Fuel additives

jimbo6977

Prompted by these being referred to as "snake oil" on another thread. 

Why are they often viewed as  "snake oil" when added from a bottle but, for some people, worth paying 10p-20p extra per litre when (supposedly) added at a refinery?

I added the "(supposedly)" because there's no evidence that anything has been added. No refiner or retailer will provide an ingredients list to consumers. I'm more than happy to be proved wrong if someone can produce one.

AdrianC

jimbo6977 said:

Why are they often viewed as  "snake oil" when added from a bottle but, for some people, worth paying 10p-20p extra per litre when (supposedly) added at a refinery?

I presume this is a "brand vs supermarket" petrol reference?

ALL fuel comes from the same refineries down the same pipelines to the same regional distribution centres. It all conforms to the same basic specifications. Each brand adds brand-specific additives at the time of loading the tanker.

Some petrol is higher octane than others. This is a tangible functional difference.
Some petrol in the UK will soon be higher ethanol than others. This is a tangible functional difference.
Everything else is marketing.

jimbo6977

So if it's all bow-locks why does this seemingly go unchallenged by the likes of MSE?

A_Lert

The expensive fuels are often regarded as not worth the money too, unless you car has an engine that wants higher-octane fuel. On the other hand some drivers are adamant their cars run better on the expensive stuff. You'd have to get someone to do a blind test to be sure though.

JustAnotherSaver

Thread title had me thinking Redex. 
Responses have me thinking things like V-Power. 
Which is it?

To go in line with the responses, I’ve ran consistent tanks of various fuels. I noted no difference between Shell and their V-Power in terms of MPG and yes I know you need to do more than 1 tank full to find out properly. That’s why I ran about 10 tank fulls. Performance again I can’t say there was any difference. Nothing I noticed but then my car isn’t tuned for a higher octane use. 

What i I will say though is my car ran like absolute crap on supermarket (Asda) fuel. Again, more than 1 tank. The performance and MPG was down and this was no bias as i’d have been happy for it to work as it’s cheaper. 

I only stick in Shell standard fuel these days. 

King_Nothing

I personally only run my car on V Power as it's highly modified so needs the higher octane fuel.

red_eye

There are indeed additives added. I had a mk2 polo that ran the best on bp I did try v power twice once with ignition !!!!!! and once advanced can’t say how much by just what the dizzy cap would allow me but probably not enough it didt give me the usual bp 50miles for £5 fill (think it was just under £1 a liter back in 2002ish)

yes I used to fill £5 because after fixing the fuel leak (£5 safe to park up hill, downhill, curb or combination) the fuel gauge packed in 

George_Michael

jimbo6977 said:

Why are they often viewed as  "snake oil" when added from a bottle but, for some people, worth paying 10p-20p extra per litre when (supposedly) added at a refinery?

When you pay an extra 10p-20p per litre for branded fuel, you are not only paying for the additives.
Petrol station will have very high costs to set up and run, things that users will be paying for. You are also paying towards the huge profits made by the oil companies.
Supermarkets on the other hand are able to offer lower prices for fuel because when people go for fuel, they often do their shopping as well, something that will help offset the lower fuel price.
Why do you think that supermarkets often have offers such as "save 10p per litre when spending £50"

motorguy

George_Michael said:

jimbo6977 said:

Why are they often viewed as  "snake oil" when added from a bottle but, for some people, worth paying 10p-20p extra per litre when (supposedly) added at a refinery?

When you pay an extra 10p-20p per litre for branded fuel, you are not only paying for the additives.
Petrol station will have very high costs to set up and run, things that users will be paying for. You are also paying towards the huge profits made by the oil companies.
Supermarkets on the other hand are able to offer lower prices for fuel because when people go for fuel, they often do their shopping as well, something that will help offset the lower fuel price.
Why do you think that supermarkets often have offers such as "save 10p per litre when spending £50"

Is it really 10-20p extra for the likes of BP fuel?

Any of the higher priced fuels i've seen tend to be higher octane rated.  If i have a car that requires (or runs most effectively on) a higher octane fuel, then i'll pay that bit extra.  If i can get the higher RON rated fuel at a supermarket instead i would.

I tend not to get too excited about fuel quality with petrol cars and i dont add any additives, however should i have a diesel car i'll generally add Millers fuel additive to it and just use the cheap supermarket fuel.  Works out at a couple of pence per litre for those cleaning agents.

George_Michael

motorguy said:

Is it really 10-20p extra for the likes of BP fuel?

I've no idea, I was simply using the prices quoted earlier in the thread.
I tend to use a BP garage close to where I live so I don't know how much the supermarkets charge.

AdrianC

From petrolprices.com, the prices across my nearest city...

116.7p - Sainsbury and Asda.
119p - unbranded station
119.9p - Tesco
120.9p - Esso
121.7p - Shell
121.9p - Harvest, Texaco I, Essar
123.9p - Texaco II