Which Diesel?

[gazza007]

I Know this topic has been killed on many sites but I was wondering if anybody had any preference of Diesel for their Passat & whether they had noticed any performance/economy benefits over standard fuels and if it is really cost effective in the long term.

I think the main ones are BP Ultimate & Shell V-Power.
I know Shell did Extra but I think this is their std diesel now. Personally I have always found that my Alhambra & current Passat ran better & smoother on Shell but didn't really give that much more on MPG, so probably best to run on std Shell Extra, as cheaper than the other's & can be bought for same price as Supermarket fuels.

Thoughts & experiences?

[james_tiger_woo]

I will always buy non supermarket if I can, but with petrol prices the way they are, I usually have to get supermarket fuels.

However - I do always keep receipts so that if I have a problem, I have some recourse (You DO read about these things....)

I have had some lumpy running on Supermarket fuels though, but nothing major - I do, of course, prefer to use Shell....

[gazza007]

I always keep receipts too.
A little off subject but have a read of my piece on here.

http://www.fordgalaxy.org.uk/ford/index.php?showtopic=4346&hl=

[james_tiger_woo]

I always keep receipts too.
A little off subject but have a read of my piece on here.

http://www.fordgalaxy.org.uk/ford/index.php?showtopic=4346&hl=

I get an error when I try to read that..... Well, more that I probably need to register - can you post us up the story please?

[gazza007]

Bloody Hackers, have to register for everything now..



About 1990 when I was driving a Fiat Uno 45.
I filled up at my local Heron on Oldham Road Manchester.
The following day I noted that the car was running very rough, anyway on the way home I noted a tanker at the petrol station & the station was shut, I was informed by the manager that Diesel had been put in the wrong tanks the previous day.
I managed to get hold of the boss at Heron in London. He agreed to pay to have my fuel tank & carbs cleaned at a Marshall & Jeffery's on Deansgate Manchester.
I think the bill was about £80!!! Quite expensive in those days.

I hate to think how many others suffered with similar problems.

Since then I always get a receipt for my fuel!!

[james_tiger_woo]

I also read somewhere that you shouldn't fill up when you see a tanker topping up a forecourt's tanks - apparently this drags all sorts of crap through the system....

So I hear anyway....

[domestos]

I fill up on a Sunday every Sunday and do the same journey every week...

When I use supermarket fuels, I tend to get less mileage and need to top up before the Sunday. I don;t see any performance or consumption increasse with the so called super fuels (shell Optimax etc) however I have felt my car runs best on that new TOTAL super diesel.

Speaking of fuel and costs - have you seen this... Whose charging 130.9p for Diesel - the robbing gits !!! http://www.petrolprices.com/

UK Petrol Prices for
Monday 21st Apr 2008
Avg. Min. Max.
Unleaded: 108.7p 103.9p 119.9p
Diesel: 118.9p 112.9p 130.9p
LRP: 112.3p 107.9p 119.9p
Super: 115.2p 106.9p 126.9p
LPG: 56.8p 48.9p 60.9p

[Stuart W]

The remote parts of Scotland are always dear; Stornoway is showing at 129.9 max and 128.9 minimum!

Mind you, there's a fair bit of panic buying here at the moment because of the Grangemouth situation, so to an extent we're lucky to get fuel at all - some places have run out!

The comments about the supermarket diesel are interesting though; I usually use either the Shell standard stuff or Tescos, since everything else is either too dear or too inconvenient.

Isn't it said that it's basically the same fuel?

[Stuart W]

Speaking of fuel and costs - have you seen this... Whose charging 130.9p for Diesel - the robbing gits !!! http://www.petrolprices.com/



Diesel 135.9p on the Shetlands:aargh4:

[amu55]

if you live in scotland all the fuel comes from grangemouth wether it be asda or shell it all from the same place only additives are diffrent so fuel being contaminated is unlikely in supermarkets as they sell cheap the tanks will be replenished quicker so I dont think it makes any dif where you buy..............

[Quatrelle]

Diesel 135.9p on the Shetlands:aargh4:1.03 euros in Andorra...

[Stuart W]

A filling station in Kirkcaldy was trying it on at 145.9p, but the media got their teeth into it and they backed down - good story, particularly since it's Gordon Brown's backyard:Blush2:

Some places have sold out, but I filled up in Dundee a couple of hours ago no problem, and at 115.9p.:beerchug:

[Stuart W]

A couple of years ago I doubt if I could have envisaged being pleased to fill up at 115.9p per litre.

[gazza007]

I have now tried Standard BP & Shell Diesel, no MPG gains but the shell has the edge with smoother quieter running & performance seems to be better. I can get these at the same price as the supermarkets so will stick with these, can't justify the extra price super brands at this time.

[maisbitt]

My Golf GT Sport 170 runs like ***** on Esso - poor performance, and poor economy.

I tend to fill up with Shell's normal diesel as theres plenty of cheap Shell garages near me. Texaco and Total are ok.

Tried the premium Shell stuff once to get my nephew the free Ferrari toy car on promotion, but it wasn't worth the 6p a litre extra.

Have tried the supermarkets with mixed results, but theres only 1p per litre between my local shell and Sainsburys or Morrisons - it's worth the difference.

Shell is the best fuel I have consistently used, although I have never tried BP - their local forecourts are 3p a litre more than Shell near me, even when they're competing at a distance of 100 yards from each other.

[Darren S]

My friends dad is the Director of Science for Shell Uk, I had a discussion with him (a drunk one) regarding fuels and the basics are that 90% of fuel comes from Shell & BP, supermarkets such as Tesco etc buy the fuel directly from the major suppliers and sell it on. Supposedly BP make more money selling fuel to Supermarkets than they do in there own forecourts.
I had a disagreement with someone a few months ago who was slating tesco fuel, how rubbish it was and how tesco should do something about it at there refinery, I had a laugh saying 'Do you honestly think Tesco has an oil rig in the North Sea pupming out oil, possibly with a metro store too incase you want munchies while driving past!', I got a funny look.
So to clarify, all the fuels are basically the same, only the high performance fuels such as Optimax and Tesco 99 (engineered by another supplier) have different characteristics. I think we just hear more about bad supermarket fuels as the biggest majority of people use them to fill up while getting the weekly shop, but its not unusual to get a bad batch from BP / Shell either.

[Spudrig]

[quote=maisbitt;180585]My Golf GT Sport 170 runs like ***** on Esso - poor performance, and poor economy. quote]

I totally agree with you regarding Esso diesel Maisbitt. It really is ****! Very smoky and car doesnt run as well as on Texaco or Shell. Usually, I fill up with Shell or Texaco standard fuel (I live in N Ireland but only 3 minutes from the border with the Republic where diesel is 106.9p per litre now!! but they dont stock any premium fuels :p) Also, some company called Topaz bought all the Shell and Statoil garages here, so now I use Topaz or Texaco. I believe that the Topaz stuff is the same stuff Shell used to provide me with? Any thoughts??