[drive.helios]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

I always add one can of STP Octane Boost.

I don't want to sound dumb, but is there any difference between Octane booster and power booster? Amazon's got both, and you talked about octane booster, but the pic shows a power booster.

[SuhasR]

It was an Indian Oil Petrol bunk only. I asked him to fill in XP95, he was confused and asked 'do you want power petrol?' which is like 108 ruppes here. Was that XP95, or should I tell them anything specific?

[drive.helios]

You should ideally be able to identify xp95 based on the dispenser. It has the specific xp95 branding. HP has a similar rated power petrol that sells around the 108~109/l rate , so the attendent might have meant the same. I forgot the name of the bunk, but on the Mysore - Hunsur route, but within the city limits,there's one that sells xp95. I filled it only once though.

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by SuhasR

It was an Indian Oil Petrol bunk only. I asked him to fill in XP95, he was confused and asked 'do you want power petrol?' which is like 108 ruppes here.

Originally Posted by drive.helios

It has the specific xp95 branding.

Visit the very helpful IOCL app or website: https://associates.indianoil.co.in/P...r/location.jsp

XP95 has very specific branding (Google it); you cannot go wrong and yes, it is ~109 bucks in KA as of today.

[SuhasR]

Originally Posted by drive.helios

You should ideally be able to identify xp95 based on the dispenser. It has the specific xp95 branding. HP has a similar rated power petrol that sells around the 108~109/l rate , so the attendent might have meant the same. I forgot the name of the bunk, but on the Mysore - Hunsur route, but within the city limits,there's one that sells xp95. I filled it only once though.

Got it. I found a weird thing, the density was like 702 kg/m3 which again was an alarm but not sure if XP95 should also have more than 720 kg/m3 density.

[anjan_c2007]

In the meanwhile Hindustan Petroleum has launched its version of high octane petrol "Power 95" in February 2023 in Delhi. It has become available now at many HP outlets throughout the country. It costs the same as the IOC XP95 and similar attributes of high octane petrol are claimed by HP. Power 95 costs Rs 112.00 a litre.

I took my Landmaster today and refuelled it with the high octane Power 95 petrol from a HP outlet. Its the best bet for non-ethanol blending, compliant automobiles to keep them in a good mechanical shape.

https://www.hindustanpetroleum.com/NewsroomDetails/390

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by drive.helios

I don't want to sound dumb, but is there any difference between Octane booster and power booster? Amazon's got both, and you talked about octane booster, but the pic shows a power booster.

Same thing.
I use the STP and Proctane EVO both, for my Mini Cooper. It makes a difference in combustion and burn efficiency.

[drive.helios]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Same thing.
I use the STP and Proctane EVO both, for my Mini Cooper. It makes a difference in combustion and burn efficiency.

Thanks Shankar. I tried proctane Evo this time. One bottle for 55L tankful of HP power95. Felt the car to be running much more smoothly and the mileage boost is 2Kmpl. From my usual 13-14kmpl in spirited driving to 15.5-16kmpl. however, I did not like how it was shipped to me. A lot of spillage and the bottle wasn't filled to the quoted measure. I'm gonna try the other one's sooner.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by drive.helios

Thanks Shankar. I tried proctane Evo this time. One bottle for 55L tankful of HP power95. Felt the car to be running much more smoothly and the mileage boost is 2Kmpl. From my usual 13-14kmpl in spirited driving to 15.5-16kmpl. however, I did not like how it was shipped to me. A lot of spillage and the bottle wasn't filled to the quoted measure. I'm gonna try the other one's sooner.

I recently bought a pack of 6 bottles of Proctane EVO. They were shipped as per normal in a cardboard box. But then, I noted when they were received, that one bottle had leaked while the remaining 5 were intact.
The other supplier who ships STP products packs them individually in bubble wrap and then packs them in the cardboard box.
Thats how they ought to pack these products.
Quite apart from loss to buyers due to leakage, there is the danger to the transporters, of flammability in transit as well.

[Sid9306]

Hello fellow BHPians,
An avid reader and a new member here.

I bought the BMW 330Li in August, 2023 and recently learnt that it is better to put 95 octane than regular petrol. My sales advisor said on the contrary, 95 is not needed just put in normal petrol, which is again Ethanol blended, so I don’t want to take that risk anymore.

I have just completed 3500kms and now started to open up the engine after the break-in period.

Is IOC XP95 the best option in Delhi? Or should I go for HP 95 octane?

Should I also put additives, because I read online that prolonged use of additives harm the engine, so not sure what would be the best bet.

Thanks in advance.

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by Sid9306

so not sure what would be the best bet.

Check out your owners' manual. If it doesn't say you should fill high octane, it is not needed. Filling it won't hurt though, except for the price. But if the manual says to fill high octane, then you must fill only that. I think all new cars are designed to handle ethanol blend, though the percentage may vary.

Mine is a 14 year old Alto designed to handle E5 maximum, so for many years I have been filling Shell V Power/BP Speed. Ditto for my Y2k Splendor too. So far there have been no problems though I think all petrol in Tier 1 cities are now E15 at least.

But there is no guarantee special blend petrols or even high octane (95/97) fuels are pure petrol. Some say even they contain ethanol. I once sent an email to BP about this but there was no reply.

[androdev]

Originally Posted by Sid9306

Hello fellow BHPians,
An avid reader and a new member here.

I bought the BMW 330Li in August, 2023 and recently learnt that it is better to put 95 octane than regular petrol. My sales advisor said on the contrary, 95 is not needed just put in normal petrol, which is again Ethanol blended, so I don’t want to take that risk anymore.

I have just completed 3500kms and now started to open up the engine after the break-in period.

Is IOC XP95 the best option in Delhi? Or should I go for HP 95 octane?

Should I also put additives, because I read online that prolonged use of additives harm the engine, so not sure what would be the best bet.

Thanks in advance.

Statistically speaking, very rarely a BMW (or other similar cars) visits the workshop with any major engine problems due to 91 vs 95 RON fuel. That should tell you RON is not such a big deal. Fuel contamination is a bigger issue. Many such cars were doing their duty without any problem before high octane became available in India. Modern engines (unless modded) can happily run with 91. This is why most service advisors tell you to use 91.

However, it's better to go with 95 as the engine will operate closer to the designed operating conditions. If you drive hard (high revs, heavy engine load, etc.), better to stick to higher RON fuel only. For general city commute or sedate driving, 91 should be just fine.

IOC vs HP: I doubt there will be much difference, better to stick to a good quality reliable outlet that's conveniently located.

[phi]

The spec for my Kodiaq TSI 2.0 indicates min RON of 95 and recommended RON of 98. After hearing of some experiences where higher octane fuel from some pumps suffer from adulteration, and water separation due to low sales and long storage durations, I have been taking the following steps:

1. Fill only from COCO pumps.
2. Fill at least 95 octane (XP95, power95 or Speed97)
3. True up to 98 octane by adding Proctane EVO.

While this has worked well so far, I have found it hard to find COCO pumps with higher octane fuel when I go on highway trips. IOCL does a decent job with their app and website - pump listing usually mentions availability of XP95, and I have found this to be accurate most of the time. However, for BP and HP, documentation is poor, and after a few experiences where I found that COCO pumps did not stock higher octane fuel, I stopped visiting them on highways.

In the worst case, I could fill normal petrol from a COCO pump and then use Proctane to bring it up to 95/98 Octane. However, I am planning some longer trips (2000+ km), and it is probably not a good idea to carry too much proctane in the boot.

I believe it will be very useful to compile a spreadsheet or a website with COCO pumps from different vendors that stock higher octane fuel. The columns would be name, google location, fuel types supported, date updated, comments. Is there a recommended mechanism that is followed on team-bhp for creating such resources for the community? I can volunteer to put something together if others also think that this is a good idea, and can contribute their knowledge.

For starters, here is a short list from me:

- BPCL COCO Thevara, Cochin, Kerala - https://maps.app.goo.gl/CpEyXoYoCYtNHWRj7 - stocks Speed97
- IOCL COCO Pongam, Kerala - https://maps.app.goo.gl/xSDe6X6wMUunNJ4p9 - stocks XP95
- IOCL COCO, Kaithian Kottai, Tamilnadu - https://maps.app.goo.gl/9Ggw9f1iKdXYqH179 - stocks XP95
- HPCL COCO, Murugeshpalya, Bengaluru - https://maps.app.goo.gl/QMbmWe63dhTMi3We8 - stocks power95, power99, power100
- IOCL COCO, Koramangala, Bengaluru - https://maps.app.goo.gl/8qwhhyVCD92Rga4t6 - stocks XP95
- United Fuels IOCL, Edappally, Ernakulam, Kerala - https://maps.app.goo.gl/U57CAisyPD7Wmc7F6 - stocks XP95 (Not COCO, but it is a reliable pump).
- IOCL, Koonamthai, Ernakulam, Kerala - https://maps.app.goo.gl/JxVH277VNWVsZNEH9 - stocks XP95 (Not COCO, but it is a reliable pump).

[sudhir_vag]

Thanks for the list @phi
Updating some reliable IOCL pumps in TN from my end which stocks XP95

- IOCL COCO Chengapalli NH 544 (Ex- NH 47) -https://maps.app.goo.gl/e7TLLAbgcEsP8K1F8
- IOCL COCO Maduranthakam - https://maps.app.goo.gl/afwHvhbkse6u47eL8 (NH 45)
- Shanthi fuels IOCL Coimbatore - https://maps.app.goo.gl/PbFSsitmS75eGkw76

[Aviator_guy]

I have started using XP95 in my BS6 Creta IVT (NA engine) and feel that engine performance and mileage has improved significantly. Recently, during BLR Vellore highway run, got mileage of 21kmpl (MID) whereas I could never see more than 17-18 kmpl using regular petrol. Engine felt much smoother and acceleration was also better than before. Quite happy with XP95 and don't mind paying 6 Rs premium. Hope there is no harm in using high octane petrol in NA engine.