Just filled the tank, almost from empty, to see if any difference in performance, economy etc.   Any of you folks have opinions or experiences with this fuel ?  Cheers.

No and no

sorry

I use it all the time or the equivalent from other suppliers. No noticeable difference in economy but the car runs quieter and smoother IMO. If I have to use standard diesel I do notice the difference. Depending on how long you have been using standard diesel you may need a couple of tanks before you notice any difference. Just putting in one lot and then back to standard wont see any improvement.

There is evidence out there of minor increase in horse power on dyno tests and some claims for better mpg (about 5-6%) but you pays yer money and takes yer choice. It's all about cleaner engines being more efficient in the final analysis; especially with oil burners.

 

All very subjective stuff of course so I have no interest in discussing the technical merits or otherwise; works for me so I pay the extra. .

Depending on your car's mileage and the conditions inside the fuel system and engine, it may take more than one tank to do much good. BP Ultimate diesel is high in cetane compared to standard diesel (though not as high as V-Power iirc). Most relevant to modern diesel owners, it uses HVO - hydrolysed vegetable oil - instead of conventional fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) or rape methyl ester (RME) biodiesel for its biofuel component. BP manufacture their HVO themselves, and it has various benefits over more conventional biodiesels; one of the biggest of which is less propensity to varnish or contaminate engine oil. Shell get around this by adding methane GTL (gas to liquid), which also burns exceptionally cleanly compared to fossil diesel although GTL (and HVO/FAME/RME) has a lower calorific density than fossil fuel equivalents. 

 

Long story short it's not bad fuel, but it is expensive - usually even more so than V-Power. In your shoes I'd probably stick to Shell but neither fuel is a bad one and longer term should help with keeping the internals clean and reducing particulate and HC outputs, thus leading to less loading on the DPF. The extra cetane will also provide a cleaner burn and should result in quieter idle, with more low down pull. Let us know how you get on.

 

Edit: Apologies @Sagalout we've posted much the same thing, though my verbosity meant you beat me like a ginger stepchild. 

Edited 22 February, 20179 yr by Rainmaker

No worries, saved me the bother of looking up all those details. Interesting stuff though and thanks for posting them

 

 

I've ran it for the last two years in my remapped Leon TDI.  On feel and tank to tank calculations I'd say it does make a difference, though the price increase/difference to regular diesel makes the economy difference negligible nowadays.  When I first spoke to REVO they said their own test car, a remapped 184 Golf GTD, showed performance differences when running on Shell Vpower Nitro+ diesel.   I suppose they do enough data logging to make an informed judgement. 

 

When I have to use regular diesel the engine is noticeably more agricultural in terms of noise and vibration, particularly at start up and idle.  This is my own observation but I think I do enough miles on the same roads in my car to get a feel for how it's running.  

 

Others will swear blind it doesn't make a jot of difference, that's fine as it's my car so I don't actually care 

 

EDIT: I use BP ultimate BTW not the shell equivalent, purely because the BP services are more convenient to access/exit on my commute. 

 

Edited 23 February, 20179 yr by penguin17

Many thanks to all you posters.  This is really a fantastic site to listen and learn from.  Cheers guys.

I used it all the time in my previous car (Qashqai) and it didn't really make any difference. For the time being while fuel prices are at the current level I'll be putting it (Shell v-power) into the Superb but if we hit the £1.50 mark again for standard diesel I might have to think again. 

I know it's not BP but I thought I'd add my experience:

I've used shell v power nitro for some time and only ever on occasion used the local esso garage (or the wife fills up at the supermarket ) and there is difference in engine noise using the latter and slightly more smoke under heavy load. 

 

It doesnt suffer so much with regular shell but throws a real wobbler with Tesco or Morrisons fuel, clatters on cold start too.