The girlfriend always uses BP 97 ron but to be honest don't get worried about it. It will make barely any difference in this day and age in a car like the Abarth. The modern ecu's can cope easily with lower quality fuels.

Its just down to personal preference in the Abarths.

Shell v power all the way!

Years ago I had a 205 gti 180. The difference in performance responsiveness between regular and v power was night and day.  Since then all my cars have run v power, including the diesel version.

For a few quid on a tank of fuel, surely it's a no brainier!?!

Ive just filled it up with tesco super 99ron, see how it goes.

Thanks

I've always used tesco 99 fuel

I always use shell v power in mine.  I don't think there is a huge amount of difference, but that's what I put in it.  Especially with the prices a lot lower at the moment.

Years ago I had an Audi 80 when I did a lot of motorway miles each week.  I once ran a tank of v power through it.  After that the car seemed much more responsive, the usual sluggishness was gone.  Even when using ordinary 95 ron afterwards it still felt much better, and fuel economy was slightly better too.  I can only assume that the v power stuff had some sort of cleaning effect.  So based on this experience I have always made sure to run a tank of v power through each of my cars at every service.

Take a look inside two similar cylinder heads - one where high octane fuel has been used in the engine and one where standard fuel has been used.

Chalk and cheese. Seriously. Or rather carbon deposits and no carbon deposits :-) I wouldn't have believed it until I saw it.

CB

Several years ago Thorney Motorsport (BMW M3 forum) ran an M3 race car. They tested several fuels (dyno'd if memory serves) and ran with Tesco 99 as this gave them the biggest increase in BHP (which was still in single figures).

I think you need a couple of tank fulls before the ECU figures it out. I ran an Impreza and M3 and never noticed any difference what so ever...

Just watch this (and the Fith gear test top left at the end)



There are differences, just depends on your car. If in doubt, try it yourself
It will take a few tanks to completely flush the old stuff out and the ECU is there to compensate for the changes.

People usually overlook Torque levels and go straight to BHP.

But in answer to your question:
I use Regular Shell in the CRV, Used BP-Ultimate in the Honda Integra and I use V-Power Nitro+ in the Abarth 595. So just depends what you want from the car. More mpg, power or cheaper fuel costs, it's up to you.