But does the fuel actually need the extra so called additives? I don't doubt for a minute perceived fuel quality has more to do with marketing and profit than additives.

Well sticky injectors (for instance) can sometimes be cured with diesel injector cleaner but Shell V-Power can also do the job. So I guess fuel additives can help keep your engine cleaner longer. If the fuel is same price as Supermarkets then every little helps towards a longer trouble free engine. IMHO.

in laboratory conditions these possible better additives could benefit the engine but for day to day use i dont think it matters...as it is , most change their cars after 3/4 years? or less .. ... - .- -.




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^ Then what about the next owner....

they'll probably use shell  ... - .- -.




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I worked for BP for several years in a senior position. We supplied fuel from the grangemouth refinery to all the BP sites in our region and also we supplied tescos , safeway and morrisons. The fuel that went to these sites was exactly the same , the only difference was the addatives. A tanker driver would collect his fuel Pod and then depending on the fuels destination it would get different addative shot at the addative station.
cost price of fuel for a BP retailer v supermarket is almost the same, the supermarket sells at a fraction above cost , the margain from the shop goods supports their profit. The BP retailer sells the fuel at a slightly higher price to keep credibility of a superior product .

the octane boost from higher RON fuels and the advantages of better addatives are nearly always negated by a old engine, slightly out of tune engine or even low inflated tyres. nearly all modern vehicles are not mapped to take advantage of a higher RON fuel, maybe a ferrarri but that's still questionable.

In BP 90% of the sales of our higher grade spirit and diesel were accidental purchases.

it all a con just like expensive oils, but that another whole subject

I never use supermarket fuels in my FF - simply because it isn't convenient (nowt to do with price etc).

However, it is very convenient for the vehicle manufacturers to blame problems on supermarket fuels and some could argue it's a good way to get out of warranty claims. One of the Ford dealer we use (same one whose technician was caught doing 118mph in a customers ST) has been trying for ages to not uphold warranty claims on cars where the owners admit to using supermarket fuels.

I am interested in how the technicians can state categorically the fault is due to cheap fuel. Each and every one of our cars is driven differently so the internals of the engines will show slightly different levels of carbon / sludge etc. If something fails then this can have a dramatic effect on the combustion process - i.e. something that makes it run lean could lead to burnt valves, melted pistons, dpf failure etc. Something that makes it run too rich would lead to a build up of sludge and again play havoc with the dpf (where fitted of course). It would be very easy to blame any of this on cheap fuel.

For what it's worth wifey's car, which has done 73k in the last 18 months, almost always uses supermarket fuels without issue. Her last one needed a new turbo at 150k - I'll bet Ford blamed this on the fuel she used

viper wrote:

it all a con just like expensive oils, but that another whole subject

Really!

@viper

Most sensible post on the subject I have seen for years.

Where did the all-knowing Tech work? Just so I can avoid going there.

Amazing what people spout when they have zero actual knowledge of the subject. I used to be a tanker driver, mostly Propane although sometimes spirit. It's the same stuff when you talk about the base product with the only difference being the additives which get added at the point of filling the tanker. These additives incidentally are mostly detergents to help the fuel burn cleaner, with a bit of octane or cetane booster in the "super" fuels.

It's a bit like domestic bleach. Do you buy Domestos or supermarket own brand? Largely identical product, i.e. chlorine based liquid. Rather different prices though, and a similar price difference to what you'd see on fuel if it wasn't skewed by all the tax.

If you want to save money and you're daft enough to believe the advertising just buy fuel at a "Premium Brand" place that's near a supermarket. Simply avoiding motorway service stations will save you up to 27p/litre. Check out the Super Unleaded prices below.

Me? I buy the cheapest, regardless of brand. I have personal experience of what goes into it.

UK Petrol Prices for Monday 13th April 2015 (Average, Lowest, Highest) Guess what prices the motorway services charge
Unleaded 113.27p 107.7p 124.9p
Diesel 118.82p 113.9p 131.9p
Super Unleaded 122.21p 112.9p 149.9p
Premium Diesel 130.46p 121.9p 149.9p
LPG 61.73p 54.7p 69.9p

RiccartonRR wrote:

I never use supermarket fuels in my FF - simply because it isn't convenient (nowt to do with price etc).

However, it is very convenient for..........................................

i have a friend that used to blame his mega booze hangover the next morning, on bad Scotch whisky!
some bars only sell blended stuff, and he reckons they top up the bottles with an 'additive'

if i was to buy a sealed bottle in tesco's at Christmas, it would be way cheaper than the corner shops etc.

same stuff indeed, just needs its 'additive'

dont start me off with beer..... especially the Wetherspoons cheap beer . dont spoil the party!

Who remembers "Shell Formula" from the eighties... the adverts promised lots of benefits from using this new advanced super fuel.

They had to stop selling it after a few months as it was ruining engines .....

As someone who has a few LP560's F430's & F458's I can tell you the RON rating's make a huge difference to HPE's our F430's wont even fire up on 95 RON

The fuel debate will go on and on a bit like Winter tyres

So is the advice for me to fill up at Sainsburys when I shop then bang some redex in ? Is this where I put the car details and a bit about myself ?........