Which grade of fuel should be used in AMG's?

[C43AMG]

Only the best. Shell V-Power.

 

[juux]

Just a note to say that in the USA, 'regular' gas is 89 RON and Premium is maybe 95 depending on the brand, i.e. well below the UK equivalent.:

Not quite. Octane ratings in the US are based on RON+MON/2 (average of two different ways of measuring resistance to pre-ignition) which doesn't equate directly to the plain RON measure used in Europe.

'Regular pump gas' at 89 octane is roughly equivalent to our 95RON, 'Premium' at around 91/92 in the US equivalent to our 97RON.

Octane rating - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I generally use standard 95 from my local Tesco. Even if it loses a few horses, there's plenty more where they came from

Pains me to hear you say this (and not just because it reinforces stereotypes about tight Scots ) because, although your car doesn't have forced induction (and therefore has a lesser risk of knock with poor fuel), it's still a performance engine and deserves the best.

I'm hoping you wouldn't put remoulds on your 63, why would you compromise the performance (not to mention throttle response, economy and general engine health) by using fuel which is only a few % cheaper?

 

[scottishv8owner]

Not quite. Octane ratings in the US are based on RON+MON/2 (average of two different ways of measuring resistance to pre-ignition) which doesn't equate directly to the plain RON measure used in Europe.

'Regular pump gas' at 89 octane is roughly equivalent to our 95RON, 'Premium' at around 91/92 in the US equivalent to our 97RON.

Octane rating - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Pains me to hear you say this (and not just because it reinforces stereotypes about tight Scots ) because, although your car doesn't have forced induction (and therefore has a lesser risk of knock with poor fuel), it's still a performance engine and deserves the best.

I'm hoping you wouldn't put remoulds on your 63, why would you compromise the performance (not to mention throttle response, economy and general engine health) by using fuel which is only a few % cheaper?

Its not really about the price, otherwise I wouldn't have brought a car that deprecates at 1000 a month, it's more that its convenient that a 8 mile round trip to a Shell garage, and the fact that my local Tesco keeps running out of their higher grade fuel!

I've filled up with various different grades from various suppliers both for various performance cars I've owned, and I really struggle to tell the difference in throttle response, etc. It may scientifically be better, but there is an awful lot of marketing BS thrown out by oil companies that people fall for.

 

[DRBC43AMG]

I've filled up with various different grades from various suppliers both for various performance cars I've owned, and I really struggle to tell the difference in throttle response, etc. It may scientifically be better, but there is an awful lot of marketing BS thrown out by oil companies that people fall for.

+1 and I have used 95, 98 or 100 which we have here and I have nor noticed any differences in consumption or perfomance, except my wallet stays a bit thicker with 95

 

[juux]

..it's more that its convenient that a 8 mile round trip to a Shell garage, and the fact that my local Tesco keeps running out of their higher grade fuel!

Fair enough, I suppose

Eight miles would seem like a nice excuse to go for another wee run though, no?

.. there is an awful lot of marketing BS thrown out by oil companies that people fall for.

There's BS and there's verifiable fact. Get to a rolling road, stick some det cans on and listen to the difference that poor fuel can make.

I wouldn't like to be the person who has a warranty claim for a knackered AMG engine refused because the ECU logged constant ignition retardation due to detonation! (See Californian class action lawsuit regarding the M156 V8)

 

[scottishv8owner]

I've heard about that lawsuit, the claim seems to be more about premature wear due to the incorrect use of materials than a fuel issue. I guess the jury is still out on whether this is a real issue or just the septics having a go to get some $$$$$$!

 

[juux]

I've heard about that lawsuit, the claim seems to be more about premature wear due to the incorrect use of materials than a fuel issue. I guess the jury is still out on whether this is a real issue or just the septics having a go to get some $$$$$$!

Completely agree, but whatever the root cause, anything like this in the ECU record gives the manufacturer wriggle room.

 

[SavMan]

Just have the ECU reset!

 

[k15yeo]

Just a note to say that in the USA, 'regular' gas is 89 RON and Premium is maybe 95 depending on the brand, i.e. well below the UK equivalent.

The sticker in my E63 says to use 98 RON, but a minimum of 93.

I generally use standard 95 from my local Tesco. Even if it loses a few horses, there's plenty more where they came from

Recommend a good quality regular fuel rather than cheap supermarket fuel

 

[Rashman]

I've always used V-Power.
But a lot of people swear by the momentum stuff that Tesco does.
I've also heard that the tesco stuff is a very slightly higher RON fuel than V-Power.

I was tempted to try some because of this but still haven't because I like to think that V-Power is a cleaner fuel.

I'm no expert on fuel and it may be that a lot of the fuels on offer come from similar sources, but I feel better buying from a company who's business IS fuel.

Plus I don't like the idea of buying fuel from a company that uses their lorries for transporting milk one day, and then fuel the next.

LOL

 

[John]

IIRC, it saves roughly a fiver per tank to use cheap vs. Tesco Momentum.





0-60 in 4.2 is possible with Momentum.

 

[AMGBlack]

The DME operates a closed loop knock detection system.

They will knock on 95 octane if coming straight from 97+ and the DME will automatically retard the ignition timing. This wil result in atleast around 20hp less HP and midrange torque. The engine will generally feel less responsive.

If you cannot feel this it's because you've not run the car long enough on high octane to notice.

While the DME is quite quick it will take a while to overcome the negative knock adaptions per cylinder. Once the DME achieves close to the factory set ignition targets you WILL notice the difference going back to 95.

How long it takes to achieve the stock ignition targets moving to high octane will depend on the knock adaptions. In most cases the knock adaptions must be reset.

Understand opne simple fact - using high octane fuel stops detonation and is the cheapest performance upgrade you can have.

If you think 20hp is not alot then you should remove 20hp from your current setup and go drive the car. You WILL notice it.

Also, the closer the engine runs to the stock ignition targets the better the fuel economy will be.

When the DME listens to knock it not only retards ignition but also adds fuel under heavy load to full load at high rpm to protect the engine.

Yes, if there was no knock detection the factory targets would be so low that it would work just fine on 95 octane and probably never knock (until carbon build up int he cylinders takes it's course). So using high octane gives little or no performance gains on a static ignition setup.

This post was excellent and says all it needs to. Those who say you dont notice the difference, read this again and it explains why.

I have done 55K miles in my BlackSeries in 3 years and you DO notice the difference in fuel. Because mine runs out so fast (lol) I sometimes have to put normal in (dead of night, run out of superplus etc) and the engine does "pink" slighty and I do notice the difference. Put the nice stuff in and all hell breaks loose and its wonderful..

If you do 5000 miles a year, at 22mpg (do you know thats about £87 extra in fuel costs). . aint worth the scrimp when it makes such a difference

Drive it, enjoy it. . let the new fuel take effect and .. have fun

 

[R120]

I really notice the difference in my C43 . I always use V-Power when possible, the car runs so much smoother and returns better economy too. Feels like a different animal

 

[Aitch55]

This post was excellent and says all it needs to. Those who say you dont notice the difference, read this again and it explains why.

I have done 55K miles in my BlackSeries in 3 years and you DO notice the difference in fuel. Because mine runs out so fast (lol) I sometimes have to put normal in (dead of night, run out of superplus etc) and the engine does "pink" slighty and I do notice the difference. Put the nice stuff in and all hell breaks loose and its wonderful..

If you do 5000 miles a year, at 22mpg (do you know thats about £87 extra in fuel costs). . aint worth the scrimp when it makes such a difference

Drive it, enjoy it. . let the new fuel take effect and .. have fun

That post was indeed excellent as is this thread


From my days in a modified Subaru Impreza, the fuels I found best were
1. Tesco 99 RON (name's been changed)
2. Shell V Power 98 RON
3. Esso 97 RON
BP Ultimate, don't know the RON but wouldn't put it in my lawnmower. This was the most expensive and would most easily produce knock. I tried a tankful when it first appeared and the knock alarm lit up on the road from the petrol station

Tesco 99 and V Power produced similar dyno results with Tesco slightly ahead
Esso 97 for the road if I was unable to find the first two.

And, I've only used 95 in the SL because that's what it says to use and I drive it like Miss Daisy's in the back.

Next fill up I'll try a higher octane (not BP) and see if there's a difference. It should only take one or two extra mpg to pay for itself.

 

[Shude]

Since buying my CLK55 I've been to the pumps 106 times and 90 of those were VPower. If nothing else the car has progressively become louder and presumably all the rubbish that deposits inside the engine has been cleared out. I really don't know if the car is any quicker on VPower because I have nothing to compare it to, same goes for efficiency really.

VPower is about 7p/litre more than fuelsave and accrues double-points with driver's club. Since buying the car I have summed ~19000 points including promotions (but not including the last 3 months), this has resulted in vouchers totalling £95 so far. The vouchers are worth more when you spend them on VPower.

Results? I pay £17 per month extra for VPower and I get £4.46 back in vouchers. What's that work out as then? £13 per month? Anyone complaining about £13 per month for premium fuel doesn't deserve to drive a performance car.

 

[ddavidm]

V power here.

 

[ghibbett]

Since buying my CLK55 I've been to the pumps 106 times and 90 of those were VPower. If nothing else the car has progressively become louder and presumably all the rubbish that deposits inside the engine has been cleared out. I really don't know if the car is any quicker on VPower because I have nothing to compare it to, same goes for efficiency really.

VPower is about 7p/litre more than fuelsave and accrues double-points with driver's club. Since buying the car I have summed ~19000 points including promotions (but not including the last 3 months), this has resulted in vouchers totalling £95 so far. The vouchers are worth more when you spend them on VPower.

Results? I pay £17 per month extra for VPower and I get £4.46 back in vouchers. What's that work out as then? £13 per month? Anyone complaining about £13 per month for premium fuel doesn't deserve to drive a performance car.

A nicely summed up bit of math there. Thanks for sharing

 

[Riverside Red]

Always used V power or Tesco Momentum in my Honda S2000 for 6 years, my new SLK55 AMG will be the same. Can't understand why anyone would want to buy a performance car and then not exploit all the power available.

I think there was a test competed by Autoexpress and Momentum produced the most power with V Power a close second.

RR

 

[Power_n_Glory]

FWIW... just on the topic of expensive fuels;

I was at my local multi-talented mechanic today with two cracked AMG wheels (pot holes, eh?) and he had in a bike just like mine - an 09 BMW K1300S and all it's valve seals were shot at 21k miles with with the head off I could see thick layers of oil burnt onto the valves and piston crown and I would say the wrong end of £1k of labour at a very good value for money mechanic! Each valve took half an hour to scrape clean, and yes there are 16 of them. His advice to me when I asked 'how can I avoid that, then?' he replied 'not a lot, but using V-Power will help clean the inlet valves and burn cleaner so it's your best bet'

I have been using 95 in both C55 and the Beemer but from that advice and this great thread, I will be getting my high octane loyalty card from now on!

 

[Bobsta]

Just stumbled across this thread and have to say I'm utterly gobsmacked that anyone would even consider putting regular unleaded in an AMG!

1) It's a performance car. Give it performance petrol.
2) The minimum grade fuel is clearly printed inside the fuel filler flap(!)
3) Do you honestly think paying 135p instead of 141p for lower grade fuel is a good way to save money?! If you do, may I politely suggest you hand over your performance car to someone who deserves it and go buy a diesel instead.

As others have already said, doing a simple "consumer test" where you try one tank of one fuel immediately followed by a tank of another fuel is completely pointless. Don't do it. Mercedes/AMG tuned your engines to run on 98 RON fuel or better - don't stick 95 in(!)

I've religiously put Tesco 99 (now Momentum) in my last four cars (FTO GPX, Impreza P1, 350z, C63) since it was first released in the early 2000s. Back in the day when it was first released there were only a few stations in the country selling it and you had to hunt it down (or go with Shell Optimax, now V-Power). Today the stuff is readily available. There's absolutely no excuse not to be feeding your AMGs it *exclusively*.

I bought my 350z from new (March 2005) and sold it earlier this year with 48,000 miles on the clock. During that time it had only ever had £5 of regular unleaded in it (in an emergency). Every other fill-up had been Tesco Momentum (96%), Shell V-Power (3%) or another Super Unleaded (1%).

Next thing people will be posting asking whether it's OK to put semi-synthetic oil in their AMG because it's £8 for a litre bottle and not £13.