No More V Power (Super Unleaded)

[ZetecShearer1987]

I have finally sorted out my rough engine when accelerating through the gears,which has been driving me mad for months. It was the fuel I was using, not because it was cheap supermarket fuel, but Infact expensive v power unleaded and bp ultimate, I naturally assumed that if I kept using these more premium fuels that it would sort out my engine troubles, but after 20 odd full tanks of super juice and changing parts on my car, I gave up and put a tank of normal Shell fuel save unleaded and low and behold the engine now pulls smoothly again and has quietened down and my mpg has gone up aswell.

I am supprised that using a better quality fuel would make a car run worse, does an ecu actually develop to the fuel it uses or not as I have wasted extra money on a fuel that claims to do wonders, but Infact is a pile of s***.

I have always been a big fan of super unleaded in normal road cars but after this I will probably never use the stuff again, I got worse performance and lower mpg for paying extra at the pump, yes on higher performance cars u would get better performance but I never thought it would negatively affect my car.

[higgsy]

Which engine has your car got? Mines the 1.6 ti-vct 115 and I put a tank of tesco momentum in last week and it feels like its lost power. Even the Mrs commented and normally she wouldn't notice these things. Gear change also seems more jerky.

[FOCA]

I have finally sorted out my rough engine when accelerating through the gears,which has been driving me mad for months. It was the fuel I was using, not because it was cheap supermarket fuel, but Infact expensive v power unleaded and bp ultimate, I naturally assumed that if I kept using these more premium fuels that it would sort out my engine troubles, but after 20 odd full tanks of super juice and changing parts on my car, I gave up and put a tank of normal shell fuel save unleaded and low and behold the engine now pulls smoothly again and has quietened down and my mpg has gone up aswell.

I am supprised that using a better quality fuel would make a car run worse, does an ecu actually develop to the fuel it uses or not as I have wasted extra money on a fuel that claims to do wonders, but Infact is a pile of s***.

I have always been a big fan of super unleaded in normal road cars but after this I will probably never use the stuff again, I got worse performance and lower mpg for paying extra at the pump, yes on higher performance cars u would get better performance but I never thought it would negatively affect my car.

There have been a lot of posts on here about "premium"/ "performance" fuels with some FOC members recommending then, claiming a better MPG, smoother running etc and how supermarket fuel is "rubbish" (even though it is often supplied in the same tankers)

Me - i always thought its mostly a marketing gimmic and a way for the oil companies to make extra profit by basically selling you the same product but for more money - but this is more negative than that

There was an independant test done where, on ordinary cars, the cheaper "budget" fuels produced better MPG than the "premium" fuels

only on highly modified cars (turbo cars running a lot of boost etc) did the "premium"/ "performance" fuels make a difference

Your engne is built/ set up to run with a specific type/ octane of fuel (basic, cheap, low octane fuel) the compression ratio, ignition advance etc is set for this fuel, some engines can "learn" or compensate for different fuels, (and some are better than others at doing this) but, the higher octane fuel may make the car run richer,(if its running a bit rich already/ or the ECU cannot compensate for it) this can have a negative effect on economy, can foul the spark plugs and contaminate the catalytic convertor

So on a standard car designed for "bog standard" fuel, you should run "bog standard" fuel

Higher octane or "premium"/ "performance" fuel should be treated as a modification, and ideally, the engine should be set up for it (a remap designed/ set up for the higher octane fuel, an ECU reset, better flowing intake and/or performance air filter)

Even a fresh stock air filter might help

If you were to fit a fresh air filter, reset the ECU and run the car on V-power/ super unleaded and see if it runs better, then compare that to "budget" fuel (afterva reset) that would be conclusive

I thing, with the multi- million pound marketing campaigns "brainwashing" (must be the extra detergent they add ) motorists with the propaganda it convinces them the the "premium"/ "performance" fuel is better (placibo effect) and with the independant tests showing a negative effect (on some ordinary, unmodified cars) and now your feedback, hopefully it will convince motorists that they are just wasting their money on expensive fuels (in many cases)

[ZetecShearer1987]

I have the normal 100 bhp version

Sent from my HTC One using Ford OC mobile app

[georgen]

I completely agree with Foca on this one, standard fuel for bog standard cars, high octane for those who manufactures state they have to run it and tuned cars as when mapped are normally mapped with this fuel in.

[jeebowhite]

I stick with Shell Fuelsave, its the cheaper of the better fuels and gives me the best part of 100 more miles per tank compared to local supermarket fuel.

[jamesm182]

I run V-Power in my ST but as people have said, I've heard it can actually make more of a difference in turbo cars that have been mapped etc. I also think it's worthwhile for the detergents that keep everything clean. My car scored 0 on the hydrocarbons test at the last MOT (you can pass with up to 200). Not sure if the fuel has contributed but my car certainly seems to be running clean (well as clean as an uneconomical turbo car can be!! :P ).

Interestingly, my wife has a smart car (does have a small turbo too!) and that seems to get worse MPG with super fuels so we tend to just stick standard stuff in that!

[artscot79]

the v power is designed for turbo cars and designed to burn better in those cars adding it to a 100bhp focus as long term fuel wont work it will make it run rough as you cant provide enough air to the mix however for cleaning injectors put £10 of v power in then normal unleaded