Super Unleaded - i cant see the point - who runs it?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Jez
  • Start date Start date
stoofa said:
Show me some proof then.

If oil is going to meet VW standards then it has to "contain" certain things.
It's like saying:

5w-30
Additive 1
Additive 2
Must do this
Must do that

*Bang*
There is your "Meets requirement of VW" badge.

So the very fact that Halfords oil conforms to the VW standards means that it must meet those VW requirements, so it must have "all the additives".
It is the same with Halfords BMW, Volvo, GM - they can't just say it meets the requirements if it doesn't.

This thread just shows that people are indeed brand whores.
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Oil doesnt need to contain anything for the OEM claims, it simply has to meet the requirements of the engine tests.

Then of course there are oils that just pass, and oils that pass by miles.

'Meets requirements' is very different to gaining an OEM approval.
 
I put tesco 99 in most of the time, as far as im aware its not a good idea to fill my car up with normal 95 ? All my previous cars have had the basic stuff from sainsburys tho, never really noticed a diffrence putting the good stuff in them (racing puma clio trophy or vx220 turbo)
 
vauxhall owners manual says to use Super Unleaded, however it can be run perfectly fine on 95 RON, but the manual advises it will retard the timing and drop power

Equally, the tuners have found that if you put more than 97 RON in, it can advance the fuelling and make slightly more power.

Were only talking a couple of horse power more, but whats the point in skimping on 3 or 4p a litre to drop power ?
 
ive never actually tested the fuel consumption

others have reported you do see marginal increases. Theres also the beneficial properties of the fact that vpower will be a cleaner fuel than the junk you find down the supermarkets

The bunch of lambda sensors that all got wrecked by high sillicon deposits in morrisons and tesco petrol tells you all you need to know about how much care goes into supermarket fuel.
 
MrLOL said:
The bunch of lambda sensors that all got wrecked by high sillicon deposits in morrisons and tesco petrol tells you all you need to know about how much care goes into supermarket fuel.
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You ever seen a Shell HGV delivering petrol to tesco fuel stations? probably not, but believe me they do.....

makes you wonder eh? ;)

Dregs of the 'stations tanks do a lot more harm than the occasional production line screw up tbh.
 
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I can definitely feel a difference on it, and in fact between super brands, it's mostly the torque below max where you see the boost.

Total Excelium - Good, my usual fill up.
BP Ultimate - Bad, I think they're working to the lowest margins they can.
ESSO 97 - Good, like the Total.
Tesco 99 - A bit better than good, I was running on this at the last meet.
Shell Vpower - For > 100 octane I was expecting a lot, but it felt a lot like the Tesco.

I think my car is designed for 98, and the knock sensor + adaptive mapping will go down to what I fill it with, but not up.

Dad's old 155 went feral on the Vpower.
 
I know i'll get laughed at but i use it in my Mark 6 Fiesta 1.4! :p It's kinda a habit now and it does make my car run smoother. I swear it pulls better up hills also. I think it's good for the extra additives aswell i am lead to believe.

I'm in the V-Power Shell Drivers club also so i get double points if i use it, so i kinda get back some of what i have spent on the added extra.

^ To the above aint V-Power 99 ron?

EDIT- Yes, V-Power is 99 ron, so it wouldn't be that much different from Tesco? http://www.shell.co.uk/home/content...road/fuels/v_power_pkg/overview/overview.html Shell Optimax was 98 and V-Power is now 99 ron.
 
Anyway, back to the topic..... :D

I found my old e38 728i seemed to be more responsive on the "Super" stuff, that said, with my e36 328i - which has more or less an identical engine - I can't tell any difference at all.

5 speed auto over a 4 speed fooling me perhaps? the only difference between the two mechanically. :confused:
 
stoofa said:
If your Octy is running like a "bag of crap" on normal unleaded I'd get it taken in and looked at.
It's got maps for 95 & 98 RON fuels.
If it's having problems with the lower octane fuel I'd say you've got some problems with the vehicle.
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Not sure about having different maps but I know the mk1 is designed to run on 98 octane.

Having said that it runs fine on 95 and the ecu simply retards the ignition accordingly.

I run my one on v-power because it says I should use 98 Octane and with the drivers club plus shell credit card its no more expensice than supermarket stuff.
 
BigglesPiP said:
I can definitely feel a difference on it, and in fact between super brands, it's mostly the torque below max where you see the boost.

Total Excelium - Good, my usual fill up.
BP Ultimate - Bad, I think they're working to the lowest margins they can.
ESSO 97 - Good, like the Total.
Tesco 99 - A bit better than good, I was running on this at the last meet.
Shell Vpower - For > 100 octane I was expecting a lot, but it felt a lot like the Tesco.

I think my car is designed for 98, and the knock sensor + adaptive mapping will go down to what I fill it with, but not up.

Dad's old 155 went feral on the Vpower.
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What about the important things like inlet valve deposits and piston deposits?

You 'rating' appears to correlate with Octane. As mentioned though V power is 99ron.
 
My CTR feels smoother and "seems" to pull harder on Super, probably all in my head, but for the sake of a few pence ill keep using it. As for MPG, i tend to get 25-28mpg even when i drive it like i stole it.
 
Simon said:
What about the important things like inlet valve deposits and piston deposits?
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Does that build more so with one or the other kind of fuel? I've run a bottle of STP through it recently, so I'd expect it to be quite clean.


It's also common (but not really fuel related) that Alfa's twin spark engines build up hefty carbon deposits on the exhaust valves if they aren't revved enough. It took about 6 months of gentle coercion to remove that from mine, goes from a pretty flat engine to what it should be, and gets a lot louder when you're done. Lady owners really aren't a good thing. If one has been driven right the exhaust valves appear almost shiny if you take the head off.
 
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I used to use 99 in my CTR, but wasn't particularly surprised to find it was no different when using 95, and the fuel economy stayed just as shockingly bad and didn't get worse.
 
oh i know that supermarkets dont refine their own petrol

but that article is proof enough for me, that theres truth in the rumour that supermarket petrol is cheap and treated differently

as how else would only tesco and morrisons petrol get contaminated. Surely it would have been every supplier that the particular refinery supplied to otherwise ?
 
MrLOL said:
oh i know that supermarkets dont refine their own petrol

but that article is proof enough for me, that theres truth in the rumour that supermarket petrol is cheap and treated differently

as how else would only tesco and morrisons petrol get contaminated. Surely it would have been every supplier that the particular refinery supplied to otherwise ?
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The point is contamination happens across the range from time to time, its pretty unavoidable in such a mass volume production sector.

I think it was more an oppertunity to bash the supermarkets rather than anything that out of the ordinary.

In typical UK media style, I'd lay money that the numbers involved was massively over exagerated - it all helps in a good story, never mind the truth..... (Again, word of said tanker drivers) - We do a lot of chatting at truck stops & the like! :o:D
 
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