Elf LMS vs PULP -Porsche 996 GT3
07 July 2004
Vehicle Tested: 2000 Porsche GT3
Fuel: Elf LMS vs. Premium Unleaded Petrol
Performance Gain: 26 horsepower (8.5% increase)
Doug Briese, Managing Director of Scally Wags Socks was interested in the potential benefits of running Elf racing fuel in his 2000 Porsche GT3. Doug uses the car during track days and promotes his company Scally wags socks, while competing the GT3 in tarmac rallies such as Targa Tasmania and Rally of Burnie.
From a reliability standpoint the benefits of moving from Elf racing fuel away from Pump fuel are straight forward, Elf racing fuels are higher in Octane and are far more consistent in quality than the fuels available from the pump, in Tasmania the supply of 98 octane pump fuels is limited and under rally conditions competitors don’t always have time to search for quality fuel at service stations
Due to the higher octane rating and oxygen content, Elf racing fuels can offer increased performance for Porsches from the latest spec cup cars to historics. Just how much of an increase may depend on the car’s engine management system program and the owner’s willingness to test/tune to the vehicles optimum power.
Darren Bell from the Porsche Centre Melbourne was called in to act as a technical consultant for this Elf racing fuel test on the Scally Wags GT3. Darren, who is a recognised technician, has expert understanding of Porsche performance, an intimate knowledge of the Porsche GT3 and a high level of experience with the dyno testing facilities within the Porsche Centre Melbourne.
At the time of this test the GT3 car had a Starr exhaust installed, while no other modifications had been made to improve performance other than the Elf racing fuel.
20litres of Elf LMS was tested, this unleaded fuel is 102 octane RON, 90 octane MON and complies with the FIA standards for racing fuel. Elf LMS is the current control fuel for FIA-GT racing in Europe which includes the famous Le Mans 24 hour (where the fuel gets its name from). Elf supply a range of unleaded racing fuels which are available in 20litre, 50litre and 200litre drums and are approved by CAMS for events such as Targa Tasmania, Marque Sports and club track days.
During preparation for the test, Darren noted that the most time consuming aspect of the task was draining the existing fuel from the tank of the GT3 and running the engine until the fuel tank was as empty as possible.
It is important to note that there was little gain on the first dyno run. Darren believes that this was due to the remaining fuel passing through the system and the engine taking time to calibrate to the improved quality of fuel.
It wasn’t until the fifth run on the dyno that consistent results began to show. Darren attributes this to the fact that the Porsche’s engine management system will self tune and also the calibration process on a GT3 will control the air fuel mixture until an optimal setting is found.
Results are displayed on the attached dyno graph. Elf LMS gave the Scally Wags GT3 a gain of 26 horsepower as well as a solid torque (tractive effort increase across the rev range).
Darren Bell made the following comment after the dyno testing, “In the GT3 the Elf LMS makes a difference and is a worthwhile power gain. A 26 horsepower gain in this case, is a good result”.
The Scally Wags GT3 was taken to Winton the following day for some on track testing. Doug Briese was in the process of preparing the car for the Rally of Burnie. Doug’s feedback after the track day was very encouraging in that his lap times have dropped by a significant margin.
In this case the Scally Wags GT3 has gained 8.5% power running Elf LMS.
To discover the benefits of using Elf racing fuels in your car, call Mark Tierney at Race Fuels Pty Ltd 0419 511 517, www.racefuels.com.au 20litres of Elf racing fuel will cost around $100.00 an hour worth of dyno time is recommended
Elf Racing Fuels would like to thank Darren Bell, the Porsche Centre Melbourne, Doug Briese and Scally Wags Socks for the use of the 2000 Porsche GT3.
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