Thread: Supermarket Fuel

Guys & Girls,

Is it an urban myth that supermarket fuel is of a poorer quality than normal garage fuel? Can anyone who really knows! confirm or deny. If worse, what is worse about it?

Does buying the dearer, Premium diesels or petrols (V Power etc) really payoff when it comes to mpg? Assuming that it gives more power and you use less boot to achieve the same speed it would suggest that it will do more mpg. But, is it worth the extra £££?

I've read the various websites, but what are your experiences?


Over to you...............

OK i believe i have the right to comment here as i fill up every day or two with fuel (company paid of course but my nectar card) and with Diesel i notice no difference in MPG between sainsburys diesel and BP's but i will say that on my Impreza it simply does not like Supermarket fuel. It just does not feel right almost a little lumpy and i can really tell the difference between the brands. Premium fuel contains cleaners as well as a higher octane so in theory they will help maintain engines MPG over its life due to injectors having a more efficient spray pattern but certainly not due to your question really depends on the car you own and the way you drive and of course the fuel type. Shell claim the most MPG and have proven this in a lab but in real life im not sure. so simple answer there isnt one lol. With diesel i really cant tell but with petrol i could. more than likely due to my impreza being a performance engine and my diesel car being a company cruiser that i just sit on the motorway all day long.
how ever the difference in fuel in my impreza is like night and day but in the average joe car tbh i dont think you will gain much.

Couldnt tell you if its of poorer quality. I tired this with tescos fuel...

On the normal 95RON fuel i was getting on average 30-34MPG - On the Premium fuel doing pretty much the same distance and style of driving i got 34-38MPG, so in answer to your 2nd question the premium fuel can give bettr mpg. It will also come down to the engine of the car. Mine is a 2.0L Turbo, so it was probably more to the octane value of the premuim being 99RON which gave the better mpg, and a better kick when the turbo came to life.

I have now converted it to LPG, so paying far less for my fuel than i used to!! Only put in about £5 or Unleaded each month just to keep the low fuel light happy (Car starts on unleaded and runs on it for a couple of miles until it switches over to LPG)

I usually fill up at the shell garage at the end of the road but found myself caught short in crewe once so filled up at the tescos forcourt. Next day the car wouldnt start, found there was water in the deisel! Not only did we have to get that sorted but had to replace the fuel lift pump too as that was knackered too
Might just be a coincidence but i wont be filling up from that forecourt again.

There is supposed to be a slight difference in the level of additives, this could mean better lubrication of the cylinders so less friction so better efficiency; I have found that on my diesel car and my wifes petrol car they both seem to run smoother, have not really properly checked fuel consumption because they both do mid fifties plus mpg - so it's a bit of a muchness.
Both cars run fine on either fuel but you can tell the difference, oh and I've not tried the premium options so can't comment.

The reason I ask is because I have just bought a Freelander Auto & guys on the LandyZone site say that using premium, forecourt fuel pays off. Some add 2 stroke oil to their diesel too.

So, money wisely spent - or just b****x?

The basic fuel (petrol / diesel) is the same, often processed in the same refineries. What does differ between branded fuel and 'supermarket' fuel is the additives put into the fuel afterwards. How well (or not) these additives work and make a difference depends on a lot of factors, such as the condition of your engine, driving habits, etc. By the nature of what they are, no lab test can factor in all the bossible variables, so unfortunately, David, there is no definative answer! What I have noticed recently, though, is that very often, supermarket fuel is the same, or even slightly more than branded fuel stations. More often and not, you have to spend a lot at the respective supermarket, in order to get any fuel discount.

Being a bit of an anarak, I did some comparison tests last year with our turbo diesel motorhome and over a 10-month period covering 3,650 miles of mixed motorway and normal road driving we used a total of 11 tanks full of fuel (660 litres). When I finally got round to analyzing the results there was no real difference between any of our local supermarkets fuel (ASDA, Tesco, Morrisons or Sainsbury's) when compared to the last tank full of much higher priced BP premium diesel, either in terms of performance, smoke or mpg.

To make the test as fair as possible the tank was run to almost empty before each refill and the tank was filled twice consecutively, first at ASDA, then Tesco, then Morrisons and then Sainsbury's and finally once only at BP that is why ASDA is now my preferred choice, as I get an additional 1 p per litre off the pump price when I pay with the ASDA credit card (mine is used for fuel only- so I don't left the wife get hold of it!!) but make sure you pay the monthly balance off in full every month to get the full benefit.

Barry

Hi Dave,

Send a photo - forgotten what you look like lol

I've looked into it a fair bit, but I can't notice any difference really in fuels, although I prefer Shell fuelsave fuel if I can get it, it's not really worth paying much extra for around here it's only a penny or two more.

When I go shopping it's normally a good time to get fuel so works out well at Tesco really.. 95% of the time mine runs on Tesco's fuel, no probs... And if there was time to get sue happy I guess!

Using premium fuel really depends on the car if you see any benefits out of it, such as mpg or performance. Either way it can't hurt it probably cleans your engine a little better but you'll probably spend a load more over time.

P.S. Stickied thread: "UK Fuel Prices....DON'T BUY ESSO OR BP" what a load of rubbish... Talk about recirculating spam.

My van runs on all sorts of diesel and you get a better scrape with a tesco card than you do with a nectar card so short of second hand chip fat then it dont make any differernce


Steve

Originally Posted by David Drew

Hi Dave,

Send a photo - forgotten what you look like lol

LOL Here you are - taken in Moscow last Friday, so bang up to date!

Originally Posted by jwatts007

What i cannot stand about filling up at poxy tescos is the stupid women behind the counter asking me if I have a clubcard, it really gets on my flipping nerves.....

I just pay at the pump, that way I don't need to hear that every single time!


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