Gulp Petrol Prices

[Tracy Dee]

Hi everyone.
Just put some Shell V Power In the Zed a whopping £1.30 a litre it's outrageous
Standard unleaded was £1.20 a litre iam thinking I might have to run every other top up on that.
What's general consensus on running on standard stuff.
I have put in Tesco 99 octane occasionally but gives less miles per gallon really notice it.

 

[Tfp]

I also would love a definitive answer on this from some one really in the know.

I always use high octane fuel in my sports cars, but not in my wifes Fabia.

I use it in my 125cc scooter and I can tell it gives it a bit more responsiveness, and it also gets a tiny bit better on a cold damp day. But doesn't seem to affect mpg as it does about 120 miles to a tank on either fuel.

When I picked up my last new Porsche the sales man said "don't use supermarket fuel" so I asked him why, he said they get quite a few cars in with problems relating to supermarket fuel.

So do we have any experts on here?

Are we wasting our money on V power fuel?

Tracy and I would love to know.

 

[gookah]

I have tried both and not noticed any difference in either performance or better mpg to offset the added cost. so I put whatever is available at the pump

 

[Jack Ratt]

I keep a log of every fill up of both of my cars. I calculate the mpg every tank full and there is no improvement or deterioration in either of my cars. Every now and again, usually after a forum thread like this I fill up with the higher octane at the next fill up and the only difference is in my wallet.

 

[Dino D]

On a 2.8 I really can’t tell the difference apart from the placebo effect. BMW quote the HP figures on high octane but I find a good clean and wax adds 15,6bhp every time.

 

[Redline]

Filled the Freelander up last night and the price had come down this morning having been at the same price for a while.

The fuel all comes from the same refineries but the additives change between suppliers. No reason for supermarket fuel to be radically different. It's all handled the same way just their additives may not be quite as effective.

Having said that Tesco diesel foams lots more than Esso so I suspect it has more detergent type additives. I also get better consumption.

Petrol - 95 or 98+ RON?
The ECU will alter timing to suit. Higher RON burns at a higher temperature but ignites more fiercely which should in theory give more power. You'll likely only see it under hard acceleration and high revs. Better consumption? Not seen any evidence myself.

Most petrol companies put more engine additives in higher RON fuel hence the significant higher cost.
That is probably worth paying for at least occasionally rather than for performance or better consumption under normal driving.

 

[Nodzed]

Both the M and the Alpina pink like crazy on 95 RON, the M sounds like a bag of bolts on it, runs lovely on 97+ and really likes shell V Power, trust me I would use the cheaper stuff if I could. As for Tesco fuel lets not go there even my diesel daily doesn't like that stuff,

 

[Dino D]

Both the M and the Alpina pink like crazy on 95 RON, the M sounds like a bag of bolts on it, runs lovely on 97+ and really likes shell V Power, trust me I would use the cheaper stuff if I could. As for Tesco fuel lets not go there even my diesel daily doesn't like that stuff,

Makes sense on the highly tuned engines for sure.

 

[t-tony]

My Z4 seems to be more responsive on the Super Unleaded up the road from work, consequently my mpg has dropped a bit because the car goes better. Nothing more scientific than a gut feeling, and a cost feeling to boot.

Tony.

 

[Lazzzydog]

I agree completely that Tesco fuel should be avoided. I used to fill up every time for about 3 years with Tesco because I had money off coupons and worked near the pumps. Then I changed jobs and a Shell garage became the most convenient. My Z3 2.0 was my daily drive in those days and the difference in fuel quality and mpg was like night and day. Nobody will convince me otherwise on Tesco fuel.

 

[Pingu]

From http://www.carbibles.com/fuel_engine_bible_pg3.html

OCTANE AND POWER
It's a common misconception amongst car enthusiasts that higher octane = more power. This is simply not true. The myth arose because of sportier vehicles requiring higher octane fuels. Without understanding why, a certain section of the car subculture decided that this was because higher octane petrol meant higher power.
The reality of the situation is a little different. Power is limited by the maximum amount of fuel-air mixture that can be jammed into the combustion chamber. Because high performance engines operate with high compression ratios they are more likely to suffer from detonation and so to compensate, they need a higher octane fuel to control the burn. So yes, sports cars do need high octane fuel, but it's not because the octane rating is somehow giving more power. It's because it's required because the engine develops more power because of its design.
There is a direct correlation between the compression ratio of an engine and its fuel octane requirements. The following table is a rough guide to octane values per engine compression ratio for a carburettor engine without engine management. For modern fuel-injected cars with advanced engine management systems, these values are lowered by about 5 to 7 points.

Compression ratio Octane
5:1...............................72
6:1...............................81
7:1...............................87
8:1...............................92
9:1...............................96
10:1.............................100
11:1..............................104
12:1..............................108

 

[Mint]

Like @Nodzed, my 2.2 pinks like mad on 95 Ron so I run on the higher octane stuff as well. No difference in MPG or performance just a happier engine Should say it pinks when perhaps I should have changed down a bit earlier

 

[Dino D]

Like @Nodzed, my 2.2 pinks like mad on 95 Ron so I run on the higher octane stuff as well. No difference in MPG or performance just a happier engine Should say it pinks when perhaps I should have changed down a bit earlier

Why use 5th when 4th will do I say..

 

[Pingu]

Why use 5th when 4th will do I say..

Do a trackday with an instructor - they encourage using a high gear over a low gear.

 

[Toby]

We have been benefitting from cheap fuel for awhile, I remember paying up to £1.36 for V Power about 3 years ago or a little longer, so relatively its still ok. However I do prefer when it was only just over £ the other year
It will always be like this as the ones who control it bicker amongst themselves and either over/under produce.

 

[Ianmc]

As I understand things, only Shell and Tesco sell 99 ron. I use either in my cars and lawnmower. Absolutely no idea if they are better than other options, just like to use the best petrol I can get hold off. Likely a character flaw as I used to put 5 star leaded in my 1147cc Triumph Herald in the 1970s.

 

[spurs fan in a coupe]

The cost of fuel is why I have ended up driving a diesel clio (and too many kids!), a Z3 isn't the worst of fuel, just be glad you don't drive a big Chelsea tractor like an X5 or a Cayenne!

 

[t-tony]

When I had a 2.0 Z3 and 2.5 TD Touareg they both were equally crap on fuel at circa 25 MPG.

Tony.

 

[Jjim]

The cost of fuel is why I have ended up driving a diesel clio (and too many kids!), a Z3 isn't the worst of fuel, just be glad you don't drive a big Chelsea tractor like an X5 or a Cayenne!

Doooohhhhhhhh
I do live in the Petrol station

 

[Sean d]

Doesn't make a jot of difference in my Z wether I use high octane or low so I pay the lower price, I had a conversation with a guy thats in the fuel industry and he claims that it placebo as the the additives have a very low shelf life, they are added at the petrol station when the tanks are filled and have virtually vanished after 7 days.