# Premium Diesel in an Old Engine



## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

Well, for a year I was running the Volvo (Euro 4 2.4 D5, 185 bhp) on fairly standard supermarket (a helpful little one) diesel - with a fuel station closing near by (typical in the countryside), it was nearest and easily the most convenient... the car was running fine on it, fuel economy was around the 42-45mpg mark which is book for the D5... However, I did notice a slight hesitation developing under light throttle from the car on occasions latterly, very occasional but there. This is symptomatic of the fuel injectors giving issues on these cars, and on a 200k motor I would not have been surprised, however decided to do a few wee tests on the car both at home and in the garage - garage found no stored fault codes on the ECU, no air or fuel leaks in the system and the intercooler in good health... leak back test on the injectors shows they were all on par with each other, none pushing loads of fuel back so all did seem to be fine on the standard tests...

So for fun, decided to switch fuel, in my case to BP Ultimate diesel and I did this a couple of months (about 4k miles) ago... changed the fuel filter in the process incase of any dirt in the fuel system trapped there causing an interruption in flow, and let it run for a month on the BP Ultimate, and then started to assess it giving any chance for the engine to adjust to the different fuel...

Results... 

Well, many talk of increase in performance using these fuels, can't say I notice a huge difference in performance between flooring it with Ultimate and flooring it with supermarket slop, but its an old engine now... however, light throttle pick up felt more secure, and no sign of the hesitation returning...

The big thing tho, was fuel economy... not driven any different, doing the same roads and journeys as before, on tank to tank with the calculator a jump to 48 mpg, and once 50 mpg! Higher than book for the D5, and my simple calculations suggest a 10 - 15 % decrease in fuel consumption. This may be in part to the fact the DPF cuts in less, cut in at least once a tankful on the supermarket fuel, easily half as often just now...

The Ultimate costs £1.44 a litre for me as opposed to £1.34 for standard supermarket diesel, so 7 % more expensive. But given the increase in fuel consumption, my monthly fuel bill was actually lower!! Not what I expected, but certainly a pleasant surprise... something to these fuels afterall then, using premium diesel is cheaper for me than supermarket fuel so no prizes in guessing what the Volvo will be staying on!


----------



## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

Just to add, the fuel filter that was replaced was only 6k miles old... I usually replace them every service on the car, for a part that costs under a tenner, I just do it...


----------



## Corfate (Dec 23, 2013)

I've been debating running my Vectra 1.9 CDTI on premium diesel, but it's that jump from 136.9 to 146.9 that puts me off  

Would be an ideal time i guess, new fuel filter 1k miles ago!


----------



## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

I ran mine to see if the engine's hesitation would go away, and it did... the fuel consumption decrease was a bonus  Will keep running it and keep checking the finance behind it as well, at the moment its actually cheaper running on BP Ultimate, though I've not compared to BP or Shell standard diesel but the nearest Shell garage for me is miles away compared to the others...


----------



## chillly (Jun 25, 2009)

Sounds like a win for you there Dave changing the fuel filter can make a massive improvement. As you know supermarkets sell fuel from most of the Blue chip oil companies Including BP and there additives. Im sure you would not find BP Ultimate advertised at the pumps of supermarkets. 99 Momentum is the only fuel made to there liking with additives and boosters added a little dicky bird told me.

In 21 years of being in the Perto/Chemical industry i have nor know of any petrol or diesel slops tanks which would be sold to the general public. The term slops tanks are where contaminated fuel goes to be refined back to a usable octane:thumb: if indeed it can. However i could be and quite possibly wrong on this in which case i will strangle the little dicky bird

Good to see you back on the forum again:thumb:


----------



## TOMMY_RS (Aug 2, 2010)

Sounds all good to me, I may try it on my golf tdi.


----------



## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

Slops in the above is more used as an alliterative term to go with supermarket rather than reference to the actual slop tank :thumb:

It may well be that I loose the economy advantage going to BP or Shell regular, in which case I'd end up paying more in the long run, and no supermarkets do a premium diesel... thought I remember my old 1.8 SRi Astra did run better and more efficiently on Momentum back in the day. 

While it remains cheaper, and the engine seems to be running more cleanly (from the DPF cutting in less often), I'll stick with the Ultimate for now... and continue as I have done for some time replacing the fuel filter every service... I actually do all filters every service, Volvo recommend every two services and I believe every four for the fuel filter, but they are not exactly expensive components and can make a difference.


----------



## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

TOMMY_RS said:


> Sounds all good to me, I may try it on my golf tdi.


For me, it was more a case of nothing ventured, nothing gained... the only thing I could really see it harming was my wallet, but I was just trialing it to see... in the end, its saved me a little money!


----------



## GleemSpray (Jan 26, 2014)

I use regular Shell diesel in my Golf tdi and it seems to run well, but I will try a premium/performance diesel and see if it makes a difference. 

Might be several weeks before I fill up again tho.. Lol


----------



## stuartr (Mar 11, 2014)

Odd you should mention this subject as I've changed about a full tank ago to the premium too, it was a chance discussion with a taxi driver who was taking me home and he told me he was running all his taxi's on the premium diesels for the same reason, more MPG and overall savings.
I need to run mine more since it was about 1/4 when I topped up (don't like the needle getting too low) but the next fill it should be neat.


----------



## djgregory (Apr 2, 2013)

It normally takes at least 3 or 4 tanks before you start seeing a difference as the ECU adjusts to the fuel, you wont see anything after 1 tank.


----------



## chillly (Jun 25, 2009)

Very true supermarkets do not advertise selling a premium diesel as they sell what they buy from oil companies including BP. And Oil Terminals only have Diesel Tanks and ive never seen a Tiger in any of them as esso once claimed. Im sure if most of us say to our selves this new fuel im using will make my car go faster we will subconsciously believe it. ( Maybe )  And of course when trying new things we unintentionally subconsciously make an extra effort to prove this to our selves, in which case most will drive slower unintentionally and not aware we are doing it but doing it all the same. Again a ( Maybe ) 

A £10,000 wax will make my car shiner than a £100 wax springs to mind. Again nice to see you back.


----------



## Caledoniandream (Oct 9, 2009)

Correct all diesel comes from the refineries around the country, if you have a look in Grangemouth, you will actually see at the BP refinery (now Ineos) tankers leaving with Esso, BP, Jet, Tesco, Asda, Shell, you name it and it comes from there> 
However the Shell V power Nitro+ and the BP Ultimate are actually created in a different process, and are made by cracking Gas instead of cracking oil. 
If you smell a car, running on V power or Ultimate you will immediately smell the difference. 
The process is more expensive but creates a cleaner fuel, which burns cleaner and for that reason better. 
Also is in the Shell Fuel save and Nitro+ added some cleaning additive. 
if you have a car with emission problems run it a tank or 2 on V power and you will see improvement ( or there is something else serious wrong) 

So while you see all the makes of Fuel, filling up at the same refinery, they don't all get the same quality, and many of the additives are added on the end of the process, e.g. just before it gets in the tanker. 

Premium fuel is what is says on the tin, or do you really think the Supermarkets wouldn't advertise that their fuel was as good as these premium fuels, for less money if this was not the case??

I don't think so!

I use premium fuels for a long time, and it defiantly gives different results, not always enough to make it pay, but I can see it's better for my engine. 

it makes me laugh to think that people here spend 500-1000 pound a year on different waxes and polishes, but save 7 pond on a fuel tank of fuel (if you have a big car like my Kuga) 
I can actually fill up 142 times before I spend a Grand more on fuel, no problem for me as I want the best, and will not buy Swisswax BOS, but a big jar of Colli 476 instead :lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:


----------



## Vossman (Aug 5, 2010)

I for one have noticed a difference, 450ish miles to a tank on Asda fuel compared to 600 miles on BP Ultimate, same journeys and driving style mostly on cruise control, plus I noticed it was running a lot smoother on tickover, with Asda fuel I had an annoying vibration in the cabin as you would expect from a diesel but with the BP Ultimate now under way the tickover is a lot smoother, fuel is more expensive but overall on a full tank of 60 litres its only six quid, that's not even two pints of good lager. Oh and much much less noticeable smoke on booting it as well.


----------



## Brigham1806 (Apr 1, 2011)

In agree premium fuels are great. I've run my cars on shell v-power for the last 40k over my last few cars. Makes a great difference.


----------



## Ross (Apr 25, 2007)

Id love some V power in the Legacy,only thing I an get in Shetland is 95 RON


----------



## millns84 (Jul 5, 2009)

I've never run premium diesel through an old engine but have used it in all three of the dervs I've owned and found an increase in MPG and smoother running of the engines.

One thing I would say though is that adding the Millers Diesel Power Ecomax to the tank gives the same results as using premium diesel (excluding supermarket diesel - the improvement isn't as noticeable) but at a lower cost.


----------



## millns84 (Jul 5, 2009)

Ross said:


> Id love some V power in the Legacy,only thing I an get in Shetland is 95 RON


Call me a sceptic but this new V-Power Nitro doesn't seem as good in either the Ibiza or the Panda than Tesco Momentum whereas older V-Power did seem a little smoother.


----------



## Sh1ner (May 19, 2012)

Vossman said:


> I for one have noticed a difference, 450ish miles to a tank on Asda fuel compared to 600 miles on BP Ultimate, same journeys and driving style mostly on cruise control, plus I noticed it was running a lot smoother on tickover, with Asda fuel I had an annoying vibration in the cabin as you would expect from a diesel but with the BP Ultimate now under way the tickover is a lot smoother, fuel is more expensive but overall on a full tank of 60 litres its only six quid, that's not even two pints of good lager. Oh and much much less noticeable smoke on booting it as well.


Pretty much my experience too. A friend said to try it. I laughed. Usual tankfull was 600 to 650 miles now 680 to 730 on BP Ultimate. On a 250,000 mile Peugeot XUD engine. Wasn't expecting that at all. Very eggy face.


----------



## Nanoman (Jan 17, 2009)

Very interesting thread...

I've got a 130k mile x-trail which I thought was developing a hesitation but I wasn't sure if I was imagining it. After 3000-4000 miles of this it went into limp mode - pull over, turn off, restart and it works. 

It then went into limp mode more and more often. When it did it 3 times in 60 miles I decided enough was enough but having just moved into a house which needed major renovation I was dreading the bill. I went to halfords and bought a £25 bottle of redex... I've done 2-3 thousand miles since and it's been fine. Still seems to have slight hesitation sometimes but no limp mode.


----------



## Cookies (Dec 10, 2008)

A few years back I owned a Peugeot 406 2.0 HDi in 90 bhp guise. I live at teh top of a hill and the car could not climb the hill all the way in 3rd gear, on occasion I'd have tp drop down to second gear. I started using BP ultimate in it and after a few tanks i could make it all the way to the house in 3rd!! Proof enough for me to keep using it in all my cars since!!

Cooks


----------



## nokia (Mar 3, 2009)

+1 for premium diesel from Shell or BP.

I also wack in 250ml of 2 stroke low ash engine oil. Looks after the diesel pump and injectors.


----------



## djgregory (Apr 2, 2013)

Its an illusion in your head that makes you think its better and your getting "higher" MPG.


----------



## Christian6984 (Dec 20, 2007)

When I ran my fiesta TD with 121k on shell was very lively and when my mum got hold (nearly 165k by this point) of it ran it on rubbish from the local garage (Carlton fuels?) never measured economy but it made it slow and sluggish and wouldn't exceed 70 mph moved it back to shell with a bit of redex and the performance returned after a short while. Neither was the premium diesel but would say in standard form the shell diesel was far far better.


----------



## Vossman (Aug 5, 2010)

djgregory said:


> Its an illusion in your head that makes you think its better and your getting "higher" MPG.


The only illusion I see is on a spreadsheet of fuel figures over the last year, taken from the cars computer and from zero tripping full tank to full tank, if I was an illusionist I would be on tv.


----------



## Steve (Mar 18, 2014)

Premium fuels do work better. Ive personally found shell fuels and esso's supereme fuel is much better for mpg and just general smoothness :thumb:


----------



## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

Vossman said:


> The only illusion I see is on a spreadsheet of fuel figures over the last year, taken from the cars computer and from zero tripping full tank to full tank, if I was an illusionist I would be on tv.


As above... my increased mpg has been consistent, is remaining consistent and is calculated rather than "imagined" :thumb:


----------



## stuartr (Mar 11, 2014)

I seem to recall but years ago on the way to either rally or a track race the competitors used to all go for the same make of fuel (shell, esso, bp or whomever it was) believing that their fuel was better in some way than the competitors.
Some say that even standard fuel from the main players, although more expensive, is better than supermarket


----------



## djgregory (Apr 2, 2013)

Vossman said:


> The only illusion I see is on a spreadsheet of fuel figures over the last year, taken from the cars computer and from zero tripping full tank to full tank, if I was an illusionist I would be on tv.


Take into consideration changes in wind speed, different roads, different lanes, stop start, busy times, temperature and i very much doubt there is any difference for standard cars.


----------



## Caledoniandream (Oct 9, 2009)

djgregory said:


> Take into consideration changes in wind speed, different roads, different lanes, stop start, busy times, temperature and i very much doubt there is any difference for standard cars.


It would be if it was over 1 trip, however the last 350.000 miles has proofed difference. 
also my previous Mondeo 2.2 ST TDCI never needed anything in 100k, no EGR, no turbo no anything, and funny enough the oil stayed much cleaner.


----------



## Franzpan (Mar 2, 2009)

Cookies said:


> A few years back I owned a Peugeot 406 2.0 HDi in 90 bhp guise. I live at teh top of a hill and the car could not climb the hill all the way in 3rd gear, on occasion I'd have tp drop down to second gear. I started using BP ultimate in it and after a few tanks i could make it all the way to the house in 3rd!! Proof enough for me to keep using it in all my cars since!!
> 
> Cooks


I used to have a 307 with the 2.0HDI 90 as well, I could notice a good improvment going uo our massive hill when running on BP Ultimate. Didn't make any noticeable difference in performance elsewhere but the engine seemed to run slighty smoother on it.

My next car was a C30 D5 but the diesel prices had sky rocketed when I owned it so it only got the normal stuff. What a lovely engine though, such a lovely engine note of it for a diesel. The 5cyl was such a great engine in comparison to any 4cyl with the equivilant output.


----------



## w138pbo (Jul 10, 2013)

on my mk6 golf tdi i gained over 4mpg on a 100mile daily trip to work using v-power.

did a terraclean now get an extra 7mpg on v-power over tesco/morrisions diesel and also pulls alot harder and lost the hesitation in 5th at low revs.


----------



## Cookies (Dec 10, 2008)

Franzpan said:


> I used to have a 307 with the 2.0HDI 90 as well, I could notice a good improvment going uo our massive hill when running on BP Ultimate. Didn't make any noticeable difference in performance elsewhere but the engine seemed to run slighty smoother on it.
> 
> My next car was a C30 D5 but the diesel prices had sky rocketed when I owned it so it only got the normal stuff. What a lovely engine though, such a lovely engine note of it for a diesel. The 5cyl was such a great engine in comparison to any 4cyl with the equivilant output.


A friend had a d3 5 cylinder in the s80 and it sounded amazing. I agree about the hdi -,no real difference in performance but it picked up the revs more smoothly.


----------



## Cookies (Dec 10, 2008)

w138pbo said:


> on my mk6 golf tdi i gained over 4mpg on a 100mile daily trip to work using v-power.
> 
> did a terraclean now get an extra 7mpg on v-power over tesco/morrisions diesel and also pulls alot harder and lost the hesitation in 5th at low revs.


Mind if I ask how many miles you have on your golf. I was tempted by a terraclean on my Passat with 70k on it, but then I sold it instead. Sounds like it's a great job.

Cooks


----------



## lowejackson (Feb 23, 2006)

I may be missing something but it seems to me the significant element of change is down to replacing an old fuel filter


----------



## chillly (Jun 25, 2009)

Does anyone have any figures/tests/videos from *oil companies* showing you there/your figures of proof?? I dont mean jo diesel showing you a video on utube or a test on someones rolling road i mean from the *oil companies*??

I would be the first person to buy a fuel that significantly increases fuel economy beyond the cost of buying it:thumb:


----------



## Cookies (Dec 10, 2008)

I don't need any more proof than what I have and I'm content to use the 'better' fuel on that basis. If you want to do some digging to prove me wrong then fire away. 
Cheers 
Cooks


----------



## Steve (Mar 18, 2014)

w138pbo said:


> on my mk6 golf tdi i gained over 4mpg on a 100mile daily trip to work using v-power.
> 
> did a terraclean now get an extra 7mpg on v-power over tesco/morrisions diesel and also pulls alot harder and lost the hesitation in 5th at low revs.


What is the terraclean business?


----------



## m1pui (Jul 24, 2009)

lowejackson said:


> I may be missing something but it seems to me the significant element of change is down to replacing an old fuel filter


Dave said already that he changes the fuel filter pretty regularly (think he said the "old one" was only 6 months old) so I'd have thought that any negative effect of a dirty filter would be fairly minimal and would be balanced out over the course of the testing.

Could argue what you're saying if it had been a one tank wonder test, but over a period of time it should give a pretty fair illustration.

Edit: quick flick back and the new filter is 4k miles old and the old filter was changed after 6k.


----------



## XtrailAndy (Oct 14, 2013)

I run my Nissan X-Trail ( 2005 2.2dCi 103,321 miles) on Shell V-Power Nitro+ and I get between 43 - 45mpg, on the cheap Supermarket diesel I used to get between 38 - 40mpg.


----------



## lowejackson (Feb 23, 2006)

m1pui said:


> Dave said already that he changes the fuel filter pretty regularly (think he said the "old one" was only 6 months old) so I'd have thought that any negative effect of a dirty filter would be fairly minimal and would be balanced out over the course of the testing.
> 
> Could argue what you're saying if it had been a one tank wonder test, but over a period of time it should give a pretty fair illustration.
> 
> Edit: quick flick back and the new filter is 4k miles old and the old filter was changed after 6k.


Quite right, my old brain failed me with this one


----------



## Andyg_TSi (Sep 6, 2013)

Use Tesco Momentum 99 petrol in mine, just as good as v power or BP ultimate, but cheaper.


----------



## Christian6984 (Dec 20, 2007)

sjk said:


> What is the terraclean business?


http://www.terraclean.co.uk


----------



## Steve (Mar 18, 2014)

Christian6984 said:


> http://www.terraclean.co.uk


How much did they screw you for this ..

Not convinced personally but each to there own


----------



## Christian6984 (Dec 20, 2007)

sjk said:


> What is the terraclean business?





sjk said:


> How much did they screw you for this ..
> 
> Not convinced personally but each to there own


Never had it done, I thought you were askin what it was, my bad if you were after how much it costs?


----------



## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

As above, I changed the filter as a matter of course as there was a slight intermittent hesitation from the engine, so was simply covering all bases there... Even when the "old filter" was newly fitted, the mpg was lower than it currently is...

For what it is worth, I have just driven from Perthsire to Reading today and averaged damn near 50mpg, and I was not hanging around doing 56mph to get the best economy, I was driving normally (and was also stuck in queues at Stoke for an accident so it had a fair bit of stop start as well)...

I notice a couple mentioning the good old D5 engine, I do like the 5cyl diesel - lovely engine note, and a strong engine that makes motorway cruising blissful


----------



## w138pbo (Jul 10, 2013)

Got the terraclean at work done mine for free.

Have had a few diesels fail on emissions even after a good thrash up the motorway still fail.
Did one today was 6.23 after a trashing droped to 5.43 did a terraclean droped to 0.89.when from visable smoke no no smoke. 

Dont really notice any gain on a petrol ones.


----------



## james_death (Aug 9, 2010)

You could add the Archoil 6200 to supermarket fuel..

http://www.powerenhancer.co.uk/sear...140f2f193df4d99ece7d133a&xSearch=6200&x=0&y=0


----------



## millns84 (Jul 5, 2009)

chillly said:


> Does anyone have any figures/tests/videos from *oil companies* showing you there/your figures of proof?? I dont mean jo diesel showing you a video on utube or a test on someones rolling road i mean from the *oil companies*??
> 
> I would be the first person to buy a fuel that significantly increases fuel economy beyond the cost of buying it:thumb:


Google Tesco Momentum tests - they found a 6% increase in fuel economy over standard unleaded IIRC.


----------



## nick_mcuk (Jan 4, 2008)

I filled the Saab up with Esso Premium Diesel tonight so I will report back on the findings...I log ever tank of fuel using the Road Trip App..It actually only cost £6 more to fill it up with the Premium over regular so as Dave said if it gets me extra MPG and miles then its a good compromise.

One thing Dave you mentioned about the DPF cutting in an out....I will admit I haven't read all 5 pages of this thread but I am a little confused by what you mean by the DPF cutting in and out...I don't see how this is possible as the DPF is like a catalytic converter but for Diesels....its not something that "cuts in an out" its always in line in the exhaust.


----------



## Sh1ner (May 19, 2012)

Modern diesels will have a DPF and a Cat.
The dpf honeycomb fills up with particulates and is back pressure sensitive once the dpf is not passing gas as quickly as it should and a certain set of parameters are met, engine temp, 5 miles at over 50 mph, oil temp etc then extra fuel or a cleaner from a separate tank is injected into the DPF to raise the temperature of the honeycomb, burn off the deposits and clean the honeycomb. The cat then deals, as it normally would, with the chemicals produced oxides of nitrogen, carbon, hydrogen and others, to turn it into something less harmful to the planet, Nitrogen and oxygen.
If I remember correctly the grot and some of the hydrogen is recombined within the cat/exhaust freeing the oxygen in a different molecular form. There are different types of Oxygen and they are apparently not the same.
It all seems like a pretty good system in theory until it fails and then costs and arm and a leg to fix.


----------



## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

As above really, Nick - the DPF "regenerates" once it reaches a certain level and if the engine is running cleaner, it will regenerate less often (ie clean itself less often). Although the manual states you will not notice the DPF enterring a regen cycle, you most certainly do in my car as the fuel economy drops sharply (it injects extra diesel in the D5) and the engine takes on a slightly more gravelly tone, you can also smell it when you park up, a smell not unlike burning clutch. 

In the near 200k miles I have had the car, the DPF has never given any issues other than harming fuel economy when it regenerates, and at the moment it enters the regen cycles less often.


----------



## w138pbo (Jul 10, 2013)

Cookies said:


> Mind if I ask how many miles you have on your golf. I was tempted by a terraclean on my Passat with 70k on it, but then I sold it instead. Sounds like it's a great job.
> 
> Cooks


first did it at 60k then just did it again at 70k.

done it on quite a few diesels and all have seen some benefit from it.

the petrol version don't see much benefit on most cars ive done.


----------



## James_R (Jun 28, 2007)

Best ever tankful i got out of super unleaded petrol in the CR-Z was 58.93 over 400 and something miles.

Shell V-Power Nitro +

Usually get around 54mpg on 95 ron, and averaged over 400 and something miles, I think its a fair representation that.
<10% difference though, and the Nitro is about 7% more expensive per litre


----------



## nick_mcuk (Jan 4, 2008)

Dave KG said:


> As above really, Nick - the DPF "regenerates" once it reaches a certain level and if the engine is running cleaner, it will regenerate less often (ie clean itself less often). Although the manual states you will not notice the DPF enterring a regen cycle, you most certainly do in my car as the fuel economy drops sharply (it injects extra diesel in the D5) and the engine takes on a slightly more gravelly tone, you can also smell it when you park up, a smell not unlike burning clutch.
> 
> In the near 200k miles I have had the car, the DPF has never given any issues other than harming fuel economy when it regenerates, and at the moment it enters the regen cycles less often.


Ahhh I now I know what you mean....sorry your original post confused me.

Yeah I know what you mean about the DPF clean cycle my old 2010 A6 TDIe used to do it and yep MPG would drop and also the engine would run much hotter and the cooling fan would be on at random times!

Never had the clutch burning smell but it did have a strange "hot chemically" smell to the exhaust....was never that fussed though as it was a company lease car 

The 93 actually got an advisory on the MOT that the readings on the exhaust were so low that they couldnt actually get a reading....will be interesting to see how the TTiD (twin turbo derv) performs on the premium fuel though.

Your point of it costing £6 more a tank is valid though if its getitng 3-5mph more then its well worth while....


----------



## RedUntilDead (Feb 10, 2009)

made the switch to shell v power (is it called nitro now?) not long after buying her car (e92 diesel) and can honestly say mpg never changed and engine running was the same.
I still persist with using it as the cleaner burn can only be good for the dpf:thumb:
Cant explain it but due to my local shell closing (I fill up en route to work)I have switched to BP regular petrol and my little fiesta zetec is running smoother. It had a little hesitation under hard acceleration which has now gone? even the missus has mentioned this:doublesho. Couldnt tell you about mpg as this has no trip computer and Im not sitting down and working it out.


----------



## w138pbo (Jul 10, 2013)

nick_mcuk said:


> Ahhh I now I know what you mean....sorry your original post confused me.
> 
> Yeah I know what you mean about the DPF clean cycle my old 2010 A6 TDIe used to do it and yep MPG would drop and also the engine would run much hotter and the cooling fan would be on at random times!
> 
> ...


nearly ever 2008 onwards diesel i test now that are limited in neutral are so clean the machine cant get a reading so get advised.


----------



## Bigpikle (May 21, 2007)

are these premium fuels likely to deliver as much to brand new cars do you think? Willing to give it a try if it might be cost effective - have a new VAG 2.0tdi 170 with 450 miles on it so no fuel economy yardstick yet.


----------



## nick_mcuk (Jan 4, 2008)

So the verdict in on the first tank of premium diesel in my 2009 Saab 93 AERO TTiD Auto.

Mariginally better MPG...we are talking 0.30-0.40mpg better so not great but this is the first tank, I have filled it back up today with premium again so will see.

Couple of things I have noticed are, its running smoother and acceleration is more responsive and "perky" (not that its exactly slow being a twin turbo anyhow!!)

Will be interested to see what this 2nd tank delivers...its actually only £4.99 a tank more to use the premium over the std so its not a mahooosive hike even if I dont get any increases in MPG.


----------



## Corfate (Dec 23, 2013)

I put half a tank of Vpower into half a tank of normal diesel, which was probably pointless lol. 

Will fully fill it up with Vpower Diesel tomorrow and keep an eye on any differences. Hope it's not a placebo effect.


----------



## Bigpikle (May 21, 2007)

watching carefully :thumb:


----------



## nick_mcuk (Jan 4, 2008)

So update for you all....just filled the car up with its 3rd tank of premium Derv tonight....this last tank I got a massive 568 miles out of it with 40 still showing on the DTE display. Average MPG was 46.16mpg that is the highest i have had out of the TTID yet!

I the best I have managed on regular BP Derv was 44.49 and that did 530 miles

So so far for the extra £4-5 it costs to use premium derv over regular and i get 2mpg more and close to 40 miles extra its worth it the added bonus is that the car runs tonnes better and goes like super stink now 

So I am with DaveKG on this one....it deffo makes a difference!

Next test will be in the Jeep and seeing if the BP Ultimate Unleaded can ween me a few more MPG out of a tank than the usual 16-18mpg....but the it is a 4.7L V8


----------



## millns84 (Jul 5, 2009)

nick_mcuk said:


> Next test will be in the Jeep and seeing if the BP Ultimate Unleaded can ween me a few more MPG out of a tank than the usual 16-18mpg....but the it is a 4.7L V8


Every car I've owned has run better on V-Power and Tesco Momentum compared with BP Ultimate. The 97RON supers aren't as good IMO.

Also, since Shell reformulated V-Power, it's not been as good as momentum, again IMO.


----------



## nick_mcuk (Jan 4, 2008)

Jeep normally just gets normal UL as it has a worse drinking habit than the late George Best!!

205 gets BP Ultimate Unleaded seems to run better on it, dont have a shell near us so i rarely use V-Power now


----------



## millns84 (Jul 5, 2009)

How about Momentum then? Greenergy make it for Tesco and it's decent stuff, only 5p more per litre too.

There's also the added bonus of 20p off using your clubcard. I paid 112.9p last week


----------



## Corfate (Dec 23, 2013)

Main thing i've noticed with mine is it's alot quieter on idle than it was before, which can only be a good thing!


----------



## nick_mcuk (Jan 4, 2008)

millns84 said:


> How about Momentum then? Greenergy make it for Tesco and it's decent stuff, only 5p more per litre too.
> 
> There's also the added bonus of 20p off using your clubcard. I paid 112.9p last week


I have used it but again the nearest tesco's petrol station is miles away and we dont shop at Tesco...but nectar points are all good 



Corfate said:


> Main thing i've noticed with mine is it's alot quieter on idle than it was before, which can only be a good thing!


Agreed you Vectra has pretty much the same engine as in my 93 (assuming its the CDI) bar the twin turbos.


----------



## sfstu (Aug 3, 2010)

Been following this thread with interest and been thinking along going down the same route using premium diesel in my Volvo...:thumb:
I do roughly 50 miles a day, 45 of which are m/way or fast A roads.

Just read this though...why-you-should-avoid-using-premium-diesel

Rgds Stu


----------



## nick_mcuk (Jan 4, 2008)

Well I am going take some of the claims with a pinch in that article as i have disproved the MPG claim...i have no smoke from the exhaust and the car is running quieter and smoother.


----------



## Corfate (Dec 23, 2013)

To be honest, mine only emits a puff of white smoke occasionally when i turn it on after standing for a couple of days. 

No black smoke or any smoke for that matter when i boot it 

And yes, it's the 1.9 CDTI 150


----------



## Brigham1806 (Apr 1, 2011)

I use vpower nitro+ diesel and have noticed a big difference. So much so I have been using it over the last 2 years and 26000 miles. 

With regards to the link posted above, claiming manufactures don't approve it. My local dealer at Mercedes recommend it. They even tell you when calling them up during there hold function.


----------



## nick_mcuk (Jan 4, 2008)

Corfate said:


> To be honest, mine only emits a puff of white smoke occasionally when i turn it on after standing for a couple of days.
> 
> No black smoke or any smoke for that matter when i boot it
> 
> And yes, it's the 1.9 CDTI 150


I get nothing out of the Saab it's bizarre it even got an advisory on the MOT because all the readings were so low they couldn't measure it.


----------



## Techgeek (Jun 7, 2007)

The mrs old x5 smoked a lot on regular diesel clearly visible in the mirror when you get a move on, couldn't see a drop on ultimate or v power, quieter and smoother though but no difference in mpg at all, on the remapped decatted 2.0 altea using premium gets 2-3 mpg better plus very noticeably quieter and smoother so its a no brainer.


----------



## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

Well now I have a new engine to run the fuel in... we'll see how a Subaru Boxer Diesel runs on premium fuel, apparently they are quite sensitive to the fuel used.


----------



## nick_mcuk (Jan 4, 2008)

Dave KG said:


> Well now I have a new engine to run the fuel in... we'll see how a Subaru Boxer Diesel runs on premium fuel, apparently they are quite sensitive to the fuel used.


That will be at least 10k before that's bedded in and settled down then. 😃


----------



## nick_mcuk (Jan 4, 2008)

Update on how I am getting on with running the 93 TTiD on the premium derv...this last tank has been my best ever yet. 591 Miles covered (30 something miles left of the trip till empty how thats possible when it took 56.3L to fill up and its only a 58L tank!!) with a calculated average of 47.65MPG so a gnats whisker off 48mpg.

Same driving style with the odd blast to make sure both turbo's are still working!

This will be the 5th tank of premium fuel and I have seen the MPG increase on each tank (except the last one as it went into the garage to have a noise investigated that would have involved them giving it some stick to diagnose).

So all in all it roughly works out at around £3-4 more to fill it up with premium fuel but I get on average 55-60 more miles out of each tank....and it runs better.

TANK FULL OF WIN!!


----------



## Steve (Mar 18, 2014)

So at last people realize it works


----------



## pantypoos (Aug 7, 2014)

*An alternative*

I bought my new car at the end of March and since then it has covered just over 3500 miles. At the start of August I decided to work out how much those 3500 miles had cost me in fuel, it worked out at just £55. 

HOW?? - i hear you say...

Well, i decided to stop burning dinosaurs and bought myself an electric Nissan Leaf. It really is a great car that is very cheap to run and if you can live with the 80miles or so range then i can highly recommend it. 

Sorry this is a bit off topic, i just wanted to show off!


----------



## nick_mcuk (Jan 4, 2008)

80mile range is useless for me I do 90-100 just driving to the office and back!

Besides all these electric cars are actually only just moving the pollution to somewhere else...electricity needs to be generated somehow and that normally involves burning massive amounts of fossil fuel...then you have the fact that the batteries in the electric cars are so toxic when they come to the end of their serviceable life the processing of said heavy metals and chemicals is extremely harmful and energy inefficient!

So really electric cars are not a solution they merely move the issues elsewhere!


----------



## Steve (Mar 18, 2014)

pantypoos said:


> I bought my new car at the end of March and since then it has covered just over 3500 miles. At the start of August I decided to work out how much those 3500 miles had cost me in fuel, it worked out at just £55.
> 
> HOW?? - i hear you say...
> 
> ...


When the oil runs out. Might consider it.

Until then wouldnt be seen dead in one :thumb:


----------



## nick_mcuk (Jan 4, 2008)

Steve said:


> When the oil runs out. Might consider it.
> 
> Until then wouldnt be seen dead in one :thumb:


LOL damn straight and thats why I have a 4.7L V8 Jeep sat on the drive.....I always feel the urge to blip the throttle when I go past a Prius or Eco fluffy car in it too....is that bad?


----------



## pantypoos (Aug 7, 2014)

nick_mcuk said:


> 80mile range is useless for me I do 90-100 just driving to the office and back!
> 
> Besides all these electric cars are actually only just moving the pollution to somewhere else...electricity needs to be generated somehow and that normally involves burning massive amounts of fossil fuel...then you have the fact that the batteries in the electric cars are so toxic when they come to the end of their serviceable life the processing of said heavy metals and chemicals is extremely harmful and energy inefficient!
> 
> So really electric cars are not a solution they merely move the issues elsewhere!


Still it's a hell of a lot cheaper to run than the gas guzzlers!

If you need more range then the Tesla S may be the leccy car for you - 250 mile range (shame about the £60k price tag)!

p.s. When the batteries come to the end of their useful life in cars they get reused for storing electricty generated by wind power before it is fed back to the grid. And the electicity used to power the cars can be generated by green methods, and even if it is generated using fossil fuels it still produces less CO2 than burning it in a car engine.


----------



## pantypoos (Aug 7, 2014)

nick_mcuk said:


> LOL damn straight and thats why I have a 4.7L V8 Jeep sat on the drive.....I always feel the urge to blip the throttle when I go past a Prius or Eco fluffy car in it too....is that bad?


LOL That must be to try and choke the driver to death with your smelly fumes!!! :lol: Coz with 280Nm (210 ft lb) of instant torque the leaf is pretty nippy!

To be honest, i didn't buy the car for its eco credentials i bought it because it is such a cheap car to run and i like to stay abreast of new technology.

You'll all be driving them soon  :thumb:

Ohh just noticed, i'm no longer an unwashed member - i'm now a proud SPONGE JOCKEY, yay!


----------



## richardaudi0 (Aug 18, 2008)

Most VAG independents say DO NOT use supermarket diesel as they get more problems with engines suffering from carbon build-up. They say even using ordinary fuel from a major company such as Shell or BP is infinitely better than supermarket fuel, which doesn't have all the necessary additives in it to prevent clogging up, hence the cheaper price.


----------

