Basic versus premium petrol - what are the facts

thegirlintheattic

Unless you are driving a high performance car it makes little difference. Some high performance cars do get a bit more out of the premium fuels but your average golf/corsa etc. is not.

Obukit

baby_frogmella wrote: »

+1 for the Millers diesel treatment, its fantastic stuff. For any doubters, have a look at the reviews:
http://reviews.halfords.com/4028/811125/reviews.htm
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B002WCAISS/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1/276-5741538-4279434?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe&pf_rd_r=1J8VV20Z6Y8Y1JVNMWBH&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_p=103612307&pf_rd_i=B003IJVH9S

If you really want to use this type of stuff speak to a local chemical company and get a bottle of 2-ethyl-hexyl-nitrate. It's a cetane enhancer and it's the "active ingredient" in Millers, the rest is just kero to bulk it out.

2EHN is cheap to buy and you only need to add about a capful per tank if you're using it neat for the same effect as Millers.

mattduk

Just to chime in, personally I never noticed a difference on my late-90s Peugeot 106. Turns out that the ECU for the 106 cant tell the difference between the super and premium fuels and so cannot adjust the ignition appropriately. Fast forward a bit and my current 2004 Honda VTEC engine can tell the difference and will advance/retard the ignition timings appropriately to get the best out of the fuel. Its a noticeable difference in throttle response, but its not like jumping into a Ferarri. I'm no expert but I'm happy chucking in a little STP cleaner every now and then and saving 4-5p per litre :-)

TL;DR - make sure your car's ECU can actually detect the difference!

Hintza

cardinalbiggles wrote: »

Sorry but that is downright misleading. Supermarket fuels all have additives in them.

Or perhaps the reason they are cheaper is they don't have all the additives.

All things being equal I will buy from the majors but if needs must or a big price difference I am not that averse to using the supermarkets but would prefer not to use them 100% of the time.

mikey72

I've never used anything but supermarket fuel, tesco normally, auchan in france, very occasionally other brands if I've been passing them, but usually other supermarkets if I've seen them. Never noticed any difference, and never had any fuel related problems. New and old cars, petrol and diesel. I always check what each tank gives, and never seen any noticable difference either.