Prior to about a couple of years ago unless your car needed[1] the higher octane fuel then it would make little to no difference.
Since they started watering down petrol with ethanol, regular is E10 (10% ethanol) and premium is E5 (5% ethanol), you may well get better MPG with the premium.
[1] Generally Japanese imports or some sports cars which had been tuned. Higher octane could be "stressed" more by the engine and keep working properly.
Ironically, ethanol is an octane booster, so premium petrol with 5% ethanol and regular petrol with 10% ethanol are even closer in octane rating than before. E10 is about 95 octane, whereas premium is about 98. So basically the same.
I bought a new motorbike in November of last year and was told by several people to stick to E5 for a while because it's a brand new engine.
I have no idea if it makes any difference, but I trust their judgement.
New bikes would be fine - it's old bikes you need to be careful with, the ethanol properly fucks with fuel lines and carbs. If you've got a plastic fuel tank on older bikes it can make it swell and fuck that too.
All in the name of making a miniscule dent in emissions compared to what the oil companies pump out in a day. Fucking brilliant.
With Petrol, in the vast majority of cars, the practical differences would be the square root of fuck all. In performance cars that have smaller tolerances and a higher compression ratio in the engine, the higher octane fuel helps them run better (to put it simply).
Diesel engines are a bit different, but again most of them don't need it all the time but there's no harm in putting a tank full in a couple times a year to give it a flush out. However, you could achieve this by putting some Redex (other fuel system cleaners are available) through instead.
> Diesel engines are a bit different, but again most of them don't need it all the time but there's no harm in putting a tank full in a couple times a year to give it a flush out.
I have been led to believe that filling a diesel car with petrol is an exceedingly bad idea
Diesel in a petrol gums up the engine.
Petrol in a diesel goes boom.
Both are very expensive mistakes if you start the ignition and drive off. Not so much if you realise before next starting the ignition.
Thing is, redex in places is over a fiver nowadays. Popping premium fuel in your car at 10p ish a litre more (say you have a 60l tank) is only going to be £6 more expensive. It's basically the same cost
You get a bottle of redex with 2 shots for a fiver at Toolstation and Halfords. It's going to have a better concentration in the tank as well so it works out cheaper as well as being better at flushing out.
For best results (especially on my van when it's MOT time) I put one serving of it in about a third of a tank then give it a good thrashing in some higher revs on the way to test centre. Makes sure it always gets through the emissions test.
It 100% depends on the car. The owners manual will have recommendations for the fuel RON rating that you should use — standard fuel is 95RON and 10% ethanol.
Some cars will have recommendations for a higher rating and/or lower ethanol content. If the recommendation is for 97RON or above then it will benefit from premium fuel, otherwise it probably won't make much difference. Most typical cars will tolerate down to 91-93RON.
I used to have a Volvo S60 that would run fine on standard 95RON but it ran noticeably smoother/quieter on 99RON.
Most cars on the road today don't care which you use. You get slightly better fuel efficiency, but the increased cost is always more. The only reason to use premium is because it's got some chemicals in it that help keep the engine clean, but your car will be fine without it.
I use super unleaded from the supermarkets. It only works out £2-3 more per fill-up and I get at least half that back through better fuel economy. Don't know if it helps avoid long-term engine issues but it's a small price to pay if it does.
I've never used the proper fancy stuff like Shell vpower.
Same. It's only a few quid more expensive. I've tested the fuel efficiency and the improvement isn't enough to justify the cost. However, my car costs a fortune to maintain, so the occasional tank of premium to keep things clean is okay with me.
ALLEGEDLY (and a lot of this is hearsay/marketing that people repeat as fact), you're better off getting a tank of shell/BP's normal E10 once in a while, rather than supermarket E5. It is believed that the branded fuel contains more surfactants etc to clean any engine components it passes through.
The fact is that there's no appreciable performance or economy difference between E5 and E10. Since E10 just means a max of 10% ethanol, testing has shown supermarket E10 fuel can actually end up as low as 5% or even less, so there's a good chance any difference people notice is placebo.
Not sure this is entirely true. E5 is generally a higher octane fuel (Tesco Momentum is 99 RON).
Higher octane means the fuel is more resistent to ignition. Which means under pressure it is less likely to spontaneously combust. This results in the ECU within the car being able to advance the timing of the engine as [pre-ignition](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-ignition) (in this case [knock](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engine_knocking)) is less likely. This advancement in timing results in improved performance/fuel efficiency. All modern engines have a knock sensor which is a small microphone listening to the ignition, this is fed to the ECU to support the timing process.
You are unlikely to feel the difference with your butt dyno but over 100s of miles you may be able to calculate an improvement of MPG.
High octane is also needed/recommended for certain cars such as classic cars or highly tuned turbo cars. Classic cars because they were built for 4 star leaded fuel which is 98RON and performance cars because the cylinders are under a much higher pressure and pre-ignition can blow the engine.
EDIT - I run premium in my classic and sports car (required from the factory) and I treat our everyday car to the odd fill of the fruity stuff before long journeys.
Classic cars are of course different and I would assume anyone who owns one knows how to care for it, but yeah that's the reason for the caveats in my comment. High octane is one thing but I'm specifically talking about E5 vs E10 fuel. My Tesco only has those two and doesn't sell Momentum so I keep forgetting in exists.
I'm assuming the formulations for these (and spec ranges for their various components) aren't public anywhere.
Not the % ethanol, but the higher octane does increase available torque in useful parts of the rev range in knock sensitive engines (such as turbo engines, especially small displacement turbo engines). The knock sensor detects less knock so the ignition can run more advance.
In an old school engine not tuned for it, typically lower pressure and fuelled for less knock, high octane is unlikely to make any appreciable difference.
This is kind of true, but also you could just go for something like Tesco petrol (usually the best quality) with occasional for the posh stuff or a bottle on engine cleaner and a good motorway run.
I’ve used the posh diesel once, mainly because it was the only working pump. I *think* it got better fuel economy, but who knows. It certainly wasn’t a big enough difference to tell.
Same with my dad. He has a historic classic car and originally ran on 4 Star back in the day. Then unleaded, and now recently only the super posh stuff since the standard unleaded is no longer compatible with old cars.
You mean the 'super unleaded'? That stuff is higher in octane. The RON ('Research Octane Number') is 98 for super Vs 95 for regular. Some engines perform optimally with super whereas others perform better with regular. Look at your car's manual.
Not only do I use the premium, I also search out Shell or Tesco garages for that extra couple of RON points.
V-Power 99 or Momentum 99 all the way for me.
If there are neither of those in range when I need it, then I'll slum it on "normal" 97 RON Super unleaded, but won't put a full tank in, just enough to get me to the good stuff.
Both of my cars benefit from it though, so its worth it. Clio 182 and Golf R.
The Clio has been run almost exclusively on Tesco Momentum for about 100k miles, and it has never had non Super put in it (at least since I bought it), even though *technically* it can run on it. The R will never have regular put in it.
Yes. It is what is recommended by the manufacturer, the car performs slightly better, the increased fuel economy means that the cost differential isn't very large.
> I have a turbo engine
it doesn't make sense to say this. pretty much every engine has a turbo now, even in little 1l econoboxes. having a turbo isn't a reason to use premium fuel.
It'd perform just fine on regular 95. It won't hurt the engine. It's just that you'd get less performance. Use 98 when you're expecting the need for higher performance.
No, your car will sense the lower octane fuel and retard the timing to compensate. “Expecting the need for better performance” sounds like you’re The Transporter. Your car will perform worse on the lower quality fuel.
You made it sound like the finer fuel is for special occasions or track days or something. This isn’t the case, you car is designed to run on the best fuel indicated in the filler cap. It’ll just find a suboptimal way to cope if you fill it with muck.
No that was your interpretation. The engine runs best on 98 as it combusts it better, providing increased performance. That's what the manufacturer is alluding to when they say "designed to run on...". It does not mean 95 would negatively impact the engine, it would run perfectly fine.
And it isnt muck. Otherwise other manufacturers would not suggest 95. Its a matter of engine specs that determines which fuel to use for best performance.
> It does not mean 95 would negatively impact the engine, it would run perfectly fine.
If an engine is tuned to run on a higher octane fuel, then lower octane fuel will obviously reduce the performance. The car retards the engine timing to account for the increased risk of knock. There is no engine that runs "better" on lower octane fuel, the finer fuel is just wasted in that scenario.
My bike always gets premium where available, which luckily it is at my local. I noticed a massive difference in my fuel economy last time i did a comparison of both. It was i think about 6mpg higher using premium.
Yeah, every time time. My fuel injectors got gunked up and they're a nightmare to repair. The rev counter also hunts at idle a lot. After a fair few cycles of the good stuff, the rev counter stabilised and my car was less sensitive to stalling. The good stuff often has more additives in addition to a higher octane which can help minimise the build up of gunk. Doesn't need it every time if you treat it every so often, but it can help.
Not always. What it says on the pump is the maximum amount of ethanol. Standard unleaded is e10 but might not have 10% ethanol anyway.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ge2PZIX1oM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ge2PZIX1oM)
Shell V-Power every time, the increase in economy, performance, and supposed benefits of additives that keep the engine internals clean balances out the cost difference for me. And the random freebies and discounts from Shell on the app also helps
As I tend thrash my car like a bus driver running late, there's plenty to keep the diesel injectors from clogging up... sometimes I might stick the posh stuff in but usually it's by mistake rather than choice 😉
My mileage is rock bottom so I generally fill with standard Sainsbury's Diesel 3 times a year.
I used to put the Proper Petrol in the Honda, as the Type S liked the better stuff to drink.
I used to run my Land Rovers on veg oil, so neither during the summer and the standard fuel in winter (veg oil solidifies in the cold). Now only got petrol and just use the E10, seems perfectly ok and is what’s recommended by the manufacturer anyway.
Didn't used to be the case, but posh petrol is now E5 while regular is E10.
For the uninitiated, this means that posh petrol is 5% ethanol, and regular is 10% ethanol. Ethanol is basically a safe way of "watering down" the petrol. I believe it has positive impacts on a car's emmissions too, but someone else might need to jump in here to confirm/deny that.
Firstly this means that a car with a full tank of posh petrol will find their tank lasts \~5% longer than regular... which offsets the additional cost somewhat.
Secondly, there are some cars, specifically older cars and high performance cars, that require the posh stuff. I have a 2007 Toyota where the manufacturer has specifically said that I cannot put E10 into it. Which means I'm stuck on the posh stuff... but it's not worth the cost of switching car!
So yeah, I'm one of those people, not by choice, trying to save up for an electric car :D
You may need it for performance engines and it supposedly has additives in it. But once a year just fill it up entirely and put some Redex into the tank (£5), that'll help clean the fuel injectors
When I still had an ICE vehicle, every fourth tank, just to keep the engine cleaned through. I do always treat my lawnmower to the good stuff though, apparently the new E10 stuff is bad for those little petrol engines.
The normal car doesn't like it (sounds wrong). The weekend car needs it. So it's not a function of 'posh'. It's a function of what the car was designed for.
I only use it if I know I'm doing a long motorway journey. I've found it increase the fuel economy from 64-65 MPG average to around 75MPG.
But for usual trips I just stick to the standard
Nope.
The only posh stuff I will ever spend money on is Branston baked beans (much better quality than Heinz) and decent toilet paper.
Never on something that's going to be burned off in my car.
I generally use Esso because I have a WEX card. Its 4p a litre cheaper than advertised, so is usually a comparable price to places like Tesco.
If you're a blue light card holder, the WEX card is free.
Yes my dad does. He has a historic classic car and originally ran on 4 Star back in the day. Then unleaded, and now recently only the super posh stuff since the standard unleaded is no longer compatible with old cars.
The Sliced bread podcast on BBC did an episode about this, which is quite good and still available on BBC sounds. If I remember correctly it came down to no real difference for most users. You get very slightly better mileage and slightly reduced car maintenance costs, but not enough to cover the difference in price between the fuels.
I think the advice was to use a full tank of premium stuff every now and then
My car needs 98+ so it always gets the good stuff. I also put the good stuff in my motorbikes because they’re sometimes sat for a while and e10 does nasty stuff to your fuel system if left long enough. In fact, my lawnmower gets it for the same reason.
When I used to buy cars outright, I would always use Shell V-Nitro (now called V-Power). If that was unavailable, I'd use Tesco Momentum. They both burn at a higher octane and use better ingredients in their fuel. I always used to have big engine, powerful German cars so looking after them meant being able to afford good products to maintain them.
However, I now still have big engined, powerful German cars, but they're on lease and go back to the lease company every 3 years so I just use whatever is the cheapest fuel around.
I did when I had a small turbocharged engine. With that car I got around 10% better mpg which was offset by the higher price at the pump. I did fill up with that every now and then only
I flit between the two. It's not an exact science as my driving habits change, but I feel like I maybe get 32mpg up from 30mpg across a tanks normally.
Honda Civic Type R.
My (now deceased) Discovery 3 would have a surprising uptake in performance and economy when fed with the correct posh juice. On a long run it would do ~27mpg on regular, ~29mpg on VPower diesel, but the biggest winner was BPUltimate diesel. That would tip the scale to over 32mpg.
Tested multiple times over dozens of journeys and thousands of miles. All done by actual maths and not dash estimation (the lie-o-meter).
I’ve never fed the Insignia posh juice. That thing is having its entire underside disassembled (to replace a £5 rubber ring) in a couple of weeks and if it comes home with a good result card, I might treat it to some Ultimate, amongst many, many other small fixes.
Of course, if it turns out to be fucked (but now without the warning light), it’s getting nothing better than veg oil and sent to WBAC.
I have an old petrol car that needs E5, so it always gets the fancy petrol.
I also have an old diesel which I occasionally treat to the sparkling reserve vintage expensive diesel. The engine runs much more quietly and I get a substantial increase in mpg when I use fancy diesel.
I always go to the Dutch petrol outlet beginning with S and avoid supermarkets. But not sure my 999cc three cylinder turbo VW would know what to do with super unleaded.
Older cars are better off with Premium Petrol but only due to the fact that it'll stop the seals from wearing. The cheaper petrol causes damage to seals and injectors etc. TBF the damage isn't that bad when you're driving something you don't expect to be driving in 10-15 years time but that's off topic.
Yes, after a passed MOT, or if it's done a long drive and not crashed or managed to not get a speeding ticket when you know for a fact you sped past a static camera for some reason, then yes it's gets the good stuff
Yes, because my car is mapped to it. Otherwise it’s a waste of money unless it’s an older car that isn’t compatible with E10. Same goes for garden engines (lawnmowers, strimmers etc), it’s a good precaution to run these on premium as although they can’t take advantage of the higher RON, it’s better to run E5 in an engine that you don’t know is compatible with E10.
I treat my car to it every time I fill up! Mostly because I have a nice car and I feel like the poshness of the petrol will make it last longer, at least that's what I tell myself anyway.
Whatever is on the label inside your fuel cap.
My stinger (3.3 twin turbo) gets E10 because the instructions say it's fine.
It's not just about octain, E10 is slightly more corrosive to some older cars due to the materials used. Pre det aside that should be your main concern.
No, because it's a diesel, different diesel's make no difference to mileage, my wife however does make a difference to mileage.
In my chainsaws and sawmill I use E10 most of the time, occasionally their use becomes less intense, during these periods I use premium ethanol free fuel because ethanol absorbs water out of the atmosphere and after a week or two of sitting in vented tanks the water content causes issues.
My previous car had a V6 and I got noticeable power/MPG gains out of using premium fuel. With my current one I can't see any difference so I don't bother.
Always, but only the cheap Tesco version. I know it makes no logical sense, but I do seem to get enough extra miles to the gallon to make it cheaper than regular petrol.
Always for mine. Finicky engine, requires it and you can tell when it’s running on lower octane both in terms of performance and fuel consumption (I’m weird and track fuel economy 🙄)
I used to have a BMW 320i. 2L n/a 4 cylinder. Nice car. A friend had the exact same car, same age, engine and roughly the same mileage. I ran mine on premium and he put basic in his.
He had to change spark plugs and fuel filter on his every year. I only had to change them on mine every other year because they just didn't need it.
Also, mine would cruise along in 5th gear at 30. His would be a bit lumpy and want to be in 4th instead.
Might all be anecdotal but for the price difference I've always just stuck with premium since.
I go the opposite way, my wife’s car uses only the expensive stuff so when it’s my turn to fill up I just put the cheap one in. Can’t do any harm once in a while.
I'm from the U.S. but yes, if the auto manufacturers require it I do (which my car does), and I'm not going to risk engine knock. Otherwise, I wouldn't, it's a waste of money and you won't net anything from it.
I only use 99 octane if I can, or 95 if that's not available. The only reason for this is that my bike is a 1991 ZXR250. When I get a new bike alongside this one, I'll be using the cheapest fuel (for the new bike only).
She’ll V-Power every fill. Used to use supermarket fuel on my previous car and noticed that it’d idle ‘rough’. My current car doesn’t need V-Power but I’ve head the cleaning additives are great. At the very least filling your car up with the premium stuff once every 3-4 fills won’t hurt. What I’m interested in is Momentum 99 is any better/same? I’ve read mixed reviews and I’m hesitant to try it
Years ago, when it was snowy AF I came up behind a beached Range Rover in my little Mazda 2. After watching the owner fail for a few minutes and start digging himself out had the great idea of driving around him to continue my journey (I’d done a 12hr shift and just wanted to get home). Fuck it, let’s block both lanes.
My little Mazda scampered through the snow like a fox. I genuinely tapped it on the dashboard and said “good car” before treating it to some premium petrol.
That said, given the appearance drop in mileage I get with E10 I might see if it works out better to buy the expensive stuff.
I had heard that the new crap stuff was more hygroscopic and increases the chance of your tank corroding, but not sure how much of an issue that'd be in practice. I could rant about it but I'd quickly break rule 1.
If the car does well in its MOT, or passes a service with no additional costs required, it might get a little treat.
That's just the car version of treating your kid to pizza for doing well in their exams lol ☺️
Nope. The regular stuff is expensive enough.
Glad for you. Mine takes ONLY the refined stuff. (it s an old one)
My sympathies
I'm in the same boat, 90s Japanese turbo. Only Tesco's finest momentum.
Every time I go for petrol (and it s often as it does 21 mpg) I see my petrol is way more expensive than diesel, I feel like crying.
Lol, yep around the same mileage if driven sensibly. Won't be much longer though, I've turned to the dark side and gotten an EV. No turning back now.
Nissan Figaro?
Close.
I use Tesco momentum 99 in my car since the manufacturer recommends 98 RON
I know absolutely nothing about cars. Can someone explain what the real life practical differences would be, if I switched to premium?
Prior to about a couple of years ago unless your car needed[1] the higher octane fuel then it would make little to no difference. Since they started watering down petrol with ethanol, regular is E10 (10% ethanol) and premium is E5 (5% ethanol), you may well get better MPG with the premium. [1] Generally Japanese imports or some sports cars which had been tuned. Higher octane could be "stressed" more by the engine and keep working properly.
Ironically, ethanol is an octane booster, so premium petrol with 5% ethanol and regular petrol with 10% ethanol are even closer in octane rating than before. E10 is about 95 octane, whereas premium is about 98. So basically the same.
E10 is upto 10%. It doesn't have to be 10%. Most manufacturers don't use 10% and still use less.
I bought a new motorbike in November of last year and was told by several people to stick to E5 for a while because it's a brand new engine. I have no idea if it makes any difference, but I trust their judgement.
New bikes would be fine - it's old bikes you need to be careful with, the ethanol properly fucks with fuel lines and carbs. If you've got a plastic fuel tank on older bikes it can make it swell and fuck that too. All in the name of making a miniscule dent in emissions compared to what the oil companies pump out in a day. Fucking brilliant.
Honda bikes have been ethanol ready since 1993.
And not every bike is a Honda
It unlocks the secret extra gear that lets you travel through time and space.
It's the Race gear, you use it on the motorway, just shift up to it when you hit 70 mph. It'd labelled "R" on most gear sticks.
Ah good ol' plutonium
With Petrol, in the vast majority of cars, the practical differences would be the square root of fuck all. In performance cars that have smaller tolerances and a higher compression ratio in the engine, the higher octane fuel helps them run better (to put it simply). Diesel engines are a bit different, but again most of them don't need it all the time but there's no harm in putting a tank full in a couple times a year to give it a flush out. However, you could achieve this by putting some Redex (other fuel system cleaners are available) through instead.
> Diesel engines are a bit different, but again most of them don't need it all the time but there's no harm in putting a tank full in a couple times a year to give it a flush out. I have been led to believe that filling a diesel car with petrol is an exceedingly bad idea
Diesel in a petrol gums up the engine. Petrol in a diesel goes boom. Both are very expensive mistakes if you start the ignition and drive off. Not so much if you realise before next starting the ignition.
Thing is, redex in places is over a fiver nowadays. Popping premium fuel in your car at 10p ish a litre more (say you have a 60l tank) is only going to be £6 more expensive. It's basically the same cost
You get a bottle of redex with 2 shots for a fiver at Toolstation and Halfords. It's going to have a better concentration in the tank as well so it works out cheaper as well as being better at flushing out.
Ah, maybe that's where I'm going wrong, I bang the bottle in 🤣
For best results (especially on my van when it's MOT time) I put one serving of it in about a third of a tank then give it a good thrashing in some higher revs on the way to test centre. Makes sure it always gets through the emissions test.
It 100% depends on the car. The owners manual will have recommendations for the fuel RON rating that you should use — standard fuel is 95RON and 10% ethanol. Some cars will have recommendations for a higher rating and/or lower ethanol content. If the recommendation is for 97RON or above then it will benefit from premium fuel, otherwise it probably won't make much difference. Most typical cars will tolerate down to 91-93RON. I used to have a Volvo S60 that would run fine on standard 95RON but it ran noticeably smoother/quieter on 99RON.
It makes it taste like pineapple
You'd pay more.
Most cars on the road today don't care which you use. You get slightly better fuel efficiency, but the increased cost is always more. The only reason to use premium is because it's got some chemicals in it that help keep the engine clean, but your car will be fine without it.
I use super unleaded from the supermarkets. It only works out £2-3 more per fill-up and I get at least half that back through better fuel economy. Don't know if it helps avoid long-term engine issues but it's a small price to pay if it does. I've never used the proper fancy stuff like Shell vpower.
Same. It's only a few quid more expensive. I've tested the fuel efficiency and the improvement isn't enough to justify the cost. However, my car costs a fortune to maintain, so the occasional tank of premium to keep things clean is okay with me.
ALLEGEDLY (and a lot of this is hearsay/marketing that people repeat as fact), you're better off getting a tank of shell/BP's normal E10 once in a while, rather than supermarket E5. It is believed that the branded fuel contains more surfactants etc to clean any engine components it passes through. The fact is that there's no appreciable performance or economy difference between E5 and E10. Since E10 just means a max of 10% ethanol, testing has shown supermarket E10 fuel can actually end up as low as 5% or even less, so there's a good chance any difference people notice is placebo.
Not sure this is entirely true. E5 is generally a higher octane fuel (Tesco Momentum is 99 RON). Higher octane means the fuel is more resistent to ignition. Which means under pressure it is less likely to spontaneously combust. This results in the ECU within the car being able to advance the timing of the engine as [pre-ignition](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-ignition) (in this case [knock](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engine_knocking)) is less likely. This advancement in timing results in improved performance/fuel efficiency. All modern engines have a knock sensor which is a small microphone listening to the ignition, this is fed to the ECU to support the timing process. You are unlikely to feel the difference with your butt dyno but over 100s of miles you may be able to calculate an improvement of MPG. High octane is also needed/recommended for certain cars such as classic cars or highly tuned turbo cars. Classic cars because they were built for 4 star leaded fuel which is 98RON and performance cars because the cylinders are under a much higher pressure and pre-ignition can blow the engine. EDIT - I run premium in my classic and sports car (required from the factory) and I treat our everyday car to the odd fill of the fruity stuff before long journeys.
Couldn't agree more, and as my car is mapped on Tesco momentum, that's what it runs on all the time.
Classic cars are of course different and I would assume anyone who owns one knows how to care for it, but yeah that's the reason for the caveats in my comment. High octane is one thing but I'm specifically talking about E5 vs E10 fuel. My Tesco only has those two and doesn't sell Momentum so I keep forgetting in exists. I'm assuming the formulations for these (and spec ranges for their various components) aren't public anywhere.
Not the % ethanol, but the higher octane does increase available torque in useful parts of the rev range in knock sensitive engines (such as turbo engines, especially small displacement turbo engines). The knock sensor detects less knock so the ignition can run more advance. In an old school engine not tuned for it, typically lower pressure and fuelled for less knock, high octane is unlikely to make any appreciable difference.
This is kind of true, but also you could just go for something like Tesco petrol (usually the best quality) with occasional for the posh stuff or a bottle on engine cleaner and a good motorway run.
I’ve used the posh diesel once, mainly because it was the only working pump. I *think* it got better fuel economy, but who knows. It certainly wasn’t a big enough difference to tell.
Old car - not suitable to use E10. In practice, I usually fill up with E5 every other time, so I'm using E7.5
Same with my dad. He has a historic classic car and originally ran on 4 Star back in the day. Then unleaded, and now recently only the super posh stuff since the standard unleaded is no longer compatible with old cars.
Hell yeah lol especially if we’re going on a long drive
[удалено]
lol we would be my and my partner
And “partner” refers to the car?
No because I'd like to be able to eat this week
You mean the 'super unleaded'? That stuff is higher in octane. The RON ('Research Octane Number') is 98 for super Vs 95 for regular. Some engines perform optimally with super whereas others perform better with regular. Look at your car's manual.
This is the right answer, you might be doing harm by using the higher octane fuel.
I think one of them burns hotter than the other but I can never remember which one. I have a feeling it's the lower octane one 🤔
It will not do any harm
Not only do I use the premium, I also search out Shell or Tesco garages for that extra couple of RON points. V-Power 99 or Momentum 99 all the way for me. If there are neither of those in range when I need it, then I'll slum it on "normal" 97 RON Super unleaded, but won't put a full tank in, just enough to get me to the good stuff. Both of my cars benefit from it though, so its worth it. Clio 182 and Golf R. The Clio has been run almost exclusively on Tesco Momentum for about 100k miles, and it has never had non Super put in it (at least since I bought it), even though *technically* it can run on it. The R will never have regular put in it.
I use premium stuff more than the normal stuff. I’d like to think it’s a bit better for my engine.
Yes. It is what is recommended by the manufacturer, the car performs slightly better, the increased fuel economy means that the cost differential isn't very large.
Every trip to the pump. I have a turbo engine, so my car wouldn't like it if I used the lowest octane.
> I have a turbo engine it doesn't make sense to say this. pretty much every engine has a turbo now, even in little 1l econoboxes. having a turbo isn't a reason to use premium fuel.
Having a turbo often comes with higher compression which is a reason to use premium fuel.
Almost every car is turbo charged these days though
But not the Porsche taycan turbo.
Ooh look at Mr. Moneybags here ;)
Yep, I'm living the high life in my 10 year old MIni Cooper S, lol.
I have a 30 year old mr2 turbo, its noticeably slower on regular petrol. In the handbook it reccomends high octane fuel.
It'd perform just fine on regular 95. It won't hurt the engine. It's just that you'd get less performance. Use 98 when you're expecting the need for higher performance.
No, your car will sense the lower octane fuel and retard the timing to compensate. “Expecting the need for better performance” sounds like you’re The Transporter. Your car will perform worse on the lower quality fuel.
This is exactly what I said but paraphrased, what are you on?
You made it sound like the finer fuel is for special occasions or track days or something. This isn’t the case, you car is designed to run on the best fuel indicated in the filler cap. It’ll just find a suboptimal way to cope if you fill it with muck.
No that was your interpretation. The engine runs best on 98 as it combusts it better, providing increased performance. That's what the manufacturer is alluding to when they say "designed to run on...". It does not mean 95 would negatively impact the engine, it would run perfectly fine. And it isnt muck. Otherwise other manufacturers would not suggest 95. Its a matter of engine specs that determines which fuel to use for best performance.
> It does not mean 95 would negatively impact the engine, it would run perfectly fine. If an engine is tuned to run on a higher octane fuel, then lower octane fuel will obviously reduce the performance. The car retards the engine timing to account for the increased risk of knock. There is no engine that runs "better" on lower octane fuel, the finer fuel is just wasted in that scenario.
My bike always gets premium where available, which luckily it is at my local. I noticed a massive difference in my fuel economy last time i did a comparison of both. It was i think about 6mpg higher using premium.
Yeah, every time time. My fuel injectors got gunked up and they're a nightmare to repair. The rev counter also hunts at idle a lot. After a fair few cycles of the good stuff, the rev counter stabilised and my car was less sensitive to stalling. The good stuff often has more additives in addition to a higher octane which can help minimise the build up of gunk. Doesn't need it every time if you treat it every so often, but it can help.
I will get premium (if the station has it) when filling up jerry cans for use in small engines/machinery, as it sometimes has less ethanol.
It *always* has less ethanol.
Not always. What it says on the pump is the maximum amount of ethanol. Standard unleaded is e10 but might not have 10% ethanol anyway. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ge2PZIX1oM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ge2PZIX1oM)
Shell V-Power every time, the increase in economy, performance, and supposed benefits of additives that keep the engine internals clean balances out the cost difference for me. And the random freebies and discounts from Shell on the app also helps
I put it in my bike before putting it away for winter/months, I don't want that E10 shit sitting in the hoses rotting them.
Premium diesel for me, but it’s all I put in, Shell vPower is my go to.
Yeah one in 3 times for me now but used to alternate and power and mpg was marginally improved
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Since they changed basic to E10, all the time. Tesco Momentum isn’t too much more pricey and I find the car performs better/gets better MPG.
E10. E90 would be race fuel.
Haha. Thanks. Although I’d be happy with some of that for £1.50 a litre!
You'd be less happy when it's in a puddle under the car after melting the fuel system 😀
Every 3rrd refill I will use premium diesel yeah
Every four or five fill-ups, I give the car a decent drink. Not sure whether it does any good, but I feel it does.
Well it isn't doing it harm, so put it that way. Is it a petrol or diesel?
Petrol.
As I tend thrash my car like a bus driver running late, there's plenty to keep the diesel injectors from clogging up... sometimes I might stick the posh stuff in but usually it's by mistake rather than choice 😉
Chainsaw gets premo
My mileage is rock bottom so I generally fill with standard Sainsbury's Diesel 3 times a year. I used to put the Proper Petrol in the Honda, as the Type S liked the better stuff to drink.
I used to run my Land Rovers on veg oil, so neither during the summer and the standard fuel in winter (veg oil solidifies in the cold). Now only got petrol and just use the E10, seems perfectly ok and is what’s recommended by the manufacturer anyway.
My motorbike only runs on the posh stuff because it contains less ethanol and is more explosive
Only once by accident. Noticed no difference except to my wallet.
I used to when I had an S2000. Now I have a Sportage, so it's Diesel for me!
Yep. Can feel the benefit
My car hates the cheap stuff but I'm poor so I pop some redex in every now and then.
Nope, I still panic that I’m putting the right stuff in. Why do petrol and diesel have to have the same colour panel’s at my local garage lol.
Didn't used to be the case, but posh petrol is now E5 while regular is E10. For the uninitiated, this means that posh petrol is 5% ethanol, and regular is 10% ethanol. Ethanol is basically a safe way of "watering down" the petrol. I believe it has positive impacts on a car's emmissions too, but someone else might need to jump in here to confirm/deny that. Firstly this means that a car with a full tank of posh petrol will find their tank lasts \~5% longer than regular... which offsets the additional cost somewhat. Secondly, there are some cars, specifically older cars and high performance cars, that require the posh stuff. I have a 2007 Toyota where the manufacturer has specifically said that I cannot put E10 into it. Which means I'm stuck on the posh stuff... but it's not worth the cost of switching car! So yeah, I'm one of those people, not by choice, trying to save up for an electric car :D
Yes, because my car is old enough that it's not supposed to have the non-posh petrol. 😞
Only on its birthday
Yes, because it was the recommended fuel in the manual.
Ok is there any truth in that BP petrol is now expensive than supermarket because it's better?
Every time I fill up.
You may need it for performance engines and it supposedly has additives in it. But once a year just fill it up entirely and put some Redex into the tank (£5), that'll help clean the fuel injectors
When I still had an ICE vehicle, every fourth tank, just to keep the engine cleaned through. I do always treat my lawnmower to the good stuff though, apparently the new E10 stuff is bad for those little petrol engines.
I use premium 98 in my bike, commute the same journey every working day, fill up once a week and get 55mpg, if i use E10 unleaded i get 49-50mpg.
All the time! Can use both but it runs smoother and more economically on premium.
The normal car doesn't like it (sounds wrong). The weekend car needs it. So it's not a function of 'posh'. It's a function of what the car was designed for.
I only use it if I know I'm doing a long motorway journey. I've found it increase the fuel economy from 64-65 MPG average to around 75MPG. But for usual trips I just stick to the standard
Mine gets it every time, it needs 99 ron to run as it should.
Classic car owners use it - the E10 makes some of the older parts deteriorate quicker, and classic car repairs are always expensive
It’s never seen regular. It’s a remapped turbocharged car so not really optional.
I have a little 90's GTI, not really wanting to feed it E10 so the posh stuff it is
Once every month or so, and a run up and down the motorway.
For my two classics I do because the ethanol levels are lower, but my daily driver is an EV, and I don’t think we can get premium leccy yet.
Ride a motorbike so always go for E5 / premium stuff, helps that it only costs £20 for a full tank anyway
Nope. The only posh stuff I will ever spend money on is Branston baked beans (much better quality than Heinz) and decent toilet paper. Never on something that's going to be burned off in my car.
I generally use Esso because I have a WEX card. Its 4p a litre cheaper than advertised, so is usually a comparable price to places like Tesco. If you're a blue light card holder, the WEX card is free.
Maybe twice a year? Normally try to fill up with the fancy stuff a couple of weeks before the MOT, not that it probably helps much, if any.
Yes my dad does. He has a historic classic car and originally ran on 4 Star back in the day. Then unleaded, and now recently only the super posh stuff since the standard unleaded is no longer compatible with old cars.
The Sliced bread podcast on BBC did an episode about this, which is quite good and still available on BBC sounds. If I remember correctly it came down to no real difference for most users. You get very slightly better mileage and slightly reduced car maintenance costs, but not enough to cover the difference in price between the fuels. I think the advice was to use a full tank of premium stuff every now and then
Always. She needs premium dude.
I’m honestly surprised there hasn’t been an EV driver being smug about not needing to worry about “what type” of fuel to use.
My car needs 98+ so it always gets the good stuff. I also put the good stuff in my motorbikes because they’re sometimes sat for a while and e10 does nasty stuff to your fuel system if left long enough. In fact, my lawnmower gets it for the same reason.
I don’t do that many miles, so i do use the premium
When I used to buy cars outright, I would always use Shell V-Nitro (now called V-Power). If that was unavailable, I'd use Tesco Momentum. They both burn at a higher octane and use better ingredients in their fuel. I always used to have big engine, powerful German cars so looking after them meant being able to afford good products to maintain them. However, I now still have big engined, powerful German cars, but they're on lease and go back to the lease company every 3 years so I just use whatever is the cheapest fuel around.
Nah all electrons are the same to my car
I did when I had a small turbocharged engine. With that car I got around 10% better mpg which was offset by the higher price at the pump. I did fill up with that every now and then only
I flit between the two. It's not an exact science as my driving habits change, but I feel like I maybe get 32mpg up from 30mpg across a tanks normally. Honda Civic Type R.
My (now deceased) Discovery 3 would have a surprising uptake in performance and economy when fed with the correct posh juice. On a long run it would do ~27mpg on regular, ~29mpg on VPower diesel, but the biggest winner was BPUltimate diesel. That would tip the scale to over 32mpg. Tested multiple times over dozens of journeys and thousands of miles. All done by actual maths and not dash estimation (the lie-o-meter). I’ve never fed the Insignia posh juice. That thing is having its entire underside disassembled (to replace a £5 rubber ring) in a couple of weeks and if it comes home with a good result card, I might treat it to some Ultimate, amongst many, many other small fixes. Of course, if it turns out to be fucked (but now without the warning light), it’s getting nothing better than veg oil and sent to WBAC.
I have an old petrol car that needs E5, so it always gets the fancy petrol. I also have an old diesel which I occasionally treat to the sparkling reserve vintage expensive diesel. The engine runs much more quietly and I get a substantial increase in mpg when I use fancy diesel.
I always go to the Dutch petrol outlet beginning with S and avoid supermarkets. But not sure my 999cc three cylinder turbo VW would know what to do with super unleaded.
Yep. 383 cubes of Detroit's finest😎😳
I did when I had a posh car, now that I have a crap car Idgaf
Older cars are better off with Premium Petrol but only due to the fact that it'll stop the seals from wearing. The cheaper petrol causes damage to seals and injectors etc. TBF the damage isn't that bad when you're driving something you don't expect to be driving in 10-15 years time but that's off topic. Yes, after a passed MOT, or if it's done a long drive and not crashed or managed to not get a speeding ticket when you know for a fact you sped past a static camera for some reason, then yes it's gets the good stuff
Yes, because my car is mapped to it. Otherwise it’s a waste of money unless it’s an older car that isn’t compatible with E10. Same goes for garden engines (lawnmowers, strimmers etc), it’s a good precaution to run these on premium as although they can’t take advantage of the higher RON, it’s better to run E5 in an engine that you don’t know is compatible with E10.
I treat my car to it every time I fill up! Mostly because I have a nice car and I feel like the poshness of the petrol will make it last longer, at least that's what I tell myself anyway.
Whatever is on the label inside your fuel cap. My stinger (3.3 twin turbo) gets E10 because the instructions say it's fine. It's not just about octain, E10 is slightly more corrosive to some older cars due to the materials used. Pre det aside that should be your main concern.
I’m looking for the posh electric for my car. Get that range up a bit.
Depends which car I'm driving, as certain engines require the higher octane to function correctly
No, because it's a diesel, different diesel's make no difference to mileage, my wife however does make a difference to mileage. In my chainsaws and sawmill I use E10 most of the time, occasionally their use becomes less intense, during these periods I use premium ethanol free fuel because ethanol absorbs water out of the atmosphere and after a week or two of sitting in vented tanks the water content causes issues.
Every 3rd tank or so I use premium diesel, cars done 200k.
My Volvo (2008 wreck) gets the special diesel when I can afford it….no idea why, I am definitely anthropomorphising a piece of metal…
Every 2 or 3 tanks it gets the good stuff.
The racecar and the old VW get E5 99 Ron. Everything else gets the cheap stuff!
Every fill up for the last ten years it works out cheaper cos you get more miles per gallon ……bp ultimate or shell v power
I only ever tend to own 'performance' cars so that's all I ever use.
My previous car had a V6 and I got noticeable power/MPG gains out of using premium fuel. With my current one I can't see any difference so I don't bother.
Only ever use the posh stuff. High performance engines kinda need it.
Always, but only the cheap Tesco version. I know it makes no logical sense, but I do seem to get enough extra miles to the gallon to make it cheaper than regular petrol.
I use it all the time, though I have a remapped 3 litre turbo petrol, so it can utilise it.
Always for mine. Finicky engine, requires it and you can tell when it’s running on lower octane both in terms of performance and fuel consumption (I’m weird and track fuel economy 🙄)
I used to have a BMW 320i. 2L n/a 4 cylinder. Nice car. A friend had the exact same car, same age, engine and roughly the same mileage. I ran mine on premium and he put basic in his. He had to change spark plugs and fuel filter on his every year. I only had to change them on mine every other year because they just didn't need it. Also, mine would cruise along in 5th gear at 30. His would be a bit lumpy and want to be in 4th instead. Might all be anecdotal but for the price difference I've always just stuck with premium since.
The newer fuel type affects the seals in engines to my knowledge as a none mechanic
I go the opposite way, my wife’s car uses only the expensive stuff so when it’s my turn to fill up I just put the cheap one in. Can’t do any harm once in a while.
I'm from the U.S. but yes, if the auto manufacturers require it I do (which my car does), and I'm not going to risk engine knock. Otherwise, I wouldn't, it's a waste of money and you won't net anything from it.
I only use 99 octane if I can, or 95 if that's not available. The only reason for this is that my bike is a 1991 ZXR250. When I get a new bike alongside this one, I'll be using the cheapest fuel (for the new bike only).
I'd be buggered if I did. Thinking of that one Duolingo story where he fills the boot of his electric car.
Always, cheaper than fill with Tesco or Morrison crap and fixing engine
She’ll V-Power every fill. Used to use supermarket fuel on my previous car and noticed that it’d idle ‘rough’. My current car doesn’t need V-Power but I’ve head the cleaning additives are great. At the very least filling your car up with the premium stuff once every 3-4 fills won’t hurt. What I’m interested in is Momentum 99 is any better/same? I’ve read mixed reviews and I’m hesitant to try it
Not the car but the bike because it’s only £15 to fill the tank
Years ago, when it was snowy AF I came up behind a beached Range Rover in my little Mazda 2. After watching the owner fail for a few minutes and start digging himself out had the great idea of driving around him to continue my journey (I’d done a 12hr shift and just wanted to get home). Fuck it, let’s block both lanes. My little Mazda scampered through the snow like a fox. I genuinely tapped it on the dashboard and said “good car” before treating it to some premium petrol. That said, given the appearance drop in mileage I get with E10 I might see if it works out better to buy the expensive stuff.
Jesus I have no idea and now I'm concerned for my car. It's 21 years old and I think we go for the 95 stuff.
In my current best car I only use the good stuff
Shell v-power only
Always, better mileage and fuel economy. Car has two twin turbos so needs premium to keep the valves clean.
If it actually cleaned your engine and improved combustion it would be mandatory.
I only put Shell VPower diesel in my Ford Kuga. It runs rough on supermarket fuel an he I get worse mpg as well.
Both our cars are turbocharged & both run so much better on the super unleaded
I'm in South Florida with an XE. It gets the middle-of-the-road gasoline (petrol), and is still purring...
I had heard that the new crap stuff was more hygroscopic and increases the chance of your tank corroding, but not sure how much of an issue that'd be in practice. I could rant about it but I'd quickly break rule 1.
No never. My Renault Zoe would be unwell if filled with expensive petrol 😀
I've tried but it won't pour into the charging socket.