Technical 55 Reg Panda 1.1 Active, which fuel is best?

[RichardH13]

HI,

I'm using my mum's Panda 1.1, I've crashed my Duster and still waiting for a courtesy car, so I have the Fiat for a while.

I asked dad which fuel is best and didn't really get a straight answer.

Its a 55 reg with just under 40,000 miles on the clock, so just run in!

Thinking of the ethanol content, is it best to use the V-Power or high octane E5 fuels?

Thanks in advance

 

[AnthonyH]

See below;

GOV.UK E10 Enquiry

E10 Enquiry

check-vehicle-compatibility-e10-petrol.service.gov.uk

Essentially its up to you, either E10 or E5 is fine.

With E10 you get slightly more mileage for your money.

With E5 you get slightly more power.

 

[Decronium]

You won't notice any difference apart from the price. Just don't leave it sat for longer than a month with e10 in it

 

[koalar]

I just run on any

Makes no difference what so ever, performance or economy, in fact what in the pump isn't always what it says it is, but will confirm to the latest specification and may be better than specified

Only worth paying the extra on higher performance cars which can do adjust the timing and or boost

 

[AnthonyH]

I buy E10, I think ages ago i read something about E10 being 0.1% more efficient, or something so small its not worth remembering.

 

[koalar]

I buy E10, I think ages ago i read something about E10 being 0.1% more efficient, or something so small its not worth remembering.

E10 is up to 10%

The important bit is up to

A few years ago when tested at the pump most E10 was actually closer to 5%

Whether things have changed I don't know

I found it funny when people on forums posted that thier car ran worse on E10 when it was first introduced, yet what at the pumps wasn't even close to E10 at that time

 

[MrMagoo]

Regular unleaded is fine

 

[RichardH13]

Thanks guys.

With it being a 1.1 any performance gain is relative

I hadn't driven it for a long time, it is great fun, who needs power?

I think I want a 100HP for my retirement classic!

 

[AnthonyH]

E10 is up to 10%

The important bit is up to

A few years ago when tested at the pump most E10 was actually closer to 5%

Whether things have changed I don't know

I found it funny when people on forums posted that thier car ran worse on E10 when it was first introduced, yet what at the pumps wasn't even close to E10 at that time

This doesn't surprise me. It would also be fair to say that for a lot of garages 1 litre of petrol is up to 1 litre. Trading standards can't cope with anything really.

 

[AnthonyH]

Thanks guys.

With it being a 1.1 any performance gain is relative

I hadn't driven it for a long time, it is great fun, who needs power?

I think I want a 100HP for my retirement classic!

I'm happy on 77HP. Or sometimes on 65 HP.

More or less any car can do the speed limit of 70 mph. So all that extra HP gets you is more acceleration. Which if you live in a city is accelerating to the next set of lights faster

 

[DaveMcT]

Our 1200/60 definitely runs better on 99 RON (posh petrol). BUT if you only drive about town you probably wont see any benefit. If you do longer runs the slight improvement is worth having. It's about break even on cost.

Why? 95 RON causes the ECU to set less ignition advance so more heat goes down the exhaust pipe. 99 RON allows the optimum advance. That's it.

 

[ZaphodB]

Only worth paying the extra on higher performance cars which can do adjust the timing and or boost

This

I've been running Tesco 99 on my Abarth595 since buying it

 

[DaveMcT]

My 100HP was so much happier on 99 RON that I only ever used 95 when desperate for fuel. It was worth the 5% extra cost just to remove the sluggish power that 95 delivered. The 1200 is less sensitive but the difference is there. IMO, a low power car needs every advantage it can find.

 

[The Panda Nut]

My 100HP was so much happier on 99 RON that I only ever used 95 when desperate for fuel. It was worth the 5% extra cost just to remove the sluggish power that 95 delivered. The 1200 is less sensitive but the difference is there. IMO, a low power car needs every advantage it can find.

Markedly so. The difference oin hills is not slight its massive. In the TA its not possible to maintain the same speed even two gears down. It will run on E10 but its dreadful by comparrison. I would rather spend the extra. If it feels rough, which all 4 of ours do, its not going to be good for the engine. One of our 4 runs smoothly on E10 but its so slow I have to keep slowing for it to catch up when we are doing a Panda conger. 3 of us only do about 5K a year and the extra cost isnt worth thinking of.

I will not use E10 and will drive to another filling station when needed. This is the way I feel about E10. Its true E10 can be E0% but E5 may not be be more than 5%.

If E10 was actually of more benefit to the planet I would use it, but in reality it gives benefit with one hand and takes it back with the other. Maybe I will give it another try next time I am doing a long run. I dont want the stuff in my fuel system on any machine if they are standing unused for a while. I have seen the results of E5 on mower fuel systems. Not good. I do use it in the mowers and garden equipment but only with additive, so whats the point, overall it costs more.

 

[DaveMcT]

Cheap petrol dramatically increases fuel consumption. Don't believe me? then try the French 87 RON and see how far you get on a tankful. The energy content per litre is much the same, but engines cannot use it efficiently.

 

[koalar]

Cheap petrol dramatically increases fuel consumption. Don't believe me? then try the French 87 RON and see how far you get on a tankful. The energy content per litre is much the same, but engines cannot use it efficiently.

That's strange, and I have no idea where it comes from

There an 87 octane gasoline in the USA which is equivalent to 91 RON


France uses SP95-E10 which come out of the same Pernis refinery to the same standards as the UK

We no longer refine it's own petrol, well almost zero and our so called refineries are mostly little more than storage sites

Of course if your climbing in the Alps or using stale petrol you economy will suffer


Back to back test on a family car running cheap petrol and posh petrol shows no difference in performance or economy as tested by which and top gear


There was a difference when used in a Subaru WRX
In both performance and economy but the difference was so small it would not be noticeable and that the cheap petrol was still cheaper


Look up the top gear drag race on both petrols
Look up the which test from 2015


There just been a super car shootout on the standing 1/4, to see which could reach 200MPH, they used E85 to creep a few cars over which isn't readily available here