Diesel preference

[R M]

Hi , sure this topic has been covered ,
Just wondering people thoughts on supermarket diesel long term use ?
Would you recommend a fuel conditioner etc
Or stay away and try bp / shell + ?
Regards

 

[Silver-Fox]

Hi , sure this topic has been covered ,
Just wondering people thoughts on supermarket diesel long term use ?
Would you recommend a fuel conditioner etc
Or stay away and try bp / shell + ?
Regards

You might find your answer in the couple of threads from previous posts

Definitely been covered before

 

[R M]

Apologies put in some today & wasn’t convinced after putting it in

 

[Silver-Fox]

Apologies put in some today & wasn’t convinced after putting it in

Please don’t apologise I was just saying there is a ton of info on this forum.

I was told every fourth fill put some branded fuel in as it contains detergents etc.

HTH

 

[Jo662]

I have seen many an article over the years saying there is a reason why supermarket diesel is so cheap.
I didn’t think much of it until my daughter’s BMW X6 started playing up,she always used supermarket fuel . A mechanic friend of mine looked at it and told her to use Vpower diesel for a couple of fill ups, and after a few hundred miles it ran perfectly again,and now she uses Shell or similar fuel stations.

Is it true supermarket fuel is inferior,who knows,but I don’t use it.

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[meanders]

All of those that have always filled with Supermarket fuel (like me) will tell you it's the same as the other possibly with a slightly different set if additives and to use it. That is backed up by the fact that all fuel sold in Europe and here MUST comply with the B7 or B10 standards set down and that one Funster used to drive tankers who confirmed it all comes from the same tanks to which they just put the additives in.

All of those that believe the stories that supermarket fuel is somehow inferior and have been told that by their mechanic or some other authority including other delivery drivers, will tell you that using it will ultimately wreck your engine.

I am afraid it comes down to whom you believe.

The additives are a closely guarded secret, and it's possible all the fuels get the same additives, or not!

 

[Whippet93]

I have seen many an article over the years saying there is a reason why supermarket diesel is so cheap.
I didn’t think much of it until my daughter’s BMW X6 started playing up,she always used supermarket fuel . A mechanic friend of mine looked at it and told her to use Vpower diesel for a couple of fill ups, and after a few hundred miles it ran perfectly again,and now she uses Shell or similar fuel stations.

Is it true supermarket fuel is inferior,who knows,but I don’t use it.

surely there is a reason why supermarket fuel is cheaper....that quality?

 

[ChrisL]

When I had some work done on my old Mitsubishi by Diesel Bob, I asked about fuel treatments etc. He said just run a tank of premium diesel through every few months, regular including supermarket diesel is fine for everyday use.

 

[rod_vw]

Never use anything else but supermarket fuel and that's in a bit less than 300k miles in various campers. All Volkswagen of course, perhaps they are a hardier breed than many.

 

[Gromett]

surely there is a reason why supermarket fuel is cheaper....that quality?

Quantity and they hope to get you into the supermarket where the real money is.





My opinion is that all UK fuel comes from a few refineries. The supermarkets do not operate their own refinery. Asda for example do not have their own refinery that is much more efficient than the Shell one and can therefore sell it cheaper.

There are only 6 major refineries left in the uk.

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[meanders]

surely there is a reason why supermarket fuel is cheaper....that quality?

Or simple supply and demand! Supermarket PFS's have significantly higher throughput thus giving a better purchase price and they are prepared to sell at lower margins.

 

[Scottish Scrutineer]

Quantity and they hope to get you into the supermarket where the real money is.





My opinion is that all UK fuel comes from a few refineries. The supermarkets do not operate their own refinery. Asda for example do not have their own refinery that is much more efficient than the Shell one and can therefore sell it cheaper.

There are only 6 major refineries left in the uk.

The base fuel is the same from each refinery, but there are additives added to each load at the loading gantry. So a tanker loading for a BP filling station will have a different blend of additives to a Shell/Morrisons/ASDA* filling station
*other suppliers are available

Or simple supply and demand! Supermarket PFS's have significantly higher throughput thus giving a better purchase price and they are prepared to sell at lower margins.

Fast turnover of fuel is almost always good, especially with E5 petrol as some blends deteriorate slightly with age. Competition fuels are sealed to prevent this deterioration and ensure they are to the high MON/RON & Oxygen concentration required for higher performance requirements.

 

[meanders]

Quantity and they hope to get you into the supermarket where the real money is.

Really. Non-foods yes, specialist foods yes but lots of stuff sold at close to no margin to attract the customer. The fuel is seen as a necessity, but is expensive to provide service, so not as a 'puller'. Those where they have a shop in the kiosk hope you will pick up things many of which are higher margin like confectionery, coffee to go etc. Where the PFS is open 24x7 they will also stock a number of 'convenience lines' that are subtlety different to what is on sale in the store at an enhanced price to pay for the convenience factor of being able to buy at 3am.

 

[Jonno1103]

It you have one of the fuel apps, you'll probably find that the days of cheap supermarket fuel are over. To me saving a penny a litre doesn't make it cheap.
Greenenergy supply Tesco. Shell supply Morrisons. BP supply Sainsbury's & Essar supply ASDA.

Arround 55% of U.K. used diesel is imported and not all U.K. refineries supply all types of fuel. For instance Valero in Pembrokeshire don't refine petrol only diesel, heating oils & military jet fuel. Exxon in Fawley supply petrol & airliner fuel.

 

[meanders]

BP supply Sainsbury's

Bunkem. Sainsbury's have bought on the spot market and supplied their own fuel for two decades or more as did Savacentre before the BhS sell out to JS. The contract is sourced out to the fuel delivery companies so you may see a BP tanker, or a Shell or a Jet or Sainsbury's own. I know that for a fact.

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[Barti Ddu]

As Jonno1103 says - supermarket fuel is no longer any cheaper than branded fuel in the UK.

I use the various apps to find the cheapest fuel in whatever town I am in. Invariably a small independent selling branded fuel is cheaper than the supermarkets.

That said - I'm pretty certain that supermarket fuel is not inferior to branded fuel - it's all required to meet the same legal standard.

I just buy whatever is cheapest.

 

[LostInSpace]

I still hear the advert from the mid 1970s. - You can be sure of shell.

So I use Shell V-Power all the time for both the car and motorhome. (petrol and diesel)

 

[Jonno1103]

Bunkem. Sainsbury's have bought on the spot market and supplied their own fuel for two decades or more as did Savacentre before the BhS sell out to JS. The contract is sourced out to the fuel delivery companies so you may see a BP tanker, or a Shell or a Jet or Sainsbury's own. I know that for a fact.

When did the BP partnership end?

Edit: ok, 2009.

 

[EuroTrotters]

Tesco 99 for petrol cars

Tesco diesel for others unless we can be bothered to queue for Costco diesel

In Spain, I use Repsol premium

 

[TheMobileWanderer]

All of those that have always filled with Supermarket fuel (like me) will tell you it's the same as the other possibly with a slightly different set if additives and to use it. That is backed up by the fact that all fuel sold in Europe and here MUST comply with the B7 or B10 standards set down and that one Funster used to drive tankers who confirmed it all comes from the same tanks to which they just put the additives in.

All of those that believe the stories that supermarket fuel is somehow inferior and have been told that by their mechanic or some other authority including other delivery drivers, will tell you that using it will ultimately wreck your engine.

I am afraid it comes down to whom you believe.

The additives are a closely guarded secret, and it's possible all the fuels get the same additives, or not!

For me, the jury is still out. My specialist mechanic for 30yrs rolls his eyes when after doing a service, I respond in the affirmative if he asks, "you've been filling up at the supermarket again haven't you?" Not after every service; just those where the fuel filter (petrol) is gunked up.

It's correct that the fuels are made to an industry spec. That's as much about engine manufacturers knowing which was to design their engines, as it is about anything else. Standardised in its basic form.

The additives may or may not be standardised but they aren't just detergents, as others seem to suggest in various forums. They include lubricants too which help to prolong the efficiency of an engine. There's quite a few seals in the fuel system which need lubricated or they can perish and crack.

So, I used BP or Shell (BP mostly). I've read posts from a fuel guy on another forum who adds the, em, additives and it's the brand names, not supermarkets, who require them. His suggestion (well, advice actually) was to use supermarket stuff if that's what the customer chooses but, if doing so, to use a decent additive; one which increases the cetane number to high as possible. There's one brand of additives he mentioned - for diesel, it was Archoil. I'm not sure what may be good for petrol engines.

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[Jev88]

My work colleague does a lot of installations of monitoring and flow equipment at refineries around the UK.

The huge storage tanks are generally all the same and then different brands add more or less additives before shipping out.

All fuels must comply with legislation blah blah blah......

The on-site lads recommended a tank of premium diesel every month or two, otherwise buy the cheapest.

(On a separate note shipping oil was only required to reduce sulphur content about 5 years ago and wait for it...... No way to check the fuel you just purchased was low Sulphur or not !!! Makes a mockery of asking consumers to use cleaner fuels when the monstrous cargo ships burn the dirtiest fuel available).

 

[SVMC15]

I have been using ESSO supreme diesel in my car for 18 months now, with the fuel card it is only 4p more than regular.

Usually I get 8000 miles before the warning to top up the ad blue tank lights, around 11 months so it works out a re fill every service. This year (March) I have serviced the car and am now at 10500 miles still no sign of having to refill the tank!

Is this down to using premium fuel? I haven't noticed much difference in fuel consumption.

 

[dunnah01]

No way does premium petrol make the 15p/litre difference noticeable in our car.

 

[DuxDeluxe]

Having spent most of my working life dealing with fuels and fuel testing/quality, including marine fuels, I buy wherever is convenient nowadays. Due to current low mileage per year for all three vehicles, I tend to put E5 premium in the Hyundai and Shell VPower in the Volvo and the Wildax. If the mileage were higher it would be supermarket fuel if convenient. I have written a lot on this subject on previous threads and also some car clubs; suffice to say that some mechanics should know better

 

[CazPaul]

Having spent most of my working life dealing with fuels and fuel testing/quality, including marine fuels, I buy wherever is convenient nowadays. Due to current low mileage per year for all three vehicles, I tend to put E5 premium in the Hyundai and Shell VPower in the Volvo and the Wildax. If the mileage were higher it would be supermarket fuel if convenient. I have written a lot on this subject on previous threads and also some car clubs; suffice to say that some mechanics should know better

So in certain situations there’s a good benefit to using the premium fuel then?

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[TheAleMan]

We have a new van and we said from the beginning that we are going to fill up with the good juice about 1 in every 4 fills whenever we can. In the far north of Scotland atm and I don’t think they’ve even heard of V power or Ultimate up here

 

[CazPaul]

We have a new van and we said from the beginning that we are going to fill up with the good juice about 1 in every 4 fills whenever we can. In the far north of Scotland atm and I don’t think they’ve even heard of V power or Ultimate up here

Yes we struggled up there Steve to find the good fuel up there, as soon as you leave the big cities etc

 

[PlacidoD]

I give all my vehicles a occasional treat of BP V Power at least once a year.

 

[SVMC15]

No way does premium petrol make the 15p/litre difference noticeable in our car.

I agree, that is too much. Local Esso is 10p different before the fuel card discount.

 

[TheAleMan]

Yes we struggled up there Steve to find the good fuel up there, as soon as you leave the big cities etc

I think after about Inverness your pretty much buggered for the top fuel Paul.