Standard Unleaded Vs Super Unleaded

[IZZZY]

Guys,

Last night i filled up using Super unleaded rather than the usual standard unleaded..ive heard Super is better for the engine also improve MPG very slightly.

are there any other benefits for using Super over standard?

thanks guys,

[kam05]

Super unleaded also has cleaning agents which clean the engine internals- bit like fuel cleaner/injecter cleaners that you can buy.

[Parthiban]

Yep little more power, little better mpg and fuels like V Power have lots of cleaning additives in them so are much better for the engine - mine runs so much sweeter on V Power than on unleaded :)

[Asi]

i always used v power and once i put in normal fuel the car just didnt feel right.

[IZZZY]

V power?

is that Esso?

i know tesco call it Super, BP i think call it BP ultimate...and so on..

[kam05]

Shell V Power

[IZZZY]

Shell V Power

thanks Kam... so would you say from all the top end unleaded suppliers.. V power is the best?

ive heard BP ultimate is good...

[Parthiban]

Yep Shell is the best - BP ultimate is supposed to be good in other countries but in the UK it's just normal super (or has that changed?)

Tesco does 100RON at some stations so their fuel is good, but Shell is generally rated the highest because of the good stuff they add to it :)

[Kit77]

I read somewhere that tesco offers cheaper super unleaded fuels because they source cheaper each time and so you actually get a different fuel each time. is this true or an urban myth?

[Parthiban]

I read somewhere that tesco offers cheaper super unleaded fuels because they source cheaper each time and so you actually get a different fuel each time. is this true or an urban myth?

That sounds a bit too extreme to be honest, but I avoid supermarket fuels anyway (only the Tesco 100RON super seems tempting but haven't tried it myself)

[TigerFish]

but I avoid supermarket fuels anyway

Any particular reason why? I have to say I have used mostly supermarket fuels for years, as they are generally cheaper. In the last ten years, I have covered over 350,000 miles, and can't attribute any issues to cheap fuel.

[Jon Evans]

I filled my tank with super unleaded when it was almost totally empty a couple of weeks ago. It was the only thing they had and I was running on fumes. It's the first time I've used anything other than standard unleaded since I bought the car 5 years ago. I noticed zero difference in performance! Can't really compare MPG because usually I drive around country lanes, but when I refilled I spent most of the weekend doing motorway cruising.

[Parthiban]

Any particular reason why?

No not really.........used to use them too, then kept hearing they're not as good so eventually stopped - really like how much smoother the engine sounds on V Power so that's all I really use nowadays though.

[ormi]

I filled my tank with super unleaded when it was almost totally empty a couple of weeks ago. It was the only thing they had and I was running on fumes. It's the first time I've used anything other than standard unleaded since I bought the car 5 years ago. I noticed zero difference in performance! Can't really compare MPG because usually I drive around country lanes, but when I refilled I spent most of the weekend doing motorway cruising.

if you read up on switching to super/v power you wont notice a thing from 1 tank they recon 3/4 tanks before you will notice a diff depending on year and milage.you have to give it time to do its work ie clean valves,injectors etc.

[IZZZY]

im moving over to V power from now on :-)

will V POWER allow me to beat a Porsche Turbo at the lights then? :-P

LOL

[Parthiban]

[dave1]

I used "standard" unleaded in my GS 300 sport for 6 years and have been using it in my GS 430 since I bought it in May last year. Normally fill up at Morrisons and never had any problems with the fuel. Previously used in Audi 100, Rover 827si, Persona SRI all with NO problems and plenty of power.

If these cars were supposed to run on super unleaded then I think the manufacturers would state that fact. Also if performance and fuel consumption were significantly better, again it is something which the manufacturers would be happy to point out. The fact that they don't would seem to indicate that any increase in power or performance is either non-existant or so minimal that any perceived benefit is not cost effective.

Just my opinion and if you use the super unleaded then fair enough.....you too are entitled to your own opinion on what is best for you and your car.

[GEN]

I think the LS400 owners manual calls for for an octane rating of 91 or over - the standard unleaded (around here) is 95 so.... As between Shell Vpower and Tesco super unleaded: Tesco's has a higher octane rating than Shells Vpower. I used Vpower for years in my Porsche and when I realized that Tesco super was a higher octane I switched to it (over a year at least) - I certainly cannot tell the difference between the two so I'm staying with Tesco super for the Porsche and Tesco standard for the Ls No, I don't work for Tesco and/or any associated companies/employees, etc.

[japthree]

Out of the two super fuels - I tend to use Shell V-Power rather than BP Ultimate. For some unknown reason BP fuel prices are really expensive when compared to Shell! Is this the same situation in your area?

[Anuj]

i only use vpower in my honda now, but before when i was trying a few fuels, i found essos super unleaded to be good, but bp ultimate, was awful,. it was really slugish, the car drives like a dream on vpower, and even going 2 normal shell, isnt the same, vpower all the way,

[fil4362]

shell v power in my lexus doesnt seem to make much of a diffrence, in my modded turbo (rover coupe) i can tell when the first of the fuel hit the fuel rail. bp ultima didnt really do much on either car.

Super market petrol for me is a no no. I have had many cars in my garage with engine management lights on ( mainly vauxhall) all showing lambda,oxygen,exhaust (which ever you call it) sensor faults. All have them have super market petrol in comman,usually tesco. I tell the customer to run the tank near empty then come back after filling up at a bp or texeco station. Then i reset the light and tell them supermarket petrol only every 2 tank fulls. I dont charge for the reset and it seems to do te trick. I am pretty sure if the light comes on again they would come back as i hadnt charged them.

I was gasping for fuel the other week i hadnt past a fuel station as i was just poping short journeys. Anyway within 2 days of a Tesco fill the engine check light came on, sure enough sensor 1 bank 1. Now i know lexus have a problem with Lambda sensors,or so i believe from this site, so it could be unlucky in my case.

Saw a test on a tv program the other week they drained and filled cars 1 with supermarket petrol 1 one bp top stuff 1 on texeco top stuff. They ran the cars for a while to get they fuel running in the systems. They then rolling road tested the cars. The family car class didnt really show much of a diffrence the middle class motor show some improvement in power but the top end stuff (performance wise) showed the most improvement. Cant rememeber if it was texeco stuff or bp that came out ontop but certainly showed most improvement in high performance motors.

[dave1]

shell v power in my lexus doesnt seem to make much of a diffrence, in my modded turbo (rover coupe) i can tell when the first of the fuel hit the fuel rail. bp ultima didnt really do much on either car.

Super market petrol for me is a no no. I have had many cars in my garage with engine management lights on ( mainly vauxhall) all showing lambda,oxygen,exhaust (which ever you call it) sensor faults. All have them have super market petrol in comman,usually tesco. I tell the customer to run the tank near empty then come back after filling up at a bp or texeco station. Then i reset the light and tell them supermarket petrol only every 2 tank fulls. I dont charge for the reset and it seems to do te trick. I am pretty sure if the light comes on again they would come back as i hadnt charged them.

If these faults were caused by using supermarket fuel then it would be impossible to book your car in to get it checked out without a very long wait. The sheer volume of fuel sold by supermarket forecourts must be phenominal and therefore the number of cars using it must be phenominal also.

I can't really believe that you think supermarket fuel is the cause of these faults. It is just as likely that the reason for all the cars in your garage with these faults is that they use the M62. The logical explanation is that it is either coincidence, possibly lack of correct maintenance or just the fact that these items do fail sometimes.

[eddieblock]

hello all ! before reading this thread i,ve never used premium petrol, didn,t think it was worth it. but decided to give it a try so ran my tank almost empty then filled up with shell v power. i don,t know if it,s the placebo effect but the car does seem to run smoother, not sure about better mpg tho. so for me i,ll continue to use shell v power, seems to do what it says !

[fil4362]

shell v power in my lexus doesnt seem to make much of a diffrence, in my modded turbo (rover coupe) i can tell when the first of the fuel hit the fuel rail. bp ultima didnt really do much on either car.

Super market petrol for me is a no no. I have had many cars in my garage with engine management lights on ( mainly vauxhall) all showing lambda,oxygen,exhaust (which ever you call it) sensor faults. All have them have super market petrol in comman,usually tesco. I tell the customer to run the tank near empty then come back after filling up at a bp or texeco station. Then i reset the light and tell them supermarket petrol only every 2 tank fulls. I dont charge for the reset and it seems to do te trick. I am pretty sure if the light comes on again they would come back as i hadnt charged them.

If these faults were caused by using supermarket fuel then it would be impossible to book your car in to get it checked out without a very long wait. The sheer volume of fuel sold by supermarket forecourts must be phenominal and therefore the number of cars using it must be phenominal also.

I can't really believe that you think supermarket fuel is the cause of these faults. It is just as likely that the reason for all the cars in your garage with these faults is that they use the M62. The logical explanation is that it is either coincidence, possibly lack of correct maintenance or just the fact that these items do fail sometimes.

you could be right but then seen as i dont change the sensor and the fault doesnt come back would be unlikley that its a faulty sensor. I dont bother to get to the bottom of the problem afterall all the customer wants is his/her light of. All i do is clear the faults and tell them to avoid supermarket fuel if possible. It does also seem to be just the local Tesco where they all go. Could just be that the owners all live near there i dont bother to check where they all live.

AS for super markets not having bad fuel i know for a fact some do i have about 200 litres of diesel/petrol mix that was incorrectly put in the wrong tank at the super market. Some one put diesel into petrol tank in the petrol station. About 20 cars broke down before anyone noticed. I personally towed and drained about 5 of them.

I have also had some real bad diesel from Morrison petrol station. The tanks had been cleaned and not flushed properly i towed 3 cars with sludge in there fuel tanks. Theres a petrol station near me that sells bio diesel, they mix more thinners ?? with it when the weather turns cold I towed several cars recently that had been filled with bio and the fuel had sludged up in the fuel tanks of the cars.

All the above cars were paid for in full by the petrol stations at fault. So there is bad fuel out there and lots of it in my area.

[dave1]

shell v power in my lexus doesnt seem to make much of a diffrence, in my modded turbo (rover coupe) i can tell when the first of the fuel hit the fuel rail. bp ultima didnt really do much on either car.

Super market petrol for me is a no no. I have had many cars in my garage with engine management lights on ( mainly vauxhall) all showing lambda,oxygen,exhaust (which ever you call it) sensor faults. All have them have super market petrol in comman,usually tesco. I tell the customer to run the tank near empty then come back after filling up at a bp or texeco station. Then i reset the light and tell them supermarket petrol only every 2 tank fulls. I dont charge for the reset and it seems to do te trick. I am pretty sure if the light comes on again they would come back as i hadnt charged them.

If these faults were caused by using supermarket fuel then it would be impossible to book your car in to get it checked out without a very long wait. The sheer volume of fuel sold by supermarket forecourts must be phenominal and therefore the number of cars using it must be phenominal also.

I can't really believe that you think supermarket fuel is the cause of these faults. It is just as likely that the reason for all the cars in your garage with these faults is that they use the M62. The logical explanation is that it is either coincidence, possibly lack of correct maintenance or just the fact that these items do fail sometimes.

you could be right but then seen as i dont change the sensor and the fault doesnt come back would be unlikley that its a faulty sensor. I dont bother to get to the bottom of the problem afterall all the customer wants is his/her light of. All i do is clear the faults and tell them to avoid supermarket fuel if possible. It does also seem to be just the local Tesco where they all go. Could just be that the owners all live near there i dont bother to check where they all live.

Possibly they don't come back because, as you say, you dont get to the bottom of the problem.

I'm sure that Tesco would welcome your input regarding the particular store which you think may be causing the problem although it probably sells thousands of litres of fuel to thousands of motorists every week from that outlet so they may feel that it is unlikely to be their fuel causing the problem.

AS for super markets not having bad fuel i know for a fact some do i have about 200 litres of diesel/petrol mix that was incorrectly put in the wrong tank at the super market. Some one put diesel into petrol tank in the petrol station. About 20 cars broke down before anyone noticed. I personally towed and drained about 5 of them.

I have also had some real bad diesel from Morrison petrol station. The tanks had been cleaned and not flushed properly i towed 3 cars with sludge in there fuel tanks. Theres a petrol station near me that sells bio diesel, they mix more thinners ?? with it when the weather turns cold I towed several cars recently that had been filled with bio and the fuel had sludged up in the fuel tanks of the cars.

All the above cars were paid for in full by the petrol stations at fault. So there is bad fuel out there and lots of it in my area.

So 2 supermarket fuel stations near to you have either put fuel into wrong storage tank or not cleaned/flushed tank correctly on 1 occasion! Happens to non-supermarket outlets too. Between these outlets you have towed/sorted out 8 motorists. Mistakes happen. Many motorists also put wrong fuel in their tanks through their own fault. Out of interest, is it the refinery, wholesaler or retailer who is "adding more thinners to bio diesel in cold weather".......