What kind of unleaded do you use?

[a3_rob]

Hey,

Just wondering who uses standard unleaded and who uses the 'super' unleaded stuff like shells 'V-Power' etc?

I was told by a friend who works for Audi that I should use the good stuff in my A3.

Does it really matter? If so, what are the benefits of the pricier fuel?

Also is there any difference between standard unleaded at a supermarket petrol station to standard unleaded at a proper garage like Shell?

Cheers

Rob

[paul b]

It's common knowledge that supermarket fuel from places like Tesco, Morrisons is not as good as fuel from proper fuel garages like Shell, BP, Esso. However, I am now experimenting with my A6, I have just filled up on V-Power for the 2nd time so I'm going to see what mpg the car is doing. Before I was using Morrisons fuel and getting 44mpg.

Whether V-Power is any better than the normal Shell fuel is debatable, some people say it is, some say it isn't.

Paul

[SEMKY]

I started using 'V' Power in mine soon after buying it, and noticed a considerable change in its urgency when driving with 'spirit', and a smoother idle too.

My pal did the same and experienced the same with his Leon Cupra too.

I only do a few thousand miles/year however, so the additional cost isn't much of an issue.

As for the supermarket fuel, I think it was last year that a huge amount of people had their cars damaged by a batch of bad fuel, from a reputable supermarket.

Jim

[paul b]

Yes, Jim.

I believe they name began with M. And ended with orrison's. At the time I had a Merc A Class, which was using their diesel so I was sweating big time. Luckily, I'd just filled up before the problem arrived, and filled up again after it, so I didn't get caught out in the end. Good job the A Class was doing 58mpg!

Paul

[omegadirective]

Shell V-Power is definately much better. Like you guys, I was using Morrison's useless fuel. Narrowly avoided filling up when the contamination was around. Car was driving on fumes for ages. :(

My A3 runs a lot better idle and accelerates smoother and a little quicker. (Only a 1.6 so not that quick anyway.) I used to spend about £43 per tank filling up, four times a month. I'm still four times a month and I pay about £48 per tank for the V-Power, so in my opinion, an extra £20 a month is worth it for having a smoother car. V-Power contains cleaning additives too, so it cleans out a little of the gunk in your tank and engine if you've been using supermarket fuel.

Plus, fill up over 30 litres of V-Power get a FREE (and crap) Ferrari toy car. They still owe me 2 for being out of stock...

[SEMKY]

A few lucky escapes there then!! My girlf at the time refused to heed the warnings about the contaminated fuel.....hundreds of quid later for a new cat, and recovery from the motorway when it ground to a halt :(
Good job she had a Vauxhall at the time rather than using my beloved S3!!

[omegadirective]

Ouch. Didn't she manage to get the Supermarkets to pay compensation? It was their faults after all. They shouldn't have been allowed to get away with selling a faulty product!

I have to mention, I get my petrol from a Shell garage opposite a Shell HQ, I've seen it cheaper by upto 5p cheaper (sometimes more) than a garage 3 or 4 miles down the road! Worth checking if you have a Shell office complex near you...!

[Space Cadet]

I work in the Oil & Gas industry and can confirm that the petrol served at Shell and BP is much better quality than anywhere else, let alone from Supermarkets.

And as mentioned before, the benefits from V-power over Shell’s standard petrol is massive, not just the performance side of things but also the clever additives that will keep the engine clean and running smooth.

EVO did a pre/post test a few years ago using Optimax (the old V-Power) and bhp’s/mpg’s etc were all better from having changed to Optimax for the trial period, they even stuck a stethoscope in and it had cleaned all the deposits from the valves etc.

I’ve always used V-power in all my cars, even in an old classic Alfa Spider that should have run on 4-Star, modern super-unleadeds are good enough to use as a replacement to 4-star without having to modify the engine.

Anyway, for those with not-so-performance engines then fill up with at least Shell/BP normal unleaded and perhaps fill up every 3rd tank with V-Power or the like (money allowing then do so every time), but for the performance engines then always use V-Power or the like every tank.

Turbo’s love the added Ron (Basically the octane level. V-power = 99 Ron, standard = 95Ron) from V-power but even my wife’s Mini Cooper feels more lively/smoother using V-Power, but then neither of us does more than 3 or 4k a year so the cost is negligible.

Essay over.

[a3_rob]

Great post Space Cadet. Thats what I wanted to hear. I'll keep using the V-Power, at least until I have all 6 of the Ferrai toy cars anyway lol.
Its only an extra £6 or so when I fill the tank so I guess its worth it to keep the engine clean and running smoother.

Rob

[Space Cadet]

No problem, thanks.

I suppose if you're doing 10’s of thousand miles a year then the cost difference would add up, but the extra few quid each tank for the low miler IMO is worth it for the better performance/economy and cleaner engine.

(Had a MK5 GTI a couple of years ago, had it re-mapped and was able to push the map parameters further because of always using 99Ron, that alone probably gave me 15-20bhp over normal unleaded.)

….picked up my 2005 F1 car when I filled up at the weekend!!

[mailash]

I've noticed a considerable difference in added power when using V-Power in my A3 2.0 FSi, I buy it whenever possible, it even says in your handbook/manual to fill up with the higher 'ron' petrols, also, and this maybe coincidental, it seems to keep my engine from burning SO MUCH EXPENSIVE OIL.:zx11:

[Space Cadet]

My wife used to have a Ka, and even in that we could tell the difference when filling up with V-Power, it wasn’t night & day but just felt more perky especially when pulling away, I guess it only had 40/50 bhp but it definitely felt much stronger with V-power.

[omegadirective]

I never though of the oil, but I was topping up a litre a month over the winter, and now thats been 3 months since I've had to put any in, just since I've started using V-Power in this car.

And like Space Cadet says, even the less powerful cars notice the difference. My A3 only has around 100bhp, probably less due to it's age and it is so much more responsive.

Hey - we should get a free tank of fuel or something for promoting Shell V-Power! :D