General Fuel...supermarket or brand

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General Fuel...supermarket or brand

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Fuel...is there any difference between supermarket fuel( in my case diesel) and brand fuel like Shell, Esso etc.

The reason I ask is that when I was truck driving I used to see supermarket tankers coming out of the same refineries as the brand tankers, obviously they don't necessarily fill from the same tanks, but is there any difference.

Personally I fill up at supermarkets because it's cheaper..but am I being penny wise pound foolish.

I would be interested in your opinion, is it based on fact, experience or just hearsay.

(y)
 
I use Tesco Momentum fuel. There are debates all over the Internet about the different fuels and their additives, some prefer bp and shell. I've read that tesco momentum is almost as good as shell v-power. You'll get a lot of mixed opinions on this one :p

IMO, supermarket fuels are fine to use and cheaper. (y)
 
I do notice a difference when using Shell over Morrisons.

I did a blind test with my other half - full tank of Shell followed by a full tank of Morrisons - reverse of the same route. She thought something was wrong with her car because it used noticeably more fuel.

I can't remember who gets their fuel where - think Sainsbury's was Shell, Tesco from BP and Morrisons was Esso?

I might be wrong (Probably am)
 
I've been a driving instructor for 9 years now, so have used a lot of fuel. (Fill up 2-3 times per week) For tax I have to record personal mileage, so have kept records of all fuel used. I've used most supermarket brands and Shell and Esso, but never recorded any significant difference. This is all regular unleaded in Corsas, Fiat 500 and now Fiesta.
However, the Panda has used almost exclusively Esso so far this year and seems to be running very quietly and smoothly, although fuel consumption has not changed.

If you choose the premium grades, you will pay more and are unlikely to save that in better fuel consumption.

IMO use whatever is convenient.
 
When we used to have the multipla, It thoroughly disliked Asda + Morrisons Diesel, much preferred Shell or Esso. Interestingly enough, it wasn't big on BP either, but it never ran as rough as it did on Asda fuel.

So IMO, yes there is a difference, at least in diesel... Haven't ever put Asda or Morrisons in the panda, so I've no idea about the petrol.
 
They may all fill up at the same refinery but what about the addition of additives that is specific to each brand? I presumed this was added at the refinery after the tankers had been loaded with the regular fuel.

Personally, I avoid supermarket fuel - and tend to stick to my local stations, namely BP or Shell.
 
well i refuse to use Texico. Purely as when I put 8l (I put 8l per week) it ran ran out sooner. I don't know why. I use JET - lasts ages, BP & Tesco.
 
I vary between Tesco and Maxol diesel, as it's cheaper than BP.

I avoid Sainsbury's even if there's loadsa money off vouchers. My car drives like it's missing something and chuffs thick black smoke out the back end with it... Would cost me more in the long run with fuel additives required for cleaning it out...
 
Thanks for all the replies...

The general opinion seems to be that using better fuel doesn't improve the mpg but does improve the way the engine feels and performs, maybe it pays in the long run with cleaner injectors etc, so I may just try a couple of tanks of the "posh stuff" and see for myself.

Another train of thought concerning diesel engines and the varying lifespan of egr valves, could fuel quality be a contributing factor?

I'm sure there will never be a definitive answer to this subject, so it will probably come down to "you pays your money and you takes your choice".....depending on how thick your wallet is feeling at the time!

Thanks again (y)
 
Few years ago, EVO magazine ran their fast fleet on v-power for 6months.
They had the engines analysed with a scope before & after and they were considerably cleaner and less coked up internally.
Dyno results showed minor improvements on the high performance cars, but little if any on the average car.

I use shell unleaded on the 100HP and V-Power on the supercharged mx5 as it was mapped & timed on its EMB piggyback ecu for it.

Most significant difference is in my wallet!
 
Yes, there is a difference and normally it's worth the premium for higher octane fuel at the pumps as you get that back in better MPG as well as other benefits in better "driveability". It does however depend on the car - and luckily for us Tesco did a test last year with their Momentum 99 fuel and one of the cars they used in the test was a Panda 1.2. Full tech report with results is here:

http://www.tescopfs.com/content/downloads/mbk_12_0311_2.pdf

Another issue is the inclusion of 5% Ethanol in petrol, that can be a problem in cars built before 2007 and in all cars left for more than a few weeks as it has a very short shelf life. It is getting more difficult to avoid Ethanol, I think Texaco are the only major that don't add it.
It is possible petrol with 10% Ethanol might appear here later this year, certainly avoid that, has caused all sorts of problems in Europe and the States. Ethanol is added because it is seen as a green fuel in the supply change, it has no benefit at all for the end user.
 
I do notice a difference when using Shell over Morrisons.

I did a blind test with my other half - full tank of Shell followed by a full tank of Morrisons - reverse of the same route. She thought something was wrong with her car because it used noticeably more fuel.

I can't remember who gets their fuel where - think Sainsbury's was Shell, Tesco from BP and Morrisons was Esso?

I might be wrong (Probably am)

What would have been the result doing outbound & inbound trips on the same fuel?
The surface wind at Humberside is nothing (variable 2 knots) now – but this afternoon forecast to be 080 degrees @ 10 knots.
What other conditions were variable – traffic?

031040Z
 
What would have been the result doing outbound & inbound trips on the same fuel?

:yeahthat:

The difference between outbound & return trip mpg figures will often be at least 10% due to the wind alone.

I'm not saying there isn't a difference between supermarket & Shell fuels, just that you'll need to do something much more sophisticated to measure it.
Another issue is the inclusion of 5% Ethanol in petrol

And yes, the percentage of ethanol they chose to add on the day will make a much bigger difference than the brand of feedstock they started out with.
Fuel...is there any difference between supermarket fuel( in my case diesel) and brand fuel like Shell, Esso etc.
The only difference between brands is the additive pack, which is usually added at the point of delivery. Bulk petrol is a commodity product and the different retailers will source it from whatever refinery is most conveniently situated with respect to the final delivery point to minimise the cost of transportation.
 
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I haven't done a Shell all round - the Shell garage in Crawley is considerably more expensive than anywhere else.

I have done Shell down, Sainsbury's up with similar results (traffic density was broadly similar and weather was absolute crap each way).

Cross-Pennine runs:

East-west on Shell compared to Sainsbury's - again, broadly similar

West-east on Morrisons is about half a tank, Shell about a third. Again, pretty similar conditions...maybe a tad more rain on the last Morrisons run

The recommended fuel for the car is BP (not Ultimate). Yet to put BP in myself.
 
Any idea how they ensure that the additive pack is evenly distributed and stays that way? Unevenly distributed additives may give interesting results from one tankful to the next.

Provided everything is mutually soluble all should be well, in the same way that the alcohol in a bottle of spirits stays uniformly mixed.
 
... Tesco did a test last year with their Momentum 99 fuel and one of the cars they used in the test was a Panda 1.2. Full tech report with results is here:

http://www.tescopfs.com/content/downloads/mbk_12_0311_2.pdf

Interesting data & a much `preferred supplier’ over the big bold opinion style.
I’ve not read into it much yet – but noticed (re Panda) there’s no significant mpg difference between Tesco 95 & the other 95, which maybe confirms that the base 95 is much the same whoever you draw-off.

My understanding (from a tanker driver) is that the base fuel is 95 & that is raised to 95+ by additives. So a tanker takes 95 from the rack (loading rig) & injects the additives called for by the customer. That suggests that each customers additive recipe is well known throughout the business. This makes sense given the `exchange agreement’ between the suppliers to draw-off their requirements from the nearest refinery irrespective of the oil company operating the refinery.

How many suppliers use common additives I don’t know – but obviously some can be distinguished. (We know from the Philpott trial that the prosecution was able to distinguish from BP, Shell & Total fuel on Philpott’s clothing). My fuel is Total from ASDA, & the tanker driver assured me that the additives were Total & there was no `ASDA’ additives – although confirmation by management would be nice.

It seems to me that some have a `housekeeping’ problem when it comes to storage. Tesco seem to figure more often in contamination claims.
Water & dirt & microbes get into the fuel. For around £5 you can buy an aviation fuel tester tube to check for water etc contamination - but I’ve never tried it with a car (as the sample is drawn from bottom of the tank).
See youtube.com/watch?v=sk6FhxRmbOs

041200Z
 
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Most light aircraft STC's for MOGAS specify alcohol free fuel only, which is primarily why you need to test as ethanol-free UL95 is now increasingly hard to find off-airport.

The two biggest problems with ethanol are that it attracts water into the fuel & can damage seals & gaskets in the fuel system & carburettor.
 
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