After reading the post about LPG. I started to wander what fuel everyone fills up with. I have a 2.7 diesel and just use the normal every day run of the mill stuff. Does anyone use the expensive stuff that is supposed to give you extra power and MPG? If so do you think it does do what it says on the tin?[/i]

Shell V-Power and thats it ..... compared it over others and it does feel different. I also have a good friend that is with Shell in the fuel development area and we have had many an hour discussion about the differences over bog std fuels and it would seem that there is a difference if not just in engine wear. Brit across the Pond
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I use BP Ultimate diesel.

Not sure I get extra mpg (maybe a couple), but it certainly runs smoother. I think long term the engine will run cleaner and more efficiently without the carbon deposits left by the cheaper fuels. So wear and tear should be less than with cheaper fuels. TDV6 - gone
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I tried the BP Ultimate Diesel and Shell V-Power and there is no difference in MPG whatsoever and TBH I also didn't feel any other difference either (except my pockets were lighter)!!
This is an interesting question though, Did anyone see the test Fifth Gear did on the Shop bought fuel additives - A real eye opener, NOT ONE of them actually lived up to the claims made on the bottle and in all cases they actually REDUCED the BHP output of the cars by between 2 - 5%!! Now, this begs the question. What would be the result if the same test was carried out on the Normal Vs Premium Fuels  2013 Discovery HSE Luxury - 3.0 SDV6 - Santorini Black
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Last edited by Endjin on Sun Oct 07 2007 11:24pm. Edited 1 time in total

That is part of the reason I asked the question. Do these expensive fuels actually make a difference although they do normally say it takes a while to notice the difference.

Has fifth gear or top gear done a feature on fuel does anyone know?

Never noticed any difference with BP Ultimate but Shell V-Power definitely makes my engine run smoother

a little bird once told me some petrol stations put the same fuel in both the std and super unleaded tanks on occasions due to logistics

What Car has an article on the subject at moment. I flicked through it in a shop. But it seems to be petrol biased.

Perhaps Jaymann could read the whole article

I may well change my mind about the Ultimate when I have to buy my own fuel in the near future. TDV6 - gone
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I have kept careful MPG records for mine.

With Ultimate fuel I get between 1 or 2 MPG more per tankful. At around 15 gallons per fill this is between 15 miles and 30 miles more per tank. Going for the worse case of 1mpg more this is approximately 0.5 gallon saving per tank or say £2.50

At around 8p per gallon more I spend £1.20 extra to save £2.50.

Obviously I cannot comment on the internal benefits to the engine as I have not stripped it out and looked with a microscope!

In terms of power/driveability - this is so subjective that its hard to comment.

As far as I am aware lorries only deliver basic diesel to the garage tanks, this way the logistics of carrying different fuel types are simplified. The delivery man then injects into the tank the additives to make it Ultimate - such a small quantity is needed that this can be easily handled in small containers.

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the standard 98 octane is the best compromise i think. there's the cheaper 95 ocane available (eeew dirty ), but the engine just runs much smoother with the 98. never tried the 100 ocate ones, will try the V Power next time. (get the chance every other day greets to the green party )
I doubt the same fuel is in the 98 and the V power tanks be one hell of a lawsuit and image damage if they advertise it as 100 octane, and it turns out to just be the normal fuel. RRS SC Bonatti Grey

Kuke wrote:

I doubt the same fuel is in the 98 and the V power tanks be one hell of a lawsuit and image damage if they advertise it as 100 octane, and it turns out to just be the normal fuel.

There was an article in Autocar the other week - Last week I think and they're tests proved from fuel alone that Mpg and obvious signs of improvement for the extra 8p is not noticeable HOWEVER they did not touch the engines and could measure any change on engine wear etc.

I will stick to V-Power, even if I am a few pounds lighter for it. Personally I noticed a slight difference between normal and premium.
And I'm sure that occasionally petrol stations will probably fill premium with normal unleaded but if someone was to find out they'd be if someone could prove it so when they do it - its very risky.

This is also shortly before BP Super Ultimate comes out with 102 RON. Will get a free tank of that off a friend to see what its like. However the cost of that is meant to be astronomical at £3.4X a litre. Michael Potter
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Yeah... keep it for trackdays. Nobody needs to spend that sort of money on a tank of fuel!!  

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A friend of mine has decided to run his BMW diesel on BP Ultimate diesel after using normal spec fuel. He reports that he is getting better Mpg and performance as a result of the change. TDV6 - gone
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