Is it worth paying more for premium diesel/petrol?

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

claspknife

Member
Joined
Jul 1, 2017
Messages
47
Car
Mercedes Benz c class 220 amg 2017
I wonder what people's thoughts are on this topic?

I have a brand new mb and want to know based on people's experiences and also the science aspect of the argument for and against using premium fuels.

Really appreciate any advice on this. Thanks in advance.

9ef4788745f9a1037c7a40042ad5ce78.jpg




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
Last edited:
I purchased my car new last year and only use premium diesel.

I have no idea really how much difference it makes, apparently there are additives which help keep the engine clean.

Whilst I can afford to I will continue to use premium fuels and as I retired last year my mileage is not high compared to when I was working.

Not everyone will be in a position to afford the extra cost or even believe it is worthwhile.

I believe there are some members of the forum who work in the oil business so have better knowledge than myself.

I intend to keep my present car for a longer period than normal (my wife is dubious) so it's a belt and braces thing really.

Although my mileage is quite low the car does not do short trips and rarely visits the urban areas so I suppose does proper diesel use.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Some high performance petrol cars need the higher octane rating associated with "super unleaded" as they're designed to run on them.

Beyond that the tangible benefits of premium fuels are difficult measure/notice in the real world outside of a lab, whether that's "super" compared to regular unleaded, or "oil" brand compared to supermarket brand.

Personally, for as long as I can afford to then I'll use premium fuels.
 
Evo once ran several cars for several thousand miles in the expensive stuff.

Afterwards they did a strip down and found the engines of the cars running on it to be marginally cleaner. In some cases there were also marginal improvements in mpg and/or power.

The conclusion was that it was worth it. Just.
 
I started using Optimax which was what V-Power was called many years ago when I started to buy Jap imports as it was the only thing they would run nicely on. I also had my track prepped RX7 mapped for Optimax.
Over time there has been quite a debate about its merits. I'm on the side of believing the cleaning agents benefit both diesel and petrol.
Just lately I've been running my diesel vehicles of Hyrda Fuels diesel cetane booster and their injector cleaner its a bit of a frig but works out cheaper than V-Power diesel.
I'm happy to pay the extra for the petrol version in my CL and every trip once properly warm give the old Italian Tune Up session just to ensure it blows out any crap.
 
The old ones are the best.

How many times have we had this discussion?
 
Run my cars since the 1980's including the current diesel which I've had for seven years on supermarket fuel, never had any problems whatsoever, just regular servicing
 
The old ones are the best.

How many times have we had this discussion?

As a new member has asked the question, perhaps you could direct him/her to the thread which has the most helpful comments?
 
I use standard petrol most of the time but occasionally put a tank of the premium stuff through, just for its supposed cleaning properties. I've no idea if it's actually doing anything. There's no other benefit for doing it in my car that I can tell - MPG and performance are exactly the same. I used to think the car sounded a bit growlier on the premium petrol but I now think that was my imagination...!
 
I accidently pulled up at a pump that only dispensed premium petrol in my SL500, rather than change pumps (the garage was very busy) I just put in half a tank. There was no noticable difference in engine performance, it just made my wallet lighter.
 
My car seems to run quieter on BP premium diesel, but it could be completely subjective. I ran it on premium for a while and didn't see any improvement in mpg, but I do give it a tankful of premium every few fills, in the hope that it aids in keeping the fuel system a little cleaner.

With regards to premium higher octane petrol, my wife's Yaris is smoother with it, however the car needs a few fills for the ecu to adjust.
 
I accidently pulled up at a pump that only dispensed premium petrol in my SL500, rather than change pumps (the garage was very busy) I just put in half a tank. There was no noticable difference in engine performance, it just made my wallet lighter.

Absolutely correct, a lazy low power output V8 could not take advantage of a higher octane fuel. And the cleaning properties need a lot of time to take affect.
 
My CLS definitely runs quieter with premium diesel (V Pwr +) , i also have had zero issues with the DPF and i do short 3 mile journeys , i replaced the glow plugs last week and the tips were spotless.

For the miles i do the extra cost (£0.15 p/l) is not an issue.

Kenny
 
I accidently pulled up at a pump that only dispensed premium petrol in my SL500, rather than change pumps (the garage was very busy) I just put in half a tank. There was no noticable difference in engine performance, it just made my wallet lighter.

Its hilarious that you even think about the price difference on a half tank of fuel when driving an SL500:wallbash:

Super is on average 11p per litre more expensive than standard, thats £3 for your half tank and £6-7 for a full tank.

Assuming say 7000miles a year and 25mpg the additional cost of running super is an additional £127 which pales into insignificance when you consider the depreciation costs and additional running costs of any higher end Mercedes.

If you're cruising around in a frugal C220D doing 50mpg the cost of premium diesel becomes even more irrelevant.
 
Evo once ran several cars for several thousand miles in the expensive stuff.

Afterwards they did a strip down and found the engines of the cars running on it to be marginally cleaner. In some cases there were also marginal improvements in mpg and/or power.

The conclusion was that it was worth it. Just.

If there was a 'marginal' effect over 'several thousand miles', then this is actually a good result.

I keep my cars typically for ~30k miles, so the cumulative effect over the years is likely to be significant.
 
I tested it over 2000 miles using Tesco regular diesel, and then the Shell Nitro V stuff, and kept an eye on the MPG using Mercedes Me.

The Shell gave 10% more MPG. Yes, it costs about 10% more as well, but apparently it's better for the engine (or so Honest John the journo in the Telegraph says).

So, you won't save on diesel cost, but your engine will probably run a bit better. I also like getting the Shell points to turn into Avios so I don't have to pay BA when I fly with them.
 
Perhaps the answer is- what else on your car might you usefully spend the extra money saved on to improve its running? e.g. fuel filter/ air filter/ spark plugs etc etc In other words where on the car's "expenditure curve" does fuel quality sit with you? Not meant as a criticism more an observation.
 
My last car was a Saab 95 1.9 TiD Rickover was rough apparently this is common on that engine. I also had DPF issues so switched to Shell V Power derv. Tickover was improved instantly and was smooth and what you would expect. DPF issues resulted in new turbo (it was leaking oil,) DPF & EGR. After that ran exclusively on Shell VP and no more issues. When I got the car it had 82,000 on the clock, on sale it had done 139,000.

Current W211 (OM642) had 67,000 on clock when I got it, swapped that to Shell VP too, no issues so far, done 20k miles. Intend to continue but will be trying Costco premium derv when fuel station at Bham opens.

Figure if it saves cost of set of injectors over ownership will be worthwhile...

Sent from my PRA-LX1 using Tapatalk
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom