Morrisons 15p off per litre

[BTB 500]

Actually V-Power isn't very stable. Neither was Optimax. RON rating degrades over time so fresh V-Power is usually higher than 99 but it could be worse depending on when it was last refreshed.

That's why they took the RON rating off the pumps because Optimax wasn't guaranteed to be 98 which Shell originally advertised.

I don't think it's anything specifically to do with being V-Power or Optimax. All gasoline degrades, and in fact diesel does too.

I suspect the issue is just that 'premium' fuels can spend longer in the storage tanks because they don't sell at the same rate as standard grades.

 

[martin_a]

Totally true. The point is, Shell can't guarantee the minimum RON rating so they don't put it on. That was certianly true of Optimax anyway.

The scooby I had seemed to use more fuel on V-Power but the performance didn't really change at all. It's good stuff but I don't think it is quite worth the expense in a car that is happy on 95.

m.

 

[Dryce]

Eh? No it wasn't, it became V-Power when it went from 98 RON to 99 RON.

Edit - were you thinking of 'Formula Shell' back in the '80s, which did get withdrawn?

Yup. My bad. I meant Formula Shell.

Not a supermarket fuel. And not without issues.

 

[WesLangdon]

Petrol is pretty standard stuff, what we see in the above posts is the effect of advertising

BS EN 15376:2011 - Automotive fuels. Ethanol as a blending component for petrol. Requirements and test methods

 

[BTB 500]

WRT to premium fuels the tests were done a dyno, which presumably wasn't affected by adverstising

 

[WesLangdon]

WRT to premium fuels the tests were done a dyno, which presumably wasn't affected by adverstising

specialist fuels post is about run of the mill supermarket stuff.

 

[BTB 500]

post is about run of the mill supermarket stuff.

Yeah but you said

what we see in the above posts is the effect of advertising

when many of the preceding posts were debating the benefits of premium fuels.

 

[GRAV888]

One of my friends delivers fuel for a living. He says that Tesco and Esso fuel come out of the same tank, just put in different branded trailers.

 

[A210AMG]

^ That does not suprise me one jot.

I very much doubt, tesco, morrisons, Asda etc etc all have oil rigs out drilling in the north sea

If people think the branded stuff is better then all good. If it does give you more mpg to out weigh the cost up front even better.

The only chance my bus has of getting premuim fuel is when in europe I'm not always sure which pump is normal diesal.... I normally go for the one with a picture of a truck !!!

 

[BTB 500]

One of my friends delivers fuel for a living. He says that Tesco and Esso fuel come out of the same tank, just put in different branded trailers.

I don't think Esso make any claims about their standard fuels having any special additives, so this is quite possible.

But Shell's standard unleaded and diesel (to take a 'branded' example) is their 'Fuel Save' formulation, which is definitely not identical to supermarket fuel:

Shell FuelSave Regular Unleaded | United Kingdom

Whether you think those differences are significant or not is another matter, but when the price is identical (or almost so) I would personally go for the branded fuel.

 

[Harrythedog]

Well just put 94 litres of diesel in the van saving £14 in the process

 

[martin_a]

Living about 10 miles away from the UK's largest refinery we see various trucks with many brands pulling out of it and several different brands filling up the local supermarkets. Mind, Morrisons appears to be especially good at only using their branded lorries.

m.

 

[Dryce]

Whether you think those differences are significant or not is another matter, but when the price is identical (or almost so) I would personally go for the branded fuel.

But just what are those differences?

AFAICT Shell actually don't say anything other than a hint about lubrication Heineken style (lubricates the parts that normal engine oils can't reach - though note the 'easily' cop out even on that) and as for efficiency it's got the cop out 'designed to help', 'designed to save', 'designed to improve' which are meaningless. And 'you could start to benefit' and 'can help'. And the really bizarrely meaningless "helps you get the most out of every drop" basically of itself.

So fuzzy words and a statement of intent.

No actual claim is made that needs to be *substantiated*.

They could equally make the claim that Shell Fuelsave helps fight the 7 signs of fuel wastage or even helps drivers look younger.

 

[Faceliftw211]

Interesting last point you make there Dryce; my wife says that I look younger now than I did 5 yrs ago. In the interim I have used Shell and Esso with a bit of cheapo Morrisons in the Merc. The question is, which brand is responsible for this miraculous transformation??

 

[Dryce]

Interesting last point you make there Dryce; my wife says that I look younger now than I did 5 yrs ago. In the interim I have used Shell and Esso with a bit of cheapo Morrisons in the Merc. The question is, which brand is responsible for this miraculous transformation??

Question that comes to mind is which brand has your wife been sniffing prior to making the flattering remarks.

 

[BTB 500]

But just what are those differences?

AFAICT Shell actually don't say anything other than a hint about lubrication Heineken style (lubricates the parts that normal engine oils can't reach - though note the 'easily' cop out even on that) and as for efficiency it's got the cop out 'designed to help', 'designed to save', 'designed to improve' which are meaningless. And 'you could start to benefit' and 'can help'. And the really bizarrely meaningless "helps you get the most out of every drop" basically of itself.

So fuzzy words and a statement of intent.

No actual claim is made that needs to be *substantiated*.

They could equally make the claim that Shell Fuelsave helps fight the 7 signs of fuel wastage or even helps drivers look younger.

On the link I gave they state

it’s enriched with Shell Efficiency Improver, combined with a special detergent package

which doesn't sound that fuzzy to me, and I'm sure could be proved (or disproved) easily enough by analysis of a sample. So I seriously doubt they are making it up!

 

[Dryce]

On the link I gave they state Quote:
it’s enriched with Shell Efficiency Improver, combined with a special detergent package
which doesn't sound that fuzzy to me, and I'm sure could be proved (or disproved) easily enough by analysis of a sample. So I seriously doubt they are making it up!

No *substantial* claims are actually made so what exactly would you be so easily proving or disproving by your analysis?

I could sell you fuel 'enriched with Dryce Efficiency Improver combined with a special detergent package' by sloshing some mild detergent in my mouth and spitting it into the fuel.

You could prove or disprove something by analysis of a sample - and I wouldn't be making it up either.

The point is that the words are chosen very carefully - just like a cosmetics ad - to make sure they *appear* to say something but they can't be caught out if anybody asks them to back it up. Fuelsave is just a bit worse IMO because it doesn't actually infer that it does very much at all - probably to make sure that they don't take anything away from what they say about their premium fuel products.

So read the words again. What exactly are they claiming that is tangible? Why exactly should you buy this stuff over brand X?

 

[martin_a]

On the link I gave they state which doesn't sound that fuzzy to me, and I'm sure could be proved (or disproved) easily enough by analysis of a sample. So I seriously doubt they are making it up!

Well they couldn't convince the Advertising standards Agency of their claims. Had to withdraw their adverts. the link you provided still says "you could" but doesn't say "you will save x amount"

The Advertising Standards Authority investigated the matter and upheld the consumersí complaints. It ruled that Shell could not provide sufficient proof that an average motorist would experience fuel savings up to 2% simply by using the FuelSave products.



Shell Asked to Withdraw Misleading Advertisement

m.

 

[A210AMG]

It would be good, and something like AUtoexpress do these types of things.

Two identical cars on say 50K mile one always uses the supermarket fuel and the other a premuium brand.

Then See what the engines look like in bits.

OK almost impossible to get two cars driven the same for that length of time...but interesting to see.

 

[BTB 500]

No *substantial* claims are actually made so what exactly would you be so easily proving or disproving by your analysis?

That it's not exactly the same product from the same tank as supermarket fuel - which is what was being suggested