Petrol

[Mops1]

Whilst speaking to an ex tanker driver he said that the supermarkets get the fuel from the same refineries as he did, however he always had to put in certain additives into his which was documented on his sheet to show they had been added. He said that the supermarket drivers at that time (End of 2005) did not add these additives and that is why their prices are lower, however you are likely to get better fuel consumption from Esso,Shell,BP etc due to the added additives.

I have to say having tried supermarket and then Esso I did get more miles from Esso. Not scientific as could be lots of other reasons for this.

Just thought I'd see if we have any tanker drivers who could comment on this for the benefit of all.

[Karma Supra]

I use tesco 99 ron over all the others anyway

[Demonic Angel]

I use Shell fuel and its actually cheaper than the Tesco fuel by a couple of pence.... although it is in a different county...

Can't say I notice a difference in miles though....

[Ryan1985]

I always use Shell as it's the same price as ASDA and it's a big name, I seem to trust them more!

[JustJJ]

I use Shell.. as Tesco dont have 99ron here yet grrrrrrrrrr lol and she seems to run better on it than anything else I stick in the tank... so mebbe additives are good.. dunno... she runs lumpy on cold or idle without it *shrugs

[Blue84]

My Dad used to be a tanker driver many many years ago, if it was anywhere near recent I'd ask him -but back then things were much different. I prefer using BP than other supplies as I find the car runs smoother on it, but I usually end up filling up at Sainsbury's - kill two birds with one stone by doing the shopping at the same time and they do 97 Ron aswell...the local Tesco's does 99 Ron and last Saturday I did fill up using that as I was there getting a few bits from the supermarket at the time

[peterart]

Have a look at http://www.petrolprices.com - loads of info there.

[Hou]

well i use Sainsburys 97 ron super which i have found to work just as good as the others plus it is BP fuel they use!

[Kev Mc]

I use shell.. as Tesco dont have 99ron here yet grrrrrrrrrr lol

Are you sure? I filled my tank up at Tesco yesterday & I'm pretty much certain they had 99 ron

[Chyownster]

99ron is not in all Tescos but its comong to Bolton woo! I use optimax evertime, works out about 2quid extra per tank so not worth it IMO makes the car run far smoother IMO

When tesco come over my hood, ill be trying that for a few tanks, plus if you spend 50 quid at the supermarketm you get 5p off per litre :) and clubcard points too :)

[Macca1980]

I knew a bloke that works as a tanker driver who said exactly the same thing. He used to watch the reps from the fuel companies putting the additive concentrates into their tankers before they left the depot. The Supermarket bound tankers didn't get them. Hearsay only, but I know where he gets his fuel from!

It was also his opinion that the lack of these additives increases engine wear as the fuel is harsher on the engine.

I might be wrong, but that was from the horses mouth. I find Shell or Esso works well for me personally.

I don't know about the Tesco 99 RON though, as it's only been around a short while and there's no Tesco near me (yet).

[JAHill]

I'm presuming that with diesel, the additive is 2-ethyl hexyl nitrate? (did a web search, I'm no brainiac! ;)) If so, could you fill up on cheap stuff and just put some additive in your tank once every few thousand miles?

[Macca1980]

I'm not a fuel geek either, but so long as you're sure what's in the fuel you fill up with before you add any extras I don't see any harm.

Be careful running aftermarket cleaners/anti-friction treatments through your engine too often though, as your car needs a certain buildup of carbon etc. in the working parts to keep everything sealed tight.

Finally if you look at the price of aftermarket additives against the price of the cheaper fuel you buy it'll probably be similar to the better quality fuel anyway once you combine them.

Personally I just run some injector cleaner through every third/fourth service and leave it at that.

[chris202]

optimax for me everytime , bit more expensive but i'm sure i can notice the car running better on it . No tesco near me though , i'd like to try a tank full of its 99ron - Ryan .. do you know if the big tesco in irvine does the 99ron ?(i'm sure , maybe wrong thats where you said you were from :D)

[Gnome]

Just use standard Tesco unleaded in mine, and the bike.

Never had a problem...

[Plusser]

I tend to use standard BP unleaded in my Aygo, as the fuel gives the best consumption (about 60mpg, covering a combination of motorway and city driving). I have used both Tesco standard and tesco super leaded. While the Super unleaded gave a much better performance (much stronger acceleration especially form standstill), I did notice that the fuel consumption was a lot worst at about 54mpg (probably due to making use of the extra performance). Normal Tesco unleaded gives me about 57mpg.

Car mileage is just over 8300 miles, and as I drive 400 miles a week, the first service is due in about 3 weeks time. Whether the performance will change after the service, I'll have to wait and see.

[Baby Yari]

Tesco petrol! I like getting ma points!! ;-)

[Johndcfc]

Shell, cos I buy optimax and get shell-pluspoints - once I've spent about £50 million on fuel you get a free umbrella or argos voucher.

[Jones~32]

I use shell.. as Tesco dont have 99ron here yet grrrrrrrrrr lol and she seems to run better on it than anything else I stick in the tank..

Same here JJ

[reece]

Fuel for thought

[Blue84]

Fuel for thought

Good link