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akbaree · 16th September 2008, 13:06

Like many others, I thought that the branded fuels sold by the Oil companies are 91 octane fuel and normal fuel is 87/88 octane fule. However, I decided to come out of my ignorant assumption and wrote to three major Oil companies - IOC, HP, and BP. The responses I got surprised me.

The GoI has different specifications for fuels that are BS II compliant and BS III compliant. Among other differences, one critical difference is the RON rating. The BS II specification specifies a RON of 87 and BS III specification specifies a RON of 91. I have BS III compliant Fiat Adventure and in the Owner's Manual it has been advised to use 91 Octane fuel.

Now coming to the responses I received from the afore mentioned Oil companies, all the Oil companies are selling BS III compliant fuel in metros and only some (4-5) of the A grade cities. I mean, this is ridiculous. I remember when I bought my Adventure in September 2005, there was 75K discount on BS II Palio because by end of September 2005 the RTO offices were instructed to stop registration of the BS II compliant cars and only register BS III compliant cars. It has been now three years, and still the Oil companies are selling BS III compliant fuel only in 8-10 cities.

What does this mean for our BS III complaint cars. They are running on BS II compliant fuel. Isn't it a fraud? I am not even sure if our BS III compliant cars have advanced knock off sensors to compensate the lower Octane fuel being sold in most of India. What does it mean for our engines?

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16th September 2008, 13:06	#1 (permalink)
akbaree BHPian Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, Oh Posts: 365	Is this a Fraud? Like many others, I thought that the branded fuels sold by the Oil companies are 91 octane fuel and normal fuel is 87/88 octane fule. However, I decided to come out of my ignorant assumption and wrote to three major Oil companies - IOC, HP, and BP. The responses I got surprised me. The GoI has different specifications for fuels that are BS II compliant and BS III compliant. Among other differences, one critical difference is the RON rating. The BS II specification specifies a RON of 87 and BS III specification specifies a RON of 91. I have BS III compliant Fiat Adventure and in the Owner's Manual it has been advised to use 91 Octane fuel. Now coming to the responses I received from the afore mentioned Oil companies, all the Oil companies are selling BS III compliant fuel in metros and only some (4-5) of the A grade cities. I mean, this is ridiculous. I remember when I bought my Adventure in September 2005, there was 75K discount on BS II Palio because by end of September 2005 the RTO offices were instructed to stop registration of the BS II compliant cars and only register BS III compliant cars. It has been now three years, and still the Oil companies are selling BS III compliant fuel only in 8-10 cities. What does this mean for our BS III complaint cars. They are running on BS II compliant fuel. Isn't it a fraud? I am not even sure if our BS III compliant cars have advanced knock off sensors to compensate the lower Octane fuel being sold in most of India. What does it mean for our engines? Note to Mods: If you think this is not the right place for this thread, please feel free to move the thread appropriately.