Shell V Power

[Andy-R]

Went to put fuel in this morning while it's still cheapish (and the light had just come on) and noticed V Power was only 97.9p per litre, put £20 and some RedX and got almost half a tank think i'll start using it more often while it's this price ;)

[aaronabbott]

thats what im filling up with on friday,im going up to buxton on sunday so will see how much difference v power makes

[WylieCoyote]

thats what im filling up with on friday,im going up to buxton on sunday so will see how much difference v power makes

You won't notice any actual difference on the first tank as far as I know. You'll need to run it for a few tanks before you notice any accurate difference. In my opinion, a lot of the 'super fuels' only actually give you a psychological benefit. I was the same when I put my first tank of V Power in a few years ago - you believe it's going to work therefore you convince yourself everything about the car is better because of it.

[aaronabbott]

thats what im filling up with on friday,im going up to buxton on sunday so will see how much difference v power makes

You won't notice any actual difference on the first tank as far as I know. You'll need to run it for a few tanks before you notice any accurate difference. In my opinion, a lot of the 'super fuels' only actually give you a psychological benefit. I was the same when I put my first tank of V Power in a few years ago - you believe it's going to work therefore you convince yourself everything about the car is better because of it.

thats good enough for me im not paying for the fuel :D

[DJ Wozza]

Just a suggestion, if changing from 95RON unleaded to 97RON or above, it is worth resetting your ECU,

however if you are only trying 1 tankfull then switching back, it really isn't worth the bother, as it takes

the ECU most of the first tank to learn (plus that first tank is quite thirsty).

The increase in octane level will make a difference, but is much more noticeable on Supercharged

IS200's than normally aspirated ones.

Personally my car runs best on either Shell V-Power, or Tesco 99RON (where available):D

[Mr Mole]

Just a suggestion, if changing from 95RON unleaded to 97RON or above, it is worth resetting your ECU,

however if you are only trying 1 tankfull then switching back, it really isn't worth the bother, as it takes

the ECU most of the first tank to learn (plus that first tank is quite thirsty).

The increase in octane level will make a difference, but is much more noticeable on Supercharged

IS200's than normally aspirated ones.

Personally my car runs best on either Shell V-Power, or Tesco 99RON (where available):D

Wozza do you use this all the time or just when your a bit flush

And how much more noticeable on a charged IS200

[DJ Wozza]

All the time mate unless I am out and the garage has none, then I only put a tenner of 95RON in,

then refill the tank asap with 97RON or better.

It's easier to tell when you are used to running the S/C mate, but it makes a difference enough

for me to only use it. See if you can get 99RON from somewhere..... Hmmmmmmmm :D

[SINGH182]

just want to add my 2pence worth...

i used to be a mechanic for bmw in canada, and our workshop manual used to state that a engine to have full effect of a higher octane fuel, the engine oil should be renewd/changed as your mixing the old oil and lower octane petrol properties, with the new higher octane fuel....i.e its like putting new engine oil into a engine to top up the oil, and it mixing with the old dirty oil(the new woil is gonna take the dirty oils properties)

hope above makes sence.

[TheDon]

well im convinced that my GS is a petrol SNOB....

Now she is always filled to the brim with Shell.. and once a month or twice a month a full tank of Optimax.. bearing in mind that i do about 350 miles a week.

I forgot to go to my normal shell garage and was on the red and the only thing near was the Tesco petrol station... thought i was filling up with the 99 ron stuff which she does like and stupidly put in the normal 95ron unleaded...again a full tank from empty (64 litres total)...

Now heres the thing.. 209 miles later the red light is on again, with shell i get 300-320 miles for a full tank!

Now 90 of my driving is done with 95 ron, the previous 2 fillups were 95 ron shell...

Exact same driving conditions (m20 for 35 miles each way)

Why is tesco ******* so bad when there 99ron is so good!

Cant wait to get some shell back in her, feel like i have neglected her

[ihpj]

Had a 5p voucher for Tesco so chucked in 57L of Tesco 99RON fuel into the RX - wouldn't use 'normal' supermarket fuel no matter whatever the price - and would like to think it will make a difference to the vehicle (MPG). I know that vPower made a very real differnece to my E46 330i (but that was a sublime straight 6 BMW petrol engine ;) ) so expect something similar in the RX...

[dave1]

I have used "normal" unleaded from Morrisons for at least 7 years and am quite happy with the power and economy that myself and my wife get in our respective cars. I averaged 28/30 in my series 1 GS300 Sport for 6 years on a run and 16/18 round town. With the 430 I get almost the same consumption figures. I had a 5p off ticket for Sainsburys and figure dropped to 15 ish round town but that also coincided with the weather getting colder. On an unmodified engine I would question the benefits of running on higher octane fuel against the added cost involved.

[Andy-R]

I only used it because it was quite cheap, and I was putting RedX in, the cars been abit sluggish recently so thought i'd give it abit of a clean out with the RedX and using the V Power should help with that aswell, not that bothered about MPG I only do about 100 miles a week anyway so if I can get a full week out of the V Power without having to top up i'll carry on using it @ that price, must be better for the car even if only slightly. It does feel smoother now tho.

[ihpj]

The colder weather is really best for cars with turbos (denser colder air being gulped by the engine!) but for naturally aspirated [petrol] engines its all about compression ratios? Thats why 'high performance' petrol engines will perform better with 'super' unleaded fuel due to the compression ratio - stand to be corrected by more learned memebrs though!

[TheDon]

well all i can say is i now have a full new tank of shell.... and she feels better already.. TC light keeps coming on where as it didnt before with tesco..

Also just did a full oil and filter change to 10w 40 Mobil 1 stuff.. all in all came to about £30 with my trade card for oil and filter :)

[DJ Wozza]

You can hardly expect 95RON Tesco's to compare favourably with Shell V-Power though can you Chris ?

It isn't Tesco's fault you didn't put in the nice 99RON they have at Sidcup ?

[TheDon]

no 90% of the time i run the normal shell 95ron.. and this is what i just put in..

Was just saying that the comparison between shell normal fuel and tesco normal fuel is quite a difference when your car is used to the shell..

This was the maidstone tesco.. went past the detling hill shell and was almost on M20 when i realised that i was on red :(

Car does feel good for an oil change though, just in D and foot off the brake it seemed to pull really strong, more than before.. and feels nice n smooth!

[WylieCoyote]

I still believe that the 'super fuels' on normal cars give no more than a psychological effect. If you believe something is better then it doesn't matter whether it is or not your brain will trick you into thinking it is.

I concur it may make a difference on higher performance cars and those with tuned engines but for a normal family saloon, I think not.

My opinion only. However tests have been done and Which? What Car? and countless others all state that they are a complete waste of money.

Look below for 3 pieces of research on the subject.

Independant article

Thisismoney article

From Petrolprices.com:

Using Super Fuels

"One of our users commented that using higher octane fuel than your engine requires actually gives no benefit and may be a waste of money. This is because virtually NO engines require 98 RON over 95, and the market for 'super' fuels seems to be based on people's misunderstanding of octane ratings and the placebo effect of filling up with 'more powerful' fuel - making motorists think their engine is running better in some way."

[Andy-R]

I still believe that the 'super fuels' on normal cars give no more than a psychological effect. If you believe something is better then it doesn't matter whether it is or not your brain will trick you into thinking it is.

I concur it may make a difference on higher performance cars and those with tuned engines but for a normal family saloon, I think not.

My opinion only. However tests have been done and Which? What Car? and countless others all state that they are a complete waste of money.

Look below for 3 pieces of research on the subject.

Independant article

Thisismoney article

From Petrolprices.com:

Using Super Fuels

"One of our users commented that using higher octane fuel than your engine requires actually gives no benefit and may be a waste of money. This is because virtually NO engines require 98 RON over 95, and the market for 'super' fuels seems to be based on people's misunderstanding of octane ratings and the placebo effect of filling up with 'more powerful' fuel - making motorists think their engine is running better in some way."

Must be the RedX then ;)

[Cous3]

I agree with The Don.............I only run on V-Power now, it does give me more miles to the tank than the normal fuels, can't argue with that.......and now it's cheaper it doesn't hurt so much

Keith