Premium Fuel

[DaveB]

Hi.

Does anyone use the premium unleaded petrol in their LS460? I don't, and I wonder if I'm missing anything. Other than paying more money is their any advantage in doing this?

[steve-bedford]

Hi Dave,

I am sure a lot of people (who care about their cars far more than me!) are going to disagree with me here...................

I always use the very cheapest fuel I can find via www.petrolprices.com and I've never had a problem. I believe that Sainsbury's fuel is straight from BP and just rebranded anyway.

Maybe one day I'll regret it but I take the view that the vehicles are built with huge tollerances in mind and in the overall worlwide scheme of things most UK fuel is generally of a very good standard. Put another way, how often do you hear of people having a problem? (Apart from the Tesco one a few years back).

In my view, the higher octane fuel and all the arguments around better performance and / or economy are just hype. I think there are various test around that prove this.

I'll take the savings for the moment..........and the put the Clubcard / Nectar Points towards this year's Christmas food!!

Steve

[AdeV]

I believe that Sainsbury's fuel is straight from BP and just rebranded anyway.

While it's true that the supermarkets get their fuel directly from the same refineries as the branded outlets, it's not necessarily true that they have the same additive package; e.g. V-power IS a Shell-exclusive package, even though Shell almost certainly sell to supermarkets. I've read that the additives are put in the tankers, rather than the fuel stream, but I don't know how true that is.

In my view, the higher octane fuel and all the arguments around better performance and / or economy are just hype.

Up to a point, if your engine ECU adapts properly, then higher octane fuel WILL give you better performance OR economy, depending on how you drive: Foot flat to the floor, you will get better performance; if you take it steady, then you'll see better economy.

The reason is simple: higher octane fuel burns in a more controlled fashion than low octane; it's less prone to detonation (pinking). You can advance your ignition nearer to the ideal spot (wherever that is...) to maximise power output for a given fuel quantity.

But, there's a caveat: Many people won't even notice the difference between Super & normal unleaded. If your car's ECU doesn't detect & alter the ignition timing, you'll see no benefit; and if you're after economy, you have to take into account the higher price of the fuel in your cost/savings analysis. But, if you want performance, there's no substitute.

[Ninety-Eight]

I ran "super" and regular in my LS400 Mk4 which has the VVTI engine and thus should be susceptible to changes in octane unlike cars with fixed timing. I noticed no notable difference in economy or performance.

[Sean Peyton]

Hi-

I was on a tour (as part of interview) in the only refinery here in ireland. I asked if all the petrol was the same or if the different brands were slightly better or worse. Answer I got was that they all get the exact same petrol into their various tankers (you could see all the tankers- Shell, Topaz, etc- lined up in what looked like an oversized filling station topping up). He did say that beyond that point they have no control and the various brands / garages might add something into the fuel (such as shell's v-power one) but that alot of the major additives used by companies in the past are now illegal. Also it would be very costly if they were to add enough of something into it to actually make a difference... He said he always just went for the cheapest one he could find!