Esso Premium Unleaded

[MartynS]

Just another 'is this fuel worth the extra money post' - has anyone used Esso's premium unleaded? None of the posts I've seen on here mention this stuff, only things like BP and Shell. I need to fill up in the morning and am contemplating trying this...

[iNath]

Must be the only one I haven't tried so far.

I'm currently running a premium diesel experiment to so if there is any difference- tried Shell V-Power, BP Ultimate & Total Excillium. Results are looking promising but this is diesel and a I believe the premium diesel is a different makeup to regular diesel whereas premium unleaded is just regular with additives (someone correct me if I'm wrong)

[Fast Fiesta]

Just another 'is this fuel worth the extra money post' - has anyone used Esso's premium unleaded? None of the posts I've seen on here mention this stuff, only things like BP and Shell. I need to fill up in the morning and am contemplating trying this...

Unfortunatley i cannot talk figuires as my fiesta mk7 does not have the trip computer, however my petrol 1.25 has definetley run better on Shell v-power, and people tear me apart for using the expensive petrol on such a small engine. But whether it is in my head, it runs smoother, and it doesnt struggle the same (i seem to be able to sit comfortably in higher gears sooner), i noticed it was lasting a little longer in the tank too, added around 40 miles to my tank. ;)

It should pay you back in the end, i do believe the premium fuels are better for the components of the engine and promote a healthier engine.

another point is that newer cars are installed with a KNOCK sensor, this will automatically adjust to higher octane fuels, as to promote the best perfomance from the engine, however at least a month of high octane fuel must be applied as to allow the engine to adjust to the fuel and then advantages of the fuel really seem to develop.

And i do understand you simply requested for esso fuels, however simply put, its the 'stuff' not the name that determines a good fuel, i do believe and correct me if im wrong its 95 ron which isnt much different from any other fuel(which you may find at a supermarket station) so the esso premium undleaded simply isnt going to cut it for you, the only noticable gains might be found are with the esso supreme which is at 97 ron.

Whearas the Shell V power is at 99 ron, which has got good ratings and is which i will forever be loyal too. I hope this was of some help :D

[MartynS]

oops, I meant supreme! I didn't bother looking it up before posting as I checked the name the other day; seems I should have done! :P. I've since decided to go for an eco-run this tank to see how high I can get the mpg, after this I may give the higher ron fuels a go. Thanks for your comments.

[greenymk7]

you will gain very little to nothing from using premium petrol/diesel in a fiesta.

these products are made for performance cars and even then it wont make the biggest of differences.

[briggsy]

"My 1.25 Fiesta runs better on premium" Is a myth, its all in the mind, you feel and think it runs better cos you spent more money on it :)

[kevin lancelott]

Urban legend. We don't have the fancy diesel by us not that I would use it with normal being 8p more than petrol as it is.

[KeithC]

In basic cars such as the Fiesta, probably not worth the extra apart from cleaning additives that help to clean the engine etc, but as you can't see it, would take some justifying.

In most high performance cars, worth every single penny.

[andyedge]

Must be the only one I haven't tried so far.

I'm currently running a premium diesel experiment to so if there is any difference- tried Shell V-Power, BP Ultimate & Total Excillium. Results are looking promising but this is diesel and a I believe the premium diesel is a different makeup to regular diesel whereas premium unleaded is just regular with additives (someone correct me if I'm wrong)

Would be interested in seeing the results of your experiment. Are you planning to post them?

[iNath]

you will gain very little to nothing from using premium petrol/diesel in a fiesta.

these products are made for performance cars and even then it wont make the biggest of differences.

Oh really? Keep reading.... ;)

Would be interested in seeing the results of your experiment. Are you planning to post them?

Of course! You can click the mpg in my sig to see how it's going so far. My average is 53.4mpg and on my last tankful of V-Power I got 58.6mpg, saving outweighed the cost so more money (albeit £1.30ish) in my pocket ;)

I'm aiming for 10 tankfuls in a row of V-Power then going back to standard to see if it drops.

[greenymk7]

there is no evidence to to say the gains are any use at all.

you can say you got more mpg but that could be down to different driving conditions. until a company does a test on a small car like the fiesta with stone wall evidence it works its a none starter for me

[briggsy]

Oh really? Keep reading.... ;)

Of course! You can click the mpg in my sig to see how it's going so far. My average is 53.4mpg and on my last tankful of V-Power I got 58.6mpg, saving outweighed the cost so more money (albeit £1.30ish) in my pocket ;)

I'm aiming for 10 tankfuls in a row of V-Power then going back to standard to see if it drops.

Where is the factual and document evidence to support such a claim? You would have had to test the exact same road under the exact same weather conditions using the exact same Thorttle usage and weight and tire tread, with both fuels to even claim that as a fact. Just saying

[KeithC]

Which magazine did a test a few years ago, May 2008, can't link to it as you need to be a subscriber so I'll do my best in copying the article.

We filled two petrol cars, a Ford Focus and a VW Golf with regular and super fuels to compare their performance.

We carried out a similar test with a Renault Mégane diesel car.

We ran the Ford Focus and a VW Golf on:

* Esso Unleaded 95 Ron

* Shell Unleaded 95 Ron

* Shell V-Power Unleaded 99 Ron [super fuel]

* Tesco Unleaded 95 Ron

* Tesco Super Unleaded 99 Ron [super fuel]

We ran the diesel Renault Mégane on:

* BP Ultra-Low Sulphur Diesel

* BP Ultimate Diesel [‘super fuel’]

Ford Focus 1.6 petrol (98bhp)

This Focus uses a non-turbo engine that is typical of many mainstream petrol-powered cars, which is why we chose it for our tests.

You can expect similar results to ours, as long as you don’t drive a ‘sporty’ petrol car.

Table notes

1. a Fuel prices stated are the average of four locations, at the time of purchase in May 2008

We found

Shell V-Power super petrol showed a slight power increase over regular Shell 95

Tesco Super 99 produced slightly less power than normal Tesco 95 (though economy did improve by 0.41mpg, or 1.2%).

Which? verdict

There's little justification for using super fuels over their regular counterparts, especially as filling the Focus on V-Power for 12,000 miles will cost you £115 (6.5%) more than using Shell or Tesco 95 Ron unleaded.

VW Golf 1.4 TSI (168bhp)

We selected this Golf for the test for its sophisticated 1.4 petrol engine which is potentially more demanding than the one in the Ford Focus.

It produces a similar output to much larger petrol engines via ‘forced aspiration’ (turbocharging and supercharging). Volkswagen claims it’s also more efficient than a similarly powerful conventional engine.

Volkswagen recommends running this car on 98 Ron petrol (or higher). Expect to see more engines like this in the near future.

Table notes

1. a Fuel prices stated are the average of four locations, at the time of purchase in May 2008

We found

The engine recorded a higher power output with Shell’s V-Power, but it’s debatable whether the average motorist would notice a 5.3% gain.

Tesco’s Super 99 produced smaller gains over standard Tesco 95, suggesting that engine power is influenced by more than the octane rating alone.

Which? verdict

There's little to choose between the fuels on economy and emissions, but the Golf’s hi-tech engine responded well to V-Power.

Renault Mégane 1.5 (86bhp)

This 1.5-litre dCi direct-injection, turbocharged diesel engine is found in many current Renault and Nissan vehicles, with outputs varying from 68bhp to 106bhp – we used the mid-powered 86bhp version for our tests.

It’s equipped with a diesel particulate filter (DPF) to help remove harmful soot emissions from the exhaust – this works very effectively.

Table notes

1. a Fuel prices stated are the average of four locations, at the time of purchase in May 2008

We found

BP’s Ultimate diesel was slightly less economic and performed slightly less well than using BP’s regular low-sulphur diesel.

And you would save £84 every 12,000 miles by using regular diesel.

Which? verdict

Of all the super fuels we tested, BP Ultimate appears to be furthest from the marketing claims – in this short-term study, at least.

So if you drive a diesel, you can save yourself £84 every 12,00 miles by just using regular diesel.

Will a super fuel mean your car emits fewer pollutants?

We tested fuel economy, engine power output and CO2 emissions, and whether the cars emitted other harmful pollutants including:

* CO (carbon monoxide) A poisonous, odourless gas. CO is a product of incomplete combustion and can be one measure of combustion efficiency.

* NOx (nitrogen oxides) Smog-forming pollutants associated with breathing disorders. NOx is produced under the high temperatures found in the engine (up to 2,500ºC).

* HC (hydrocarbons) Unburnt fuel and combustion by-products.

* PM (particulate matter) ‘Sooty’ output said to aggravate breathing disorders, such as asthma, especially in urban areas. Diesel cars emit more PM than petrols.

The results

Each fuel had a marginal effect on the emissions of each pollutant. For the petrol cars, Tesco 99 Ron tended to produce less CO and HC, though the same isn’t true of the other super petrol, Shell V-Power. However, V-Power did emit less NOx in both the Ford Focus and the VW Golf.

As in our power and fuel economy tests, the benefits of BP Ultimate diesel weren’t clear cut. It produced less CO and HC, but more NOx and particulate matter. The latter is possibly as a result of it having a higher sulphur content.

If you’re worried about your car’s emissions, it’s better to drive less and more economically – not to switch fuels.

[Nay ZS]

We also have a Golf MK5 FSi which is the same design of engine as the Golf on test but without the turbo and supercharger of the TSI. The manual says to run it on super unleaded. It says that thanks to the knock sensors the engine will run at the maximum 115bhp.It then goes on to say with normal 95ron fuel (which is what is put in it anyway) the anti knock feature will reduce engine power ( by around 5bhp I think) but still allow it to run smoothly.

The 98bhp engine in the focus is ancient and does not have knock sensors to take advantage of the higher ron.

The new 120ps 1.6 Ti-VCT in my Zetec S does have the knock sensors.

I'm aware that in higher powered cars like an Audi S3 the power difference can be huge but thats not what im looking for as the ZS only has 120ps.

My driving is routine is sooooo samey so I will be looking at the MPG and seeing what happens, be it up or down.

Im currently on my second tank of BP ultimate just to see what happens.

Gonna try it for several tank fulls just to see.

One less shop bought sandwich for lunch covers the extra cost over 95 ron so im not too fussed atm.

[iNath]

there is no evidence to to say the gains are any use at all.

you can say you got more mpg but that could be down to different driving conditions. until a company does a test on a small car like the fiesta with stone wall evidence it works its a none starter for me

Where is the factual and document evidence to support such a claim? You would have had to test the exact same road under the exact same weather conditions using the exact same Thorttle usage and weight and tire tread, with both fuels to even claim that as a fact. Just saying

I'm trying to make it as fair as possible - I drive the same route to work 5 days a week (50mile round trip)

Whether or not it's mechanical or psychological - for me it appears to be working and it's saving me money (and apparently cleaning the engine if you believe the marketing)

As I said I will do 10 tanks V-Power then 10 tanks regular to compare so will take me 4/5months.

[Solaris]

I have a 58 reg with the 120ps 1.6 Ti-VCT engine. Would this also have the knock sensor, or is it only the newer cars?

[Nay ZS]

I have a 58 reg with the 120ps 1.6 Ti-VCT engine. Would this also have the knock sensor, or is it only the newer cars?

Yes, one of the improvements in the 120ps 1.6 over the old 99ps engine that was found in the MK6 Zetec S was the addition of the Ti-VCT system and knock sensors.

[Solaris]

Yes, one of the improvements in the 120ps 1.6 over the old 99ps engine that was found in the MK6 Zetec S was the addition of the Ti-VCT system and knock sensors.

Cheers.

[merlin]

When I switched from ordinary diesel to BP ultimate I noticed immediate drop in engine rattle. No longer sounds like a rock in a tin can rolling down hill. Fuel economy averaging 58mpg and slowly climbing as engine gets run in. Trying Shell V-power at moment with 1600 on clock. Intend to keep using. You all want your cars to look the best, polish, wax, headlamp HID kits, alloys then go and put crap from supermarkets in the tank and your cars heart. Your choice tho.