V-power? Why not!

[Phil-E]

Went into my local shell garage on the from getting new back box for the car and it was very busy as usual and there were a load of signs everywhere saying that V-power fuel (diesel and petrol) was the same price as normal diesel (98.9) and unleaded (95.9).

So i thought i might as well. So i squeezed £40 in (stopped automatically at £36, and fuel guage is reading above the full mark!!) and so far so good.

The idle of the car seems to have improved, and slightly better repsonse at lower revs.

See how many miles i get out of the tank... should hopefully be taking it for a long run out to hull at the weekend so will see how many miles i get out of £40 of V-power!

[daz51]

different people have different stories, good and bad.

back in the day i put some in my 50cc scrambler and it made it feel like a different bike yet .....

i put some in my turbo diesel fabia a few months back and it did nothing.

[Phil-E]

It seems to have (from what ive read and heard) a more noticeable difference in older engines...

Think in a new engine, the only time your going to notice is doing rolling road tests and racing the car, you would probably see a slight difference.

Whereas older engines seem to benefit more from all the additives etc.

[anewman]

It's a shame, saw this mentioned on Hotukdeals thought the offer was only in Scotland so went to morrisons instead to fill up today. I don't seem to manage to get £40 in the tank, I wonder if it's full of gunk or if it will go longer than expected when the light comes on.

Does the engine sound any quieter? Any apparent difference at high revs or just low down?

[Skoda-Msport]

...I filled my tank with some tescos 99 octane fuel; £36 from the empty mark, and ive just got a quarter tank left and ive done 190 miles with it. This was all town and B road driving though with some enthusiasm I might add

Cant really say the car is any quicker, but it does idle slightly better now.

[daz51]

the problem with putting it into favorits is the numerous electrical running faults they have. Mine when you try to accelerate out of a corner in a to high gear will give a little jump

so this jump may take away the benefit of the better running with the different fuel

[daz51]

...I filled my tank with some tescos 99 octane fuel; £36 from the empty mark, and ive just got a quarter tank left and ive done 190 miles with it. This was all town and B road driving though with some enthusiasm I might add

Cant really say the car is any quicker, but it does idle slightly better now.

i thought mine was bad but 190 miles ........... if i put 36 quid in i know i will get 300 miles to the full tank

[Felicia racer]

I always s use super unleaded in my bike now.

You can actually really notice the diference, between fuels on my bike.

So i've switched to using super unleaded permanently in de bike.

gives me,

faster accelleration

more miles per tank

lighter wallet :thumbdwn:

better for my engine

[pinkskud]

i can get 300 from a tank. but i'll have far more fun if i get 190 from it.

older engines run better on better fuel. newer ones are so controlled by sencers and bloody electrics, the ecu compensates for the better fuel and it runs the same.

[jeffers]

a mate of mine rallys in an old micra and he swears by tesco petrol (the 95 octane stuff) and aparantly so does almost everyone else he knows that competes

[Phil-E]

Does the engine sound any quieter? Any apparent difference at high revs or just low down?

Dont think its any quieter but havn't really had chance to listen to it , and still got to change back box which is rattling around at the moment.

Definately pulls better low down... but havn't noticed any different with high revs.

[Tech1e]

Just remember on older engines that dont use knock sensors to adjust timing running a higher octane fuel can lead to pinking and possible valve damage unless the timing is altered to suit.

[robw]

I run mine on shell standard and its so much better than supermarket fuel. Dunno about more mpg or power but it idles a lot nicer, probably due to the cleaners in it. Plus its the same price near me

[Phil-E]

Unless I'm totally desperate for fuel I avoid upermarket fuel like the plague!

Whenever I've used it in any car, I've always got really bad MPGs and my old citroen zx diesel used to smoke like a chimney on it! dunno why?!

have got new back box on now too and don't think engine is any quieter. but is definitely quieter with new exhaust, now that the baffles in it aren't swishing around in the bottom! hehe

[WoodieGuthrie]

Just remember on older engines that dont use knock sensors to adjust timing running a higher octane fuel can lead to pinking and possible valve damage unless the timing is altered to suit.

THANK YOU!

someone who doesnt feel the need to spend extra money on fuel that their car is unble to get the benifit of:D

My old BMW is mapped for 91 octane fuel, so even the 95 that you can get here is overkill.

I noticed whilst over in the Czech Rep and Slovakia that they also have 91 on tap, and there were plenty of felly and favorit drivers using it.

I dont know whether these cars have a different map than the UK ones, but they certainly seemed plenty nippy.

The max a STOCK felicia needs is 95octane.

Just because your "butt dyno" tells you that "The Car is Faster" after you put in higher octane is NOT PROOF!

[Skoda-Msport]

the problem with putting it into favorits is the numerous electrical running faults they have. Mine when you try to accelerate out of a corner in a to high gear will give a little jump

so this jump may take away the benefit of the better running with the different fuel

I have been giving the car death since ive owned it and had no running problems. No hesitation, starts first time every time.

i thought mine was bad but 190 miles ........... if i put 36 quid in i know i will get 300 miles to the full tank

I think you missed the point when I said I drove the car "enthusiastically" along B roads.

i can get 300 from a tank. but i'll have far more fun if i get 190 from it.

Now someone understands the concept of less is more.

[Ni2K]

Hi all...

This thread has caught my attention because I always assumed that V-Power and other premium fuels were only worthwhile for those with newer cars who are really concerned with preserving the motor... but having read this sounds like they're also a win in terms of economy (£££) and performance

Economy I get - more mpg, better value overall

Performance is a bit more wooly though... how do you actually feel this when you're in the car? In what situations and what is the difference from running normal petrol? :confused:

[KenONeill]

Just remember on older engines that dont use knock sensors to adjust timing running a higher octane fuel can lead to pinking and possible valve damage unless the timing is altered to suit.

I can understand high octane fuel causing valve-burn in an engine that isn't timed in to suit (by whatever method), but not pre-ignition. That I'd always associate with running too low an octane rating.

[fonzi's felicia]

used v power in mine last week till i ran dry this mornin an its was great, very minor uprgrade in response from the throttle etc . put standard in this mornin an feels a bit like urrgghh but still nippy.

[Skoda-Msport]

...I only used 99octane fuel for a week and didnt really notice any difference. I dont think its really a good idea in an old block like the Skoda 1289cc - they werent really designed for that level of octane fuel and to be honest, back in the then Czechoslovakia they ran even lower octane fuel than we have here.

I think the best thing to do is to stick to 95 RON fuel, dont let the car run dry, use some redex injection cleaner and some of that de-coking engine cleaner and your engine will be fine.

[richardsfavorit]

I agree with Skoda Msport - I have tried the higher octane stuff - no difference really - in the 1.6 VW engine. I would put engine cleaner, redex or equivalent through, keep the throttle body clean, and drive it mean to keep it keen!!

[Skoda-Msport]

drive it mean to keep it keen!!

...Yeah Its good to "drive em' like you stole em'" burns and blows all the crap out of them and stops the build up of carbon deposits etc.

For longevity of an engine ive always believed its best to let the engine tick over for a few minutes to get it up to good operating temp, specially on a cold morning and dont shut it off after a good thrashing, keep it running to allow proper engine cool down.

Regular oil and filter changes (using a decent 10/40w semi synthetic oil) Make sure water/coolant is changed, run antifreeze all year round etc and it should go for many thousands of miles.

This is alot more important than putting high octane fuel in. I tried a whole tank of that stuff in there for a week and gave the car death and it made no difference. I didnt see any economy or performance change.

[anewman]

Does anyone pour redex down the spark plug holes? Reading on the internet it looks like this used to be recommended by redex on the bottles. I am thinking of double dosing on redex in the fuel tank and blasting the engine at higher revs for a bit anyway.

[cheezemonkhai]

I did this on an old fiesta with a 1.1 HCS engine.... it really really cleaned the cr*p out and this was after the car had been run with a strong done in the tank for a full tank of fuel.

[bahnstormer vrs]

Just remember on older engines that don't use knock sensors to adjust timing running a higher octane fuel can lead to pinking and possible valve damage unless the timing is altered to suit.

I always thought it was the other way around.

An engine tuned for 4* would 'pink' if you put regular fuel in. Higher Octane is not a problem in this respect. The problem is that without electronics to do the knock sensing etc. an older engine will not get the FULL benefit of a higher octane fuel.

There are also limitations to how much benefit you can get. A modern car will benefit from 98/99 octane fuel as opposed to standard 97 - but if you were to put 102 octane Race fuel in (mad at about £3 per litre) there would likely be no extra benefit over using 98/99 octane.

Personally; I have used Shell Optimax/V-Power in recent years and presently use V-Power diesel to good effect in my Octavia TDI.