Shell v-max or your own additive - na/t. ?

[Attero]

Does that mean you would need to map the (aftermarket) ECU every time you unplug the battery to do work? That would be annoying.

 

As for fuel, when I first bought my TT, I stuck supermarket fuel in it and it was throwing engine management lights at me all the time. Since putting VPower in it, I haven't seen it since (as far as I remember).

 

I'm heading to the isle of Wight this weekend where the only super unleaded available is tesco momentum. I'm hoping this is healthy to use.

[Annabella]

Think a lot on here including myself have used momentum and haven't had any issues....

[stevie_b]

Does that mean you would need to map the (aftermarket) ECU every time you unplug the battery to do work? That would be annoying.

 

As for fuel, when I first bought my TT, I stuck supermarket fuel in it and it was throwing engine management lights at me all the time. Since putting VPower in it, I haven't seen it since (as far as I remember).

 

I'm heading to the isle of Wight this weekend where the only super unleaded available is tesco momentum. I'm hoping this is healthy to use.

 

Momentum is fine, particularly if you're mapped for Japanese fuel. It's got one of the highest RON ratings IIRC, the closest you can get to Japanese standard petrol which is high RON.

 

I don't know much about aftermarket ECUs, but I would put money on the map being held in non-volatile memory (which means it doesn't get scrubbed when you unplug the battery). Things like trim levels on standard ECUs are on volatile memory, meaning they get wiped when you remove the battery..... AFAIK.

[herbiemercman]

From memory my brother's TT was putting out black smoke and carboned up the turbos etc, Chris Wilson sorted out the problem, cleaned everything and had to replace the ECU and other things. The damage had been done when the car was at a garage for repairs etc and they had kept jump starting it as it should have had a new battery fitted before it was sent into the garage. Jump starting is an absolute no no for me as i know of many issues where voltage/ current spikes (transients), have caused damage, the only thing i will go along with on jump starting is for the doner vehicle to be running for 5 minutes with the jump leads having been correctly secured, and then try cranking, this minimisses the chance of spiking. Herbie.

[Chris Wilson]

It was a right mess, looked like they'd jumped it with a cheap industrial charger set to 24V to me. Never seen a car with so much fuel being pumped in actually start and run! I could almost support the pollution charge brigade at the time.

[L337]

Ok - so in that case if it has higher octane fuel in it, it should improve it's performance slightly, but not a long term problem if not used.

 

It's not that you will 'improve' performance, its just that by running 95RON the ECU will retard the ignition timing and adjust the fuelling to suit, so not to cause pre-ignition/detonation/knock/pinking.. whatever you want to call it.

 

This reduces the performance from stock. You're probably only talking about maybe 5% decrease or something though, so not obviously noticeable.

 

If you have used 95 a lot, the ECU will remember this in volatile memory which requires an external battery to keep this data. If you disconnect the battery for a few minutes, this data is lost - so the ECU will use the most ignition advance it is allowed, so providing you have some 99 in there, it will regain that lost BHP. But only up to the stock output, not over.

 

TL;DR: The Manufacturer's stated 232PS on an NA will almost 100% have been measured on 99RON, so by running 95 its probably something like 220PS. Therefore you are losing BHP by running 95, not gaining it by running 99.

[Annabella]

It's not that you will 'improve' performance, its just that by running 95RON the ECU will retard the ignition timing and adjust the fuelling to suit, so not to cause pre-ignition/detonation/knock/pinking.. whatever you want to call it.

 

This reduces the performance from stock. You're probably only talking about maybe 5% decrease or something though, so not obviously noticeable.

 

If you have used 95 a lot, the ECU will remember this in volatile memory which requires an external battery to keep this data. If you disconnect the battery for a few minutes, this data is lost - so the ECU will use the most ignition advance it is allowed, so providing you have some 99 in there, it will regain that lost BHP. But only up to the stock output, not over.

 

TL;DR: The Manufacturer's stated 232PS on an NA will almost 100% have been measured on 99RON, so by running 95 its probably something like 220PS. Therefore you are losing BHP by running 95, not gaining it by running 99.

 

That's what I kind of thought. It's made in Japan so will be setup to run on I think 101 - 103 RON there, with the output figures you stated. And hey it's a N/a I need that 5%!

 

Cheers.

[Annabella]

From memory my brother's TT was putting out black smoke and carboned up the turbos etc, Chris Wilson sorted out the problem, cleaned everything and had to replace the ECU and other things. The damage had been done when the car was at a garage for repairs etc and they had kept jump starting it as it should have had a new battery fitted before it was sent into the garage. Jump starting is an absolute no no for me as i know of many issues where voltage/ current spikes (transients), have caused damage, the only thing i will go along with on jump starting is for the doner vehicle to be running for 5 minutes with the jump leads having been correctly secured, and then try cranking, this minimisses the chance of spiking. Herbie.

 

Don't get me worried! Usually jumped from an un-started if you like, donor. A battery trickle charger has been on the shopping list for a while, I'll pick one up when I go to one of my police auctions, for the new battery when it goes on in a week or so.

[stevie_b]

the only thing i will go along with on jump starting is for the doner vehicle to be running for 5 minutes with the jump leads having been correctly secured, and then try cranking, this minimisses the chance of spiking. Herbie.

I didn't know this. Is it definitely correct?

[Chris Wilson]

Old ecu's tended to have poor resistance to spikes or reverse polarity. Modern ones are a lot better, but it's safest to connect to the battery of a slave vehicle with the engine of the slave vehicle not running, then start the slave, allow it to pump some charge into the dead battery (say ten minutes at a fast idle) then attempt to start the dead car with the slave car's engine still fast idling. What you need to be very careful with is big garage battery charger / boosters that often output high voltages with a lot of AC in them on the BOOST setting. They can be nasty, especially old ones... Always connect them to the battery before switching them to BOOST. Most ECU's will be pushed to deal with a booster wrongly set to 24V, although I have seen people get away with it, on Supras and other cars. Incorrect polarity usually kills the ignition igniter module, hence the dead engines in some imported cars in ports, where they tend to be Cavalier with these things.

Edited March 4, 2016 by Chris Wilson (see edit history)

[Annabella]

Old ecu's tended to have poor resistance to spikes or reverse polarity. Modern ones are a lot better, but it's safest to connect to the battery of a slave vehicle with the engine of the slave vehicle not running, then start the slave, allow it to pump some charge into the dead battery (say ten minutes at a fast idle) then attempt to start the dead car with the slave car's engine still fast idling. What you need to be very careful with is big garage battery charger / boosters that often output high voltages with a lot of AC in them on the BOOST setting. They can be nasty, especially old ones... Always connect them to the battery before switching them to BOOST. Most ECU's will be pushed to deal with a booster wrongly set to 24V, although I have seen people get away with it, on Supras and other cars. Incorrect polarity usually kills the ignition igniter module, hence the dead engines in some imported cars in ports, where they tend to be Cavalier with these things.

 

 

Cheers Chris.

[AndyJax]

Shell V Power all the way for my Baby.For all the reasons already stated it does make a noticeable difference even in a N/A