Ford diesels dont like sainsburys

olly300

davidjwest wrote: »

I was bored and went through my fuel spreadsheet - I've only ever filled up an Sainsbury's once in my current car so for comparison I've checked Shell versus Morrisons diesel:

Shell - 57.28 MPG
Morrisons - 53.66 MPG

I do mainly motorway miles, around 40k a year and commute the same route every week, with cruise control set to the same speed. Of course there are variations due to weather/traffic but the difference is quite clear.

Not a fair comparison.

All Shell's fuel has been "Fuel Save" since the end of summer, hence if you haven't been getting more MPG from Shell then you should be reporting them to the ASA.

bigjl

Was there any point to your last comment?

If you don't believe there is any difference between supermarket and big brand diesel then good for you, but do you really need to post such pedantic comments. They aren't really constructive.

Funny how Rexy has had a very similar experience to myself and actually has a similar car.


Last week I couldn't find a cashpoint with money in it and was in a hurry to get fuel as was on fumes so used the "pay at the pump" at Tescos, result was a reduction in fuel consumption from 49mpg (cold weather so not as good as normal) down to 43mpg after a day or so, the car also ran like a pig, down on power, the flat spot at 1500/1800 was there again large as life, a common problem on TDCi Mondeos. I added a bottle of Redex which seemed you help a little bit.

This week I then brimmed the tank with BP and within miles all was well in camp diesel, over the next few days the mpg came back up to a more usual 48mpg, not bad for cold weather. And the flatspot has gone again. More power, engine feels smoother.


Too be honest I don't see the point of putting in cheap supermarket diesel, especially when Esso is the same price near where I live.

To get back to my example with Jaffa cakes, would anybody buy own brand Jaffa cakes if they where the same price as the proper ones, I think not, and if anybody posted on a forum that the Tesco ones where just as good they would not be taken seriously.

I posted elsewhere about red diesel being high sulphur diesel and was told it wasn't as all diesel is the same, but then read about the EU that red diesel is to be low sulphur from Jan 2011 due to EU fiddling, but only for agricultural and inland waterway use, the diesel for offshore use is still "full fat", now red diesel isn't made in a special red diesel refinery so this would indicate that just because supermarket and some other diesels come out of the same refinery doesn't mean that they are the same, and until I see a Tesco tanker deliver to my local BP/Esso/Shell station I shall believe that it is possible that there are differences between different diesels, and indeed petrol other than just the additives.

One small point to add, the mpg computers in most cars need to be reset to give an accurate reading, which yes I admit that I do, I used to like my Legacy as it had two fuel consumption readouts, and yes I do turn into a bit of a James May when it comes to such things.

Lum

Shell are claiming "up to 2mpg gain" in their marketing. Lets ignore the "up to" part and assume this claim is valid, therefore we can calculate the MPG of the old Shell diesel as 55.28mpg

Compared to Morrisons 53.66mpg that's still a saving even on the old stuff.

It's an irrelevant comparison though as, like you say yourself, all Shell diesel is "fuel save"* now.

Lets have a look at a more meaningful comparison, using the prices for the Shell and the Morrisons on my way home from work:

Price   MPG    Makes my Mondeo run like a bag of crap?
Shell     £123.9  57.28  No
Morrisons £124.9  53.66  Yes

(Shell Newport, NP20 5PA vs Morrisons Rogerstone, NP10 9SA. Source: petrolprices.com email from the 23rd)

I don't even need to work out miles per £. The choice is obvious here.

mikey72

bigjl wrote: »

I posted elsewhere about red diesel being high sulphur diesel and was told it wasn't as all diesel is the same, but then read about the EU that red diesel is to be low sulphur from Jan 2011 due to EU fiddling, but only for agricultural and inland waterway use, the diesel for offshore use is still "full fat", now red diesel isn't made in a special red diesel refinery so this would indicate that just because supermarket and some other diesels come out of the same refinery doesn't mean that they are the same, and until I see a Tesco tanker deliver to my local BP/Esso/Shell station I shall believe that it is possible that there are differences between different diesels, and indeed petrol other than just the additives.

Red diesel is "normal" old style diesel with a red dye.
Old "normal" diesel is fairly high in sulpher, and to create low sulpher diesel for road use there is an extra process at the refinery, so it leaves there either high sulpher, or low sulpher.

From 2011 they'll be adding red dye to low sulpher diesel, and as it has undergone another process at the refinery, no doubt it will go up by a penny or two as well.

It will also suit the oil companies, as you can't mix the distribution chain for high and low sulpher fuel, due to cross contamination, but you can add the dye (subject to HM Revenue and Customs) anywhere in the chain.

bigjl

You are right mikey, I didn't think of it that way, I wouldn't be surprised if the oil companies helped instigate this to save money/make more profit, though I will have fond memories of driving an old 405 TD with full fat diesel, not on the main road obviously m'lud..............

bigjl

At least you believe me when I say my Mondeo is less economical when run on supermarket diesel and also runs like a bag of bolts Lum.


I assume you are similar to me in that until you experienced it yourself in your Mondeo you thought that diesel was diesel pretty much with the exception of the high performance stuff, I had an Impreza WRX and that would only to run on the super unleaded, but once I couldn't find any on a long journey and put in normal stuff, which you could do in an emergency, and the car felt as flat as a pancake.

Life is a learning process I suppose.

It does get a bit old when some think you are talking out your tailpipe on this subject, though I reckon I would have been as sceptical as anybody until I owned this Mondeo, on the subject of price the supermarkets are the same price as Esso round my way so it again turns into a no brainer, always bought proper Jaffa cakes aswell.

mikey72

Even oil companies diesels are not equal.

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=32547

bigjl

I reckon my use of decent diesel is generally good for the engine though, as when I had a look over the cars previous MOT's the emissions have stayed almost the same over the three checks, not bad when you consider the car has done well over 50k during that time.

Especially when you consider that three or four weeks after buying it the wife put £5 of unleaded in it, then half filled with diesel and carried on, when she told me(the nextday) I added a bottle of Redex and brimed it with super diesel.

Rexy

Latest update: Having run about 1/4 of a tank of the 1/2 Sainsbury's, 1/2 Total Excellium + 100ml of Millers diesel additive mix through the system the engine pick up is better though not yet back to normal, and more reassuringly the engine check light has gone out.

I've just got to use this lot up over this week, then I'll probably run another tank full of the expensive stuff through before going back to standard fuel.

If it was anything other than the fuel, the engine check light would not have gone out having done nothing but up the fuel quality. The error was related to injector temps and fuel pump, so I was quite concerned as the last thing I needed was an expensive repair bill.

mikey72

Could be a coincidence. Could have been water in the fuel filter freezing, diesel with a low (higher) waxing point, but some fords just like shell and not much else.
Stick to what you know works.