Diesel -iIs there any difference? (1 Viewer)

Nigel&Debbie

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Hi,

Is there any difference between the Diesel sold by the major super markets and that sold by the main garage suppliers (ie Texaco, Shell & Esso etc).

If so, is the extra cost recouped by extra MPG?

Nigel
 
Feb 16, 2013
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I keep having people tell me this, as I always use tesco as it is close to and I like the points for tunnel tokens:Smile: but just at the moment I am running on shell as I filled up on the way back from Scotland and waiting to see if it indeed does do more mpg on it. I know it's not going to show much but if its a bit better I might try another tankful . BTW I have only been getting 25 mpg out of my Peugeot boxer 2.2 engined van which I am a bit disappointed with, so we shall see.
 

reader

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I cant say long term I have noticed a difference. On the last van I did try BP Ultimate and thought (but cant prove) it did perform better, but when the price premium went up I stopped using it as alternative fill ups.
I do think I get more mpg or kpl from French diesel
A friend uses Ultimate alternate fill ups on a 2.5td boxer with 170k miles on the clock and he says it does more mpg and runs quieter

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Snowbird

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Your right foot is the best way of controlling fuel economy. I have just returned from a trip to Benidorm and on the way down I was in a hurry, but on the way back took 5 days at a more leisurely pace. The return trip took 24 litres less fuel. Older diesel engines are not to bothered what kind of fuel they burn but its a proven fact that the low sulphur fuels are not so kind on injector pumps due to less lubrication. Being a bio burner I don't have this problem.
 
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In the recent dreadfull Phillpot court case in which six poor innocent kids died in an arson attack, the forensic evidence identified petrol from different suppliers Shell and Texaco i think.
Ok i know it's petrol and not diesel but it looks as if there are differences in the additives of different suppliers
 

G4OGE

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I think the price we pay for it there should be no ultimate or low grade it should be good enough to send us into orbit.

Driving style has an effect big foot = empty tank a thought from another thread on exhaust system was that the company tuned the engine for best performance this might be a good option if the cost is not to much it's all offsetting one cost against the other.

knock her out of gear on the down hills and fitting an extendible hook for crafty stealth towing would be good! :ROFLMAO:

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Jan 24, 2010
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havent done a test in the MH, but I have definatley noticed a difference in my car

I do anything between 500 to 1000 miles a week mostly for work (im home based so have no commute) and have a company fuel card, of which I pay for the private mileage. this is calculated on paying the %age of the monthly card spend against the %age of private miles...so Im quite fastidious in getting more out of the MPG...keeps me occupied whilst driving :roflmto:

My 'records' show that my Mpg on locally bought diesel, from a small supplier, does not return anything like the MPG I get from a main stream supplier - as much as 10% difference, and the car doesn't feel as though its running as well either. Supermarket fuel more or less fall somewhere in the middle of the two.

However saying all that...local fuel is more expensive than mainstream so I only use that as a last resort. The difference in price between the supermarkets and mainstream doesn't balance out the better MPG from the mainstream...so where possible I go with supermarket fuel.

The best I ever get is using motorway service stations...but that price is daylight robbery so avoided unless Im caught short and in a hurry to get somewhere

price wise I always try to fill up well away from where I live!! as it is much cheaper. i was up in Wakefield last week and the diesel was £1.37...against the cheapest in our local area of £1.43.

So based on that...I think I will just drive more economically and give up with trying to shave 2p or a couple of MPG of a litre by buying from a certain place:ROFLMAO:

PS the car is a 2.0l golf with the blue motion technology...on a sensible run with mainstream fuel...70mpg is quite doable...I have managed nearly 80 once over a 100 miles journey. Normally get low to mid 60s though on average
 
Feb 16, 2013
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PS the car is a 2.0l golf with the blue motion technology...on a sensible run with mainstream fuel...70mpg is quite doable...I have managed nearly 80 once over a 100 miles journey. Normally get low to mid 60s though on average

Bloody ell. :Eeek:
 

pappajohn

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I think the price we pay for it there should be no ultimate or low grade it should be good enough to send us into orbit.

Driving style has an effect big foot = empty tank a thought from another thread on exhaust system was that the company tuned the engine for best performance this might be a good option if the cost is not to much it's all offsetting one cost against the other.

knock her out of gear on the down hills and fitting an extendible hook for crafty stealth towing would be good! :ROFLMAO:
I realise this was said "tongue in cheek" but for the uninitiated.......DONT TRY IT !

.extremely dangerous and could cause brake fade and subsequent loss of control

Lecture over....as you were :thumb:

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Terry

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In the recent dreadfull Phillpot court case in which six poor innocent kids died in an arson attack, the forensic evidence identified petrol from different suppliers Shell and Texaco i think.
Ok i know it's petrol and not diesel but it looks as if there are differences in the additives of different suppliers

I think they identified the difference between 2 stroke for trimmer and 4 stroke :thumb::winky:
terry
 

pappajohn

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in my opinion all base diesel. is the same......you pay a premium for the extra additives

2-ethylhexyl nitrate and di-tert-butyl peroxide are used as additives to raise the cetane number.

UK/European diesel has a minimum cetane number of 51. Premium diesel fuel can have a cetane number as high as 60.

the higher the cetane number the easier, and more completely, the fuel ignites and burns.

similar to the old 2, 3, 4 and 5 star petrol ratings
 
Last edited:
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PS the car is a 2.0l golf with the blue motion technology...on a sensible run with mainstream fuel...70mpg is quite doable...I have managed nearly 80 once over a 100 miles journey. Normally get low to mid 60s though on average

Bloody ell. :Eeek:

I should add that this is mainly dual carriageway and motorway driving with flowing traffic, and doing an average of mid 60s, and being extremely sensible in overtaking, revving and braking and making virtually no use of the auto stop/start thingy.....it was a flamin hard work!!

The worst Ive done is 52mpg...and that was with a leaded right foot...

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Fireman Sam

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I think they identified the difference between 2 stroke for trimmer and 4 stroke :thumb::winky:
terry

Specialist analysis can identify different petrol ‘types’ and not just brands. This forensic capability is an important resource for Fire Investigators.
 

Wildman

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Delivery drivers have in the past stated that when delivering fuel to garages Any brand is supplied to any garage and supermarkets no different to the rest of them.
 

G4OGE

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Out of gear

Your correct not good practice it comes from years ago when I drove HGV vacuum brakes which did not work very well anyway 30 MPH maximum with 18 ton of bags on the back it was a way of gaining a bit of time it also used to get interesting as well ! but even in gear if you are descending down the cat and fiddle near Buxton with a tipper full of stone your brakes were fit for nothing anyway by the time you reached the bottom they had exhauster devices fitted which used the engine to assist braking which made a hell of a racket.

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stcyr

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We've also experienced a very noticeable difference between French fuel and British fuel - both petrol and diesel. After 1st fill on coming to UK performance is lower, mpg is higher. On this current trip (we're going home tonight), in the car, which is a V40 bi-fuel, we've now found there's a difference in LPG as well: in France we regularly get 250 miles from a full tank of gas (give or take a couple of miles) whereas over here the best we've managed was 222...

These differences have been noticeable over years, not just one-off.

Interesting ... :RollEyes:
 

G4OGE

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I wonder if the climate has something to do with it being generally hotter so it burns easier is it any better on our 2 days of summer?.:ROFLMAO:
 

stcyr

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Don't think so - we have been crossing over 4 or 5 times a year for varying periods all year round, summer and winter for many years (since the sixties). The difference is noticeable very soon after the first fill either side. SWMBO notices it from the passenger seat too, mainly smoothness and acceleration... :Smile:

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Apr 29, 2012
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although care must be taken when running out of gear[rubber coggin], there is nothing wrong with it. Many cars have had the overun option over the years, going back to the old austin westminster, and the 60s Saabs, but near all auto boxed RVs, and many other auto vehicles, have free wheel overun in top gear, with the option to use 3rd and the other gears for normal hold back control, and this does make a lot of fuel difference. When in top, I always listen to the point when going downhill that I dont need to maintain the higher engine revs, and let it roll away till the speed starts to drop on the next hill. Its a bit like being able to free wheel on a pedal bike. Cant comment much on the diesel bit, as I run on home made biodiesel, but the french and others have added biodiesel to their derv for years, ever since sulphur was reduced. We in the UK have currently got up to 5%, but its due to rise to 10 later. Even small amounts of biodiesel make engines run smoother and quieter, due to its massive lubricational abilities.
 

DuxDeluxe

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I think I've commented on this subject before, I will try and find the link rather than write it all again. The specification is the same throughout EU. Super fuels are usually a completely different brew. I usually run the van on Shell VPower - mainly because I like it and a couple of quid on a fill up in a 50k van really is not relevant in the context of annual mileage. The right foot is better.........
 
D

DM14742

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There was a test done in either MMM or Practical Motorhome Magazine a while ago & the findings were that Premium Diesel such as Shell V Power are worth paying the extra for as the MPG gained outstrips the extra cost of the fuel. As far as I am aware fuel has marker additives added to identify which outlet the fuel was bought from which assists Fire Service and Police investigators amongst others.

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DuxDeluxe

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I haven't really bothered to check it using a spreadsheet but anecdotally, the trip computer has shown better mpg since I started using VPower.
 

john kyte

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I have just used a full tank of Belgian diesel got 450 miles exactly the same as I get on uk diesel

I am told that in Jersey all fuel stations are supplied from the only large storage tank on the island
 
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we filledup with shell in luxembourg last year and the trip computer went up 5 mpg

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A client of ours from Spain did a detailed long term test over 15 months, so fastidious was he, he wanted to compare standard and super diesel at the same time of year for an accurate comparison.

He came to the conclusion that providing the super diesel stayed in the 12 - 15 % dearer bracket it was cheaper to use super due to the extra economy.

He's was pretty convincing so tried it first on our works 2006 2.8 JTD Ducato Maxi van with approx. 100,000 miles, then on our 1992 Mecrcedes Hymer S670 with the 2.9 non turbo engine with 48,000 miles.

In both instances the economy and engine performance were markedly better. About 10 - 11% for the Ducato, with a better response, quieter and a little smoother. The Mercedes Hymer was around 15% better economy, quite a bit more powerful (yes subjective I know but top speed attainable increased markedly too) and sounded nicer too.

The added bonus was lower emissions for both vehicles at their subsequent MoT's, the MH substantially so.

I use the super diesel at each fill and don't chop and change. For reasons unknown I get the best return from Total super diesel but will use whatever is available in super. Have not used other or supermarket fuels for about 14 months now as for us there are only benefits.

Also use super diesel in our car but 10% more economy and lower emissions are the only advantages. As others have said there are substantial savings to be made with diesel engines by lowering the average speed a little.
 

daisy mae

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I use Shell as does my hubby in his car, not only does it run smoother I get 5 miles more, my gauge at the moment is on a quarter, it registers 197.7 miles, I am really pleased with that, super market fuels have bio-diesel in , not good for my vehicle so am sticking with Shell. I always fill up to the brim, then put mileage into computer, just keeping a check on it, also have a light right foot, I use gears not brakes, believe that makes a difference. Shell where I buy from is £1.36 per litre
 

Steve and Denise

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I should add that this is mainly dual carriageway and motorway driving with flowing traffic, and doing an average of mid 60s, and being extremely sensible in overtaking, revving and braking and making virtually no use of the auto stop/start thingy.....it was a flamin hard work!!

The worst Ive done is 52mpg...and that was with a leaded right foot...

The best I have done with our car is 21 mpg the worst is about 12 smiles per gallon :Smile::Smile::Smile:
 

wasp

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Funny thing is my Transit 2.4 diesel still only does about 25-6 to the gal after nine years although it has only done about 30000 miles in that time. My Toyota d4d van that I use as a skip on wheels for the job,when it was new I got 365 miles on about 65 litres, now it`s got 178000 miles on it does 440 ish to the tank full so it must be cos the engine is not so tight.:thumb::thumb::thumb:

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