[Closed] Super Unleaded .....

Gets us about 4 miles per gallon more on the Tourney Connect. It's the 1.6 Ecoboost so takes us from the mid twenties to the high ones. Still a ridiculous mpg for the engine size and power output.

Yes. Your wallet is lighter than with an equivalent tank of ron’s 95 and so the car travels faster with less weight to carry.

with diesel it seems to be that yes it does increase mpg but they know exactly how much and have increased the price accordingly 🙂

Yes.
I use Diesel premium ..it has a noticeable improvement in terms of performance..( also mpg ) and also keeps the engine ( injectors ) cleaner..
I fill up at Costco who have their own version of both ..it's also one hell of a lot cheaper ( 1.24pl as opposed to Shell V Power 1.46 locally ) ..

I believe it makes a difference on turbo engines, especially highly tuned ones.
Bog standard 1.6 non turbo, I reckon you’ll struggle to tell the difference.
Fifth gear have done some tests that basically said that.
Highly tuned turbo engines are getting a lot more common nowadays though.

An improvement in MPG isn't something the manufactures themselves claim. But they word their literature is such a way that it seems thats what they are claiming. Their claims revolve around the detergents in the fuel that -might- clean, or keep clean, elements of the engine when used regularly.

Their claim is a clean engine is more economical than a dirty one. Not that one version of a fuel is more energy dense than another which is what it would have to be to provide better MPG. Strangely though customers seem to be able to prove MPG benefits that the manufacturers aren't actually making.

I use Sainsbury's own brand diesel as it visibly reduces the seven signs ageing. Not the ones relating to continence or short term memory. Those are 8 and 9.

My 300bhp car feels faster with that extra alcohol they put in but my engine seals will pay me back...

I use Tesco Momentum 99 ron when I can get hold of it, they peg the price difference to +5p/l compared to 95ron and the engine definitely runs smoother. It is a quite highly boosted motor but TBH I can't say that I notice any more power.
Edit: Momentum is an E5 fuel and as my golf is post 2011 can run on E10 so the seals shouldn't be an issue

160000 mile van,13 years old,put a tenner of super diesel in and passed its MOT on emissions no problem, last 3 mots failed on emissions.

the 1.6 Ecoboost so takes us from the mid twenties to the high ones. Still a ridiculous mpg for the engine size and power output.

I'll not be buying one of those at that kind of mpg...

I used to use it on the roadster (big engine, no turbo) and it cuts out the “pinking” and gives about 40miles more per tankful (370 to 330’ish)

Is it worth the extra? Nah, not for me. I fill the car up once a month now and I drive like yer-grandad so barely notice if I’m doing 40mph.. and rarely go over that around the county lanes to the pub.

Haven't tried it in the hybrid.. maybe if I do the car will enter the earths atmosphere, but I some how doubt it. All I expect it to do is ... erm... nothing.

Tell you what, I’ll fill up next time (should be Friday) and post back with the interstellar results.. and cost implications.

🤷‍♂️

Far better in our battered lawn mower (much easier to start).

I would occasionally use it years ago. The couple of miles per gallon more balanced the price difference. The engine seemed to warm up quicker. I might Ray it again if it was in offer

Always ran the scoob on it when it was available. It would pull better through the range and give slightly better fuel economy but not enough to warrant the increase in price.

Normal Asda diesel.

[IMG] [/IMG]

(Not sure what my point is other than saddo MPG bragging)

it'll have zero effect on milage. Premium diesel has zero effect overall, premium petrol can run higher compression ratios (thus allow more fuel, if you've got a knock sensor) than non-premium, but at the cost of using more fuel (the fuel doesn't have more energy, you can just use more of it (and air)).

Anything you're feeling is purely placebo

Tourney Connect. It’s the 1.6 Ecoboost so takes us from the mid twenties to the high ones.

What's wrong with it.....

A 7m long 2.8m tall Iveco daily will do those figures.

Not with a 1.6 petrol in it won’t

The compression ratios on conventional 4 stroke otto cycle engines don't change during operation, boost pressure can on a super/turbo charged engine. I think you would struggle to find any fairly modern petrol engine that dosn't have a knock sensor.

Not with a 1.6 petrol in it won’t

I'm pretty sure it would .....if I stuck it in the load bay. Infact the whole ecoboost taxi could fit in the load bed and it's mpg would improve.

My old Puma had a recommendation to use the higher spec fuel, along with high spec oil, but that had the Yamaha built 1.7 Zetec, which had nickasil (sp?) plasma coated bore linings, instead of iron liners, so needed to be treated with respect. Never got more than around 35/gallon, 25-28 with the roof bars on. 😕

What I learnt from those two videos before falling asleep through sheer boredom is that their is a slight difference in performance ( diesel) that doesn't outweigh the increased cost of the premium fuel ..but as I'm paying less than "regular" pump prices for the stuff at Costco ( compared to Shell,BP etc..) I will keep on using it ..

I’ve used it exclusively in my 330i since it was 18m old. My MOT tester commented that my emissions are lower than most modern, small engines petrol cars. It’s 17years old.

It depends how the engine was calibrated. If it was calibrated with 95RON then sticking 98 in is going to do very little as all your base (i.e. non-knocking) ignition timing maps are based on 95RON so the ignition won't be able to take advantage of lower knock with 98+.

If, however it was mapped on 98 - which is most common practice - then yes, it will make a small but positive difference to mpg.

Every time your engine is regarding ignition it needs to invest more air to keep the same level of torque. Air = fuel and so more fuel is being used. Going from 98 to 95 with decent fuel quality - any fuel in the UK basically - isn't going to need to retard too much but, as others have mentioned, with turbocharged engones, and especially downsized highly boosted ones, if you drive at higher loads often then it will make a bigger difference as you are in the knock zone more often. If you generally drive at fairly light loads (motorway cruising, pooling round town) then it won't make any difference at all in reality.

And anything much more specifically performance you would definitely lose some off the full load line by running 95 instead of 98. Not huge, but usually noticeable.

^^^^^that.
Totally depends on the car, basically.
Older car, mapped for 95, probably no difference, newer car with cleverer ECU and knock sensor that's mapped for higher octane and then knocks back timing based on knock, then yes, it will.
Most noticeable on FI engines.
My 9-5 does about 3mpg better on the display using super.
My wife's DC2 which was a JDM import mapped for 98 ran loads better on it.
Older performance cars I've had which had primitive ECUs and knock sensors it made no discernible difference.
My RX7 is custom mapped for 99, I wouldn't dream of using anything else, it's temperamental enough as it is, so it would likely thank me by throwing Apex seals through the exhaust wheel.

it’ll have zero effect on milage. Premium diesel has zero effect overall, premium petrol can run higher compression ratios (thus allow more fuel, if you’ve got a knock sensor) than non-premium, but at the cost of using more fuel (the fuel doesn’t have more energy, you can just use more of it (and air)).

Anything you’re feeling is purely placeb

Shhh don’t come around here with your well balanced fact based points. It costs more, it must be better!

Use it in the motorcycle and I'm definitely getting 20-30 mile extra out of a tank*. I'm hoping it'll keep the carbs a bit cleaner too.

* I reckon, I've not really applied strict testing protocols here.

bikebouy

Subscriber

I used to use it on the roadster (big engine, no turbo) and it cuts out the “pinking” and gives about 40miles more per tankful (370 to 330’ish)

Is it worth the extra? Nah, not for me. I fill the car up once a month now and I drive like yer-grandad so barely notice if I’m doing 40mph.. and rarely go over that around the county lanes to the pub.

That doesn't sound right. I wouldn't run the engine on 95 if you can hear it pinging ... unless you're not worried about paying for an engine rebuild down the line.

I have over the years swapped between 98 & 95 ron petrol, as I don’t use it much these days I have for the last 3-4 yrs just stuck 95 in it... and probably will continue to do so.

The hybrid however, since new, has always had 95 in it and I’m just going to play with one tank of 98 in it to see if it nukes me into orbit or does sweet bugger all.

Interesting to see what difference (if any) as the cars trip Ave from new is 62mpg...

Will I get Ave’s of 70?? 🥳🤷‍♂️

Interesting.

Honest John swears by the stuff.
Newer Volvo 4cyl engines are designed to run on it, and it's a 'should' in the handbook (one reason I went for older 5cyl).
I do put a couple of tanks in now and again in the D3. It gets noticeably better mpg over a full tank - but takes a second tank to really up it. By 4-6mpg. It's smoother.
I did it before MOT and the results on emissions were daft low, especially for a 100k+ car.
Sadly it's just to expensive as an everyday fill up to justify.

In my car (911 non-turbo) I feel it responds a little sharper, but the difference is small and could be 50% real and 50% placeebo. However, Porsche do recommend a high octane fuel, but it will work on the lower rated fuel. So when using it as it was intended I would put high octane in it.

Not bothered about the cost / mpg, as its a toy for fun. Not for commuting to work or driving to the trail center. In my van I use cheap diesel.

Purely anecdotally,

The last time I had anything that ran on unleaded, it was a CB500 bike. I found that it ran better on the posh stuff - smoother, and a bit more grunt - but continued to do so for a little while afterwards too. I wound up putting premium in every fourth or fifth fill or so.

Note you can have higher octane fuel and also premium fuel. The two are slightly different.

Super Unleaded is just normal unleaded fuel with a higher octane number, in this country super unleaded is 98 RON. As mentioned by people above if your engine is intelligent or mapped specifically for 98 RON then the engine can advance the ignition timing to extract more performance. But this will mostly be felt at high engine loads so how much you feel at normal everyday loads is debatable.

Premium fuel is things like Shell V Power or BP Ultimate. These contain things like detergents and other additives to clean the inside of your engine and remove oil and carbon build ups that can occur after some time. Premium fuel isn't necessarily higher octane fuel but every example of premium fuel I've seen in this country is higher octane fuel too (chances are if you are going to pay for premium then you'll want higher octane too). This will potentially allow your engine to run more efficiently and last longer. Again the efficient thing is kinda moot as what people mostly care about is the cost per mile and as the fuel costs more to start with, any savings from higher economy are balanced out. Also todays engines can run easily to 100K miles and beyond by following normal servicing guidelines so is increasing longevity really an issue?

I saw a video of a Shell V power lab technician saying most of the cleaning benefits of the fuel occur on the first usage. I can't remember the actual figures but its was a significant value something like 80% of the carbon deposits are removed in the first use.

I have a high performance car so I can feel the benefits of high octane fuel so I always use super unleaded in the car. But every now and again maybe 1 or 2 months I'll put in a full tank of Shell V Power to help keep the inside nice and shiny. I've not done any testing to see if there is any difference but I like my car and like to pamper it every now and again.

Shell V Power gave my Alfa 156 and Alfa GT (both without turbos) more torque at lower revs which was particularly noticiable on the 156 as it was annoyingly flat below 2 3/4k revs.

I also felt the engine was much smoother.

With V-Power I would get an average of 380-390 miles out of a tank, whereas with normal Shell or BP I would get 330ish. Same sort of numbers on both cars and had both cars for something like 8 years each, so saw a lot of tank refills in that time.

I haven't tested to see if it makes any difference to my 1.75Tb Giulietta yet.

Anything you’re feeling is purely placebo

That was a consistent result so not a placebo.

I wouldn't get the same result out of anybody else's premium fuel, only Shell.

When I mention it to my car-nut friend he said that they all would only use Shell with their ford cosworths and mitsu evos.

This has been discussed on this forum quite a few times now...

I use super unleaded in my Grinnall Scorpion. What annoys me is that you never know how much it will cost until you start filling. Yesterday I ended-up paying an extra 18p per litre

My old Clio used to be more likely to do pops n bangs on Super - worth every penny

Grinnall Scorpion

please be the 3-wheeler?

TOCA flashbacks! Hero! Pics!

'19 BMW 330i -the twin turbo one (i think)
I run it on council house unleaded petrol ...
What would be the advantage on using "Super"?

I get an extra 3-4 mpg on my commute with ultimate diesel over standard. I put this down to better engine response resulting in less ‘heavy’ pedal use. My commute is urban/ duel carriage way with clover leaf junctions and roundabouts/ urban with speed bumps.
Also I can get the same effect with a half dose of millers diesel power additive for much cheaper.

When I fill up to do a long holiday drive and then drive around more sedately at destination, premium fuel seems to make very little difference to mpg.

’19 BMW 330i -the twin turbo one (i think)
I run it on council house unleaded petrol …
What would be the advantage on using “Super”?

(I think) it's rated for standard Unleaded which in the UK is 95Ron, so it won't be upset at all running that.

You might get a bit more power with something like Tesco 99 ron, but I personally doubt it.

They're never really clear about how much flex they build into their systems. Some cars are designed to be run on the higher RON stuff, some places like Tesco with their 'momentum' fuel give vague promises of greater economy, but I'm not sure how (but nor am I a automotive engineer) higher octane fuel actually contains less energy, the point of it is you can compress it more without it auto igniting.

Moreover fuel standard vary globally, what we consider 'standard' is actually high octane in the US, Oz and Nz. Our Standard and High sit in the middle of what Japan calls standard and high and some places go even higher.

The other element, the cleaning element, makes a lot more sense with diesels than petrols, but it doesn't fix what causes most diesel clogging issues which happen after the burnt fuel is exhausted. It might keep your injectors a little fresher.

mashr

Grinnall Scorpion

please be the 3-wheeler?

Yes..........

Very well played sir!

"but I’m not sure how (but nor am I a automotive engineer) higher octane fuel actually contains less energy, the point of it is you can compress it more without it auto igniting."

Is that true? From what I understand the octane number is how stable the fuel is and how much is resists self ignition under compression. It has nothing to do with the energy density of the fuel. The more the fuel resists self ignition the more you can advance the ignition timing in the engine which creates better performance and efficiency.

If you do try it or change to using it, you need two or three tankfulls before any effect will be seen.

Used it once by mistake when filling up my rad Zafira. The only difference I noticed was that I couldn’t afford a chocolate bar from the kiosk when I went to pay

Momentum is the most basic standard fuel that is allowed to be sold with the addition of bio ethanol as an octane booster. Shell V power relies on much higher quality base fuels with detergents and lubricants to protect and help clean your fuel system. If your leasing and worried about fuel costs I wouldn’t bother. You need to run the car on it for a while to notice a difference. The biggest difference is when you go back and put a normal supermarket fuel back in.