danclyon
27-03-2008, 11:07 PM
So, now I've confirmed the MPG isn't that far off whack, and because the little one likes toys - I've decided to try the Shell VPower Diesel.
ERK - £1.219/litre ouch - mind you, normal diesel is £1.17 round here anyway.
Initial thoughs - how nice to fill up with the stuff. Odourless and cleaner than petrol in my opinion.
I've had 3 * 30L fills so far.
At first while it was still mixing with the remnants of the Tesco standard diesel I couldn't see anything in it - MPG 45 ish according to DIS on my normal miles. However, now it's sucked down it's first 60L I can state that driving probably faster than normal today on the run from Suffolk to Surrey (80-90mph all the way) I got considerably better consumption - 49.8mpg according to DIS. Coming home was 49.6 but I got stuck in 10 miles of duff traffic on the north M25.
The comparison was a run earlier in the week from home to Swindon round the same roads - and at the same point, driving a little more sedately which gave 44.7mpg on DIS in like-for-like conditions.
So that's the first thing - I can see better economy.
Next, engine noise. It was almost like someone turned off the clatter as it started to bed in. The engine is a lot quieter both at idle and at speed.
The final thing is smoke. I now appear to have none. Whereas before heavy use of the right foot would cause them behind to get a good blast of light grey smoke, it's more or less totally gone. The odd tiny hint of it, but for the most part, there is none.
So the big question, is it worth it....Well I'm going to do some more miles, collect the rest of the free ferrari cars for the little one, but at the moment it's showing promise.
I was considering bio-diesel, but we just got issued with fuel cards, so I have to go back to the forecourt now. Bio diesel this isn't, granted, but environmentally it's a lot "better" product than oil derived diesel and burns more cleanly (engine aside, just at a combustion level) and produces less emmissions in the process.
Quick check on the maths. If it makes say a conservative 2mpg difference, that's 30 miles over a tank. 30/45 is 2/3 of a gallon. At normal pump prices that's 4.55*.66*1.16=~£3.50 which is the tank fill cost difference between the two fuels. If it tends towards the 5mpg mark as per today then it is a potential cost reduction.
I'll monitor.....
Anyone else given it a try yet and got any results to share??
Cheers,
Dan.
ERK - £1.219/litre ouch - mind you, normal diesel is £1.17 round here anyway.
Initial thoughs - how nice to fill up with the stuff. Odourless and cleaner than petrol in my opinion.
I've had 3 * 30L fills so far.
At first while it was still mixing with the remnants of the Tesco standard diesel I couldn't see anything in it - MPG 45 ish according to DIS on my normal miles. However, now it's sucked down it's first 60L I can state that driving probably faster than normal today on the run from Suffolk to Surrey (80-90mph all the way) I got considerably better consumption - 49.8mpg according to DIS. Coming home was 49.6 but I got stuck in 10 miles of duff traffic on the north M25.
The comparison was a run earlier in the week from home to Swindon round the same roads - and at the same point, driving a little more sedately which gave 44.7mpg on DIS in like-for-like conditions.
So that's the first thing - I can see better economy.
Next, engine noise. It was almost like someone turned off the clatter as it started to bed in. The engine is a lot quieter both at idle and at speed.
The final thing is smoke. I now appear to have none. Whereas before heavy use of the right foot would cause them behind to get a good blast of light grey smoke, it's more or less totally gone. The odd tiny hint of it, but for the most part, there is none.
So the big question, is it worth it....Well I'm going to do some more miles, collect the rest of the free ferrari cars for the little one, but at the moment it's showing promise.
I was considering bio-diesel, but we just got issued with fuel cards, so I have to go back to the forecourt now. Bio diesel this isn't, granted, but environmentally it's a lot "better" product than oil derived diesel and burns more cleanly (engine aside, just at a combustion level) and produces less emmissions in the process.
Quick check on the maths. If it makes say a conservative 2mpg difference, that's 30 miles over a tank. 30/45 is 2/3 of a gallon. At normal pump prices that's 4.55*.66*1.16=~£3.50 which is the tank fill cost difference between the two fuels. If it tends towards the 5mpg mark as per today then it is a potential cost reduction.
I'll monitor.....
Anyone else given it a try yet and got any results to share??
Cheers,
Dan.