# The V-Power vs Supermarket Challenge



## sirkuk (Mar 5, 2012)

To satisfy the whole premium vs supermarket fuel challenge I'm going to run my derv (Honda Civic 2.2) on nothing but Shell V-Power Diesel for a month and see how it compares to the bog standard supermarket stuff I was running it on previously. Some of you might be interested, some of you will probably take it with a pinch of salt and others will want to make up your own mind about it and already have your own opinions and ideas on the subject. Fine by me but it satisfies my curiousity to what is a can of worms.

I've had my derv just over a month and it's ran on a mix of BP and supermarket fuel up until now. I can't say I've noticed a difference between the BP and supermarket fuel and was getting about 50MPG out of both on average. I don't usually do any other driving than my commute to work and usually go through a tank a week.

Anyway, I found a Shell garage on Friday and filled up with V-Power diesel. It's a bit soon to tell if it's made a difference but first impressions; I got 54MPG on the 40 miles drive home from the garage but this dropped to 46MPG on the car's read out over the weekend as I had a fair bit of stop start driving (it's out of the ordinary for my car to be driven on the weekend) so this week's tank might not be the best to take on the MPG results front. Also, I don't know if it's just a placebo effect, but light throttle response seems to be slightly improved after 100 miles. Like I said though, it's still too early to tell.

I shall keep you posted. Hope this is of interest to someone 

*Update:*

*Fill up 15/03/12*
*Distance:* 454.4 miles
*Trip Computer:* 48.7MPG
*Actual:* 47.63MPG
*Filled up by:* 43.37L
*Comments:* Car is quieter and feels smoother. Light throttle response is improved.

*Fill up 21/03/12*
*Distance:* 450.6 miles
*Trip Computer:* 52.3MPG
*Actual:* 51.1MPG
*Filled up by:* 40.05L
*Comments:* Same as last week. Never seen 51MPG before at fill up. Only a marginal improvement to what I used to get but an improvement. I did however see up to 60MPG on the trip computer coming home (this was about 20 miles after filling up). Got home with 58MPG on the display. Could things still improve?

*Fill up 27/03/12*
*Distance:* 438.3miles
*Trip Computer:* 54.1MPG
*Actual:* 51.29MPG
*Filled up by:* 38.91L
*Comments:* Big difference between what the trip computer reported and the actual. I somehow don't think I'm going to see much better so economy isn't the biggest selling point for premium diesel although there's no doubt it has improved over supermarket diesel. Engine is quieter and smoother than when I first started this thread so I would say it's doing it some good too.

*Fill up 02/04/12*
*Distance:* 463.1miles
*Trip Computer:* 52.9MPG
*Actual:* 50.66MPG
*Filled up by:* 41.56L
*Comments:* I was working away from my usual work site this week so I expected a slight difference in fuel economy & I took advantage of the dual carriageway to blow the cob webs out. Not much else to report that I haven't said already. I think we can agree there's an improvement in fuel economy with V-Power by now. I was going to fill up Friday with V-Power but I changed my mind when I saw the queue. Went to fill up tonight and V-Power had sold out so *this week will be on Shell's Regular Fuel Save Diesel*. Drove ~40 miles so far on regular diesel. I'm not too sure if I feel a difference yet but I thought the car didn't seem so eager from 55mph in 6th gear. Economy on trip computer is currently showing 57MPG, which could be as a result of V-Power diesel clearning the crap out if the blurb is true. Next fill up will be the last update for a while as I have time off work but should be interesting to see the difference.

*Fill up 10/04/12*
*Distance:* 443 miles
*Trip Computer:* 52.1MPG
*Actual:* 49.24MPG
*Filled up by:* 40.9L
*Comments:* This tank was back on regular diesel. At first, I would say car didn't feel quite as eager under heavier loads but not in such a way the car felt "unhealthy" but there was a subtle difference. MPG figure shows a slight drop to roughly what I was getting previously. I don't know if it was just coincidence but EGR related judder seemed a little more exaggerated when it did occur.


----------



## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

I've never thought diesels had a throttle response  i've tried V Power diesel in mine (when i had a diesel) and to me it made no difference over standard shell diesel. But I don believe standard Shell diesel is better than supermarket fuel


----------



## DIESEL DAVE (Jul 26, 2007)

SteveTDCi said:


> I've never thought diesels had a throttle response  i've tried V Power diesel in mine (when i had a diesel) and to me it made no difference over standard shell diesel. But I don believe standard Shell diesel is better than supermarket fuel


I believe the opposite and use nowt else but V-Power diesel but

each to their own, I wouldn`t bother trying to convert anyone.


----------



## vRS Carl (Aug 14, 2011)

I found in my Mapped PD140 that BP Ultimate Diseasel and V-Power Diseasel gave better MPG by about 5mpg compared to normal diseasel.

Power wise i'm not sure there was any difference. Certainly non that could be felt however the pickup did seem to be smoother:thumb:


----------



## silverback (Jun 18, 2008)

i wouldnt go near supermarket fuel,but with the price of diesel and these 15p,10p, off a litre vouchers,well i have gone with tesco for my last two fill ups


----------



## Rob_Quads (Jul 17, 2006)

Make sure you do all your calculations using the fill up measurements than relying on any trip computers.

You will probably only just get into the region of being able to test it properly. Normally it take a few tanks worth for the ECU to fully adjust to the fuel. Also make sure when you switch you have it down low, the more left in the more you affect the results.


----------



## DIESEL DAVE (Jul 26, 2007)

Haha I never get tired of posting this


----------



## Dixondmn (Oct 12, 2007)

Siruk - good idea, thanks for offering to do this, i look forward to the updates.


----------



## Alzak (Aug 31, 2010)

I use to put "normal" diesel in my car for 3 years and for 12 months in car which I own now.

After switching to v-power I get around 40-50 miles more on one tank...


----------



## Audriulis (Dec 17, 2009)

My civic does 30-40 miles more per tank with BP Ultimate, compared to normal diesel


----------



## R7KY D (Feb 16, 2010)

BP Ultimate d every time and a little drop of cetane booster


----------



## Gruffs (Dec 10, 2007)

The issue with these fuels for me is not the performance. It's the price.

I've done my maths on this. The cut off is 50 miles. If you get 50 miles more per tank, then at 10p per litre more, the cost is about the same per mile. So with the added benefits, it works out OK. If however, you get less than 50p, the cheaper stuff is more economically viable. 

now, I know personally of several diesel engines that have gone well over 250000 miles on the regular stuff and the other bits of the car have fallen off first.

5p per litre would make much more sense to me.

But, given that ordinary diesel is made to a standard that is more than adequate, you have to ask if it's worth it. Especially if you change your car regularly, you are just looking after it for someone else.


----------



## alan_mcc (Oct 28, 2008)

DIESEL DAVE said:


> Haha I never get tired of posting this
> Fifth Gear - series 15 episode 4, premium diesel test - YouTube


Shell V-Power - 100.9p per litre

Good times :lol:


----------



## DIESEL DAVE (Jul 26, 2007)

alan_mcc said:


> Shell V-Power - 100.9p per litre
> 
> Good times :lol:


Haha is that what was ?

About 3 weeks ago weren`t it


----------



## Dixondmn (Oct 12, 2007)

Gruffs said:


> The issue with these fuels for me is not the performance. It's the price.
> 
> I've done my maths on this. The cut off is 50 miles. If you get 50 miles more per tank, then at 10p per litre more, the cost is about the same per mile. So with the added benefits, it works out OK. If however, you get less than 50p, the cheaper stuff is more economically viable.
> 
> ...


even if there were no economy benefits, the additional cost is between £2.50 and £3.50 per tank. Assuming you're not doing thousands of miles per week we're talking about less than the cost of a decent pint.

just my tuppence, but i swear its worth the money, just to see the emissions report on MOT day.


----------



## DIESEL DAVE (Jul 26, 2007)

Dixondmn said:


> even if there were no economy benefits, the additional cost is between £2.50 and £3.50 per tank. Assuming you're not doing thousands of miles per week we're talking about less than the cost of a decent pint.


Hitting the `nail on the head` comes to mind :thumb:


----------



## Rob_Quads (Jul 17, 2006)

Price difference round us is 7p for Shell Optimax. On a price of 141p per litre it means you need 5% improvement in your MPG to break even i.e. 50mpg to 52.5mpg = break even point.

I use it in ours as people have been having problems with some of the fuels. i would rather spend a few pints a month on the car and it run without problem than have to waste my time taking it into the dealer to be looked at


----------



## PugIain (Jun 28, 2006)

mine just gets a bottle of diesel redex when its on offer and asda's finest and when i left it this morning it was still running ok.
getting 60+mpg atm too.


----------



## DIESEL DAVE (Jul 26, 2007)

PugIain said:


> mine just gets a bottle of diesel redex when its on offer and asda's finest and when i left it this morning it was still running ok.
> getting 60+mpg atm too.


Try two stroke oil ?


----------



## PugIain (Jun 28, 2006)

DIESEL DAVE said:


> Try two stroke oil ?


instead of redex?


----------



## kh904 (Dec 18, 2006)

PugIain said:


> mine just gets a bottle of diesel redex when its on offer and asda's finest and when i left it this morning it was still running ok.
> getting 60+mpg atm too.


But there is the cost of buying the Redex, so wouldn't it be roughly the same as getting premium fuel?


----------



## PugIain (Jun 28, 2006)

kh904 said:


> But there is the cost of buying the Redex, so wouldn't it be roughly the same as getting premium fuel?


asda do redex at a quid a bottle every now and again.so it adds a quid to a full tank


----------



## Grizzle (Jul 12, 2006)

Dont use two stroke!!


----------



## Trip tdi (Sep 3, 2008)

To be honest with you it's driving style, tyre pressures pumped to the correct psi, plus the cars servicing history as well makes a difference.

Shell v power diesel will make a difference but you need to fill up the car a few times, before any difference is made, all it has it contains extra cetane than normal supermarket fuel, it's doing your car good buddie.

Any premium garage is fine for the car, don't always need to to fuel with premium fuel, stick a bottle of redex in your tank, that will dissolve some of the crap thats in the fuel lines, they work, 50 50 sometimes, but a good revving helps the engine from time to time.


----------



## DIESEL DAVE (Jul 26, 2007)

Grizzle said:


> Dont use two stroke!!


Nowt wrong with putting in ya diesel
Plenty swear by it


----------



## dew1911 (Jun 9, 2009)

Dixondmn said:


> even if there were no economy benefits, the additional cost is between £2.50 and £3.50 per tank. Assuming you're not doing thousands of miles per week we're talking about less than the cost of a decent pint.
> 
> just my tuppence, but i swear its worth the money, just to see the emissions report on MOT day.


Exactly the way I look at it. It's about £2.40 more to fill the D5 with V-Power over regular, and for that cost I know the cars getting the best. Plus I seem to be getting 3-4mpg more than anyone else with a D5 in this car!


----------



## PugIain (Jun 28, 2006)

I only used expensive unleaded a few times in my 406 as I discovered it made it use oil.
In the 5 years I had it and ran it on supermarket unleaded it flew through emissions test by miles.Then again it was serviced twice a year.


----------



## Gruffs (Dec 10, 2007)

Dixondmn said:


> even if there were no economy benefits, the additional cost is between £2.50 and £3.50 per tank. Assuming you're not doing thousands of miles per week we're talking about less than the cost of a decent pint.
> 
> just my tuppence, but i swear its worth the money, just to see the emissions report on MOT day.


The cost of a pint is usually my argument about fuel costs going up too. 

However, there is a difference for me with value here. You are paying more to get the same result to your pocket. Worse if you are selling the car on as the next owner will get all the benefits of the prolonged life.

As for the emissions results. As long as the piece of paper is green, i really don't care how green it is. It's green enough.

I'm sure the BP stuff is 10p per litre more and shell 7p(ish)? I'll check it out on my way home. Apologies if i'm wrong here.


----------



## Ninja59 (Feb 17, 2009)

well i am going for a few tanks of v-power before the c30 has its first MoT on a date in april :lol: 

running on supermarket fuel for mine was like living with a tractor.Bloody Awful. it lost any fun.i could not wait to get rid of it a mile after brimming her!

my regular is fuelsave tbh and it is not bad definitely less smokey but done about 100 miles on the v-power now and took it upto 3k literally no smoke...i can feel something different. Only thing i have noticed on v-power is it is slightly slower pull from a standing start but as soon as your in the mid range you fly.


----------



## dew1911 (Jun 9, 2009)

Ninja59 said:


> well i am going for a few tanks of v-power before the c30 has its first MoT on a date in april :lol:
> 
> running on supermarket fuel for mine was like living with a tractor.Bloody Awful. it lost any fun.i could not wait to get rid of it a mile after brimming her!
> 
> my regular is fuelsave tbh and it is not bad definitely less smokey but done about 100 miles on the v-power now and took it upto 3k literally no smoke...i can feel something different. Only thing i have noticed on v-power is it is slightly slower pull from a standing start but as soon as your in the mid range you fly.


Oooo first MOT, good luck (Mines May time) :lol:

I can't really comment if mine pulls better as I've never run it on anything else!


----------



## Ninja59 (Feb 17, 2009)

dew1911 said:


> Oooo first MOT, good luck (Mines May time) :lol:
> 
> I can't really comment if mine pulls better as I've never run it on anything else!


not that i am going to be grabbing anyone by the throat like an anxious parent :lol: oh wait yes i am...FFS little sh*T pass. :lol:

I do not know exactly but someone i was speaking to said that it is designed to give more in the mid range to top and lose some torque when moving off...

oh and whoever said MOT is green seen the new MoT certs  sorry...


----------



## J1ODY A (Nov 28, 2008)

look forward to the outcome...my car was shocking on 1 tank of supermarket fuel, it's nearly gone fully now!


----------



## dew1911 (Jun 9, 2009)

Ninja59 said:


> not that i am going to be grabbing anyone by the throat like an anxious parent :lol: oh wait yes i am...FFS little sh*T pass. :lol:
> 
> I do not know exactly but someone i was speaking to said that it is designed to give more in the mid range to top and lose some torque when moving off...
> 
> oh and whoever said MOT is green seen the new MoT certs  sorry...


I know, I documented on here ages ago about my fight with the Police over the new certificate.


----------



## sirkuk (Mar 5, 2012)

SteveTDCi said:


> I've never thought diesels had a throttle response  i've tried V Power diesel in mine (when i had a diesel) and to me it made no difference over standard shell diesel. But I don believe standard Shell diesel is better than supermarket fuel


Fair enough. I'm unbiased either way. I have used V-Power diesel in my previous derv (a 1.4 TDCi Fiesta ). I did see better fuel economy that I never managed to repeat with bog standard diesel. It could have been a fluke as easily as the fuel doing wonderful things. I've also tried V-Power unleaded in my Mk1 Focus. The difference was marginal if any. Different strokes for different cars could be the case but that opens up another can of worms with regards to turbo and naturally aspirated engines.



Rob_Quads said:


> Make sure you do all your calculations using the fill up measurements than relying on any trip computers.
> 
> You will probably only just get into the region of being able to test it properly. Normally it take a few tanks worth for the ECU to fully adjust to the fuel. Also make sure when you switch you have it down low, the more left in the more you affect the results.


Completely agree with you to do manually calculate. I always do when I fill up and thus far, my Civic hasn't been much more than 0.5MPG out so we'll go on that assumption for the computer readings between fill ups until calculated otherwise on fill up.

As for the ECU adjusting, not too sure on this one but I've no problems doing this for longer. Tank was filled with about 1.5 gallons of BP fuel in from the previous fill up. I agree this will have some effect for a while.



J1ODY A said:


> look forward to the outcome...my car was shocking on 1 tank of supermarket fuel, it's nearly gone fully now!


Hopefully have some more information as the week goes on. I expect next fill up will be Thursday!

Trip computer on far is now at 49.9MPG after today so we shall see if things improve. 50.9MPG is the best return I've had between fill ups previously just for everyone's information :thumb:


----------



## sirkuk (Mar 5, 2012)

DIESEL DAVE said:


> Haha I never get tired of posting this
> Fifth Gear - series 15 episode 4, premium diesel test - YouTube


Never seen that before. Pretty interesting! I was expecting there to be no difference. Especially instantly just from flushing the fuel through.

I know this thread is probably a case of "not this  again" but hopefully a long term practical example rather than a thread of varying opinions on premium vs supermarket will help.


----------



## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

I should point out I do use v power petrol in the cupra and tt, the 206 gets standard shell. In my focus tdci it liked bhp ultimate the best, it produced less smoke, the golf tdi liked bp too again it was remapped, the a3 liked esso, made no difference on v power so used to get standard shell diesel, none felt any quicker or did anymore mpg, the a3 struggled to get 37 mpg. The focus was rolling roaded on both fuels on different days and it made no difference to the power. 

One thing I did find is that both vags didn't like total fuels


----------



## Trip tdi (Sep 3, 2008)

SteveTDCi said:


> I should point out I do use v power petrol in the cupra and tt, the 206 gets standard shell. In my focus tdci it liked bhp ultimate the best, it produced less smoke, the golf tdi liked bp too again it was remapped, the a3 liked esso, made no difference on v power so used to get standard shell diesel, none felt any quicker or did anymore mpg, the a3 struggled to get 37 mpg. The focus was rolling roaded on both fuels on different days and it made no difference to the power.
> 
> One thing I did find is that both vags didn't like total fuels


I agree there, mine prefers Esso, BP no way on mine as well as total fuel, shell it's ok on mine as well, but the diesel extra that shell use to sell was better stuff than the current diesel they sell, texoco works good on mine as well but that's very expensive round my area, in matter of fact texoco fuel is the most expensive fuel around my area, so don't never top up there.

The best fuel going, I have noticed is Esso, more smoother and responsive, i find.


----------



## alan_mcc (Oct 28, 2008)

Even if it's just a placebo effect, as daft as it sounds if I had a car that ran okay on 'good' fuel I would always use it.. However I use Tesco Momentum - I genuinely do believe I get better mpg from it. 

For an extra few pounds a tank (as said by dew), it's totally worth it


----------



## dew1911 (Jun 9, 2009)

alan_mcc said:


> For an extra few pounds a tank (as said by dew), it's totally worth it


That's it, hardly breaking the bank really, and considering I only do about 80 miles a week it's not going to anytime soon!


----------



## sirkuk (Mar 5, 2012)

Another thing I'm interested in with this is how it affects the EGR valve. My EGR valve has been causing me light throttle flutters at low engine speeds. I have given the car the Italian treatment which has improved things but the problem is still present. I'm wondering if things will improve further with V-Power diesel.

Here's a graph of the EGR error response I recorded not long ago. Blue line is the EGR command and the orange is the amount of error measured.


----------



## cleaningfreak (Sep 3, 2011)

Im not a diesel man, but i noticed that Supreme unleaded ( 98RON/99RON) gives more mpg then unleaded (92RON/95RON)  but price wise its this same more per liter more mpg, less per liter less mpg  but better the fuel, better for fuel system thats fact (maybe  )


----------



## sirkuk (Mar 5, 2012)

Done about 380 miles now.

Engine seems quieter and light throttle response seems smoother. EGR issues are no different at the moment.

Car is showing 50.5mpg at the moment but I will be filling up tomorrow so we shall see.

Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk


----------



## RedUntilDead (Feb 10, 2009)

EGR will not self clean by running on a "better" fuel. It is bad enough cleaning them by hand once removed from the car.
Once they are badly caked up they need to be cleaned by hand in my experience rather than spraying stuff through them and allowing crap into the intake and risking the MAF sniffing it as well.


----------



## sirkuk (Mar 5, 2012)

RedUntilDead said:


> EGR will not self clean by running on a "better" fuel. It is bad enough cleaning them by hand once removed from the car.
> Once they are badly caked up they need to be cleaned by hand in my experience rather than spraying stuff through them and allowing crap into the intake and risking the MAF sniffing it as well.


Yep thought this would be the case but you see many fuel additives boasting of cleaning the EGR. Italian tune up has helped but if V-Power diesel is as clean burning as they say, it shouldn't get any worse at least.

Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk


----------



## uruk hai (Apr 5, 2009)

I'm interested in this myself but I do have to wonder if just buying what many suggest is a "better" brand of fuel will be enough to help the car ? The fifth gear video only proves that shell V-power derv produces more power (roughly 4%) and more power is just that ! There seems to be no suggestion that the premium and usually more expensive fuels like V-power are actually any better for an engine than standard Shell derv ?

At the moment I remain unconvinced and given that V-power derv is over 9p per litre more than Asda's and 7p per litre more than Shell's "normal" diesel it'll take good results to make me reconsider who I buy my fuel from.


----------



## Dannbodge (Sep 26, 2010)

I have a spreadsheet that I use to work out my mpg and fuel costs. I started using normal diesel when I bought the car but switched to v-power at Christmas. 
So far the v-power has given me a better mpg when I drive faster and better mpg when I drive slower too. 
My cost per mile in pence varied between 11p and 13p and so far in v-power it has only cost me 11p per mile.
So from my experience v-power is worth it


----------



## gti fly (May 19, 2011)

These are my own findings.
I've got a 2002 Fabia 100bhp TDI which is remapped to 130bhp


Using BPultimate gives smoother running - ie quieter, and more eager. When I say more eager that means there's less need to drop down a gear when the pace slows down, and at the opposite end, there's more power/more eagerness over 3000rpm when compared back to back with regular supermarket diesel. There's also less smoke too.
MPG differences are negliable. There are far too many factors that can alter mpg - ambient temps, whether or not you're late for work... the list is absolutely endless

Now if I'm brutally honest most people won't notice the difference with premium diesel fuel, it's very subtle.
Also let's be honest 'most' people buy diesels to SAVE money, and aren't so much worried about performance, so this whole Premium VS supermarket fuel argument is a bit pointless really.


Those that have said there's nothing wrong using super market cheapo stuff are spot on - it's cheap and it gets the job done, and there's nothing wrong with that.

Those that swear by premium diesel, (me included) there is a difference to performance, but is that why we buy diesel in the first place? 


Oh and I've tried adding two stroke to filling up, and I've found absolutely no discernable difference to anything. It still smoked the same, and it still sounded just as diesel'y
Adding two stroke just seems like an inconvieniance.

Also I've used 3 or 4 bottles of millers diesel additives over the past 3years of diesel ownership, and I really cannot say that it does anything extra at the times when I've recently used it


----------



## sirkuk (Mar 5, 2012)

gti fly said:


> Now if I'm brutally honest most people won't notice the difference with premium diesel fuel, it's very subtle.
> Also let's be honest 'most' people buy diesels to SAVE money, and aren't so much worried about performance, so this whole Premium VS supermarket fuel argument is a bit pointless really.
> 
> Those that have said there's nothing wrong using super market cheapo stuff are spot on - it's cheap and it gets the job done, and there's nothing wrong with that.
> ...


Perfectly valid points. In all honesty, the first diesel I bought was for it's economy and nothing else. It was a pretty boring car to drive. My current derv though, I had a combination of economy and performance in mind. There are more performance diesels on the road now as they become more refined for people who want to be pinned back in their seats but can't afford a say 35mpg fuel consumption on a petrol equivalent. I haven't really looked at petrol car tax prices recently but would I be correct in saying they are generally a little higher than equivalent diesels?

Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk


----------



## Keir (Aug 31, 2010)

Can we get that spead sheet for everyone?


----------



## Paintmaster1982 (Oct 23, 2007)

For the people out there like me who own a diesel to save money for there daily commute to work then i tend to just drive at 60 on the motor way (i say motor way the road i drive on to work is an A road with two lanes). It feels odd at first but the savings are huge.

My car is a 1995 vw golf diesel non turbo with 80k on the clock. if i short shift, 5th gear it at 30 mph and sit it at 60 mph i get 650 to 680 miles to one tank of 49 ltrs of fuel. 

If i drive normally and cruise at 70 and dont short shift etc i get about 580.

So i guess for people out there saving money then setting off about 10 mins earlier and sit it at 60 saves a fair amount a week in fuel.


----------



## Dannbodge (Sep 26, 2010)

Keir said:


> Can we get that spead sheet for everyone?


To use or just see?


----------



## sirkuk (Mar 5, 2012)

Update on original post


----------



## chillly (Jun 25, 2009)

Some supermarkets are now also buying the same additives that the oil giants also use. There is a trend here somewhere. i wonder where:lol: Wheres herbie when you need him to do the pepsi challange on fuel :lol:


----------



## J1ODY A (Nov 28, 2008)

Paintmaster1982 said:


> For the people out there like me who own a diesel to save money for there daily commute to work then i tend to just drive at 60 on the motor way (i say motor way the road i drive on to work is an A road with two lanes). It feels odd at first but the savings are huge.
> 
> My car is a 1995 vw golf diesel non turbo with 80k on the clock. if i short shift, 5th gear it at 30 mph and sit it at 60 mph i get 650 to 680 miles to one tank of 49 ltrs of fuel.
> 
> ...


Exactly what I do... 60 all the way baby!


----------



## Dannbodge (Sep 26, 2010)

J1ODY A said:


> Exactly what I do... 60 all the way baby!


I don't even do 60. Never go above 2krpm and sit at 50mph


----------



## J1ODY A (Nov 28, 2008)

Dannbodge said:


> I don't even do 60. Never go above 2krpm and sit at 50mph


oh you're one of them... I can do 63ish before hitting 2k rpm


----------



## Dannbodge (Sep 26, 2010)

J1ODY A said:


> oh you're one of them... I can do 63ish before hitting 2k rpm


Yeah I'm one of them. Need a 6th gear tbh. 70 is just over 2.5k but makes so much difference


----------



## J1ODY A (Nov 28, 2008)

I work on the same principal... stay under 2k rpm... with the mileage I do it makes a very big difference!!


----------



## sirkuk (Mar 5, 2012)

I must say I can't see much of a difference between taking it steady the whole way and driving a little swiftly. I do take the opportunity to make the most of every down hill gradient but I get up to speed quickly.

Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk


----------



## hoikey (Mar 9, 2011)

Paintmaster1982 said:


> For the people out there like me who own a diesel to save money for there daily commute to work then i tend to just drive at 60 on the motor way (i say motor way the road i drive on to work is an A road with two lanes). It feels odd at first but the savings are huge.
> 
> My car is a 1995 vw golf diesel non turbo with 80k on the clock. if i short shift, 5th gear it at 30 mph and sit it at 60 mph i get 650 to 680 miles to one tank of 49 ltrs of fuel.
> 
> ...


So a dual carriageway?


----------



## Paintmaster1982 (Oct 23, 2007)

hoikey said:


> So a dual carriageway?


lol yeah pretty much i couldnt for the life of me think what it was called.

it leads onto an M road.


----------



## Paintmaster1982 (Oct 23, 2007)

sirkuk said:


> I must say I can't see much of a difference between taking it steady the whole way and driving a little swiftly. I do take the opportunity to make the most of every down hill gradient but I get up to speed quickly.
> 
> Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk


Trust me it does make a difference. i work it out if there was a difference of 100 miles to a tank then id be saving around a 10 quid a tank. considering i fill up 3 times a month thats a years car tax and mot paid for just by dropping my speed 10 mph.

try it. It does get tedious though so stay with it. Try short shift and dont go over 60 unless you have to. I think then you will see a big diff in mpg.

I cant really see the point in these fuels apart from been better for the car and bhp they dont massively save you money in terms of mpg so in my view i reck its purely how you drive no matter what car you drive.

Top gear prius v bmw m3 comes to mind. you get the idea lol


----------



## sirkuk (Mar 5, 2012)

Paintmaster1982 said:


> Trust me it does make a difference. i work it out if there was a difference of 100 miles to a tank then id be saving around a 10 quid a tank. considering i fill up 3 times a month thats a years car tax and mot paid for just by dropping my speed 10 mph.
> 
> try it. It does get tedious though so stay with it. Try short shift and dont go over 60 unless you have to. I think then you will see a big diff in mpg.
> 
> ...


I find it a bit curious but with my previous derv, I used to take it steady the whole way to work and never really went above 2krpm. Fuel economy was ok I guess. I started driving it a *little* harder and kept it in the torque band, which started at about 2krpm. I saw improved fuel economy. I tried hard with this car to make the most of the fuel economy by trying to drive it differently between fill ups to find the best economy and found it was to not be too gentle but not too hard on it either.

The thing is with my commute, there are a lot of gradients and very little of the road is flat. I find I need to keep the engine speed up to stay closer to the peak torque of the car to minimise the load on the car, which isn't as high as what it would be on a petrol to be fair. The car would still conquer the hill in a higher gear, but uses more fuel in doing so in my opinion. When it comes to downhill gradients though, I will shift up and keep the engine speed low to minimise engine braking.

EDIT: I will agree with you though for the most part. The difference in fuel consumption between 60mph and 70mph on my previous derv on the motorway was huge!


----------



## Paintmaster1982 (Oct 23, 2007)

Ah i see yeah it really does depend on the type of roads etc. Most of my commute is motorway driven so i can keep a steady speed without having to put my foot down every 2 mins or so etc i reckon hills are mpg's worst enemy lol.


----------



## Edstrung (Apr 6, 2009)

Every car has it's sweet spot for economy. Revs not too high, not too low either. All depends on the engine and the gearing. If I'm going 60, it's usually better if I'm in 5th rather than 6th, and a little more control especially on maintaining speed as soon as the gradient changes. And then as soon as a downhill approaches a little acceleration and up to 6th


----------



## Paintmaster1982 (Oct 23, 2007)

Edstrung said:


> Every car has it's sweet spot for economy. Revs not too high, not too low either. All depends on the engine and the gearing. If I'm going 60, it's usually better if I'm in 5th rather than 6th, and a little more control especially on maintaining speed as soon as the gradient changes. And then as soon as a downhill approaches a little acceleration and up to 6th


how much difference in rpm does the 6th gear give? at 60 and 70?


----------



## Trip tdi (Sep 3, 2008)

Paintmaster1982 said:


> how much difference in rpm does the 6th gear give? at 60 and 70?


70 mph on those, 2,000 rpm in sixth gear, pushing to 80 mph 2,200 rpm in sixth gear.


----------



## J1ODY A (Nov 28, 2008)

Paintmaster1982 said:


> Ah i see yeah it really does depend on the type of roads etc. Most of my commute is motorway driven so i can keep a steady speed without having to put my foot down every 2 mins or so etc i reckon hills are mpg's worst enemy lol.


I concur... my commute is A12/M25/M11 so sticking at 60 also gives me 100 miles more a tank, as I fill up once a week (sometimes twice) it makes a huge difference to me.

Note: if fuel pries ever fell to under £1 per litre I would be rich :lol:


----------



## sirkuk (Mar 5, 2012)

Paintmaster1982 said:


> how much difference in rpm does the 6th gear give? at 60 and 70?


I get about 2000rpm at 70mph in 6th. If I remember correctly, about 1600rpm at 60mph in 6th.


----------



## sirkuk (Mar 5, 2012)

J1ODY A said:


> I concur... my commute is A12/M25/M11 so sticking at 60 also gives me 100 miles more a tank, as I fill up once a week (sometimes twice) it makes a huge difference to me.
> 
> Note: if fuel pries ever fell to under £1 per litre I would be rich :lol:


Isn't it great filling up every week at today's prices 

I bought a 1.4 TDCi Fiesta because of fuel costs as I was putting £65 a week into a petrol Focus. The unfortunate thing with the Fiesta was, yes it did save me lots of money on fuel, but the money I saved on fuel mostly went on repairing it :wall:


----------



## J1ODY A (Nov 28, 2008)

sirkuk said:


> Isn't it great filling up every week at today's prices
> 
> I bought a 1.4 TDCi Fiesta because of fuel costs as I was putting £65 a week into a petrol Focus. The unfortunate thing with the Fiesta was, yes it did save me lots of money on fuel, but the money I saved on fuel mostly went on repairing it :wall:


Pah I went from a 3 litre Isuzu Rodeo costing me £160 per week on fuel to the Focus 1.8 tdci costing me less than half that... also save £100 on tax per year, plus servicing costs are reduced :lol:

I rack up shell points though


----------



## Paintmaster1982 (Oct 23, 2007)

J1ODY A said:


> Note: if fuel pries ever fell to under £1 per litre I would be rich :lol:


On a more serious note i reckon if the government reduced the price of fuel to £1 a ltrs for both petrol and diesel then the current state of the economy would change for the better over night.

49 quid it would cost me to fill up rather than £70 odd so a huge saving. plus that would get passed on to everyone because the price of food etc would reduce and people would have a fair chunk of money to actually spend on things they need and boost sales everywhere.


----------



## sirkuk (Mar 5, 2012)

J1ODY A said:


> Pah I went from a 3 litre Isuzu Rodeo costing me £160 per week on fuel to the Focus 1.8 tdci costing me less than half that... also save £100 on tax per year, plus servicing costs are reduced :lol:
> 
> *I rack up shell points though *


That's what I'm making the most of with this challenge 

That and I get Amazon vouchers with my credit card to buy more car cleaning stuff 

A chap I've worked with used to run a V8 petrol Discovery. He was getting around 14mpg and used to cover a huge amount of miles being a contractor. Ouch!


----------



## Paintmaster1982 (Oct 23, 2007)

Trip tdi said:


> 70 mph on those, 2,000 rpm in sixth gear, pushing to 80 mph 2,200 rpm in sixth gear.


thats un real. 6th gear really does make a difference.

I wonder what the new 911 runs at with this new manual gear box with 7 speeds :doublesho


----------



## Dannbodge (Sep 26, 2010)

If anyone is interested, I have uploaded the Excel spreadsheet that I use for calculating my MPG/Cost per mile etc.
It is here:
MPG Calculator Spreadsheet

It can be downloaded by going onto File, Download as.

As for using it. Just enter the information into the correct boxes (Litres Filled, Amount cost, Litre Cost and miles covered) and it will calculate the rest :thumb:


----------



## sirkuk (Mar 5, 2012)

Update on original post.


----------



## Trip tdi (Sep 3, 2008)

Paintmaster1982 said:


> thats un real. 6th gear really does make a difference.
> 
> I wonder what the new 911 runs at with this new manual gear box with 7 speeds :doublesho


Yeah it does make a difference, smoothens the engine plus drops the revs down whilst driving, sixth gear does make a difference.

911, 7 gears, the top speed on those are over 170 mph, so 7 gears no problem.

I believe the new BMW;S have 8 speed boxes.


----------



## J1ODY A (Nov 28, 2008)

sirkuk said:


> Update on original post.


Good lad... the numbers are creeping up... do you leave the tank to go real empty? As obviously you're mixing fuel to a point.


----------



## sirkuk (Mar 5, 2012)

J1ODY A said:


> Good lad... the numbers are creeping up... do you leave the tank to go real empty? As obviously you're mixing fuel to a point.


I run it as empty as I dare. I was displaying 70 miles on the computer before empty tonight (low fuel light comes on at about 30 miles) at fill up and as my commute is 40+ miles and the garage is closer to work than home, I would have never managed to get home and to work tomorrow morning.

Last week though I was down to the point the light was on.


----------



## Trip tdi (Sep 3, 2008)

All this high octane fuel, and diesel with more cetane levels, does help to a degree, don't expect miracles and the car will not run to perfection, you need to at least a quite a fuel tankfuls to notice any difference, all this stuff does is clean the fuel lines to some extent and burn more efficiently, but spark plugs do this more, and sharpens the performance, but more likely you will notice the car will drive more smoothly and start better.

Performance wise you will see a difference in a highly tuned car, especially if yours is turbo that is highly modified, such as a subaru, GTR, 911 etc...


----------



## Franzpan (Mar 2, 2009)

I find BP ultimate (we dont have Shell in N.I) makes my car run smootherand i get a couple more MPG. I work in a Maxol petrol Station though and get discount on my fuel so taking that into account, BP ultimate can work out up to 12p more per litre so I dont use it much anymore.


----------



## sirkuk (Mar 5, 2012)

Franzpan said:


> I find BP ultimate (we dont have Shell in N.I) makes my car run smootherand i get a couple more MPG. I work in a Maxol petrol Station though and get discount on my fuel so taking that into account, BP ultimate can work out up to 12p more per litre so I dont use it much anymore.


Can't complain about that. My other half works part time at Tesco and has a discount card but doesn't include fuel and **** 

Car is showing 55mpg after about 120 miles so at the moment, looking better than last week.

Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk


----------



## millns84 (Jul 5, 2009)

Sounds good, would you consider running a few tanks of normal derv with an additive such as Millers Diesel Ecomax after your original findings to see if they "definitely" give the same gains as performance derv?

I can't tell the difference myself but we're fairly low mileage drivers so would take an age to get results


----------



## dreamtheater (Apr 12, 2010)

I have ran my car on Texaco diesel for 4 weeks, and returned 54-56mpg. Ran my car for 4 weeks using Texaco and Millers, and returned 60-62mpg. Currently filling up with Jet and Millers to see if there is any difference. I do 90 miles per day and around 30 miles of this is town driving and the rest at 60mph on the motorway.


----------



## sirkuk (Mar 5, 2012)

millns84 said:


> Sounds good, would you consider running a few tanks of normal derv with an additive such as Millers Diesel Ecomax after your original findings to see if they "definitely" give the same gains as performance derv?
> 
> I can't tell the difference myself but we're fairly low mileage drivers so would take an age to get results





dreamtheater said:


> I have ran my car on Texaco diesel for 4 weeks, and returned 54-56mpg. Ran my car for 4 weeks using Texaco and Millers, and returned 60-62mpg. Currently filling up with Jet and Millers to see if there is any difference. I do 90 miles per day and around 30 miles of this is town driving and the rest at 60mph on the motorway.


I think there's your answer :thumb:

I've used fuel additives on and off in the past and yes, I did see an improvement in fuel economy from the tank that the additive was in but things gradually went back to normal after the next fill up.


----------



## Trip tdi (Sep 3, 2008)

dreamtheater said:


> I have ran my car on Texaco diesel for 4 weeks, and returned 54-56mpg. Ran my car for 4 weeks using Texaco and Millers, and returned 60-62mpg. Currently filling up with Jet and Millers to see if there is any difference. I do 90 miles per day and around 30 miles of this is town driving and the rest at 60mph on the motorway.


Thats great mpg, what car do you drive, would love to hit the 60 mpg barrier


----------



## dreamtheater (Apr 12, 2010)

I drive a 2006 Mk3 Clio Dci 106bhp. 6 speed gearbox helps on the motorway! The OBC shows 66mpg but I use the brim to brim fill up to work my mpg.



Trip tdi said:


> Thats great mpg, what car do you drive, would love to hit the 60 mpg barrier


----------



## Trip tdi (Sep 3, 2008)

dreamtheater said:


> I drive a 2006 Mk3 Clio Dci 106bhp. 6 speed gearbox helps on the motorway! The OBC shows 66mpg but I use the brim to brim fill up to work my mpg.


I might look for one of these for a part exchange for my car, straight swap if possible, I massive big point I like is the 66mpg, thats what i need especially when the price of fuel is increasing and will increse in the future, thanks :thumb:


----------



## sirkuk (Mar 5, 2012)

Update to original post.

Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk


----------



## J1ODY A (Nov 28, 2008)

positive result then... you switching back to supermarket fuel to compare?


----------



## gti fly (May 19, 2011)

Nice to see you are showing some real positive gains in mpg from using premium diesel.


----------



## sirkuk (Mar 5, 2012)

J1ODY A said:


> positive result then... you switching back to supermarket fuel to compare?


I will give it a go at the end of next week after the next fill up. I'm working on a different site this week that puts a Shell garage on my way home so I'm making the most of it.

Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk


----------



## sirkuk (Mar 5, 2012)

Update to OP.


----------



## J1ODY A (Nov 28, 2008)

Due to the shortage I had to resort to BP ultimate, so half tank of Ultimate & half V-power... car's driving real nice.


----------



## John757 (Jun 11, 2009)

J1ODY A said:


> Due to the shortage I had to resort to BP ultimate, so half tank of Ultimate & half V-power... car's driving real nice.


Maybe blends are the way forward! They call that one Vultimate Power.


----------



## clarkey1269 (Dec 27, 2010)

Having only putting vpower in since buying my bora I can honestly say there is more poke,less smoke and a slight increase in MPG compared to my old mans who thinks premium fuel is a con.


----------



## Grizzle (Jul 12, 2006)

Would the ECU not take time to adjust ?


----------



## sirkuk (Mar 5, 2012)

clarkey1269 said:


> Having only putting vpower in since buying my bora I can honestly say there is more poke,less smoke and a slight increase in MPG compared to my old mans who thinks premium fuel is a con.


After 300 miles on regular now I agree with you. There is most definitely a difference.

Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk


----------



## sirkuk (Mar 5, 2012)

Grizzle said:


> Would the ECU not take time to adjust ?


I can't understand what it has to learn or how and why it takes time to adjust. I wouldn't mind being corrected on that though. The only thing I can see happening over time is the fuel cleaning out the carbon build ups in the system if it does what it says.

Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk


----------



## john2garden (Nov 16, 2006)

It's a known fact with some cars. I went from a full tank of v power to standard shell the car ran rough for a while. Apparently the ecu needed time to adjust.


----------



## Dannbodge (Sep 26, 2010)

Apparently it's an easy way of mapping your car slightly too. 
Disconnecting the battery for 20mins than reconnect it and drive it hard.


----------



## sirkuk (Mar 5, 2012)

Update to OP.

Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk


----------

