discussion Petrol Quality for Performance cars - South Africa

Brandon777.bf

New member
Hi guys

So I have been experimenting with MHD and found alot of mixed results until I finally landed on a few forums discussing how poor the quality of fuel is in our country.

I have since loaded a stage 1 tune at a rated 91 octane on my car and the tune is working flawlessly.

This is sad because I've only ever put the claimed 95 at every garage that I go to.

Does Anyone have any suggestions on how to achieve higher octane. What a safe octane booster mix looks like ?

Also I have read that Shell V-power unleaded is the best 95 on the market ? Is this true ?

Can't seem to find anything of substance on the Internet for South Africa.
 

Spanky

Well-known member
Are you using the 'RON' setting in MHD? Right at the top of the flash screen.

SA uses 'RON' and not 'OCT' as the measure of octane.

91 OCT is roughly equivalent to 95 RON - which might explain your results.
 

individj

Well-known member
Hi guys

So I have been experimenting with MHD and found alot of mixed results until I finally landed on a few forums discussing how poor the quality of fuel is in our country.

I have since loaded a stage 1 tune at a rated 91 octane on my car and the tune is working flawlessly.

This is sad because I've only ever put the claimed 95 at every garage that I go to.

Does Anyone have any suggestions on how to achieve higher octane. What a safe octane booster mix looks like ?

Also I have read that Shell V-power unleaded is the best 95 on the market ? Is this true ?

Can't seem to find anything of substance on the Internet for South Africa.
if you dont mind paying you can buy higher octane fuel like BP 98 or 24/7
 

Brandon777.bf

New member
Are you using the 'RON' setting in MHD? Right at the top of the flash screen.

SA uses 'RON' and not 'OCT' as the measure of octane.

91 OCT is roughly equivalent to 95 RON - which might explain your results.
This definitely explains the results. Thank you for explaining that.
 

Xcede Performance

BMWFanatics Advertiser
Official Advertiser
Our pump fuel is terrible. I'm sure you will find the car pulling timing in the heat on the OTS map with our pump fuel.

Best to run 10% ethanol with the ots map to avoid excessive timing pull


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

freakoid9000

Active member
Fuel definitely seems to be of poor quality. I also get plenty of timing corrections. Has anyone had success with the off the shelf octane boosters?
 

Morribiscuit

Well-known member
Hi guys

So I have been experimenting with MHD and found alot of mixed results until I finally landed on a few forums discussing how poor the quality of fuel is in our country.

I have since loaded a stage 1 tune at a rated 91 octane on my car and the tune is working flawlessly.

This is sad because I've only ever put the claimed 95 at every garage that I go to.

Does Anyone have any suggestions on how to achieve higher octane. What a safe octane booster mix looks like ?

Also I have read that Shell V-power unleaded is the best 95 on the market ? Is this true ?

Can't seem to find anything of substance on the Internet for South Africa.
As mentioned already, you need to run on 91 MHD map when running 95RON (SA pump 95). Add 10% ethanol mix to that, and the timing corrections should be a lot better.

What car do you have?

Depending on the above, and the HPFP you have, you will be able to run a more aggressive map with higher ethanol content. B58 motor for example - loves some ethanol. We get 'E95', which is 95% ethanol, and 5% hydrocarbon/gasoline mix. It works well. Overseas they get 'E85'.

Feel free to pop a dm if you want!
 

TurboLlew

Honorary ///Member
I used the 102 from 24/7 on my old f10 with the more aggressive map. Used 98 on my 4C for events where yes the peace of mind really is a thing that makes the fuel worth it. Especially with heat. You can also experiment with eth but you need the time and energy to commit to that “way of life” 😂 decanting, storing, filling, mix etc. and of course required mods. Water Meth is an option to improve matters.

It isn’t like you will get detonation with the pump fuel unless you’re using 93. The challenge is of course you will have to live with the corrections and less than ideal power for your mods. This is not a new issue. We have always had kak fuel. Our cars are sophisticated enough to prevent detonation for the most part. There are some like Renaults and Subarus that will happily detonate into oblivion on their factory maps even with corrections for SA fuel 😂
 

Morribiscuit

Well-known member
I used the 102 from 24/7 on my old f10 with the more aggressive map. Used 98 on my 4C for events where yes the peace of mind really is a thing that makes the fuel worth it. Especially with heat. You can also experiment with eth but you need the time and energy to commit to that “way of life” 😂 decanting, storing, filling, mix etc. and of course required mods. Water Meth is an option to improve matters.

It isn’t like you will get detonation with the pump fuel unless you’re using 93. The challenge is of course you will have to live with the corrections and less than ideal power for your mods. This is not a new issue. We have always had kak fuel. Our cars are sophisticated enough to prevent detonation for the most part. There are some like Renaults and Subarus that will happily detonate into oblivion on their factory maps even with corrections for SA fuel 😂
No ways! Decanting ethanol is cool! Taking that container to the garage and telling them "Hang on!" so you can put the 'muti' in first is lots of fun haha! :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO:
In addition, the car and engine is dependant for sure, but I did some testing.

I did logging on 95 only, then added a mix for 10% eth, and 20% ethanol (on stock mapping), and the differences were major. It went from pulling 3 to 5 deg timing on pump only, to ZERO timing correction on a 20% mix.
 

Brandon777.bf

New member
Okay guys thanks so much for the advise! I've been so busy at work I haven't had a chance to see all this!

I have an E36 M3 and life was very simple before I decided to buy an M240i for daily driving 🤣

Can you guys please break down all this ethanol mixing into a metric structure so that I can attempt to do it.

Also where will be the best place to buy this ?

Also if anyone has specific petrol stations that they would recommend along the N1 or between Pretoria and Sandton, I would greatly appreciate it.

I genuinely love the community. You guys are very helpful and there is always something to learn when it comes to cars. Been raised by a BMW car fanatic who swears by aspirated engines so I'm on a path to learn it all alone 🤣
 

AudiDriver

Active member
Breaking it down: Add 5 litres of ethanol (E95 or E96) to an empty-ish tank before filling up. Depending on tank size and level that should give you between 10% and 12% mix. I use about 5litres on every tank and top ip with between 42 and 45 litres of 95. JB4 Map 1 with no knock retard / issues.

Buying the metal containers is a PITA. You need a syphon to use those without messing. I usually just transfer the ethanol from the can to a 25 litre plastic container as those are easier to decant into a measuring bucket, from there to a 10litre fuel container, into the boot, off to the pump.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Morribiscuit

Well-known member
Okay guys thanks so much for the advise! I've been so busy at work I haven't had a chance to see all this!

I have an E36 M3 and life was very simple before I decided to buy an M240i for daily driving 🤣

Can you guys please break down all this ethanol mixing into a metric structure so that I can attempt to do it.

Also where will be the best place to buy this ?

Also if anyone has specific petrol stations that they would recommend along the N1 or between Pretoria and Sandton, I would greatly appreciate it.

I genuinely love the community. You guys are very helpful and there is always something to learn when it comes to cars. Been raised by a BMW car fanatic who swears by aspirated engines so I'm on a path to learn it all alone 🤣
Maths, my bru.

If you want 10% eth, and you are filling 20 litres total (for example), add 2l (10% of 20l) ETH, and 18l 95.
Apply same logic to whatever mixture you are wanting.

I can get eth for you in 25l if you need. pop a dm if you want.
 

SonGoKu619

Member
B58 pulls timing on stock map with 95ron xD. Our petrol is kek. As everyone says, add ethanol. You can get it at any chemicals supplier. Most of it is sasol's coal based ethanol but you can get from guys like gusheshe fuels sugarcane based. The amount depends on each motor/map/mods. If you're using mhd the ethanol maps give beeg gains on e30/40
 

Brandon777.bf

New member
Hi Guys

I've been reading alot about the different concentrations of ethonal.

Is there any advice on the best concentration to go for or does it all just come down to how you mix it in with the petrol?

Also is there a preference amongst members on the forum in terms of putting the ethonal before the petrol or after the petrol or a little in-between 😂 don't know how mixture between these look although I assume a bit of driving will make the difference ?

Lastly is there a specific brand that everyone ops for or decides to purchase from here in JHB ? I'm looking to order 25L canisters from a supplier and then just filling a 5L with me to the petrol station when I decide to run the car for fun.

Side question is the BMW app accurate with regards to actually liters of petrol in the car ?

Appreciate all the feedback as always guys!🔥 always great to have more experienced members willing to assist and share knowledge! It really is appreciated guys thank you
 

TurboLlew

Honorary ///Member
Over 10% you have to tune for it. I really don't care what people on the internet tell you, you will have to maximize your gains by having the car mapped or running one of the platforms that support map switching and an eth analyser. You will have to upgrade your injector capacity (or add port injection) and other parts of the fuel system beyond a certain point on majority of cars. This will have an impact on your regular use of the car because you will either have to switch maps (and not all cars can do this easily) or constantly run ethanol... which at high concentrations runs out QUICKLY. I could get 280km out of a tank of petrol and 100... MAYBE... with E85.

You also don't know how much ethanol is in the fuel already. It is definitely added but how much remains a mystery. Sasol says 'no more than 2%' but you can have 'up to' 15% legally.

What car do you want to use it on and what do you want to achieve? If it is a car on plan, FYI BMW requests your downpipes and a sample of fuel for motorplan claims these days.

There is no specific brand of Eth... Eth of a certain purity/concentration is what it is. the Eth based octane boosters that have some lubricant and colour added with maybe a few other VOCs have their fans which I won't get into.

I used to have TAG solvents deliver 220l to my house. There are minor by-law issues to get around like having ventilation and some no smoking signs. There's also a limit in terms of litres you can store on site in a residential area. It counts as a Class 1 flammable liquid so you can read up on that. That being said, for 25l it is immaterial. With the 220l, though it was going quickly as we were running 85% in my old Subaru and 10% in my F10, there'd also be a distinct change in smell in a week or two... If you've ever done chemistry you'll recognise it... related to it clawing moisture from air and decomposing. There is just too much of air that stays in the vessel despite being air tight beyond a certain point. Still works fine for the most part if you use it quickly but you can't buy 220l and store it for months on end. This is also one of the reasons modern fuel 'goes bad' more quickly - eth content. It was happening to the degree that I started selling it to get rid of the 220l more quickly. Since I had no desire for this to become my day job, I just switched to aforementioned actual high octane petrol from 24/7 - you then have a car that won't be pulling timing as it would with pump fuel and you won't really have to tune for it.

Bear in mind also STORING ethanol is a mess, even when mixed - it expands and contracts dramatically with temperature so get used to having containers looking like they are about to burst, the smell and of course the occasional burst in your early days of use. When you are using higher concentrations than an 'easy' 10%, it is a 'way of life' that quickly becomes tiresome to some (of which I am one). You can buy eth analysers etc for many cars that make this easier and will adjust your map as well if tuned that way.
 

Morribiscuit

Well-known member
Hi Guys

I've been reading alot about the different concentrations of ethonal.

Is there any advice on the best concentration to go for or does it all just come down to how you mix it in with the petrol?

Also is there a preference amongst members on the forum in terms of putting the ethonal before the petrol or after the petrol or a little in-between 😂 don't know how mixture between these look although I assume a bit of driving will make the difference ?

Lastly is there a specific brand that everyone ops for or decides to purchase from here in JHB ? I'm looking to order 25L canisters from a supplier and then just filling a 5L with me to the petrol station when I decide to run the car for fun.

Side question is the BMW app accurate with regards to actually liters of petrol in the car ?

Appreciate all the feedback as always guys!🔥 always great to have more experienced members willing to assist and share knowledge! It really is appreciated guys thank you
Be responsible, but dont overthink it either.

@TurboLlew explains all the responsible adult things to take note of, because it is a flammable fuel so you do need to treat it as such.

If you have it in your 5l, and are putting eth - when at the garage, add eth, then fill up. This is what I do. It will 'mix' in any case when you drive, and its not like you are on 50+% ETH, so it wont make much of a difference.

After some driving, it will be through the fuel lines and you are good to go.

I use the BMW on-board computer. Its accurate until 'full'. I.e. mine will show to 55l. But I have put 63l in the car before. So if filling FULL, keep that in mind. If you fill 30-40l at a time, I find onboard within 0.1l variance so I'm okay with that.
 
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