Shell to re-launch V-Power imminently

Rainmaker

Rainmaker

Rainmaker

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I had an email from Shell the other day, brief and to the point. Keep your eyes peeled, something new is coming soon... I did some digging tonight because I was bored, and I found this article on Forecourt Trader. Basically they're re-launching V-Power (again) 'in the spring', and rebranding the additives to 'Dynaflex'. They say it's all new, and formulated for today's downsized stressed engines. It does sound very much a case of 'Meet the new boss, same as the old boss'. TLDR: removes carbon, contains a (new) Friction Modifying Technology molecule, and protects against corrosion and wear.

It's already been released in Hong Kong (if you're going to tease us, Shell, at least make sure it's not already all over the internet from another country lol). The Shell.hk site says that the new V-Power formulation contains three times the amount of detergent and three times the level of FMT found in regular FuelSave unleaded. The small print at the bottom has the usual disclaimers about no guarantees being provided, all vehicles and driving styles will vary etc; but interestingly that having 3x the additive doesn't equal 3x the effects. Why include it then, unless for pure marketing hyperbole to justify the cost?

They are also relaunching their customer loyalty club over summer, with a completely new 'personalised' system. No news on what that will involve, however. Just that it will be customer-centric and will drive loyalty. Either way, I haven't seen any of this mentioned on here, and since many of us use V-Power (half the UK's premium fuel sales, apparently) I thought some might find it interesting.
 
Thanks for the heads up. Just saw the email as well. I'm still annoyed they upped the price of V-Power relative to regular last time I went for a fill up. Maybe it's to get ready for whatever is coming out...
 
If the loyalty bonuses mean cheaper fuel for those of us who always fill up with V-Power and/or use the Shell app to pay with our phones, then I'm all for it. No idea what the "new" fuel means for older engines, more detergent I guess is always a good thing. Will have to keep an eye on Fuelio's reports in coming months to compare averages vs the previous months.

I am expecting there to be minimal difference given that my car is N/A.
 
Helios1234 said:
Thanks for the heads up. Just saw the email as well. I'm still annoyed they upped the price of V-Power relative to regular last time I went for a fill up. Maybe it's to get ready for whatever is coming out...
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It's the other way around, here. The differential is the same 8ppl it usually is, but they're proportionately more expensive than usual across the board.

112.9 - Supermarket unleaded
117.9 - Tesco Momentum 99

116.9 - Shell FuelSave unleaded
124.9 - Shell V-Power

The Shell prices above are the cheapest in our area. Some of the others are between 128.9 and 130.9 for V-Power at present. The company-owned stations are always cheapest, and luckily my three closest Shells are all company owned. :)

mrk said:
If the loyalty bonuses mean cheaper fuel for those of us who always fill up with V-Power and/or use the Shell app to pay with our phones, then I'm all for it. No idea what the "new" fuel means for older engines, more detergent I guess is always a good thing. Will have to keep an eye on Fuelio's reports in coming months to compare averages vs the previous months.

I am expecting there to be minimal difference given that my car is N/A.
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Quite. The driver's club + app + triple points for V-Power + monthly 100 point bonuses via email soon add up. Hopefully they keep it at least comparably favourable.
 
I used to use VPN+ in my old Leon Cupra 180 religiously but after a good year of using it the car started to idle roughly and wasn't smooth through the rev range any more. I started just putting the normal stuff in it and within 2-3 tanks it was running smoothly again. Now in my Focus 1.6 Ecoboost 182 I don't even bother with the good stuff at all. In fact I mostly fill up as Asda. I might put a few tanks in it in the summer but I'm nearly getting 40MPG from a tank according to the OBC so it will be interesting if that changes.
 
Rainmaker said:
It's the other way around, here. The differential is the same 8ppl it usually is, but they're proportionately more expensive than usual across the board.

112.9 - Supermarket unleaded
117.9 - Tesco Momentum 99

116.9 - Shell FuelSave unleaded
124.9 - Shell V-Power

The Shell prices above are the cheapest in our area. Some of the others are between 128.9 and 130.9 for V-Power at present. The company-owned stations are always cheapest, and luckily my three closest Shells are all company owned. :)
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It used to be 8p difference here. When the price of petrol went down last year, the difference became 9p and stuck at that for all nearby garages although one garage did have an 11p difference so I started to avoid it. Last time I went to fill up at one of my usual spots, the difference went up to 11p.
 
I don't use premium petrol, so genuine question...but is vpower actually better than eg tesco momentum? Have any scientific tests been carried out or is it just a placebo?
 
My Octavia VRS states it can use 95-99 Ron (or similar) on the fuel cap and i cant tell the difference with supermarket premium and normal, so i just use the cheap stuff.
 
That's just a power comparison. Doesn't take in to account the additional claimed benefits. The biggest one I found was an increase in efficiency which offset the cost and actually brought the price per mile down.
 
I can only use premium in the 350z or it would destroy the engine..literally. Small amounts of normal such as for an 'emergency' is ok but not long term.

I do use v power as it's convenient and the few points are better than nothing.
 
I only use Shell or in emergency BP high octane stuff in my R8. It won't do any damage running lower octane stuff, but pointless buying a 550bhp car and not giving it the highest octane readily available fuel.
 
I use momentum 99 in my GT86 (which is supposed to be run on at least 98ron). I don't find the extra cost of vpower worth it.

The extra additives in premium is worth it for engine health though. A guy I know took his old Vauxhall V6 apart, which had always been run on premium fuel and it was totally clean inside. You would expect quite a bit of carbon buildup for it's age, but nope it looked like new.
 
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Ran my GT86 on whichever super I could get my mitts on at time of filling up, always sounded rougher on Momentum than other supers over a few tanks (Esso/Sainsburys). Since remapping it's only ever had VPower, as my car is a downsized stressed engine it would be interesting to see if there are any improvements to the performance or mpg.
 
I thought I recognised the place where they did the testing for 5th gear, it was the place where I had my S3 remapped.
 
I have to fill my Evo with premium stuff so always go for Shell VPN+ but my EP3 CTR just gets the normal Shell stuff.
 
So with all the noise about diesel - petrol is the new cash-cow. So not surprising that all the petrol vendors are vying for the new wave of petrol buyers.
 
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