Shell V-Power

[crankiejohn]

my chipped 850volvo used to run on when switching off if i used any fuel other than shell v-power.

 

[johny5_uk]

just wouldnt recomend using avgas in your mercedes though !!! as it can burn large holes in the pistons

Doesn't this mean something? ie the car/engine I have was made to run on standard diesel yet we see V-Power diesel giving better mpg + performance and surely this is due to a higher explosion inside the bore?
So, why doesn't this affect the longevity of the engine?
I take it the simple answer is that the engine gives more power at lower revs but surely its working the bores harder?

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Regular unleaded and higher octane fuels contain broadly the same amount of energy per unit. Any extra power or efficiency gains that may result from an engine using high octane fuel is not due to extra energy released by the fuel itself.

Whilst it might be counter-intuitive, higher octane fuels actually resist burning longer. This is a good thing because it means the timing of when the fuel burns can be more accurately controlled.

Greater control enables higher compression and more advanced timing, which can increase power output and efficiency of the engine. Of course you can advance the timing without using high octane fuel but detonation (or knock) would set in sooner and spoil proceedings - potentially damaging the engine.

Any increased power derived from using high octane fuel and safely advancing timing will be well within the safety margins built into the engine. More over, the greater control when igniting the gas/air mixture will actually do less harm than a more volatile bang caused by lower octane fuel, albeit marginally.

 

[jeremy 2516]

Last year when I took the 2.5-16V to Hockenheim I used Shell Racing 100 fuel , only available in Europe , Now THAT definately makes a difference !!

 

[jeremy 2516]

a number of years ago i used to race a motorcycle and we were able to use any commercially available fuel, including avgas which is about 110 octane instead of either 95 or 98 thats commonly available, i was once almost out of fuel in an old land rover and used some of the avgas (110octane) mixed 50/50 with petrol,


Back in the day , we used to prepare racing Cobras and we used a 50/50 mix of Avgas like you did , but we were told that the Avgas octane rating was between 130-150 , and the mixture was roughly 115-125 !

Edit : top 4 line are quoted .

 

[markjay]

For many years, I used Redex with each tankful. That worked - when removing the injectors they were always squeeky clean, no deposits, even after 40k miles.

Since I have the Merc (w203), I stopped using Redex, but use only BT Ultimate and Shell V-Power. This is because according to MB use of fuel additives could invalidate the warranty. I am hoping that the super-fuels will keep my engine clean just as the Redex did.

I also saw a technical bulletin from MB saying that use of fuel additive is not recommended, but use of fuels already containing such additives is fine.

 

[markjay]

Incidentally.... some yaers ago I was using Texaco High-Octane, and my impression was that the engine (Vauxhall Omega V6 2.6L) liked it better than any other fuel... haven't tried it on the Merc though.

 

[mykulmerc]

Avgas is usually 100LL which means "low lead" which actually means a heck of a lot of lead so it would b****r your cat in addition to any other damage.

 

[jefrs]

I ran my Volvo 245 (2.3 litre petrol, no-cat, auto) on Shell V-power. I also added Castrol lead replacement (with octane boost) for this old 250,000 miles engine, it wanted 98 octane leaded. I would notice a considerable improvement in low-rev running and improvement in mpg on this fuel, perhaps more torque but top-end power increase not noticeable. I did not observe this with BP Ultimate.

 

[Honey Bear]

I'v recently switched to v-power. In terms of power I don't not much of it (I'm rarely in speed freak mode). However, the engine works smoother. Doesn't feel as slow to pick up. Low end it feels strong and tugs better. At high speeds the car doesn't feel like its being worked as hard as usuall.

However, it does get expensive. I haven't noticed much when it come to mpg. I already have filled up with more than 150 litres of v power in the first month. I expect my v-power club card to be coming soon. Not sure if that's a good thing.

edit - I hope to see further changes down the line. BP did nothing for me. But, if its the only fuel around. And I'm desperate for that higher octane count. You can bet I'll end up using them.

 

[Bryan Allman]

Last year when I took the 2.5-16V to Hockenheim I used Shell Racing 100 fuel , only available in Europe , Now THAT definately makes a difference !!

About three years ago I stopped at the garage at the bottom of the hill on the A30 at Egham (opposite Maranello - the Ferrari importers) - I can't remmeber if it was a Shell or BP station. What I do remember is that they had one pump rated at 108 Octane !! It was £2.25 per litre when normal 99 Octane was about £1:00

I was driving a 300bhp Subaru at the time and treated it to half a tank. The car never ran the same after that !!

Never seen that fuel available anywhere else - and must check if its still there at Egham ............

 

[jorjXmckie]

My Alfa 156 2.0 TS always ran better on the higher octane fuels, and gave a few more m.p.g.
Then again it also ran better after I washed it
I tried to put a tankful through periodically. I also became a bit wary of buying supermarket petrol just because it was the cheapest.

 

[christopherwk]

About three years ago I stopped at the garage at the bottom of the hill on the A30 at Egham (opposite Maranello - the Ferrari importers) - I can't remmeber if it was a Shell or BP station. What I do remember is that they had one pump rated at 108 Octane !! It was £2.25 per litre when normal 99 Octane was about £1:00

I know where that is, it's a BP station. BP used to sell 102 octane Ultimate at certain stations, located near race tracks, haven't anything of anything as high as 108 though.

BP Ultimate 102 unleaded | BP Ultimate UK

Also looking at the link, that BP station in Egham did sell 102 Ultimate, possibly becuase of the Ferrari dealer.

 

[jeremy 2516]

There are 2 BP 102 petrol stations near to my home , one on the N.C.R just before Tesco at Friern Barnet , and the other at Southgate opposite Asda .

I have just returned from this years annual event at Hockenheim , and this year I took my 190 3.6 , and used Shell 100 Racing , it really does make a difference in performance , and because of this consequently a serious rise in consumption , as one takes advantage of the extra oomph.

 

[jefrs]

BP is removing BP Ultimate 102 unleaded from the UK market from the end of March 2010.
BP Ultimate Unleaded is a 97 octane premium unleaded petrol
Shell V-Power is also a high performance fuel (99 RON)

Ran the Swedish 245 APC for many years on V-power, the Merc seems to like it too.
I notice a improvement in mpg because I can get better low/mid-range thus less throttle/revs for same speed (the advantage of the slush box). I don't open the gas up for long because the scenery approaches too fast. Most driving is spent poodling along in traffic at 1000-1200rpm.

 

[Tiff]

I used to be able to advance the ignition timing of my X1/9 by a few degrees when using V-Power, with the slight increase in performance. If I then filled with 95 octane it would pink like mad. Proves the difference.

Anyone notice how nice it smells, and how Foreign petrol,even the regular stuff smells the same? Also noticed while in Poland and Germany,the petrol was blue? I suppose its difficult to see in a car, but when filling the bike its obvious...