Hi Marchies!
Wow, just read the article on the Nismo-tuned March on the last
page of March Club Part V....drool factor 10/10!!! I
like....NYCMicra, possible to do in JB? Any idea how big a hole it
will burn in my pocket? Sighz...prob can't afford it anyway...
Anyway, reason I'm posting today is to share my experience on a
topic that should be close to all drivers' hearts...petrol! Yes,
prices have shot up recently, and I believe some of us are starting
to feel the pinch every time we fill up at our favourite petrol
kiosk. So much so that some of us have resorted to filling up with
92 octane...well, according to some people, the performance of your
car doesn't depend on what grade of petrol you use, as long as its
not below the recommended octane level. In fact, some even say that
using a higher grade than what's recommended may even be
detrimental to your car's engine.
I would like to share with you a personal experiment I conducted
recently, which may change your mind about using higher grade
petrol.
When I first got my March, I had this notion that I must give it
the best treatment (new car mah 
), so I pumped V-Power, cos I had some friends who
drive WRXs and they swear that Shell has the best quality petrol. I
was pumping V-Power for quite some time before someone actually
questioned me whether there was any difference between V-Power and
say, 98, and whether it was worth paying the extra 10 cents per
litre. Well, I thought why not try it out and see for myself? Shell
has always promoted its highest grade of petrol as giving you
better mileage and more vrooom to your ride, so it would be
interesting to see if it really lives up to its name.
The next time I went to fill up, I pumped a full tank of 98, and
waited to see what difference there was. What I wanted to see was
whether there was any difference in the pick up, as well as whether
my FC would be affected. My average mileage per full tank of
V-Power was about 440km, not much because apparantly my engine
still wasn't broken in yet according to some friends, but that
worked out to about 12-13km/l which was quite reasonable to me
(Jazz is supposed to be the most fuel efficient car in its class at
14km/l).
What I experienced on that tank of 98 was quite surprising...there
really was a marked difference in the pick up of my car, throttle
response was sluggish and the car felt rather heavy despite me
being the only passenger most of the time. Not only that, the
starting of the engine actually took a few seconds longer on cold
starts, not good. The next observation made me even more shocked,
my odometer read only about 380km when the yellow light came on!
That's a difference of about 60km, for the same amount of petrol
used. Ok, I thought to myself, there must be some reason to explain
all this...maybe when you use a different grade the computer chip
makes some changes to the car...hang on, V-Power is the same grade
as 98...maybe the mixing of the full tank of 98 with the little bit
of V-Power that I had left somehow reduced the effectiveness of the
petrol...unlikely...maybe I drove more aggressively with this tank,
or had to step harder on the pedal cos it picked up so damn
slowly....ya that must be it. Well, only one way to find out...pump
another tank of 98 just to be sure.
Sure enough, throttle response remained sluggish, and mileage
improved only slightly, this time made it to 400km with some
light-footed driving. But that's still 40km short of my average
with V-Power...almost equivalent to half a notch on my fuel meter!
And all this just to save 10 cents per litre? Ok, no question about
it, I'm switching back to V-Power. And let me tell you, the
response I got after switching back was absolutely tangible, you
can actually feel the engine's perkiness gradually returning as you
leave the petrol kiosk. That itself is worth the extra $4-$5 per
tank in my opinion. And my mileage went back to 440-450, so it was
all good. I was pumping V-Power all the way, until recently when
the prices shot up by 10 cents per litre. V-Power is now past the
$2 per litre mark. Pumping 98 is now equivalent to pumping V-Power
a month ago. I convinced myself that I had to downgrade to 95 in
order to save money, after all an article in the newspaper stated
that despite what petrol companies may want you to believe, the
grade of petrol you use doesn't actually change your car's
performance. So I decided I would make a gradual change, starting
by downgrading to 98.
No surprise, I felt the same sluggishness after the downgrade, and
my mileage fell back to 400km when the yellow light appeared
. This time I drained as much of the tank as I dared
possible and only pumped WAY after the light came on...guess what
grade I pumped? 
That was just a couple of days
ago, and I'm glad to say my Marchie is back to her good old self
again. I guess I managed to prove to myself that, despite the
additional $4-$5 per tank that I'm paying for V-Power, over 98 I
might add, I'm getting:
1) Better pick up
2) Better mileage (abt 50km more per tank)
3) Cleaner engine (more additives, plus FMT)
4) 20% more Escape points, which allows me to redeem my $40 fuel
discount or Free Carwash voucher faster
5) Free tyre shine service
Wow, I should be working for SHELL instead! 
Anyway, I hope I didn't bore you guys with my
essay keke! Wonder if any of you have the same experience with
using different grades of petrol. If so, please share so that we
can all benefit from it (and so that I can confirm my findings too
keke!) 
Another longwinded tale,
Blade
