Supermarket Fuel

[jdragon]

Hi all, I did a search but couldn't find anything conclusive on this.

Quick background for posting this: I got a text saying my personal fuel card from Fuelpecker has now changed to WEX ESSO and there was a link to sign up. Naturally sceptical, I contacted Fuelpecker and Googled to see if there was something to confirm this was legit. I've been filling up at ESSO for years, partly because of the discount, I pass four ESSO services daily and I was under the impression that cheaper supermarket fuels are of a lower quality. While looking for something to back up the text, I found these posts:

https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/fuelpecker.220220/#post-3906993

https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/fuelpecker.220220/#post-3907553

It got me thinking and my questions are: what do you guys fill up your cars with, so-called quality fuels from BP, Shell, ESSO, supermarket fuel, or the premium stuff? And do you notice any difference between them?

In my own experience, my previous A4 B8 diesel didn't run well on fuel from Tesco, so I switched to ESSO all the time with the discount card, and after some years started using Millers diesel treatment and now Archoil. I've never tried the fuel additives with Tesco fuel.

I can also add to this I've tried all the premium fuels, and BP was by far the best in terms of getting more MPG and performance, without the addition of a fuel additive.

[enc]

Timely post!

only last week did I experiment by filling with V Power. 

I've been experimenting with the drive select function in my A3 and have been amazed by the difference in performence  between the settings especially the "Dynamic" setting which tightens up the steering and adds quite a bit of pep to performance. thought I'd bung in V Power to see if performance could be improved further...I can confirm I found a noticeable difference...throttle response is improved and maybe placebo effect but the engine certainly sounds a bit smoother to my ears!??  . I'll probably do another fill with Shell V Power to clean before I return to my usual with this car. 

After running my last A3,  a 2.0TDI (BKD engine) exclusively on shell (not Vpower) I'm currently using small brand (ESSAR) petrol whilst not a supermarket fuel im aware it is not up there with premium brands.. but all seems fine so far. 

 

https://www.petrolprices.com/brands/essar/

 

 

[alpha omega]

i used tesco's fuel once in my old volvo v40 and noticed a slight hesitation at times.i always use sainsburys fuel now and had no problems.i read they are still using e5 and not e10 i do use a fuel additive too.whether it really makes a difference i dont know but i have put fuel in twice without additives and never noticed any difference.i dont use sainsburys best diesel(v power)but may use it if convinced on here,and if it means i no longer need to ad additives

[Magnet]

Hello Jason,

I wonder if you would like to ‘dilute’ your claim that the best fuel to use is Shell, by prefixing it with something like ‘In my opinion’, since members follow advice based on the principle of what is written is indeed fact. 
It would be surprising to read that Shell would openly claim that their brand of fuel is the ‘Best’. 
Perhaps you would consider editing this post accordingly, or on the basis of reasonable claim, I can edit the post if you would prefer. 
Kind regards,

Gareth. 

[Magnet]

Thanks Jason,

I’ll make the appropriate amendment, and record your dissatisfaction with my doing so. 
Kind regards,

Gareth. 

[Magnet]

Hello Jason,

You appear to be editing your posts, so that the thread of our exchanges and my request to you to dilute your ‘claim’ to one of ‘In my opinion’ has been lost, making it disjointed. 
Please stick with your initial reactions, or request one of the Moderators to consider any non-typo type amendments you subsequently wish to make. 
Kind regards,

Gareth. 

[JMKC82]

Hi All,

In the UK, all petrol and diesel come from only a handful of refineries; Immingham, Fawley, Grangemouth, and a couple others.  All petrol stations (branded and supermarket) share the same 'base' fuel and add their own additives.

The things that cost 'more' money are the additives they add (cost money to develop), and the octane / cetane content.

I have Fuelpecker and now WEX, so generally always use ESSO.  I also use Millers additive which supposedly adds Octane.

I've used supermarket fuel before (and still do on occasion), and for some strange reason, Morrisons fuel has always caused my car to hesitate from time to time, so i do stay away from that if i can.  If they are using the same 'base' fuel, it makes me wonder if Morrisons, or other supermarkets reduce what they add to the base fuel (octane/cetane/additives)?

Thanks, Joe

[Magnet]

Sorry Jason,

Your latest post editing has just succeeded in totally confusing an already confused thread - due to your earlier post editing! 

As politely as I can ask you:- 

With the exception of typos - please do not edit any posts once you have posted them, so carefully consider what you are posting before you press the button - Please. 
Kind regards,

Gareth. 
p.s. No need to respond to this and protract the dialogue. 

[Stevey Y]

1 hour ago, JMKC82 said:

Hi All,

In the UK, all petrol and diesel come from only a handful of refineries; Immingham, Fawley, Grangemouth, and a couple others.  All petrol stations (branded and supermarket) share the same 'base' fuel and add their own additives.

The things that cost 'more' money are the additives they add (cost money to develop), and the octane / cetane content.

I have Fuelpecker and now WEX, so generally always use ESSO.  I also use Millers additive which supposedly adds Octane.

I've used supermarket fuel before (and still do on occasion), and for some strange reason, Morrisons fuel has always caused my car to hesitate from time to time, so i do stay away from that if i can.  If they are using the same 'base' fuel, it makes me wonder if Morrisons, or other supermarkets reduce what they add to the base fuel (octane/cetane/additives)?

Thanks, Joe

Hi nice to find another member that knows their fuel, I learned this long ago from a petro chemist I had in my cab, cetane / octane use of additives can only do more good than harm as they in moderation increase both, its all about increasing thermal burn rate which in real terms actually means lowing it down so it burns more efficiently leaving less unburnt fuel, more bang for your buck, supermarket fuel is blended down using fillers and detergent this gives more volume to the saleable amount IE 20000 litres is increased by 20%, but because detergent is water based it burns far less efficiently leaving more unburnt fuel and moisture which leaves all that sticky tar in the EGR valves on petrol and diesel, further problem being nearly all engines are direct injection so the recycled gas tends to coat the inlet valve backs therefore more sticky gunge in the stream will eventually exacerbate the problem, good dry efficient burn is good, sticky wet moisture laden bad burn is not.

Steve.

[jdragon]

I'm not sure what has happened in the middle of this thread 😄

Thanks for the replies, so it seems I'm not just imagining things and will keep to the Esso + additive method 

[Magnet]

Apologies for the now understandable confusion in the middle. JasonJ who was a contributor to this thread is no longer with us. 
Kind regards,

Gareth. 

[Stevey Y]

5 hours ago, Magnet said:

Apologies for the now understandable confusion in the middle. JasonJ who was a contributor to this thread is no longer with us. 
Kind regards,

Gareth. 

Hi Gareth Jason would of known what was what, everything that could be useless or misleading all available from google.

Steve.