Supermarket Petrol

Jimllmixit

I have had conversations with three mechanics recently and they have all advised me not to buy Supermarket petrol. They have all said that Branded petrol gives you a better performance and that it keeps your engine cleaner as well. Have any of you experienced any differences?

System

Honest John recommends the use of premium fuels as they contain a higher amount of detergent.

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/askhj/answer/52653/should-i-use-supermarket-petrol-

alderpoint

Having used supermarket petrol (well, diesel actually) for about half a million miles over the past 20 years I really haven't notice any lack of performance in any of the cars/vans I've driven. It may well be true that certain fuels may give an extra few percent performance in certain circumstances in some cars, but unless you are really driving on the edge and racing to rally or F1 standards, are you really going to notice the difference?

And why do I want a cleaner engine?

The one thing that I certainly notice using supermarket fuel is in my improved bank balance.

comeandgo

I get a payment per mile from my employer and even though branded fuel is more expensive I get more miles to the gallon with it so it works out better value for me.

cajef

This has been debated many times on these forums. some people are adamant that supermarket fuel is no good while others like me have used it your years without any problems or noticeable difference in performance.

You take your choice everyone to their own opinion, I personally am in agreement with alderpoint, I am not going to pay more as I have never found a difference in MPG with all the various vehicles I have owned over the years.

JJ_Egan

Apart from the actual facts that can be found via google this question mse forum etc .

If supermarket dual was that bad their would be millions not a few duff engines .
All supermarket fuel is to the relevant standards with added detergents and anti waxing added to the tanker .Tankers that all fill up at the same depot and you would be surprised at how many major brands do not sell their own product .

Marktheshark

JJ_Egan wrote: »

Apart from the actual facts that can be found via google this question mse forum etc .

If supermarket dual was that bad their would be millions not a few duff engines .
All supermarket fuel is to the relevant standards with added detergents and anti waxing added to the tanker .Tankers that all fill up at the same depot and you would be surprised at how many major brands do not sell their own product .

They go in to Lindsey refinery 50 to the Dozen, every brand and name you can think of.
To the nearest empty filling lane, fill up and drive straight out.

They must put these magic engine cleaner beans in the tanker on the hard shoulder when nobody is looking on the way to the garage.

poppasmurf_bewdley

You get some people who swear by supermarket fuel, and just as many who will swear at it.

Personally, the only time I found a difference was a year or so ago when I filled up with Morrisons diesel in my Mondeo Mk4 and my consumption immediately went from 43mpg to 37mpg. When I ran the tank down and then refilled with Esso fuel, my consumption returned to 43mpg within a couple of miles.

But I can honestly say I've noticed no difference with fuel from Sainsburys or Asda. So maybe the Morrisons incident was a one off, but I don't buy fuel from there any more.

ess0two

All the same base petroleum, the additives are injected when the tanker fills.

ChumpusRex

The budget fuels are all the same base fuel, although there may be differences in additives.

For example, if you buy regular unleaded anywhere in the South East of England, it all comes from a single depot tank, although different additives may be added to each tanker truck.

A similar thing is the case with regular diesel.

Super unleaded is different, it's made from a different base fuel, and processed separately, and usually has premium additives.

For example, Shell v-power nitro plus, comes directly from the Netherlands where it is specially refined, rather than coming from whichever refinery has the lowest price on unleaded petrol on the given day.

There may well be fuel consumption differences with super unleaded. A few cars (mainly Japanese or sports cars) may be tuned to use super unleaded and the engines will run better on it (e.g. Subaru).

However, a key point in the difference between regular unleaded and super unleaded is that super unleaded is denser and contains more energy (it's a more concentrated fuel). Regular unleaded weighs about 735 grams per liter, whereas super unleaded is about 760 grams per liter. That extra 25 grams means you are getting about an extra 3-4% energy per liter.

lstar337

Tesco fuel is just Esso fuel, and in some Tesco stores it is even branded Esso, so I don't see the difference.

There is a snob for everything, now we have fuel snobs.