Dear Shell, where is my Optimax ?

stinky · Post by **stinky** » Thu Nov 09, 2006 5:16 pm

I went to fill up the brumby last night and the shell didn't have optimax, instead the have V-Power. The sign on the bowser said it was 98octane. I went into the counter and asked what V-Power was and she said 'Oh, it's the new name for optimax' and I asked if it had any ethanol in it to which she replied 'Oh yeah, it's 5% ethanol'.

There were no signs i could find saying it had ethanol, and not knowing if my ea81t will be happy with ethanol I had to drive on to a BP and get Ultimate.

Assholes! that means I've got one less place I can get fuel from

YouTube · Post by **El_Freddo** » Thu Nov 09, 2006 5:26 pm

stinky wrote:The sign on the bowser said it was 98octane. I went into the counter and asked what V-Power was and she said 'Oh, it's the new name for optimax' and I asked if it had any ethanol in it to which she replied 'Oh yeah, it's 5% ethanol'.

I believe that the V power is acutally 100 RON using standard optimax with some ethanol to increase the RON that extra 2 marks... There's a flyer you can get about this in store, one of the other delivery drivers bought it back with him one night cos he thought we'd all be amazed at the new fuel that's out...

I'll just stick with my premium unleaded from APCO (aussie independant)

Suby Wan Kenobi · Post by **Suby Wan Kenobi** » Thu Nov 09, 2006 5:36 pm

The flyer i have says it has no ethanol just the replacement for Optimax

SUBYDAZZ · Post by **SUBYDAZZ** » Thu Nov 09, 2006 5:58 pm

There is no ethanol in it. I'd have the boss shoot the cashier for telling people it does. Check the site.

http://www.shell.com/home/Framework?sit ... _1602.html

Previously the only fuel Shell had that contained ethanol was Optimax Extreme which was 100RON and had 5% ethanol from memory, it had very limited availability, usually only in selected servos in capital cities.

or http://www.shell.com.au/vpower

Post by **Captain Obvious** » Thu Nov 09, 2006 6:03 pm

yeah paul i herd it had ethenol it so a looked at the site and it says it doesnt, have used it a few times in the lib now with no probs, if anything better fuel economy!!

SUBYDAZZ · Post by **SUBYDAZZ** » Thu Nov 09, 2006 6:03 pm

VPower Racing has 5% ethanol, but again, you can't get that everywhere. It has replaced the fuel formerly known as Optimax Extreme. This may be where the confusion has come from.

http://www.shell.com/home/Framework?sit ... hanol.html

I had previously spoken to a few servo attendants about the popularity of Optimax Extreme considering it was more expensive and contained ethanol and it apparently sold very well, almost as much as normal Optimax.

The Federal Chamber of Autmotive Industries (http://www.fcai.com.au) advises contact numbers of manufacturers if people want to check with them about suitabilities of their vehicles using ethanol blends: Subaru Aus: 1800 22 66 43

SUBYDAZZ · Post by **SUBYDAZZ** » Thu Nov 09, 2006 6:11 pm

It may also be of interest that VPower has been running through all Optimax labelled pumps for about the last 2 months in any case.

MUDRAT · Post by **MUDRAT** » Thu Nov 09, 2006 6:17 pm

I for one like Ethanol.

SUBYDAZZ · Post by **SUBYDAZZ** » Thu Nov 09, 2006 6:34 pm

"Borrowed" from Shell website:

Shell V-Power Racing will initially be available at selected Coles Express service stations in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Canberra.

Victorian Sites

Site Location
Coles Express Brunswick Lygon St & Glenlyon Rd, Brunswick East
Coles Express Kew Cotham Rd & Cecil St, Kew East
Coles Express Laverton Cnr Geelong & Aviation Roads, Laverton
Coles Exprees Werribee Park 137-139 Princes Highway, Werribee
Coles Express Tullamarine 175-183 Mickleham Rd, Tullamarine
Coles Express Jacana 945-957 Pascoe Vale Road
Coles Express Lyndhurst 180 Dandenong - Hastings Rd, Lyndhurst
Coles Express Penninsula Gateway Robinsons & Frankston Rds, Flinders
Coles Express Melton South Station St & Brooklyn Rd, Melton South
Coles Express Mill Park Plenty Rd & University Dve, Mill Park
Coles Express Latrobe Terrace 202-210 Latrobe Terrace, Geelong West
Coles Express Westgate South Westgate Fwy, Port Melbourne
Coles Express Ashburton Cnr High St & Johnstonn St Ashburton
Coles Express Burwood Cnr Burwood Hwy & Central Ave Burwood
Coels Express Ferntree Gully 1140 Burwood Hwy Ferntree Gully
Coles Express Cheltenham Centre Dandenong Rd & Warrigal Rd Cheltenham
Coles Express Richmond 399-411 Punt Rd Richmond
Coles Express Vermont South 602-604 Burwood Hwy Vermond South
Coles Express St Albans Cnr Station Rd & Main Rd West St Albans
Coles Express Doncaster East Blackburn Rd & Reynolds Rd, East Doncaster

ACT

Site Location
Coles Express Dickson Cnr Antill & Badham St, Dickson
Coles Express Wanniassa 6 Sangster Place, Wanniassa

New South Wales

Site Location
Coles Express Carlton 277–281 Princes Hwy, Carlton
Coles Express Darlinghurst 47 Flinders St, Darlinghurst
Coles Express Dundas Cnr Kissing Point Rd & Kirby St, Dundas
Coles Express Fairfield Cnr Polding St & The Horsley Drv, Fairﬁeld
Coles Express Green Valley Cnr Cowpasture Rd & Green Valley, Cartwright
Coles Express Hurstville 39 Forest Rd, Hurstville
Coles Express Kingsford 48–56 Gardeners Rd, Kingsford
Coles Express Kirrawee Cnr Princes Hwy & The Boulevard, Kirrawee
Coles Express Lidcombe 18 Parramatta Rd, Lidcombe
Coles Express Marsfield Cnr Epping Rd & Culloden Rd, Marsfield
Coles Express Neutral Bay Cnr Ben Boyd Rd & Ernest St, Neutral Bay
Coles Express North Ryde Wicks 96 Wicks Rd, North Ryde
Coles Express Pymble 21 Ryde Rd, Pymble
Coles Express Roberts Rd East (Greenacre) 9 - 11 Roberts Road, Greenacre
Coles Express Thornleigh 188-190 Pennant Hills Rd, Thornleigh

South East Queensland

Site Location
Coles Express Albany Creek 171 Old Northern Rd, Albany Creek
Coles Express Balmoral Cnr Oxford St & Hawthorne Rd, Balmoral
Coles Express Caloundra 69 Beerburrum St, Caloundra
Coles Express Kallangur Cnr Anzac Ave & Dufﬁeld Rd, Kallangur
Coles Express Kessels Rd 651 Kessels Rd, Mount Gravatt
Coles Express Milton 319 Coronation Drv, Milton
Coles Express Runcorn 501 Compton Rd, Runcorn
Coles Express Sherwood Cnr Sherwood & Oxley Rds, Sherwood
Coles Express Surfers Paradise 2824 Gold Coast Hwy, Surfers Paradise
Coles Express Virginia Cnr Sandgate & Robinson Rds, Virginia

BlackMale · Post by **BlackMale** » Thu Nov 09, 2006 6:44 pm

MUDRAT wrote:I for one like Ethanol.

LOL in your petrol tank or as a substance of choice?

Hey WA does still not even get it!?!?! So we are all on crap-e Gold (Clatex) or Ultimate (BP)

Subafury · Post by **Subafury** » Thu Nov 09, 2006 7:50 pm

yeh wa doesnt get these new, economic ethanol fuels like the fancy eastern states do. our government still wont approve em or something.

SUBYDAZZ · Post by **SUBYDAZZ** » Fri Nov 10, 2006 12:09 am

subi wrote:yeh wa doesnt get these new, economic ethanol fuels like the fancy eastern states do. our government still wont approve em or something.

It's a matter of economics, if there is no ethanol production facilities in WA then it makes no sense to transport this fuel from one side of this wide land to the other. It isn't generally any more economical to use, in fact it will return slightly worse economy but is higher octane, makes use of renewable energy but is expensive to produce. Without large subsidies to producers it would not be economical to bother with. The advantage we had seen earlier were slighly lower fuel prices with ethanol blends, but it still attracts the same tax as other fuels currently. Some estimates put the cost of production to be more than the energy it produces per litre in small operations. With the relative lack of agricultural land in Australia we are not likley to see widespread use or commonly available in concentrations over 10% in petrol as many other countries have. Some fuels using ethanol cost more than equivalent non-ethanol-blended products eg: VPower Extreme, but the idea here is the higher octanedness (I just invented that word).

The Federal Government have approved it's use up to this 10% blend (E10) but many manufacturers warn that any, or over this E10 amount it may not be suitable to some early model vehicles.

You aren't missing out on a lot for mine.

I'm happy to use it, but not to pay the same as regular petrol or more. Do some reading up on it there are a lot of pros and cons about it on the net.

Just my 2c.

Subi_H · Post by **Subi_H** » Fri Nov 10, 2006 12:48 am

SUBYDAZZ wrote:if there is no ethanol production facilities in WA then it makes no sense to transport this fuel from one side of this wide land to the other

This is what I don't understand. Why don't we make a production plant over here? You can make 25% pure ethanol in your back yard out of woodchips. You can set it up to purify to about 90% if you're willing to put work into making a purifyer. If you got woodchips from a tree plantation, they would plant more trees in order to keep up with higher demand, so it would even put more oxygen into the atmosphere.

I haven't looked at all the chemistry involved in it yet, but from what I can see a decent home ethanol producing setup would probably cost about 2 grand and one could make up to 95% pure ethanol. The only forseeable problems would be getting the temperature up to 78'C (boiling point of ethanol, useful to seperate it from water and the majority of impurities) and uncertainty of final yield.

Theres also the problem of passing what is effectively a home distellery off as an innocent weekend project.

stinky · Post by **stinky** » Fri Nov 10, 2006 7:09 am

Oh cool, so I'm safe to use V Power then. stupid servo attendant!

I'm sure the brumby could handle 5% ethanol, but I don't wanna find out the opposite the hardway

PeeJay · Post by **PeeJay** » Fri Nov 10, 2006 9:16 am

Hmmmm homebrew ethanol?? Sounds like a plan....

BlackMale · Post by **BlackMale** » Fri Nov 10, 2006 11:02 am

subi wrote:yeh wa doesnt get these new, economic ethanol fuels like the fancy eastern states do. our government still wont approve em or something.

Its my understanding that its got nothing to do with the gov its something more like BP has a stranglehold on the market and there some agreement/deal/something that Shell is not permitted to ship/distribute the Optimax into the state. But yes we still get some crap fuel.

mattims · Post by **mattims** » Fri Nov 10, 2006 12:10 pm

yeah... all fuel in wa is BP.. with there own little additives. Cause there is only one refinery over here.

YouTube · Post by **El_Freddo** » Sat Nov 11, 2006 12:12 pm

Subi_H wrote:Theres also the problem of passing what is effectively a home distellery off as an innocent weekend project.

I'm sure one of you crazy WA crew would do it... and get a way with it

PeeJay · Post by **PeeJay** » Sat Nov 11, 2006 1:19 pm

El_Freddo wrote:I'm sure one of you crazy WA crew would do it... and get a way with it

I was about to do it yesterday, but on further inspection it seems that it's not worth it running cost wise. Heating and electronics are a non-issue for me, so if anyone knows a good way do it I'd love to know!