Branded v Supermarket fuel

Merlin5

Merlin5

Merlin5

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Apologies in advance if this happens to be an old and worn out topic of conversation, I don't come into Motors a lot.

I mentioned in another thread that I was advised not to use supermarket petrol on my Auris because it can mess things up like electronics, plus...branded fuel can give more MPG. I got this response.

geekman said:
Put any brand fuel in it, it’ll be fine.
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Just wanted more thoughts from members here. I believe geekman is right. Because I've read this article

https://www.petrolprices.com/news/supermarket-fuel-actually-worse-branded-fuel/

plus the dozens of comment that follow it.

There are varying opinions. Some say they'd never touch supermarket fuel again because they had problems with their motors. While others say they've always used Morrisons, Asda, Tesco or Sainsburys and never had an issue and no difference in efficiency or MPG. Overall, it seems the general consensus is that there's nothing wrong with supermarket fuel. There's even a tanker driver in the comments that says he delivers to supermarkets and branded garages and he pumps out the same for both.

What about additives though, are there important additives that are added or omitted in say regular unleaded at a supermarket compared to BP, Shell or Esso that are worth considering and that make any significant difference?

For me it's much more convenient to fill up at my local Tesco whenever I go shopping plus I get Clubcard points. But if enough people said to me steer clear and just buy branded then I'll do that.

What say ye?
 
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Any evidence an individual posts on here about they put x fuel in and y happened is anecdotal at best - there is no way they can prove it wasn’t due to any other problems.

Supermarket fuel comes from exactly the same place, goes through equally stringent testing and processing as every other fuel.

The only major differences are:

  • RON - important to put the correct fuel in for your car, as the engine will be designed with a fuel with a specific range of fuel compressibility. I.e if your car is designed for 97, put 97 in it. If it’s designed for 95, put 95 in it. Otherwise you may find engine misfires
  • Additives - things that can reduce carbon build up inside cylinder blocks etc. Costco basic fuel has this as standard, most places you only get it with higher octane/RON fuel.

Realistically, fuel in the U.K. is exceptionally good, and cars are made for markets with much poorer fuel quality, so for 99% of people, using the cheapest supermarket fuel will not make a tangible difference over the lifespan of the vehicles engine. Certainly not before other things go wrong.
 
Can it be down to the condition of the storage tanks as well? There was a supermarket near here that often had complaints about fuel quality, I also had issues when I occasionally filled up there. Turns out one of their underground tanks was leaking and ended up spilling loads of petrol into the local river. Environment Agency went to town on them, rightly so.

https://www.theguardian.com/busines...rol-station-lancashire-supermarket-haslingden

I don't know what underground storage tanks are made of, and if water/dirt in them can reach the pumps, I assume they have filters?
 
I quite regularly put Tesco Momentum 99 in my S2000 when I had it and it was absolutely fine. No increased oil usage or problems. I happen to live closer to a Shell now, so I put Vpower in the 911.

In terms of the specific car, as long as you don't put diesel in a petrol or vice versa there will be no implications for warranty or routine functioning of the vehicle. Manufacturers often recommend a particular grade in high performance engines, but it's very much a recommendation rather than an absolute rule.

Buy whatever is cheapest and don't worry about it.
 
Used both standard and “all bells and whistles” diesel in my 1.6 TDi “Earth Dreams” 2WD Honda CR-Vs over the years in the U.K. and could see no difference in MPG or performance over both long and short runs.

Have run branded regular, branded premium and supermarket B7 (7% biodiesel) diesel in my 1.5 TDi Duster and have noticed zero difference between them.

Utterly non-scientific.

Y. M. M. V.
 
MrRockliffe said:
Any evidence an individual posts on here about they put x fuel in and y happened is anecdotal at best - there is no way they can prove it wasn’t due to any other problems.

Supermarket fuel comes from exactly the same place, goes through equally stringent testing and processing as every other fuel.

The only major differences are:

  • RON - important to put the correct fuel in for your car, as the engine will be designed with a fuel with a specific range of fuel compressibility. I.e if your car is designed for 97, put 97 in it. If it’s designed for 95, put 95 in it. Otherwise you may find engine misfires
  • Additives - things that can reduce carbon build up inside cylinder blocks etc. Costco basic fuel has this as standard, most places you only get it with higher octane/RON fuel.

Realistically, fuel in the U.K. is exceptionally good, and cars are made for markets with much poorer fuel quality, so for 99% of people, using the cheapest supermarket fuel will not make a tangible difference over the lifespan of the vehicles engine. Certainly not before other things go wrong.
Click to expand...

The other consideration is ethanol content too. Supermarket fuels (in my experience) have a higher ethanol content. For those of us with older cars (my Westfield engine is from 1974!), ethanol = bad. Supermarket fuel is E10 (even their premium stuff). I have to get shell v-power to have a lower E content. (V-power is E5 IIRC).
 
Thanks for the replies guys.

VaderDSL said:
Can it be down to the condition of the storage tanks as well? There was a supermarket near here that often had complaints about fuel quality, I also had issues when I occasionally filled up there. Turns out one of their underground tanks was leaking and ended up spilling loads of petrol into the local river. Environment Agency went to town on them, rightly so.

https://www.theguardian.com/busines...rol-station-lancashire-supermarket-haslingden

I don't know what underground storage tanks are made of, and if water/dirt in them can reach the pumps, I assume they have filters?
Click to expand...

There was some comment in the article I linked where someone said that because of the high turnover of fuel being bought from supermarket pumps and basically getting emptied almost faster than they're getting filled, that the crud at the bottom of their storage tanks could be getting pumped into some cars.
 
My old BMW gets grouchy on supermarket petrol. Something that has been repeated most times I put supermarket fuel in it. So I fill it up with Shell 95 most of the time. No idea why that would be, and I'm more than open to the idea that it's just a coincidence, but I'm talking 4 or 5 times, each time after putting cheap fuel in because I have no other option at the time.
 
Merlin5 said:
Thanks for the replies guys.



There was some comment in the article I linked where someone said that because of the high turnover of fuel being bought from supermarket pumps and basically getting emptied almost faster than they're getting filled, that the crud at the bottom of their storage tanks could be getting pumped into some cars.
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Possible but that is what you’re fuel filter is there for.
 
Dis86 said:
If it clogs though then you're going to see performance issues. I've seen filters collapse due to negative pressure from blockages!
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Then replace it. It’s part of a regular service program to protect the engine from its user running their tank too low or possible contamination from place of purchase.

But just so were clear this can happen anywhere including premium brands of fuel not just supermarkets.
 
Doobedoo said:
Then replace it. It’s part of a regular service program to protect the engine from its user running their tank too low or possible contamination from place of purchase.

But just so were clear this can happen anywhere including premium brands of fuel not just supermarkets.
Click to expand...

Yes, but if it's happening more frequently than regular servicing demands it's a problem. Most cars I've had recommend fuel filter replacement every few years. Not every few tanks of fuel.
 
Dis86 said:
Yes, but if it's happening more frequently than regular servicing demands it's a problem. Most cars I've had recommend fuel filter replacement every few years. Not every few tanks of fuel.
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My misses owned her car for 3 or 4 years and she had it serviced for the first time a little while back (only because I told her to do it), she had no performance issues.

Can it happen? Yes. Is it that common? Wouldn’t have thought so.

But you would imagine that if it was happening to a person on a semi regular basis they would have the sense to replace the filter sooner?
 
Hasnt this been done a million times already.#

Get ready for ' ive used it for years and been fine', 'its all the same as it comes out the same fuel terminal' and other things relating RON with quality.
 
Doobedoo said:
Possible but that is what you’re fuel filter is there for.
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The filter on the fuel pump at the fuel station yes. There is no crud in the bottom of tanks. The fuel pickup is already at the bottom of the tank, engineers who designed them found cars run better on fuel than air
 
Since owning my own car I've only ever used supermarket fuel, Morrisons, as they are the closest to be precise. My son on other hand swears by Shell VPower and will only use that in his car.

I did either see or read something that said that the biggest different between the fuels would be the detergents/additives in the fuel so this could account for the wide and varied views and experiences?
 
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