aris Posted September 4, 2013 Report Share Posted September 4, 2013 Does anyone use the premium petrol/diesel fuels available like Shell V-Power or BP Ultimate? If so, do you see any benefit which meets or outweighs the premium cost? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_b_wales Posted September 4, 2013 Report Share Posted September 4, 2013 I put some premium diesel in my tank a while back, it cost 4p per ltr more. To be honest, it did seem better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teal Posted September 4, 2013 Report Share Posted September 4, 2013 I am trying premium diesel at the moment. The way I see it when fuel was cheaper in percentage terms the premium fuel was quite a lot more. But these days when filling up is £1.43 and premium is only a few pence more, it's got to be worth a try. It would only need to deliver a couple of percentage points more economy/performance depending on what you are going for. As far as I know they are taxed the same, so you are just paying a bit extra for the better refining. For what it's worth and having done a lot of driving, for some reason my car always seems to return better results with Shell fuel than other brands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbiep Posted September 4, 2013 Report Share Posted September 4, 2013 I was sceptical, but decided to give it a go a while back. Took 2-3 tanks to become noticeable, but my 318d is now averaging 57 mpg (over 5 tanks) compared to 52 a few months ago. Real figures, not trip computer ones. And yes, I am a nerd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aris Posted September 4, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 4, 2013 Yeah, I tend to use Shell too - mostly because it is my local, and competitively priced. I just got a new car - a diesel - and not having driven a diesel, was wondering if I could squeeze a few more MPG out of it. My morning commute got my around 47mpg on the cars trip computer - about 80% motorway - the rest being the roads leading on/off motorway. I'll see what I average on this kind of fuel, then swap to Shell V-power and see if it makes any difference. Would be interested to hear any other nerdy experiences Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil3728 Posted September 4, 2013 Report Share Posted September 4, 2013 tried it a few times, can't say i've seen any difference, the only true way to get better fuel ecconomy is to watch how you drive. No hard acceleration etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aris Posted September 4, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 4, 2013 I'm wondering if it depends on the car also. Older diesels can run OK on used chip oil, while newer ones are quite fussy, and may work better with a more refined fuel, or benefit from the detergents and/or additives in the premium fuels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imperfection Posted September 4, 2013 Report Share Posted September 4, 2013 I tried my previous car (an old Citroen) on the Shell super diesel several times and found it gave more noticable power and i could get 530 miles to a tank which is atleast 40 miles more when compared to the normal stuff (not supermarket fuel). Im told its because the super fuel's burn more efficently. I now have a petrol Mondeo so i suppose i ought to try super plus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_b_wales Posted September 4, 2013 Report Share Posted September 4, 2013 My vehicle is a 2008 Freelander 2. I've only done 34000 miles from new. But when I added the premium diesel, it did sound quieter, although I could'nt say that the performance was any better. I add Millers Power Eco Max to my tank when filling. It cost £12.99, and does 10 x 50 ltr tanks, so works out pretty cheap per ltr But if the premium diesel works out the same, then I'll stick to that. Millers Power Eco max works out at 2.6p per ltr approx., so if it does the same job as the premium diesel, I'll continue to use that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fuddster Posted September 4, 2013 Report Share Posted September 4, 2013 my landcruiser blew its fuel pump after I'd pretty much fed it cheap tesco fuel-on the advice of the diesel specialists that done the repair I now only use BP standard diesel-have to say its quieter and seems to run better-If I decide to make the car a long term keeper I may switch over to the premium fuel. Given the fuel pump was billed at £2000 for a Toyota genuine part it might save in the long run. cheers fudds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Bb Posted September 4, 2013 Report Share Posted September 4, 2013 For what it's worth and having done a lot of driving, for some reason my car always seems to return better results with Shell fuel than other brands.I've recently changed from Shell to BP, the garage is nearer & less crowded and the fuel is marginally cheaper. MPG has definitely gone down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penfolio Posted September 4, 2013 Report Share Posted September 4, 2013 I've trialled super unleaded in both V8 and V6 'performance' engines and, never noticed any benefit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIGHTCHOKE Posted September 4, 2013 Report Share Posted September 4, 2013 I drive a 2.2 litre deisel and use the cheapest fuel in the area, BUT every now and then, I put a bottle of engine cleaner in the tank and get somewhere in the region of 75 MPG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_b_wales Posted September 4, 2013 Report Share Posted September 4, 2013 I was told that putting supermarket diesel in the tank, does'nt actually save you anything in the long run, because, even though it may be a few pence cheaper per ltr, most engines will use more of it per mile, but you won't actually notice it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imperfection Posted September 4, 2013 Report Share Posted September 4, 2013 I was told that putting supermarket diesel in the tank, does'nt actually save you anything in the long run, because, even though it may be a few pence cheaper per ltr, most engines will use more of it per mile, but you won't actually notice it. My old Citroen would only do around 460 miles on Tesco diesel,but with normal Shell went up by approximately 25-30 miles. It was also sluggish on the Tesco stuff too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njc110381 Posted September 4, 2013 Report Share Posted September 4, 2013 We've found that our car runs a bit smoother on the premium Shell fuel than the regular stuff. It's an Audi S4 with a 4.2 V8 in it - my thinking is that if economy was an issue I'd have bought something else so I've never looked to see what the overall MPG is. Not sure I even want to know! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teal Posted September 4, 2013 Report Share Posted September 4, 2013 I am about to do a long drive, and although slightly offtopic from the OP question, one thing I have noticed is keeping the tyres at the correct pressure makes a very noticeable difference to mpg. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAMMER BURT Posted September 4, 2013 Report Share Posted September 4, 2013 I am about to do a long drive, and although slightly offtopic from the OP question, one thing I have noticed is keeping the tyres at the correct pressure makes a very noticeable difference to mpg. +1 on the correct tyre pressure,so does changing the air/fuel filter at the requied milage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
junctiontwo Posted September 4, 2013 Report Share Posted September 4, 2013 Morrisons diesel has given my last & current car a definite boost in performance. The engine seems smoother & quieter as well as quicker.............would love to know who supplies them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aris Posted September 4, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 4, 2013 There are many techniques to improve mpg - google 'Hypermiling'. One of the more interesting ones is tailgating an HGV to take advantage of their slip stream. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIGHTCHOKE Posted September 4, 2013 Report Share Posted September 4, 2013 (edited) Morrisons diesel has given my last & current car a definite boost in performance. The engine seems smoother & quieter as well as quicker.............would love to know who supplies them. It used to be Texaco! Edited September 5, 2013 by TIGHTCHOKE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daz2202 Posted September 4, 2013 Report Share Posted September 4, 2013 My old track car on a rolling road. Sainsbury std unleaded 126bhp Russo std unleaded 125bhp Shell vmax 128bhp Bp102 unleaded 132bhp Shame they don't make 102 anymore. Also on vmax and bp102 the engine ran 2.2 degrees cooler. So that's also an advantage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4eyes Posted September 4, 2013 Report Share Posted September 4, 2013 (edited) I'm on the phone so can't copy the link but search "5th gear fuel test" on YouTube. A short while back they did a test comparing supermarket chepo stuff, standard and so called super fuels such a optimax etc. I think the results were only marginal. In my experience Shell regular diesel seems to work the best in my 320d. Supermarket diesel tends to have a really high bio disel content and this has less lubricating properties that could contribute to premature wear. If I recall rightly , morrisons being the highest at around 7%. Also made my car smoke like an old train! Edited September 4, 2013 by 4eyes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark a Posted September 4, 2013 Report Share Posted September 4, 2013 I use super unleaded in my zx9r and noticed the difference straight away,It starts better and runs smoother and goes like stink. mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fruity Posted September 4, 2013 Report Share Posted September 4, 2013 I use super unleaded in my zx9r and noticed the difference straight away,It starts better and runs smoother and goes like stink. mark + 1 with that, makes my bmw a lot smoother especially at low revs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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