Shell Garages in Essex
Discussion
Hi there to all
This is my first post after years of reading the information on Pistonheads i am now in the world of owning a TVR.That being a very very pround owner of a Chim 500 i've been along to the Mid- Essex meets and have been very pleased with the help and friendlyness levels i have recieved , must say this seems to be the world of TVR ownership and is a credit to you all out there so THANK YOU .
Here is why i have posted i have read time and time again how SHELL (OPTIMAX) fuel seems to agree with TVR's and increse proformance in certain cases.I Live in Chelmsford ,Essex does any one Know if there are any Shell garages local or in the area .Is it me or are they becoming more and more rare nowdays there must be some internal politics somewhere down the line.
Still if anyone has any information i would love to here from you many thanks for your time Kind Regards Gavin
P.S This is my first post ever so please be genttle ! I look froward to seeing you Guys out on the Road and giving you the TVR Wave .
"Roll on the Summer"
This is my first post after years of reading the information on Pistonheads i am now in the world of owning a TVR.That being a very very pround owner of a Chim 500 i've been along to the Mid- Essex meets and have been very pleased with the help and friendlyness levels i have recieved , must say this seems to be the world of TVR ownership and is a credit to you all out there so THANK YOU .
Here is why i have posted i have read time and time again how SHELL (OPTIMAX) fuel seems to agree with TVR's and increse proformance in certain cases.I Live in Chelmsford ,Essex does any one Know if there are any Shell garages local or in the area .Is it me or are they becoming more and more rare nowdays there must be some internal politics somewhere down the line.
Still if anyone has any information i would love to here from you many thanks for your time Kind Regards Gavin
P.S This is my first post ever so please be genttle ! I look froward to seeing you Guys out on the Road and giving you the TVR Wave .
"Roll on the Summer"
[url]www.shell.com/home/PlainPageServlet?FC=/uk-en/html/iwgen/shell_for_motorists/app_station_finder.html[/url]
This is the link to the Shell Optimax station locator.
Michael
This is the link to the Shell Optimax station locator.
Michael
hanksthil500 said:
Hi there to all
That being a very very pround owner of a Chim 500 i've been along to the Mid- Essex meets and have been very pleased with the help and friendlyness levels i have recieved ,
I look froward to seeing you Guys out on the Road and giving you the TVR Wave .
"Roll on the Summer"
Glad to hear that you enjoyed the Meets....they are are good bunch....
Next opne on the Second Sunday in February...the 12th....hope you can make it
YP
I never really realised how few shell stations are around (Essex). I am very spoilt, because there are two within 6 miles of me, and both on the way out of Shoeburyness! If the first one looks busy, I just wait for the next one! And with South Essex being apparently one of the cheapest regions for fuel, I am laughing!
Good news for you though, is that you just have to go out for a drive to get some fuel!
Dont forget it will run on normal unleaded, better that than run out!!
Good news for you though, is that you just have to go out for a drive to get some fuel!
Dont forget it will run on normal unleaded, better that than run out!!
I live on Canvey, and struggle to think of a Shell garage nearbuy,
at the moment I am only using the car at weekends and therefore can only get 95ron,
I don't know if this does any long term damage to the engine, but I definitely notice the difference in performance.
Ed
>> Edited by edtvr on Saturday 4th February 10:19
at the moment I am only using the car at weekends and therefore can only get 95ron,
I don't know if this does any long term damage to the engine, but I definitely notice the difference in performance.
Ed
>> Edited by edtvr on Saturday 4th February 10:19
edtvr said:
I live on Canvey, and struggle to think of a Shell garage nearbuy,
at the moment I am only using the car at weekends and therefore can only get 95ron,
I don't know if this does any long term damage to the engine, but I definitely notice the difference in performance.
Ed
>> Edited by edtvr on Saturday 4th February 10:19
Theres one just off the A127 at Rayleigh.. not exactly a million miles from you!! theres tescos at just off the A127 the other way just after the wickford/basildon junction that does the 99RON super UL.. I'm giving that a go for a while.. but as expected no perceptible change!
>> Edited to correct the spelling of 'perceptible' serves me right for trying to use big words
>> Edited by griffsmith on Saturday 4th February 11:14
griffsmith said:
edtvr said:
I live on Canvey, and struggle to think of a Shell garage nearbuy,
at the moment I am only using the car at weekends and therefore can only get 95ron,
I don't know if this does any long term damage to the engine, but I definitely notice the difference in performance.
Ed
>> Edited by edtvr on Saturday 4th February 10:19
Theres one just off the A127 at Rayleigh.. not exactly a million miles from you!! theres tescos at just off the A127 the other way just after the wickford/basildon junction that does the 99RON super UL.. I'm giving that a go for a while.. but as expected no perceptible change!
>> Edited to correct the spelling of 'perceptible' serves me right for trying to use big words
>> Edited by griffsmith on Saturday 4th February 11:14
Thanks, I don't normally venture over to Rayleigh, but your right it's not a million miles away. The Tescos must be the one by the Mayflower retail park?.
Ed.
griffsmith said:
theres tescos at just off the A127 the other way just after the wickford/basildon junction that does the 99RON super UL.. I'm giving that a go for a while.. but as expected no perceptible change!
I'm surprised and not surprised IYSWIM
My Griff runs discernably better on Tesco's 99 SUL than Optimax, right from the moment I start it up, it runs smoother and exhibits a lot less of the usual shunting under 2000 rpm.
There's no noticeable difference between Optimax and BP Ultimate with the Griff
Whereas my Supra definitely feels smoother on Ultimate than Optimax and, after a short period of testing, "may" be even better on Tesco 99. The problem is, it's difficult to test conclusively because the difference only occurs (Opti or Ulti vs Tesco) at well in excess of licence forfeiting speeds
I find it fascinating how different cars, even similar models, react individually to different fuels.
I'm fairly convinced it's not a placebo effect, as I get different results from both my cars

geoffvalenti said:
I'm surprised and not surprised IYSWIM ![]()
My Griff runs discernably better on Tesco's 99 SUL than Optimax, right from the moment I start it up, it runs smoother and exhibits a lot less of the usual shunting under 2000 rpm.
There's no noticeable difference between Optimax and BP Ultimate with the Griff
Whereas my Supra definitely feels smoother on Ultimate than Optimax and, after a short period of testing, "may" be even better on Tesco 99. The problem is, it's difficult to test conclusively because the difference only occurs (Opti or Ulti vs Tesco) at well in excess of licence forfeiting speeds![]()
I find it fascinating how different cars, even similar models, react individually to different fuels.
I'm fairly convinced it's not a placebo effect, as I get different results from both my cars
well its a bit early for me to be conclusive. maybe however that its the way the car is setup dictates which fuel it will run better on, all I can't say I've not noticed any difference which fuel I've used.. yeah I did notice differences between running 95 and 99. but surely in a car without knock detection the ECU can not optimise for fuel types. Personally I'm convinced mostly it is the Placebo effect (as with many things to do with cars like these), yeah obviously the timing of some cars will suit certain fuels but the differences between one 99 ron and another is negligible. ????
griffsmith said:
I did notice differences between running 95 and 99. but surely in a car without knock detection the ECU can not optimise for fuel types.
I agree with you. The Griff ECU isn't sophisticated enough to make any difference to the running whatever fuel you use so it must be something individual to each fuel that determines its running characteristics. I can understand my Supra preferring Tesco 99. The car was originally designed to run on 100 RON and the ECU is constantly adjusting the timing in an attempt to achieve the optimum settings. Quite why it prefers Ultimate at 97 RON, rather than Optimax at an alleged 98.6 RON is anybody's guess
griffsmith said:
Personally I'm convinced mostly it is the Placebo effect (as with many things to do with cars like these), yeah obviously the timing of some cars will suit certain fuels but the differences between one 99 ron and another is negligible. ????
In some ways it would make it easier to believe that it was the placebo effect, but in this case I'm really not so sure. I've always been one to laugh at others when they say their cars run better on a certain brand of petrol, and TBH in most cases I'd still be tempted to now. I don't believe that in run of the mill cars, the difference would be detectable even if there was one.
On something like the Griff that is always running "on the edge" a slight difference that makes it more tractable, or in my case not dying out when cold, loads less revs needed to get away in 1st gear without stalling and a lot less shunting under 2000 rpm is difficult to ignore or dismiss as a placebo effect.
It would be interesting to gather a few statistics regarding engine data vs preferred fuel, to see if maybe any patterns emerge.
I'll start, if you like
Car - '98 Griff 500
John Eales built engine, 5.2 (5160cc)
Compression Ratio - 10:1
Timing - 10 deg@idle, 28 deg@4000rpm
Camshaft 218 on 107 deg centreline
Cylinder heads - Big valve, ported
Induction - 45mm, ported
So what are the rest of you running? and what fuel does yours prefer?
griffsmith said:
edtvr said:
Thanks, I don't normally venture over to Rayleigh, but your right it's not a million miles away. The Tescos must be the one by the Mayflower retail park?.
Ed.
yup that be the one! sorry couldn't remember the name earlier...
Ventured over to Tescos this afternoon filled her up with 99
Thanks for that Chris,
do you live near the Island? I have seen a dark blue Griff a couple of times, is that you?
edtvr said:
Ventured over to Tescos this afternoon filled her up with 99![]()
Thanks for that Chris,
do you live near the Island? I have seen a dark blue Griff a couple of times, is that you?
Yeah I live in Wickford but the blue one isn't mine (although I seen a couple of them myself) mines dark green asligtly better colour even if I say so myself. I see quite a few chims about but don't think I've seen yours?? do you go to the Essex TVRCC meeting? its next sunday if you fancy a drive out?
griffsmith said:
edtvr said:
Ventured over to Tescos this afternoon filled her up with 99![]()
Thanks for that Chris,
do you live near the Island? I have seen a dark blue Griff a couple of times, is that you?
Yeah I live in Wickford but the blue one isn't mine (although I seen a couple of them myself) mines dark green asligtly better colour even if I say so myself. I see quite a few chims about but don't think I've seen yours?? do you go to the Essex TVRCC meeting? its next sunday if you fancy a drive out?
I intend to go next week, I havn't been able to make previous meetings because of work and family commitments but have cleared my diary for next Sunday,
My business is in Wickford opposite Travis Perkins on the Industrial estate, check out the web page on my link.
If you are there next week we will have to have a chat, if you ever want to do some work on the griff and want to get it up in the air, you are welome to use our lifter.
Ed
>> Edited by edtvr on Sunday 5th February 10:46
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