+ year old fuel tanks at home, neither have ever been cleaned and would have only had the cheapest petrol put in them and the inside of both of them is clean enough to eat out of The last one I drained had a couple of insects and a christmas beetle and that was it!

Most of the "crap" in your tank is from the bowser i.e. floaties like beatles, insects, leaf matter and crap.

So many petrol stories and myths it's hard to filter out the nonsense from the facts

[EldarO]

ive run my tank dry a few times, me being a lazy bastard.

never clogged a fuel filter or injectors.

Elmo.

[monkeymajik]

on my older car, i never let it run too low. For a couple of reasons, you never know what's lurking in the bottom of old fuel tanks (probably nothing as YLD-16L has pointed out), plus i dont trust the old fuel senders and gauges heh.

[Officer Doofy]

I have tried vortex a couple of times and wasnt to impressed with it compared to the bp equivalent
I used to like mobile's 98 ron but that too seemed to fall off after awhile
I have always been happy with the performance of the bp fuels

I wouldnt worry about the quality of the fuel, im sure they are all similer but maybe different cleaning additives, as has been said i think its more the turnaround time of the stations.

Give it a go, rotate the fuels and make your own mind up, and just pray that oneday you get the new shell 100ron goodness

[JustCallMeOrlando]

My opinion is that I would not put it in my car unless it was the only option better than regular unleaded available.

What is the basis of that opinion? I don't mean this in a bad way when I say it, but I wouldn't want to disregard a perfectly viable option on the basis of hearsay.

[beatle]

'apparently' the 98's were getting in perth now is actualy imported

something else i've had pointed out to me.... BP spent a lot of money to have a refinery that's capable of cracking low quality crude at 98 ron... (mostly imported)

Overseas refineries are usually cheaper assembled and as a result have to use a higher grade of crude (quite often Australian)

So from one way of looking at it, the imported stuff is better because the base stock is better.... but is it really?

Either way.... I'm still hanging out to see if United will actually roll out their E10 fuel through their ex-Mobil servo's here... That would really mix it up a bit... :-)

^^^stolen from supraforums wa section

i have been using peak 98 for the last 2 months or so and have had no ill effects, if anything more power, plus the BP near me is usualy one of the most expensive in perth and the peak up the road is usualy middle ground, so i'm saving more money using the peak98

[Joshstix]

Just that my car ran like a dog on it, ran rougher when cold and was very flat up top. Plus a couple of friends in the petrochem lab business who got far from stellar results when testing it, although that was just after launch.

I have no idea what the blend you guys get in WA will be like though. As you saw when you were over for Toyota Fest there is a definate difference between Ultimate from one side of the continent to the other. I was really just answering your question about opinion on the East coast.