Supermarket Fuel

Hi, I`ve been using diesel from tesco for the last few weeeks, taking advantage of the 5p off a litre when you spend £50 in the store. But i`ve noticed a drop in performance as well as just running a bit lumpy. Filled up at my local BP and after couple of miles the difference was noticable, more power and a lot livlier. Now i know they all fill up there tankers at the same refinary at carrington for our area and its all supposed to be the same, but i am not convinced. I have noticed this on other cars i have owned. (any similar experiences )

Unleaded petrol has an octane level, the higher the level the better performance/milage you will get out of a tank, Tesco (supermarkets in general) fuel has a lower octane level than Shell (petrrol stations in general).

I did an experiment with my last car a few months ago.

I filled tank a Tesco and got 280 miles before I had to fill up again.

I did this at Shell and got 330 miles out of the tank.

Seems to be true....

Hello

I have the same noticable difference when I was filling up at my local tesco's ( St AUSTELL ) my disco felt flat I know it is not quick by any standard but I stopped using tesco diesel and now only use BP fuel and my disco is definately more responsive and as in the previous reply I get a fair deal more miles to a tank around 40 miles my partner also noticed her civic is more lively when using decent fuel so I think the cheaper fuel is a false economy.


cheers


leekegs

As you all say it does make a difference to the cars performance.

The uk's supermarket diesels generaly have a cetane value of 51 which is the minimium requirements for fuel producers .

The leading fuel sellers like BP make there fuels a higher cetane value , hence the performance does increase and also does mpg.

Read here for a bit of good info on diesel fuels, it also give a help in understanding why its important to use good fuel especialy on a tuned car.

BP Ultimate UK - Higher cetane

Kev627 said:

Unleaded petrol has an octane level, the higher the level the better performance/milage you will get out of a tank, Tesco (supermarkets in general) fuel has a lower octane level than Shell (petrrol stations in general).

Click to expand...

Nah - right conclusion, bollocks analysis.

Fuels must reach an octane level by law, but its the additive package that makes the difference.

The additive mix affects flame front progression, friction losses and carbon/gum deposits.

Its the alchemy that matters, not the base stock.

We always try and avoid BP fuel now. Me, the girlfriend and my brother have all had problems with our cars after filling up at a local BP station, filled up somewhere else and the cars were fine. I've got a feeling that it was both unleaded and diesel. Havn't used that station since and certainly always try and avoid other BP stations.

There may be a problem with that partucular station, i have nerer had any problems with the stations ive used.

but each to there own.

Having a juicy V8i, I tend to stop off at a lot of petrol stations (yes, should have got a Diesel, blah, blah blah), any way, to cut a long story short, it does not matter where I fill up I still only get around 250miles out of a tank, normally around £70 every 10-12 days, also the performance does not seem to vary either from the different stations.

I wouldnt put Tesco fuel in any of my cars if it was free u bouys not heard
of the Silicone contamination fiasco in the SE ?
Allegedly the tanker driver enters a key code specific to his company and the requisite cocktail of additives is dispensed along with the fuel.
Which seems to make sense as I have seen either shell or esso tankers unloading at the local supermarket up in Telford way back when I worked there...................
If u cant detect any difference between fuels Buzz I'd start treating your gurl
to some Fuel Injection Cleaner/Upper Cyclinder Lubricant, see wot that does
if your doing lots of miles engine should be clean though.

I can detect a diffference in my Td5, definately. Supermarket petrol is worst performer, Shell is better, but BP fuel is the best in my experience. Most noticably in accelaration between 10-40mph. My local BP has just started selling ultimate deisel but it's around £1.01 a litre. Doesn't perform better than the normal BP stuff, in my opinion.

Tip
Shell , BP Esso etc Fuel is better than Tesco , Asda etc.
Always fill up at a busier station (Fresher fuel).
As a company car driver of 25 Years (yes that's 25 years of never buying your own fuel) i don't give a rats ass for how much it costs whats important is how it makes the car go.

The best fuel is fresh and from the big boys.

PS
My 2a wouldn't give a dam about that "Silicone contamination fuel" its only the more delicate engines that F*** up.

The difference is very noticeable, not only better performance but the engine is a bit quieter, which in td5 every little helps.

hughie said:

Hi, I`ve been using diesel from tesco for the last few weeeks, taking advantage of the 5p off a litre when you spend £50 in the store. But i`ve noticed a drop in performance as well as just running a bit lumpy. Filled up at my local BP and after couple of miles the difference was noticable, more power and a lot livlier. Now i know they all fill up there tankers at the same refinary at carrington for our area and its all supposed to be the same, but i am not convinced. I have noticed this on other cars i have owned. (any similar experiences )

Click to expand...

I had the same problem at my local Tesco garage, i get less the the gallon and the engine sounds lumpy. Now fill up at the shell garage and get better performance and more to the gallon. Its all down to the additives or lack off.