18 replies to this topic

[richw911]

Do you use it? Is it really any different to the likes of BP and Shell?

My 1275 seems to run much better on Shell normal unleaded

[lewBlew]

I agree Shell is the best, especially the optimax stuff which is a higher octane and contains additives the likes of which you can buy separately in products like Redex. But occasionally I just use Asda's! I doubt it's amazing but the car goes.

[minimissionary]

I find mine runs best on Tesco's 99ron. It's pretty cheap too.

[miniyellowmini]

It all comes from the same refineries, just the additives are different. I can't say I've noticed much difference, I do tend to use Shell as it's always the cheapest near me. The likes of BP Ultimate and Shell Optimax both have higher octane levels but this mostly only benefits high performance cars so it mostly pointless using it in our Minis.

I think it's safe to say any of the supermarkets wouldn't want to be seen to be selling a poorer quality product than their rivals.

Edited by miniyellowmini, 24 August 2012 - 04:22 PM.

[Teapot]

There have been many debates about this without complete agreement, afaik. Try a search of fuel additives in this section. For example, http://www.theminifo...s#entry1686345. *
There is also some doubt about the quality of old fuel (not found often, I imagine, in supermarkets with high turnover).
Plus the effect of increasing the amount of ethanol in petrol, as per EU directives :-(.
Etc, etc, etc.
I just go to my local Tesco if it's price is lowest in the area, although Shell is cheaper down the road in Exeter.

* Page 3, scroll down.

Edited by Teapot, 24 August 2012 - 04:39 PM.

[Midas Mk1]

I find std shell best in mine, makes a noticeable difference over other brands

[Guess-Works.com]

The likes of BP Ultimate and Shell Optimax both have higher octane but these mostly only benefit high performance cars so it mostly pointless using them in our Minis

Before "unleaded", minis ran on 4 star which was actually 98 ron.

[rally1380]

Shell full fat for all my cars.

My golf runs like a bag of nails on tesco watered down fuel, but on shell Optimax (or whatever they are branding it as now) it runs sweet as a nut.

But....aren't most fuels from the same refineries?

[Minidarren83]

I hope I can clear this up for some people I am a tanker driver and have worked for most of the major companies delivering for them. The best unleaded standard fuel is Bp it delivers more mpg than any other due to the additives used but the cost of the fuel at the moment outways the increase in mpg and shell is best for standard diesel and is still fairly cheap. The supermarket fuels are from the very same tank as the upmarket but they only contain base additives and most of the ultimate type fuels are mixed with E99 mostly known as ethanol and by doing this at a cost of 2p per litre they sell it close to 10p more than standard which is why I never buy it. In summary the supermarket fuel is fine the more expensive ones are mildly better for your engine and will return slightly better mpg and the super unleaded is not really necessary for your average mini even with knowing what is in the fuels I still just go to what is the cheapest

[carbon]

There is nothing wrong with supermarket petrol - all petrol sold has to conform to the minimum BS7070 standards for octane and whole load of other specification requirements. However fuels also may have 'additive packages' which are typically put in to help prevent coke build-up on valves etc. This is one of the reasons why you don't hear about people doing a 'decoke' every 20,000 miles these days.

Main difference is that supermarkets will often source their fuels on the 'spot market' to get the best deal possible. These fuels could come from anywhere in UK, Europe, or possibly further afield. It's a global market.

The oil majors (BP, Shell, Esso, etc) tend to supply either from their own refinery or to have an arrangement with another refinery in a specific area. This may mean that the fuel quality is a bit more consistent. They also tend to use beefier additive packs, Shell is probably the best example here with their 'Fuelsave' formulation. Tesco's is interesting, their 99 Octane fuel is likely to be pretty consistent, as has been coming from one supplier for about 5 years, has high alcohols content though and you may need to check that you don't run lean (this is for carbs, fuel injection will compensate for this).

Like most things in life you get what you pay for.

[ANON]

there was a thing on piston heads a while ago comparing optimax and tesco super, poss another one?

[surfblue63]

I filled my '63 up at Morrisons once!

[cliche]

I used Optimax on my old Daimler 6.0 V12, it was like rocket fuel. Had minimal effect on my more modern cars

[Daviewonder]

Does it not depend on how your timing is set?

I'd love to see a test where people have to rate all the different fuels without knowing what the are. I bet the results would be very interesting.

[Tahiti Joe]

Does it not depend on how your timing is set?

I'd love to see a test where people have to rate all the different fuels without knowing what the are. I bet the results would be very interesting.

Yup! When he's on the road my Tahiti only drinks Shell V-Power, so I adjusted the timing curve to suit!

Did a study on the actual performance difference between standard 95ron and 99ron V-Power (Both Shell fuels), with the timing adjusted to suit both on the dyno the car gained around 3-4bhp... A noticeable difference!