Pros and Cons of Premium Fuel

[lol-lol]

So I take it Tesco momentum is pretty much my best bet?

 

Just a shame they have halved the Tesco points from what is was.

[stever750]

Interestingly, I put texaco diesel into my superb and only managed 45mpg so far after 300 miles. Same effort see 50+ from morrisons or tesco diesel....

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[Brian69]

Why do BP bother with Ultimate when it is only 97 RON? It falls between two stools - no point in a driver with an n/a car using it as 95 is all that is needed and it doesn't meet the minimum 98 RON recommended by manufacturers of some forced induction models.

[lol-lol]

Why do BP bother with Ultimate when it is only 97 RON? It falls between two stools - no point in a driver with an n/a car using it as 95 is all that is needed and it doesn't meet the minimum 98 RON recommended by manufacturers of some forced induction models.

 

I expect that the selling point of the premium fuel is the additives for cleaning etc and not just the higher octane rating.  It seems that when the premium fuel is just a few pence more it can be worth it for many car but necessary for the old 1.8Ts and twin-charges that were designed for 98 octane.  What I thought was overpriced is the V-Power as whilst it may be 1% or so better than Momentum, as independent test show, but not worth the price difference of 5-8% or so.

[DonjSZ5]

I moved from Tesco std to Momentum in my 1.2Tsi and while I have not logged its mpg it does feel slightly better. Like Lo-Lo says its not worth moving to V-Power because of the additional cost.

 

I have also moved back to a diesel for my car and read a report recently on basic V premium fuels and the conclusion was there was little if any difference in them. All fuels now have to meet the European specifications so by the time you way up their costs it all evens out. Anyway my Passat has the cheat engine...as does Damon Hills.

[Brian69]

Annoying for me as BP stations are the most convenient - my mileage is so low (approx. 4,000 p.a.) any difference in price is an irrelevance.

[Ootohere]

Brian just try the BP Super.

My Twincharger does not dislike it.  It is 97 ron min.  

& might never exceed 97 Octane, but then again it might sometimes.

 

*You may as well try Sainsburys Super Unleaded 97 RON (Min)

Tesco Momentum 99 & Sainsburys Super 104.9 pence a litre

Shell V-Power Nitro+ 110.9 pence a litre

BP Super 110.9 pence a litre

Gulf Super 111.9 pence a litre   (or there abouts)

 

BP Super Unleaded is pricey most places i see it in Scotland, but you are maybe talking just getting 2 litres less for the same cash as if buying Momentum 99

and not more or less than if you are filling up with Shell V-Power Nitro+.

(But if you get 8 miles to a litre usually then you are buying less fuel for the same money, so work that into the 'Costing', 

does the Shell, BP, Gulf cost you less in consumables and does the engine run better. ie does the extra £2.25 a tank fill up work out being worth it)

 

100-102 Octane Super Unleaded on Mainland Europe is lovely stuff, and so well priced.

(Great Britain, always knowingly undersold.)

 

http://petrolprices.com

Edited 15 February, 2016 by GoneOffskiroottoot

[VWD]

Probably just as well I did Applecross (from Glasgow) in my MKI Fabia vRS (even then I had to stick some dirty diesel in it at Fort William on the way home)

I'm a native of Fort William locality, and there's two places for Premium diesel in Fort Bill- MrBen (Esso ) and MRh (road to the isles-BP) -( data available for those wanting to know on Petrolprices.com).Personally ( and vehicle wise), I and Furby have no problem with the cheaper ,if so called lower grade Derv on offer at Morrison's ,in the town centre.

[Paulbrown]

Just gonna add my 2 pence worth

I normally run the vrs stage 1 map on bp premier fuel as it's the nearest to me and I didn't think it was any better

HOWEVER

I filled up with £20 of tesco standard fuel and it is now running really bad :-/ missing and idling bad :-/

Put in the bp and it's back to normal :-/

[alltorque]

Just remember to listen to what is said, 

and remember that Shell Filling Station Pumps near the Ferrari HQ & Test Tracks & elsewhere can have Shell -V-Power of higher Octane than as sold at UK Shell Filling Stations.

What runs through Shell retail pumps bears little resemblance to what goes into Ferrari F1 fuel tanks. Presume Ferrari is samecas Mc

Laren et al. They have an FIA-approved fuel for each and every track, plus versions for testing, practice and race at each track. There is nothing you can buy through Shell pumps, or Esso pumps or any of the other oil majors pumps that equates to race fuel. In octane terms you're looking at specialised AVGAS-type fuels.

[vxh26]

A foole & his money, be soone at debate: which after with sorow, repents him to late.

 

I do wonder how many people would be able to detect the difference in a blind test?

 

In the wise words of Yoda, "Octane matters not. Judge fuel by rating, do you? Strong the placebo effect is."

[fabiamk2SE]

A foole & his money, be soone at debate: which after with sorow, repents him to late.

 

I do wonder how many people would be able to detect the difference in a blind test?

 

In the wise words of Yoda, "Octane matters not. Judge fuel by rating, do you? Strong the placebo effect is."

 

Depends what you're driving really. High performance engines thrive off it, my bike loves it...  where as an engine tuned to a lower state.. well... my HTP just gets abit smoother. 

[Ootohere]

Performance fuels, for vehicles that benefit from them.

Readily available where they might be needing fuel.

Choices of Fuels for the road, there are a few, sold in Filling Stations, not usually race fuels.

None of it is complicated, much! Its your money, spend it as you wish.

http://vitalequipment.co.uk/carless_hiperflo-12-c.asp

http://vitalequipment.co.uk/ets-racing-fuels-13-c.asp

 

http://retail.gulfoil.co.uk/package/premier-fuels

http://aaoil.co.uk/products/racing-fuels

 

^^^^!!!!!!

.......................................................................

http://volkswagen.co.uk/need-help/owners/Fuel

...........................................................................

 

Edited 20 February, 2016 by GoneOffskiroottoot

[seboni121]

I have always run my golf on vpower diesel and lobbed bg244 every 10k,i now get pretty much 800miles now to a tank full,i dont know what that works out at but seems like a lot of mpg for 55litre tank ? , yes the shell stuff is more expensive but i use it for the cleaning of the internals and economy

[Damo]

Thread tidied, as it had been reported and had strayed way off topic.

 

Relevant posts only please guys

 

Cheers

[mac11irl]

Aw

[vRSRobT]

After watching various videos i decided instead of using my local ASDA (which is super cheap) i would go to Shell and use their VPower Nitro+ Diesel for my vRS CR170.

 

On initial impressions i didnt notice too much and thought potentially it was a waste of extra money, so next tank i went back to my local ASDA fuel.

 

Recently i drove from Glasgow to Manchester then to Birmingham and back to Glasgow in 1 day.  I filled up with Asda fuel before leaving and all is fine, on the way back i decided i would try Shell Vpower diesel again but this time i really noticed the difference and have done ever since.  So much more responsive, torque is better and feels much smoother, mpg.....well the same or not that different (could be as i feel more power i playing alot more).

After watching the video i decided instead of using my local ASDA (which is super cheap) i would go to Shell and use their VPower Nitro+ Diesel for my vRS CR170.

 

On initial impressions i didnt notice too much and thought potentially it was a waste of extra money, so next tank i went back to my local ASDA fuel.

 

Recently i drove from Glasgow to Manchester then to Birmingham and back to Glasgow in 1 day.  I filled up with Asda fuel before leaving and all is fine, on the way back i decided i would try Shell Vpower diesel again but this time i really noticed the difference and have done ever since.  So much more responsive, torque is better and feels much smoother, mpg.....well the same or not that different (could be as i feel more power i playing alot more).

[RampantBadger]

My last 'performance' cars were always Japanese Imports which were mapped for Japanese spec 100 octane fuel, if they were run on anything less than Tesco 99 or V Power then they would pull the timing and drive like a pig. The ST205 Celica GT4 in particular as it came with a random tuning box attached (it made over 300bhp with solid afr's though, which was nice).

 

I use V Power in the VRS purely out of my experiences with the Jap turbo cars, it seems to get better mpg on V Power than 'normal' fuel, once I have it remapped it will be V Power only purely for the safety net of higher octane fuel...

Edited 20 May, 2016 by RampantBadger

[octyal]

Reading through this there has been a lot of talk of placebo effect (never really liked their music tbh ), this is my experience....

 

First I tried it with a 106 1.5 Diesel when I was commuting 40 miles round trip to work and back - difference between Tesco and Shell diesel - 50 miles extra per tank on shell (did this over several weeks -tank brimmed each time)

Second I tried it with my Discovery (1998 Tdi) Tesco fuel made it smoke like a biatch - plenty of sooty black stuff on hard power (bear in mind it was running a full size intercooler, tweaked pump etc), and managed around 400 miles to a tank. Using Shell diesel I could squeeze 450-500 miles from a tank.

Finally the vRS - since owning I have only used V-Power unleaded, purely down to the fact it is a "modern" turbo engine, that really requires (IMHO) the best fuel I can get (which is Shell V-Power locally to me).

 

Each time this has been over the same route each week for at least a month each time (usual life things like shopping and work). SO from my experience, yes the branded fuel is much better. Modern common rail diesel owners may not notice the difference in the levels of soot from the supermarket fuels, unless they notice things like the DPF doing a regen more often or the EGR system requiring work earlier than you would expect. It's more pronounced on an older diesel without so many treatment devices than it is on a newer model

[Ootohere]

BP says 'yet again' they have improved their fuels that you buy.

'Simply Clever' is try it and see, you know your own vehicle.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=NM75xdLnn28

[sigarland1987]

I tend to use just premium fuels for my E39 and there is a noticeably smoother running and better MPG with the V Power fuel. 

 

Usually accounts to 36mpg and about 350 miles to about 3/4s a tank on an 176000 mile older diesel engine.

[Ryeman]

A U.S. perspective

I just wish our premium was that cheap

http://www.thecarconnection.com/news/1104875_not-all-gas-is-created-equal-how-does-yours-measure-up#src=10065

[lol-lol]

A U.S. perspective

I just wish our premium was that cheap

http://www.thecarconnection.com/news/1104875_not-all-gas-is-created-equal-how-does-yours-measure-up#src=10065

 

 

The best US fuel ie 91 Octane fuel, has a lower octane rating that the lowest fuel you can buy in the UK ie 95 octane.

 

The UK, and Europe in general, specifies not only high octane but lower sulfur fuel which costs a lot more.

 

Oddly the best engine I have had is the 1.8 TSI, supposedly a 160 hp but let better, I rated it higher than all the other VRS engines (180, and 200 hp)  I had and that 1.8 TSI could run on 91 octane fuel !

 

The older 1.8 TSI, in the Mk1 OCty VRS, and SEAT Cupra, reallly prefered 98 Octane but all other engines I have around 30 various ones, really could not tell the difference and certainly not worth the money, Fabia 2 VRS a part which was purely designed for 98 Octane.  

Edited 8 July, 2016 by lol-lol

[MattHunt]

Two years ago in France we had to fill up (diesel) at a supermarket, with their default diesel, in the kitten end of nowhere and a few days later on the motorway, the fuel consumption worsened and the car felt laggy. After some miles the problem resolved itself but after that I have always avoided own brand fuel from out of the filling stations.

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[cheezemonkhai]

I'll give my standard Derv answer:

 

Pros:

 - Some people think they go faster

 - Some people think they go further

 

Cons:

 - Any perceived benefits are far outweighed by the cost difference and may not exist except as a placebo effect.

 - Empty wallet

 

For oil company:

 

 Pros:

   - $$$$

   - $$$$

   - Profit

   - Underpants gnomes

 

 Cons:

  - Marketing spend required for a while

  - High concentration of fools on forecourt can cause other issues.