Which Fuel For Isf

[jetskidia]

Hi

Which fuel are you Isf owners using, garages have given me mixed messages?

[noby76]

should say in your owners doc . but my guess will be minimum of 95RON. IS300 says minimum 95RON or more.so I run 99 Shell V power but that's just me.

for a 5.0 litre V8 7000rpm with 11.8:1 compression ratio, I will give it the good stuff it needs.

[MrW]

95 Ron premium unleaded is all it needs according to the book, anything else you are wasting your money I would think. Loads of tests on super unleaded on a variety of cars pretty much confirms the same. Unless the manufacture specifies use of 98, I wouldn't bother.

[Valkirk]

Unless you really need to spend more then 95 is perfect.

The higher RON is all about stopping knocking (premature ignition). Don't think anyone with a modern mass produced car with no user upgrades would need more than 95. Now if you lived in the USA with their standard 90 RON fuel you most certainly would want to buy the higher rating.

Having said all that if you are doing a track day or something and want to squeeze every last BHP out of the car then go for it :)

Worth reading http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Research_Octane_Number#Measurement_methods

[MrW]

Run mine on standard 95, supermarket most of the time and it runs fine. Track days, even a trip to the Nurburgring still on 95 with no issues.

I used to have a 2006 Mk5 golf Gti which was supposed to run 98, when I did ruin it on 95 for a prolonged period the only difference I could detect was the MPG suffered by upto 2mpg but that was it.

[powdav]

I have been using Tesco Momentum as it came out better in an independent survey over Shell VPower. I filled up last weekend with the 'new' Shell Nitro VPower and I have to say that the acceleration appears smoother and the car feels quicker than before.

Personally I don't think it is a waste of money to use the higher octane fuel and I wouldn't have thought anyone having bought an ISF should be concerned about economy or fuel cost.

[noby76]

most say is waste of money but I worked it out manually and the difference to a tank is around £10 extra to fill up 99RON over 95RON but since I only fill up around half a tank each time so I don't carry around excess weight which results in more fuel consumption, this only works out about £5 extra so I can live with that and I have carried out tests on my own and noticed the V power lasts a tad bit longer than 95 and as confirmed it squeezes every bit of performance from the engine, runs smoother, idles smoother and burns cleanly whilst cleaning the engine as well. so for £5 extra I would say its worth it but 95 does a good job all the same. I am a shell man and prices are no different from Supermarket ones where I live. I have never used supermarket fuels in my cars not saying there is anything wrong with them, I just stick to Shell or Esso(Mobil)

[petayV8]

95RON is actually very good as it is even though its the cheapest stuff, some countries are in the 80s and 95RON would be considered premium. I would deffo go for Esso or similar with additives though

[fjcfarrar]

In 5 years of ISF ownership, the ISF seems perfectly happy with any fuel which will go down the hole in the back.

[MNMJ]

Shell V-Power only for me. I believe, based on an admittedly unscientific personal experiment, that I get 5%+ better fuel economy with V-Power and since it costs approx 5% more I am effectively getting more power and a cleaner engine for free.

I also have got round to joining the V-Power club who now and then send me a £4 coupon, which brings a tank down to 95RON prices.

But then when I look at the monthly depreciation, a few quid extra on fuel is insignificant. I think if I did big miles each year I would do some more disciplined analysis, but posh fuel is part of the indulgence for me

[stevet]

Same here, I only use V-Power. I do about 20k miles a year and worked out that the extra cost was made up in the extra miles I got out of the tank. So as MNMJ says I get the cleaning agents for free.

[Derek870]

Same as, V Power for me, the added comfort of mind and MPG, makes it worth every penny

[MrW]

I think you'll find there are cleaning agents are in all fuels, the base fuel is the same regardless of brand anyway, its the recipe of additives thats different, but they all have cleaning agents regardless.

As always some will be conviced that they have more power, but short of a rolling road test, its faily subjective.

Like stevet I do 20K a year therefore using the super 98 or99 will significantly increase the cost of the fuel i use. Whether I'd get that back in increased MPG , who knows.

I'll stick to 95.....because thats what Lexus says it needs.

[noby76]

Just got been to replace by auto box fluid from a Toyota/Lexus Indie based in Surrey. He also carries out some fuel and engine research work for Denso and Delphi. And I had to take a picture of it. the picture below was his findings when he compared fuel from Tesco and Shell. Both fuels have been let to settle for a week and after re shaking both bottles again in front of me, this is how petrol from Tesco looks like on the right hand side and one from shell on the left hand side. When I got to his garage this morning a customer was just leaving in a T180 diesel Avensis and he confirmed to me the guy had just spent £6000 on his car due to a cracked piston and he also replaced DPF on another customer’s car at a cost of £1500. And he confirmed 60% of all diesel and modern petrol related engine issues are due to Supermarket fuels this guy does not work for Shell, BP, Esso(Mobil,) or Total but confirmed he advises all customers to stay aware from Supermarket fuels. From what I gathered from the discussion we had, he confirmed all fuels sold in EU by law, has to contain a certain percentage of Biofuel and these are fuel derived from plants and other living organisms mainly from farms and over time, parts like fuel tank, injectors, dpf, catalytic convertors etc will start growing these living organisms from these(less additive) fuels resulting in various issues in the engine. He confirmed the fuel additives, cleaning agents, octane boosters added into fuels by Shell, BP, Esso and Total help control these biofuel organisms inside the tank, cylinders, valves, catalyst etc resulting in a smooth running engine, mpg improvement, and longer engine life. He confirmed 90% of his customers who have suffered diesel engine
related issues all used supermarket fuels and advised them to switch to branded fuels and occasionally use higher octane diesel and petrol fuels as well if they want to avoid the issues. As I confirmed this guy does not work for any of these branded oil companies so there is no incentive for him advising
customers to use Shell, BP , Esso over Tesco, ASDA and Sainsbury’s.. I have always been a Shell , Esso man and currently running BP Ultimate and the engine quite likes it so mite stick with it for a while.

[casius1stone]

i worked in oil refining for 21 years and we supplied and filled the tankers of Sainaburys Tescos, shell, Esso, Rix.... and others ALL FROM THE SAME TANKS..... make your own mind up. Only difference is the additives which are usually metered in at the pump or added to the tanker. 

[mrfunex]

@noby76, whilst I enjoyed reading your post, there must be more to the garage’s story than that, together with a healthy dose of scaremongering. The Tesco unleaded that has lived in a jerry can in our shed for the last four years that I’m slowly getting through in our lawnmower looks exactly the same as it did the day it was bought. I know a Briggs and Stratton 140cc single is hardly the finest engine in the world, but this old fuel has never caused it any issues. It certainly doesn’t look like mud!

Back on topic, I used to run V-power in my ISF and GSF. I switched to the normal 95 octane stuff about 3 months ago and I can’t tell any difference, apart from it costs me slightly less. 

[NemesisUK]

Many modern engines can self adjust to make best use, or safest in the case of lower grade fuel. Takes one or two tank fulls but certainly noticed the difference in my AMG.

For the small additional cost I always use V-Power, even now in the hybrid. 

[PRT68]

I use Tesco momentum. Usually costs the same as BP 95 Ron. Don't use ordinary supermarket fuel though. 

[FTBBCVoodoo]

V-Power or Tesco 99 RON 

Other super unleadeds if not near those.

In Germany....  102 RON super unleaded from the Aral petrol stations 🙂

[B1RMA]

I've used V-Power for a very long time, mainly due to owning several Japanese imports it was called Optimax in those days. My Pajero Evolution had convulsions on anything else and my RX7 was mapped using it too so I religiously stuck to buying it, plus of course petrol was quite a bit cheaper in 2007.

I did get a shock at my local Shell station where I worked out it was 12p a litre dearer than standard.

I've read several articles (some were shamed as being funded by Shell) but I'm convinced the cleaning agents in the petrol/diesel are worth the extra. I have noticed my main works van which I put 3 tanks of supermarket then one tank of V-Power diesel does do a bit better on fuel with V-Power diesel and I believe it to be accurate. Plus I hope it does its job at cleaning the old girl.

I noticed in Sainsbury the other day that they sell a premium petrol at a much lower price than V-Power, got me thinking that I may start to do one tank of that and one of V-Power but my memory seems to be going these days so I'll probably just stick to Shell.

[DAW]

When I had some issues with V8 Audi S4 a while back the master tech commented on the cleaness of the engine by saying it was obvious it hadn’t been run on supermarket fuel, so I suspect there must be something to this - I use Shell VPower.

[scudney]

Use momentum 99 and sometimes shell v power in my IS 250 f sport,did the same with my IS 200, have used normal supermarket petrol in my other cars with no problems 😁

[Shaunomercy]

The dreaded fuel debate...

These so called super fuels don't clean the carbon out from behind the valves on direct injection engines for starters, so the high end additives package is wasted there.

As for supermarket fuel. All fuel has to meet the bsi en standard in Europe. Supermarket fuel does have an additives package.

Near where I live, I've got a Sainsbury's petrol station. That station gets 3-4 deliveries a week, such is the turn over of fuel. Your always queuing for fuel.

Important ? Very

The fuel is barely in the petrol station tanks 2 days before replenishment. So far less chance of condensation and water contamination, and stale fuel.

Then take a good look at your branded Superfuel station and in particular the higher octane pumps.
You won't see a queue for the super fuel at the prices they charge. So you could be well purchasing fuel that's been stood in the forecourt tanks a month or 2 or maybe more as the demand for it is small so turnover and replenishment is far less frequent.

And then there is the question of how much octane the fuel has lost because it's been stood in a forecourt tank for how long ???

It's really worth thinking about... !!!

Then there is the diesel Superfuels... An even bigger con. The simple reason people have so much grief with their diesels is incorrect use of the car, and not driving them hard to clear the filters.

Do you think your local haulage firm buys top end diesel ? Or is it the cheapest diesel he can buy in bulk ?
Funny how you don't see **** loads of hgvs daily stuck at the side of the motorway with the cab tilted. They have adblu additives and filters. But the engines working hard all the time.

It's really worth thinking about. !!!

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

[scudney]

Very well said and I generally agree, for me just my choice and 5p a litre more isn't a lot really,don't overly do many miles and occasionally put in a bottle redex when it's on offer lol 😁

[B1RMA]

On 1/27/2019 at 3:08 PM, casius1stone said:

i worked in oil refining for 21 years and we supplied and filled the tankers of Sainaburys Tescos, shell, Esso, Rix.... and others ALL FROM THE SAME TANKS..... make your own mind up. Only difference is the additives which are usually metered in at the pump or added to the tanker. 

Actually they don't, Shell V Power fuels comes from a separate refinery.

This is a contentious issue where there are as many pro as against. Ultimately it's your money and you're at liberty to spend it how you wish