Cost divided by mpg:

Tesco = 2.814

Shell = 2.690

VPower= 2.616

Did you read my posting earlier, because from some of those comments I doubt it?

Yes I did. Can you point what parts of my post actually go against what you wrote in yours?

I deliberately wrote:

I'm

not denying

that there might be other things in the branded fuels compared to the supermarket fuels

and

all fuel sold has to conform to EN590

I don't see how those statements are incompatable with your statement that:

Tesco's and others do not supply the same "stuff" you can buy from the main stream retailer. The basic fuel will all be to the relevant BS level, but that is where it stops.

FWIW EN590 does include standards for lubricity, viscosity, ash content and water content (reference). It doesn't specify detergents/cleaners/anti-foaming agents.

It seems to me that we're actually arguing the same thing, but reaching different conclusions. I tend to agree with cwinnit on this: after all the facts, marketing material, rumours, theories and anecdotal evidence have been trotted out for the umpteenth time, people go off and do what the h*ll they like anyway.

Cost divided by mpg:

Tesco = 2.814

Shell = 2.690

VPower= 2.616

Indeed = 7.5% benefit

*assumes consistent results. No testing on animals used with this product. 8 out of 10 cat owners preferred Whiskas**.

** other cat foods are available.

Mine prefer Felix sprinkled with Shell.

I actually have a different take on where I go to get my fuel. Okay, I don't tend to use supermarket fuel most of the time, but my choice is usually affected by my total reluctance to queue for ages behind a ton of people who have just done some " shopping". I just want to put my fuel in, pay as quickly as poss, then be on my way. BP stations are terrible for this and I will try and ovoid them. I often use a Jet station locally as they only have a tiny shopping area and most folks just pay for their fuel and go. I hope they have reasonable fuel, as I utterly hate queuing.

I usually don't use supermarket fuels as I have read lots of these debates on car forums, and I try and avoid a possible pitfall, but I've never found a real advantage , for me anyway,in using the premium versions of diesel. ( Petrol is different as my other car has been mapped for the higher octane stuff and that does make a difference)

My yeti does 49mpg on tesco

52 mpg on fuel.save shell

55 mpg on vpower

If tesco is 137.9

Fuel save is 139.9

Vpower is 143.9

Interesting :think:

My car has mainly had a mixture of Shell, Tesco and Sainsbury's fuel and there is virtually no difference in the MPG figures between each fuel, I have not tried Vpower though.

The biggest consistent improvement in mpg was whilst my winter tyres were fitted!

I have had comopany lease cars for 20+ years, always on cheapest fuel, and many have done quite high mileages before replacement and I have never had a fuel related fault in all that time or about 400,000 miles driven. On the few occasions I have used premium priced fuel as an alternative to running out somewhere, I have never noticed a difference in performance or economy. This is mainly now in diesel cars, but some of the first were petrol.

My Yeti is coming up to 22k, and has not seen any premium fuel, yet can get 55mpg when driven carefully. Differences in consumption are as much due to technique as the fuel. Indeed in a 110bhp car I suspect the engine is so detuned, the fuel quality will have no impact on performance.

Perhaps when drivers have paid extra for their fuel they subconsiosly drive more economically to get their moneys worth.

And before anyone comments, I have had to pay for my own fuel and claim back at a set rate used for business miles. often lagging behind the true cost of fuel purchase, so it is in my interests to buy the cheapest fuel, and drive reasonably economically.

Edited 17 September, 201114 yr by kenfowler3966

Has anyone any actual proof either way? And I don't mean my mate/dad/cat/dog works in the industry so therefore it must be right.

Has anyone run a fleet of different cars some using branded, some supermarket then pulled the engines apart to check wear, deposits etc? Although for a fair test it would need to be on a rolling road.

A thought just occured to me. Surely if it could be proved beyond doubt that supermarket fuel was as bad some make it out to be shell,bp etc would jump on this for marketing purposes?

For the record I use both tesco and BP.

If there was a big issue there would be disclaimers on the manufacturers warranty if you used supermarket fuel, and there isn't.

I can't imagine anyone on this yeti forum who will have bought a new or near new car is likely to own it long enough to ever see a problem. I have never seen an issue in up to 80k in a car and some of my colleagues at work have doen much larger mileages than that without any problems. In practice other parts will be wearing and failing long before the fuel pumps etc go.

The only possible justification for paying a premium price is if there was a proven performance improvemet (which some more tuned vehicles may see) or a proven increase in mpg. If anyone had real evidential proof that the premium fuels were cheaper in miles per gallon terms it would be advertised as such, all over the place, but it is not.

I seem to recall one of the premium brands using an additive some years ago which was proven to wreck engines in a particular make, and even this was only circumstantial from a few motorists who alwways used that brand?

Has anyone any actual proof either way? And I don't mean my mate/dad/cat/dog works in the industry so therefore it must be right.

Has anyone run a fleet of different cars some using branded, some supermarket then pulled the engines apart to check wear, deposits etc? Although for a fair test it would need to be on a rolling road.

I thought i had given evidence re the EGR Valves on 2 identical engines???

If there was a big issue there would be disclaimers on the manufacturers warranty if you used supermarket fuel, and there isn't.

Nobody is saying there is an issue - just that Shell, BP etc is better fuel as it has additives, cleaners etc which supermarket fuel does not.

The only possible justification for paying a premium price is if there was a proven performance improvemet (which some more tuned vehicles may see) or a proven increase in mpg. If anyone had real evidential proof that the premium fuels were cheaper in miles per gallon terms it would be advertised as such, all over the place, but it is not.

I seem to recall one of the premium brands using an additive some years ago which was proven to wreck engines in a particular make, and even this was only circumstantial from a few motorists who alwways used that brand?

Again you are missing the point or have not read this thread - Shell 99% of the time i find the same price or cheaper than supermarket fuel (not talking V Power but Fuelsave) making it a no brainer.

Also if you look further up some people are getting more MPG and when calculated even Vpower on cost per MPG works out cheaper.

I, myself get around 60 less miles to a tank (consistently on this car and old car (PD130)) when I have to use supermarket fuel.

Seems that we are going around in circles here...

At the end of the day if Shell is the same price or even 1-2p more a litre than surely this is better as it keeps your engine cleaner and gives you more MPG.

Love threads like this as people will religiously service their car every 5-10k as 'variable can't be good for your engine' yet chuck supermarket fuel in every week

.

So do other "premium" diesel fuels by other oil companies give a greater MPG?

Some obviously seem to say MPG is improved with V power derv. I tried this a few times with my Altea TDi I used to own and never was convinced of any tangible improvement that justified the extra cost. I will give it a try with my Roomster and see. I would have to do the same type of mileage for each tankfull to get a fair idea. Be interesting as Roomster is old tech compared to the Yeti diesels, so I wonder if that has a bearing on things.

I`ve used Shell v-power diesel since it came to the market mainly because of its `cleaner` burning when I was having DPF `issues` in a 2.7d Jaguar.

I`ve used Shell v-power diesel since it came to the market mainly because of its `cleaner` burning when I was having DPF `issues` in a 2.7d Jaguar.

Interesting clip, not seen before. And that is without the 2 tankfuls of fuel needed to recalibrate the premium diesels.

I'll stick with v-power.

Another reason to use Shell fuel came in the post today. A voucher for £3.50 or £4.00 if I use V fuel, off my next fill up price.

That has to be worth it as I only pay the same supermarket price at my local Shell garage.:yes:

I started using Shell Diesel over 20 years ago when they advertised a new anti frothing additive.

My old Peugeot 205 was a real pain to brim the tank as it frothed for about the last gallon of fuel.

Using the new Shell diesel fixed that problem , so I've always been receptive to shells claims for their additive packages.

OK, went through two whole tanks of Shell FS and just about managed 50mpg going down to Bath (good journey and did no more than 75mph)

As we left to come back, filled up at Morrisons and easily got 56mpg on the Maxidot...sounded better too

That settles it for me

Edited 21 October, 201114 yr by davehutch

OK, went through two whole tanks of Shell FS and just about managed 50mpg going down to Bath (good journey and did no more than 75mph)

As we left to come back, filled up at Morrisons and easily got 56mpg on the Maxidot...sounded better too

That settles it for me

Ahhh,but did you take into account the prevailing winds yesterday?

Looking at the met office charts you had a head wind going to Bath, and a tail wind returning to Herts.

I'm now half way through my first ever tank of Shell Vpower and it's showing the lowest mpg the maxidot has recorded for about 6 months(41mpg).No noticeable change in performance either ,so its back to Shell fuel save for me.

(The winds have been light and variable,though the outside air temperatures have been colder this last week.)

Ahhh,but did you take into account the prevailing winds yesterday?

Looking at the met office charts you had a head wind going to Bath, and a tail wind returning to Herts.

Indeed. I find it peculiar that it took two TANKS of Shell to get an idea of its average mpg and only one TRIP of Morrisons (with perhaps a tailwind!) to make your mind up?!?!! Not exactly a scientific approach is it Davehutch?

I used to test diesel engines in a lab for a living.

I'm not going to get bogged down in all of the arguments, but as long as certain basic requirements are met, especially minimum cetane value, diesel engines are very tolerant of fuel variations. I have personally tested a GM 6 cyl DI (TK) engine on banana oil and have been surprised at the results - very little difference.

Save your money chaps, the oil companies are doing a "car polish" on you. Buy your fuel to BS EN590 and drive on - no other additives. The biggest enemy of diesel engines is dirt and water in the fuel.

People like me spent a long time defining specifications such as EN590. Use them and ignore the hype.

rotodiesel.

Edited 22 October, 201114 yr by rotodiesel

http://uk.autoblog.com/2011/10/19/shell-fuel-adverts-banned-for-telling-porkies/

Shell have been told to withdraw ad for fuelsave.

Thanks for this clear, definitive statement. The only issue is therefore whether the various additives make any difference to fuel which, as has been pointed out, has to be of a certain standard in the first place.

I have to say that in 45 years of driving I have always gone for the cheapest fuel available (often but not always a supermarket) and I have never used additives and have never had any fuel-related mechanical issues.

+1 (in 35 years of driving)

On the news the other day..

The advertising standards have pulled the plug on the shell fuelsave ad because it apparently exaggerates the actual savings to be had using it.

Nowhere near as good as shell claim and not much better than regular fuels by the other companies.

Me, I use Tesco because it's the cheapest round here for a distance

Me, I use Tesco because it's the cheapest round here for a distance

Me, I use Shell because it's the cheapest round mine (including Tesco!) And if it is more it is by 1p or so.

Me, I use Shell because it's the cheapest round mine (including Tesco!) And if it is more it is by 1p or so.

+ 1. Shell and Tesco seem to be around the same price in Borehamwood and Stevenage where I will usually fill up.

However; I prefer to use V-Power for the higher Cetane rating and at the two Shell garages within a mile of the office there is a currently a 4p difference between garages! Eek!

+1 (in 35 years of driving)

+2 (45 Years) Like a good number of claims made by fuel companies and 'magic' fuel saving devices (remember filter king?) there is a certain amount of 'placebo' effect and particularly in the case of fuel saving devices, wouldn't the manufacturers fit these things if they worked? As for Shell fuelsave the only difference I noticed in my trusty Berlingo was a lighter wallet!