my mpg has been low of late (diesel). I read on the 4 x4 forum I use, that lots of folk say supermarket fuel definately gives lower mpg than a brand. Have used bp ultimate in the past with better result, but at a price.
What say you??
I think the major brands "+" options do give slight mpg improvements but not enough to offset the additional cost.
I never use supermarket fuel - the supermarket my wife approves of doesn't sell fuel. (If they ever do, they'll not be knowingly undersold)
Petrol here can't say I've noticed the difference.
But I only fill up about 1 in 3 times at a supermarket and tend to use a brand the other 2 times.
I rarely let the tank get to less than half full before I fill up.
I've never understood this. Surely it was just something the big boys cooked up to drive revenue on their own forecourts. Sainsbury's and co don't have petrol processing facilities of their own...so I can only presume they buy the stuff from the oil companies....same product surely?
Not quite, yes they do use the same gantrys for fueling the tankers, heres the but, they do not have the addatives injected onOriginally Posted by jm7565
delivery. Makes a difference to cost.
Branded named fuel all have additives injected at source
Thats what the tanker drivers have been telling me for the last few years.
The local Tesco's is the dearest fuel round me, add to the fact that they charge for air when I need to check my tyre pressure means that I'd rather drive 2 miles down the road to Shell.
Sounds about right, Tesco opened a few years ago in a smallish village near me.
Two other filling stations in the village closed down couldn't compete.
Now they have it to them selves seem to be 2p a ltr more than other filling stations.
Tesco will rule the world.
I'm certain there's no difference whatsoever between 'supermarket' fuel and 'branded'.
Think about it; over half the fuel sold in the UK is via supermarkets.....does anyone really belief that the refineries produce 2 different standards of fuel?
For those who believe otherwise........you've been duped.
I run a Jaguar diesel and a 1972 Triumph TR6. I`ve tried all different fuels and believe me there's no difference! My advice is to buy the cheapest.
Paul
I haven't noticed any difference other than the large price differential. :?
Filling a Volvo petrol tank makes it financially worthwhile filling up at the supermarket. In addition, spending as much as we do at Tesco :( gives us a further 5p a litre off.
It's the same fuel yes , additives are injected when the tanker fills at the refinery a seperate operation.
The supermarkets don't take the additives.
I've had a filling station for the last 30 years & this is what the tanker drivers say.
Best
I tend to agree with walkerwek1958; I don't think those "additives" make fuel any better, either.
How much is it for a litre of RON95 in the UK anyway? Over here you're lucky if you can get it for less than eur 1.45, and most of it is tax :twisted:
Cheers
Stern
With diesel I haven't really noticed any difference (Landrover Discovery), but petrol certainly seems to make a difference. I use Shell V-Power whenever possible, and as well as getting slightly better consumption, the car runs better as well compared to any of the supermarket high octane fuels I've tried.
It's the same fuel yes , additives are injected when the tanker fills at the refinery a seperate operation.
The supermarkets don't take the additives.
I've had a filling station for the last 30 years & this is what the tanker drivers say.
Best
Looks like you might be forced to repeat it again :)
Some supermarket fuel is inferior. I have had contaminated fuel problems with Tesco which ended in them paying out over a grand to rectify the fuel system with the last problem.
That said, I have no choice but to use them as my company fuel card is specific to Tesco or Morrisson....just glad I don't own the car it's going into :P
What are these additives then? Do they only apply to the premium fuels? ie Shell V power etc..
Honest John in the Telegraph maintains that for some diesels supermarket stuff just isn't good enough - no detergent to clean the engine. Branded petrol can improve the performance of higher powered cars
The named brands have there own additives, cleaner combustion stop sticky valves, anti knock qualities for higher performance fuels .
Indeed different mixes for different times of the year, Oct,Nov we are instructed that winter diesel is coming a different mix to
stop diesel line freezing & a different mix for petrol to give easier starting in cold conditions.
So more to fuel than thought.
.
I don't mind using supermarket fuel in the daily shitebox but the 308 drinks nothing but the best :wink:
"I looked with pity not untinged with scorn upon these trivial-minded passers-by"
I notice about a 3mpg improvement when I use shell vpower deisel in my pathfinder about once a month I treat it to that. In the petrol BMW it's only ever had vpower in from day one as I read it's better for turbo'd cars no probs so far
maybe its a myth passed down the chain by the big brands otherwise everyone would just shop on price and really screw up the (already tiny) profit margins
I read a survey done a few years back by one of the car magazines and I remember the outcome being just buy from somewhere with a high throughput of traffic/regular tank refills, so it hasnt got time to "go off" or get water/other contamination in it
...sometime the village garage that gets his tanks filled every few months can be a bit worse than your local tescos that runs out once a week....
im sure that if there really were "special" stuff added to some fuel, it would have been analysed by now by some consumer research organisation....its not as if they can market the stuff without it as worse LOL
if you have an engine with a knock sensor that will adjust the map for the octane rating, and give more power, then sure, put the best stuff in you can find, otherwise the cheapest/most convenient will do for me
...all a marketing con I reckon...... ;)
Living on an Island means I don't have to worry about this very often but to give you an idea of how much extra petrol costs on the Island, it can be cheaper to take the car to the mainland and do your shopping at Tesco and fill the car up than to shop at the local supermarket and fill up at the local pumps and this includes the ferry fare.
Mind you we still have a nice man to fill the car up, none of this self service stuff :D
Cheers
Simon
Ralph Waldo Emerson: We ask for long life, but 'tis deep life, or noble moments that signify. Let the measure of time be spiritual, not mechanical.
I'll stick my oar in here - my old man refits/builds afresh petrol stations, mostly B.P.these days. When they drain the tanks down (during a refit) the contents are sold on, water silt rust and all.
As the old man says "Every little helps" :wink:
Mind you what he says when he finds a supermarket recipt in the car is un-printable :lol:
Are you sure? Wouldn't they sell "Good quality fuel, reasonably priced"?
Anyway, that particular supermarket is a PITA! :o Nearest is Edinburgh and don't deliver out to where I live. :evil:
Mike.
I've read that too. Given that the Supermarket Dismal around here is the same price as the local Shell garage, my thoughts are 'Why take the chance?', so I normally use branded.
My V8 BMW goes no better on V-Power than it does on ASDA's finest. I don't know what the ASDA stuff is doing for the long term health of the engine but at 19 mpg it's a gamble I'm willing to take, especially as you get 2p off a litre if you use their credit card to buy it
My frogeye sprite with tuned A-series is notably zippier on V-Power and it gets that nearly all the time, but I still use normal 95 ron on the rare occasions I do a long m-way cruise in it.
Yes - I got the slogan wrong.Are you sure? Wouldn't they sell "Good quality fuel, reasonably priced"?
Anyway, that particular supermarket is a PITA! :o Nearest is Edinburgh and don't deliver out to where I live. :evil:
Mike.
If you had the good fortune to be married to MrsL you'd have moved to Edinburgh by now.
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I checked the Which website for "supermarket fuel" and all I got was 2007 news regarding the silicon contamination scandal.
Maybe I can add a little clarity.....
I am a production supervisor for Esso and I make Petrol, LPG, diesel etc on the plants I supervise.
We at the refinery produce a few grades of mogas (petrol) and Diesel of varying sulphur spec.
this is shipped to our Esso owned bulk terminal nearby, where all-comers take it away- we have trading agreements with other oil companies as well.
The extras, if you like, are added at the terminals according to the customers requirements, major oil company brands usually adding the niceties- I am reliably informed that supermarket grades, while obviously conforming to the relevant BS number, do not have the same added "package"
You can therefore visualise separate tankers taking our stuff away with or without the various additives .
I personally try to use oil company products where I can, but we all know that many will buy purely on price, and this is fine if you compare like with like- the analogy we sometimes use , is that , in the supermarket, you may buy Tetley tea bags or tesco own brand, now if they're the same price, which will you buy?
I own a 10 year old Hilux diesel that uses mainly Shell (from our Fawley depot) and my 911 seems to return better mpg with high octane such as optimax- possibly as it feels like you don't nee to press the go pedal quite as hard- subjective, I know, but seems to be worth 2-3 mpg on 25mpg or so.
Goat :D
our member bulletcatcher makes a fine grade lubricant basestock for Mobil-1 at the next operating plant away from mine!
TESCO's posh stuff 99 RON :lol:
It depends on the car. I noticed a difference in my wife's old Toyota Starlet between branded and unbranded 95RON (I don't have a clue why, but it would pink intermittently on the supermarket fuel). It ran best on Tesco 99 RON, but then we're not comparing like for like.
Thanks Goat, useful to know. Does adding stuff like Morris Oils Morendo have a definate effect? or just increase their profit margin? http://www.morrislubricants.co.uk/scrip ... Product=94
Me too. Local garage keeps price same as local Morrisons. He's always packed and has tanker there refilling about three times a week. I wouldn't use supermarket petrol after the fiasco a couple of years back (Morrisons I think) where they knackered hundreds of cars with bad fuel.I've read that too. Given that the Supermarket Dismal around here is the same price as the local Shell garage, my thoughts are 'Why take the chance?', so I normally use branded.
I live 2 minutes from an Esso staion and so I always fill up there, but when I'm away I'm not picky about petrol stations, and I don't notice any difference in supermarket fuel.
I think a lot of it depends on the engine, some more tuned engines will benefit from higher octanes to produce more power, like this guy
Indeed, some manufacturers say you should only use 99, usually in highly tuned stuff like Impreza STI, Mitsubishi EVO etc.
Mainly, I think the difference people claim to notice between 95 and 99, is so tiny that it could be called subjective, and is therefore probably just a placebo effect type result of the marketing and their having spent more money. People shouldn't fool themselves, the vast majority of engines don't get more power out of Shell V-Power or any of those other premium fuels.
That said, when I lived in the US I used the most expensive fuel available as it was still laughably cheap, and only 95 octane!
Thanks Goat, useful to know. Does adding stuff like Morris Oils Morendo have a definate effect? or just increase their profit margin? http://www.morrislubricants.co.uk/scrip ... Product=94[/quote]
I dont have any inside knowledge of the product, but I suspect it may be composed of the type of additives that the premium brands get as additions at the bulk terminals.
In response to the octane issue, a higher octane fuel will allow cars with knock sensing engine management systems to advance the ignition to knocking point, which I think should allow better fuel burn and hence more power from the engine
Goat
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