Diesel - Premium vs Standard. Is it worth it?

Gonzo

Gonzo

A2OC Donor
Hi all,

Is it actually worth paying the extra for BP Ultimate or the Shell equivalent?

I don't believe that there are economic benefits (i.e. the additional costs cancel out the claimed extra miles per tankful) but am I right to believe that this fuel has agents in it that will help keep the pipes and injectors of my 10-year-old tdi engine cleaner? And will the extent of the extra cleanliness prolong the life of the engine?

Cheers,

Simon
 
If you're after the additive benefits then you might be interested in knowing you can by 5L cans of Millers additive for ~£50. Which works out as only an extra 1p per litre on your fuel costs.
 
You are buying a higher octane fuel, and the benefit is either enhanced performance or increased mpg, depending on your driving style. I do not believe that you also get a better additive package. It is a while since I worked for Shell in the Fuel Technology Section! "Which" magazine recently reported that it is not worth switching to these enhanced fuels, on a cost basis, so what you believed seems to be correct.
 
DJ 190 said:
You are buying a higher octane fuel, and the benefit is either enhanced performance or increased mpg, depending on your driving style. I do not believe that you also get a better additive package. It is a while since I worked for Shell in the Fuel Technology Section! "Which" magazine recently reported that it is not worth switching to these enhanced fuels, on a cost basis, so what you believed seems to be correct.
Click to expand...

The Which report did specially say they couldn't justify premium diesel on the basis of the tests done on their 'typical' cars. Where as they did find premium petrol produce better bhp figure especially on the turbo petrol Golf (I think). And there is no way they can tell if the claims for cleaning effect is true. I also remember they tested diesel additives which they also did not find any improvement in bhp nor mpg. Again, they cannot verify claims for cleaning effects. The report did raise a valid question, would you trust multi-billion pound companies with hundred if not thousands working in labs claiming added cleaning effect or a much smaller outfit selling you an additive? It could be all marketing :)
 
i was also wondering about v power diesel over normal, i will say that the shell fuel saver seems to work, last couple of fills i used v power, although when using normal i would use a bottle of the diesel cetane stuff from b&m which is prob what v power has in it to start with ? ?
 
OK, thanks for the views guys.

Have just bought some Redex from Costco so will try that with the bog standard supermarket fuel and see what happens.

How do I measure injector cleanliness again.........?
 
In my experince (stress my experince) shell fuel save is rubbish, absolute crud that doesn't save me fuel and like all normal diesels make my car run rougher, louder and churn out more soot, all bar Sainsburys that is - bizzare no?? my car is smoother and slightly less sluggish on their stuff. Why i don't understand.

BP standard fuel for me is akin to shell fuel save, my car feels like it's running on nails with a blocked air filter. With Vpower my A2 gets quiter and gains a real tangible increase in power most noticable at motoway speeds. BP Ultimate less so (for me) in both departments.
 
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