Fuel Premium fuel - better mpg

[shedbuilder]

Hi all,

This last weekend I treated the car to a tankfull of premium diesel. The brand was BP, and IIRC the product is called "Ultimate Diesel". From pretty much the first mile, the fuel consumption was noticeably improved. Same journeys, and same driving style.

Previously with ordinary branded fuel (Shell etc), not supermarket stuff, I was just grazing the 45mpg mark. With the good stuff I'm comfortably over 50mpg & touching 51mpg. The differential in price from standard to ultimate was 5p (117.9 vs. 122.9). So I make that around 13% improved mpg for about 4.2% increase in price.

[harleyfatboy]

Shedbuilder.. plus hopefully it will be good for the engine overall .... cleaning , and a little bit of zoom included, sounds good to me man....ON A STEEL HORSE I RIDE

[NH Dan]

..and you'll get better fuel economy with a petrol engine using the higher octane stuff too. most modern engines are set up to get optimum performance from the 'ultimate' style fuels but will still happily chug along on the normal stuff.

[Kremmen]

Last year I tried BP Ultimate 97RON for about 4 weeks followed by BP Ultimate 95RON for the same period. Then I tried Tesco 99RON for the same followed by my old favourite Tesco 95RON.

Results - no difference

My trusty spreadsheet maintained a constant 39MPG throughout the experiment. During this time the trip computer insisted I was doing 44MPG but fuel put in versus actual miles covered proved otherwise.

I do 250 miles a week so I put in about ½ a tank each week which towards week 4 should have removed any 'mixture' of the various fuels.

I've now been running with Tesco95 for about 6 months with no problems.

[ljsanders]

My old remapped Leon Cupra loved Tesco RON99 or Shell V Power. Very noticable difference. Even when I switched back to standard 95 stuff and adjusted the boost/timing to suit, there was a big drop in performance

Mind you, it did hate Tesco 95. The worst of all fuels that stuff is. You'd be better offl running your car on dog piss!

[smurf79]

I usually treat mine to a tank of BP Ultimate/Shell V-Power about once a month and i definitely notice a difference with MPG and acceleration everytime.

[dragonglance]

I always feel like a get a little difference in 'woof' under the bonnet but aside from that i have neevr noticed an improvement in MPG, trouble is i cant justify the difference in cost for long enought to find out.

[civicfan]

If anything my Civic consumes a bit more "premium" diesel than it does "normal", perhaps because the bit of added power seduces one to drive faster

[doodledog]

There are a lot of variables to take into account when trying to work out what's best. For instance ;-
Tmperature of the fuel when you buy it ( hot fuel makes more volume)
Temperature and humidity when you are driving ( both of these make a difference in combustion and hence power)

Diesel fuel is measuerd in Cetane number and good fuels may have better additives to improve cetane number and clean the fuel train.
In petrol although the pumps show RON number there is also a MON number. RON comes into affect under load and acceleration, MON is an indicator of performance when effectively cruising. Same principle applies to additives though.
Also the fuel you buy in winter can be a different blend to the fuel you buy in summer, it's likely that the mix is changing about now to something slightly less volatile as the ( hopefully ) hotter months approach

My S2000 demanded super unleaded but it always seemed happy enough with the tesco stuff, although the placebo effect meant it was always faster if it had just been cleaned !!!
The moral is -----
That while there may not actually be an improvement it may feel like there is one and if it feels good go for it

[J. Derek Riddell]

Mmmmmm ...

Tried 'premium petrol' for the first time (BP type) over Easter, in the UK. I swear that it did make a perceptible difference in acceleration, without reduction in fuel useage.

After coming back to Norway, I continued with the "equivalent" Esso product, which didn't have as much extra "oommmpppphhhh" feeling - but, still better than the [95].

" Desperately seeking [105] Octane lead-free ". One can hope ???

[spile]

All the reviews I've read have said that premium diesel is not worth the additional cost. ie Snake oil.

[cnicolini]

I've tried Shell V-Power for 4 months and now I'm using BP Ultimate. The BP fuel seems alot smoother, but it costs more! I always use BP now as it makes a big difference.

[angie4m]

I'm getting 360 miles out of a tank of V-Power currently which is rather good for a CTR. I noticed a difference from the off, its been so good that my Dad now fills his with V-Power too.

Aren't any BP's near me you see

[J. Derek Riddell]

Sigh ... no BP stations in Norway at all ! ... I have to be content with the Esso premium petrol ... the BP stuff was definitately better ...

[R-2]

Just filled up with my 3rd tank full of BP Ultimate. Not sure what i was expecting but there does seem to be a bit more oooomph ( a bit like when i've fed my horse an extra helping of oats!! )

My fuel consumption on standard 95 RON petrol was 26.9mpg its now 26.8mpg! So no result there

Btw the BP garage is running a promotion on BP Ultimate - everytime you fill up you get a chance to win a Focus ST. IF i won one i'd have to keep it and the CTR and play eeny meeny miny mo every morning

[NEEMSTAR]

Originally Posted by R-2

Focus ST. IF i won one i'd have to keep it and strip it for parts selling them on ebay as my CTR is my LIFE

on topic : no better mpg between V and Bp Ultimate here

[angie4m]

I'm still getting great mpg. Been getting between 36 & 44 mpg today and that was in town It did that last week too! Now I can only but imagine what I am going to get going down south on Friday. Thats on the old V-Power....only issue is, to get to the M74 to get onto the M6 I have to go a cracking road I used to go on with the Mini and can't wait to see how the CTR takes it.

Back on topic, I will report back my mpg and how many mile I got out the tank on the trip there and back.

[terry]

Hi Angie,
Is this the trip you could not decide if driving or flying was best?

Cheers,

Terry

[Unknownsoldier]

I've never noticed any difference between these hyped up brands and the basic stuff, only car I've ever known (in my family) to have to use premium stuff was my mums RS Turbo, but that used to pink on anything other thna the good stuff.

Tom

[cnicolini]

Originally Posted by angie4m

I'm still getting great mpg. Been getting between 36 & 44 mpg today and that was in town It did that last week too! Now I can only but imagine what I am going to get going down south on Friday. Thats on the old V-Power....only issue is, to get to the M74 to get onto the M6 I have to go a cracking road I used to go on with the Mini and can't wait to see how the CTR takes it.

Back on topic, I will report back my mpg and how many mile I got out the tank on the trip there and back.

I'm luckly to get 25 mpg around town, you must have been travelling downhill all the way? Did you have Mrs Daisy in the car with you? LOL