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95 will be fine, supermarket stuff also fine.
Its only places like Romania where the fuel is full of twigs where you have to worry.
Its only places like Romania where the fuel is full of twigs where you have to worry.
Red C220
MB Enthusiast
Cue obscure Romanian member that will now no doubt be offended.
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It won't be a problem for your car, but it's important to be aware that 95-octane fuel in France is almost exclusively "SP95-E10" which contains 10% Ethanol. This fuel is not compatible with the fuel system of many older vehicles (and some surprisingly recent motorcycles).
More information is available from the ACEA here (link to the Fuel Compatibility list at the bottom of the page), or here if you can understand French.
Supermarket fuel in France is absolutely fine and generally cheaper than other sources. It's much cheaper than AutoRoute filling stations - typically €0.10 per litre less at least. If your car benefits from 98-octane fuel, or you need/prefer not to use SP95-E10 then the SP98 is not adulterated with ethanol and the price premium is generally only a couple of cents a litre.
More information is available from the ACEA here (link to the Fuel Compatibility list at the bottom of the page), or here if you can understand French.
Supermarket fuel in France is absolutely fine and generally cheaper than other sources. It's much cheaper than AutoRoute filling stations - typically €0.10 per litre less at least. If your car benefits from 98-octane fuel, or you need/prefer not to use SP95-E10 then the SP98 is not adulterated with ethanol and the price premium is generally only a couple of cents a litre.
Hamis düh egy hamis magyar . Valaki esetleg menni a baj , hogy fordítsa le azt hiszem , hogy egy pat hátoldalán , ha megtennéd.
MB-BTurbo
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I am supposed to use 98 in mine but Ive been using Sainsburys 97 with not problems at all.
...NDFR, what on earth is going on in your avatar?
...NDFR, what on earth is going on in your avatar?
flango
Hardcore MB Enthusiast
Stick to the 98 the high ethanol 95's have been known to cause issues with the M111 engine in terms of seal and gasket degredation
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SP95-E10 causes a multitude of problems with the fuel system on older cars, many surprisingly modern bikes, pretty much anything with a carburettor, and it even damages certain paint finishes. It has also caused world-wide food shortages as ground is reallocated to growing bio-crops that can be used to make ethanol rather than less-profitable food.
Other than that, it was a great idea by our Euro-Politicians to "save the planet" by reducing the consumption of fossil fuels...
MB-BTurbo
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Does the 97 from supermarkets, Texaco etc have ethanol in it?
You can never tell as there is no requirement to disclose ethanol content. It can be anywhere between none and 5%.
The fact that ethanol enhances octane rating might suggest it's likely to be 5 %
This article was mentioned before and might be out of date, but still makes an informative reading, I think:
TR Register
PS I didn't see any info online on supermarket petrols, apart from Tesco Momentum 99 - it does contain 5% ethanol.
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Freedom
Active Member
I don't know about you guys, but i don't trust supermarket's fuel(all grades). From my life experience dealing with tuned cars(drift, drag, circuit), i can only say one thing, never trust cheap fuel. :failEven in-everyday commuting you can feel the difference in cars performance, engine work, fuel consumption
AL21784
New Member
I have a BP garage within 500 yards of my house and a tesco 300 yards further up the road, tesco is cheaper by a good few pence per litre.
in my old vectra, mk3 golf and now my MB, I can tell the difference in economy.
I would rather pay extra for BP that use supermarket rubbish.
Alan
in my old vectra, mk3 golf and now my MB, I can tell the difference in economy.
I would rather pay extra for BP that use supermarket rubbish.
Alan
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I don't know about you guys, but i don't trust supermarket's fuel(all grades). From my life experience dealing with tuned cars(drift, drag, circuit), i can only say one thing, never trust cheap fuel. :failEven in-everyday commuting you can feel the difference in cars performance, engine work, fuel consumption
Nope, you can't. I'll qualify that, though; in Saab Aero turbo engines you can't. I tried a few tanks of V-Power in my 9000 and 9-5 Aeros, and it made no discernible difference to anything.
I use only V-Power or Tesco Momentum in my 55Ks because they are the highest-octane fuels available, and I assume that because of the price they will also have the best additive package. I did try using cooking Asda for a while, just to see if I could discern any difference; again, none.
I suspect that these days, all this guff about cheap supermarket fuel is just that - guff. You may get the odd bad batch, but do people really believe that major supermarket chains with reputations to lose would deliberately sell inferior fuel? I don't.
Freedom
Active Member
Very simple trick, you want to get more £ from leftovers in your tanks? Yes! What you do then?? Mix 2 grades of fuel and sell as higher one. Every car generates different feeling, every driver has a different feeling to it's car. I am talking from real world experience, not from Daily Mail or what my grandma heard
If you never had a problem, then it's very good! 
Non of us need bad fuel in our MB's! 
