Which Fuel

[Geophys]

I have a 2001 2.2 sport and yes I know that this has been discussed a number of times and the general consensus is to use the Shell V-power, however that is not a practical option for me as there is no Shell garage within a sensible travelling distance of where I live. I do fill up with the Shell if I pass a Shell garage on my travels, but most of the journeys I take in my Z3 are fairly local and quite rural and I rarely pass a Shell garage.

My three realistic choices are Esso Synergy Supreme or BP Ultimate Excel both at an advertised 97 Ron and Tesco Momentum at an advertised 99 Ron. My main concern is for a good detergent and engine care rather than the ultimate in performance. Yes I know that the best is Shell, but as I said not a sensible option so I tend to buy the BP most often but of the three which would you recommend?

 

[Stevo7682]

I tend to run mine on momentum

 

[GazHyde]

I chop and change between Vpower, Momentum and whatever premium stuff BP do depending on where I am. I occasionally supplement with an bottle of Redex for good measure.

 

[Nodzed]

Any performance fuel + a Redex treat every 4 fill ups but TBH they can and will run happily on 95Ron and if I am honest I cant really tell the difference when I have had to run on 95 other than in my wallet, I'm sure some will disagree with me but .....

 

[Tfp]

I recently picked up a new Porsche, the sales chap said "do not use supermarket fuel"

I didn't know it was that bad I explained, he replied "don't use it"

 

[andyglym]

I recently picked up a new Porsche, the sales chap said "do not use supermarket fuel"

I didn't know it was that bad I explained, he replied "don't use it"

I believe it's a "power" thing. Said it some time ago but I'll repeat it. Auto Express carried out a test on 3 cars (off their time) a City car (make escapes me), a VW GTi and a Subaru Imprezza. They tested them on standard fuel on a Dyno then on RON98. The City car had no impact, the GTi had a minor increase in BHP (about 2-3 if memory serves) with the Imprezza 5+BHP. High powered cars run better on "better fuel". My mate who has a 3.0 Porsche 944 (VW) turned to RON98 and was staggered by the difference, I've since done the same, much better and it's not the placebo affect either.

 

[ZTec]

I tend to run mine on momentum

Does momentum make much of a difference over the normal unleaded?

 

[Geophys]

Remember for me it's more about the fuel's effect on the engine internals, its detergent effect and its ability to keep the engine in good condition. An increase in output and engine efficiency is of course always welcome!

 

[Stevo7682]

Does momentum make much of a difference over the normal unleaded?

I find my zed seems to idle smoother and drive a touch sharper with momentum and personal level I find fuel consumption maybe marginal improvement but nothing to be jumping up and down about .
Looked about a bit on the Internet about fuels momentum gets some good reviews in particular on the Subaru owners forums .
Also tesco only put a 5p surcharge on momentum over standard unleaded so its not ridiculously expensive. Stephen.

 

[roadvoyager1]

I use Shell V-power or Tesco Momentum. The car seems to run more smoothly with 99RON. I did check the effect on mpg when I changed from standard petrol and found that a slight increase in mpg more or less cancelled out the higher cost.
As far as I am aware the supermarkets buy from the main suppliers and I suspect that as Momentum is 99RON, and this grade is not offered by suppliers other than Shell, it could well be the same as V-power. Does anybody know?

 

[Stevo7682]

At the end of the day petrol is petrol a lot of it gets refined at Grangemouth its how much its refined and what is added that makes the difference

 

[Sean d]

I read some reviews a couple of years back and it was pointed out that the high octane additives are added when the tanker fills the tanks at the petrol station, the reason being that they deteriorate with time, after a week or so all benefits have all but gone, don't know how true this is but the guy was a BP tech.
I have tried various high octane fuels and found no benefit at all, I did a test a while ago in my daily drive and over 300 miles I got exactly the same MPG,

 

[Faheem]

I generally get slightly better MPG running on V-Power, on a good day when driving my zed running bog standard supermarket fuel I get 33MPG but when running V-Power I average around 34-35mpg but obviously I'm not taking my driving style/weather conditions into account.

What I tend to do is run standard fuel through the month and once a month give it a taste of a premium fuel.

I also use some form of fuel treatment once every 3 months or so.

 

[Tfp]

I read some reviews a couple of years back and it was pointed out that the high octane additives are added when the tanker fills the tanks at the petrol station, the reason being that they deteriorate with time, after a week or so all benefits have all but gone, don't know how true this is but the guy was a BP tech.
I have tried various high octane fuels and found no benefit at all, I did a test a while ago in my daily drive and over 300 miles I got exactly the same MPG,

I heard similar.

I was given the advice that if buying high octane fuel use a petrol station that sells a lot of fuel rather than one that does not and has the fuel sitting in the tank for some time.

 

[Redline]

I read some reviews a couple of years back and it was pointed out that the high octane additives are added when the tanker fills the tanks at the petrol station, the reason being that they deteriorate with time, after a week or so all benefits have all but gone, don't know how true this is but the guy was a BP tech.
I have tried various high octane fuels and found no benefit at all, I did a test a while ago in my daily drive and over 300 miles I got exactly the same MPG,

Not been able to find anything about additives and degradation, but did find a few things about petrol.
In a partially filled tank the lighter fractions will evaporate.
Ethanol components in fuel are hygroscopic so take in water from the atmosphere allowing bacteria to grow in the tank.
Plastic tanks allow fuel components to weep through the plastic and escape over a period of time.
I suspect the problem isn't the fuel but the conditions under which it is stored.
Undoubtedly fuel will change its own chemistry for a number of reasons. How all that hurts high octane additives I don't know.
I can't imagine for a moment that they would be allowed to sell 99RON if it degraded within a week though. Certainly not without a best before date! Does milk last longer than your full fat fuel?
Does knowing any of this help? I doubt it. Not me at the moment.

 

[Sean d]

Not been able to find anything about additives and degradation, but did find a few things about petrol.
In a partially filled tank the lighter fractions will evaporate.
Ethanol components in fuel are hygroscopic so take in water from the atmosphere allowing bacteria to grow in the tank.
Plastic tanks allow fuel components to weep through the plastic and escape over a period of time.
I suspect the problem isn't the fuel but the conditions under which it is stored.
Undoubtedly fuel will change its own chemistry for a number of reasons. How all that hurts high octane additives I don't know.
I can't imagine for a moment that they would be allowed to sell 99RON if it degraded within a week though. Certainly not without a best before date! Does milk last longer than your full fat fuel?
Does knowing any of this help? I doubt it. Not me at the moment.

I think the big issue is that a classic car is generally driven a lot less, so you will buy the fuel at 99 ron and it will be considerably lower before you fill up again, so at point of sale the fuel will be legal.

 

[Redline]

I think the big issue is that a classic car is generally driven a lot less, so you will buy the fuel at 99 ron and it will be considerably lower before you fill up again, so at point of sale the fuel will be legal.

You probably need additional stabilisers to stop degradation and phase separation (where ethanol/moisture creates two layers in the fuel) or drain the fuel and use it elsewhere. In a full tank with no moisture and kept in a stable temperature it should be ok. That's a lot of ifs!

 

[Dickymint]

The manual says
Super lead-free premium gasoline
(91 AKI).
The minimum fuel quality is:
> Regular lead-free gasoline (87 AKI)
> Because of the engine's design, you
should refuel with this gasoline only
as an exception.

so that's the USA 91 and that's our 95 RON? anyway either way it adjusts its timing to suit so will make use of a higher RON anyway and its better fuel for our beloved cars that's why its always the best fuel available for my baby

 

[peteslag]

I've always used 95, the few occasions when I've used a higher octane I've never noticed an appreciable difference (except it costing more to fill the tank). I took the zed to a track day at Cadwell a few months a go. I did the morning session on a tank of regular, the afternoon session on a tank of premium. There was absolutely no difference in the performance of the car or lap times for that matter. I find that using regular fuel has no negative impact on the engine what so ever so I'm still struggling to justify the extra cost?

If you feel like your engine is a bit coked up, normally a damn good thrashing will sort it out much better than any fuel additives!

 

[5harp3y]

i run on 95 most of the time