[Willisthm]

Hi. Anyone done any comparison between the economy and performance of supermarket versus premium unleaded.
My car is the 2.5l PHEV.
About to do my 2nd fill up since I started owning the Kuga in October and was going to go to Esso,BP or Shell unleaded.
Also, anyone used the upmarket unleaded as opposed to standard stuff?
TIA.

 

[Psshaw]

If I may comment from observations I’ve read on the forum, as I own a diesel mk2.5.

I’ve not read of anyone who has suffered from where the petrol has gone off in the tank due to lack of use of the PHEV model. Many have gone many months without a fill up.

So as I use premium diesel for the qualities it’s suppose to have, I wonder if the super petrol has the ability to last longer when not used.

when I filled up with diesel the other day at Esso, I noticed that on the petrol pump , was listed what it contained extra over there normal petrol.

Hope that helps. 👍

 

[Antoeknee]

Lots of discussion about the recently introduced E10 fuel. As to the comparison of fuel from different outlets think its going to be hard to make a comparison with a PHEV.

Once tried to compare different diesels, premium/supermarket and even tried fuel additives. If there were any differences they were small and mpg seemed to be in range of normal variability.

 

[Gregs24]

Stick to regular fuel in the PHEV. The Atkinson cycle engine does not need high octane fuel.

Supermarket fuel and branded fuel come from the same refinery, the only difference is the additives added before delivery. For 95 standard fuel there is little difference between brands, premium fuels however do have significant additives which over a long service period can have benefits. Considering how little fuel a lot of PHEV's will use it will make no difference.

 

[lukasc]

Ah the old chestnut (is supermarket fuel any good/will it ruin my engine)

Ive read countless posts on this on all sorts of forums, and NOBODY has provided any concrete proof that branded fuel is any better than supermarket fuel, other than rumours, opinions and heresay. Some swear they get better MPG but i can say with absolute certainty its just a placebo effect. Think of it this way: You can buy supermarket paracetamol for 30p a packet or panadol Paracetamol for £1.70. Both have exactly the same ingredients: 100% paracetamol.

The only possibility is supermarket fuel may be missing an additive or two to clean your engine/fuel system but again, ive not seen any concrete proof of this or if it even has any effect. The only fuel that definitely has detergents is the Super Unleaded (they normally explicitly state it has added detergents to maintain your engine) Even if it does remotely have an effect on engine or fuel components, by the time any actual damage/issues occur, your car will be at the end of its life anyway and other components will already be failing.

Unless your car is a highly tuned performance engine (no Kuga has one) - then it doesnt matter at all where your fuel comes from, as long as it meets the UK base standard.
Like others have said, putting high octane fuel like V power etc - in the Kuga PHEV is just a waste of money. It will not make any difference to performance or engine longevity, you are just wasting money.

 

[Psshaw]

I wonder when the last time anyone heard of petrol “going off”. It must have been years ago….any takers?

 

[RonnieM]

Only in stagnant lawnmowers 🤣

 

[smartguy69]

Only in stagnant lawnmowers 🤣

I leave it in my lawnmowers over winter. Never had any issues with it turning to varnish or whatever. Keithmac has experience of seeing damage caused by petrol being left in for a long time. I have 10 litres of E10 petrol sat in the shed since September so will see how that looks in the Spring. I was going to put it in the wife's Mokka but it may not use that much by March lol.

 

[mad skiier]

I have the same discussion with a old friend. leave 'stale' petrol in a lawn mower.

His honda powered lawnmower starts within 3 pulls, after being asleep for months on end.

Question is: If that engine was a BMC engine, would have to be tickled with plug leads, points, carb stripped, a good bit of swearing and it would also start... eventually..

 

[mad skiier]

Any discussion on fancy sparkplugs folks?
Walk in a room full of vapourised petrol would it go BOOM faster;

IF you walked in with a match or a blow lamp..

I've seen the demos at shows etc, high revving race stuff yes get it, not normal road driving.

 

[keithmac]

I see it all the time at work, keeps me in a job!.

All my petrol tools at home run on Aspen 4 Alkylate fuel, expensive but worth it.

As far as EFI goes as long as the fuel hasn't evaporated the system should be able to "deal with it", saying that all the additives seem to evaporate first and the octane takes a dive too..

I've repaired some grim fuel systems, probably never would have been an issue on leaded 4 or 5 star.

This was an MV Augusta fuel pump, I had to rebuild it best as possible as there were no OEM parts to buy. Turned out ok in the end with an aftermarket pump and filter, Coline in tank lines etc.

If E10 becomes the norm it will be the death of carburettor bikes imho (unless people start stripping the ethanol out with water which is do-able at home).

Normally after 6 months unleaded has lost all the aromatics and is fit for the bin, e10 maybe less

 

[keithmac]

My first job on motorcycles was preparing Japanese Grey Import 400's for sale, they could have been sat 6 months to a year. Every one needed the carbs stripping due to stagnant petrol, can still smell it now!.

We did over 400 bikes from Japan and they we all the same.

 

[Psshaw]

There’s some rubbish on that fuel pump. You always think fuel is one of the most cleanest fluids. Just shows.

 

[Clarky94]

I am going to run my phev on premium E5 fuel because all the cars I have run on it I’ve always run better and smoother another thing to consider is you won’t be making so many trips to the petrol station E 10 fuel tends to attract water so you could end up with poor fuel if it’s staying in the tank for ages because if infrequent fillips

 

[Bazzer1899]

Not sure water in E10 fuel is that much of an issue really.

Presumably the fuel tank has a breather pipe. That would seem to be the only way water vapour could enter the tank.

Over time the fuel in the tank will likely loose the most volitile parts (ethanol) that will evaporate reducing any tenancies for water to be absorbed.

 

[smartguy69]

I have 15 litres of E10 been sat in my shed since September. I will let you know how it looks when the weather improves and see if it still works in my lawnmower.

 

[Gregs24]

I have 15 litres of E10 been sat in my shed since September. I will let you know how it looks when the weather improves and see if it still works in my lawnmower.

In a sealed can it will be fine.

 

[Clarky94]

In a sealed can it will be fine.

Google says :-

'E10' offers environmental benefits over E5 petrol. 'E10' contains alcohol and is hygroscopic. Usage of 'E10' can lead to damage to metals, gaskets, and plastics if the vehicle is not used for a more extended period.

 

[Vulcan27]

Have been using cheapest fuel either supermarket or branded petrol for 50yrs and had no issues. Do otherwise and you are just a victim of marketing. 😋

 

[smartguy69]

Have been using cheapest fuel either supermarket or branded petrol for 50yrs and had no issues. Do otherwise and you are just a victim of marketing. 😋

I agree where diesel is concerned but on the current trend for high compression small capacity petrol turbo engines with direct injection there is a new enemy and it's called LSPi, low speed pre ignition. Have a read up as it affects quite a few manufacturers. My daughter's car, Vauxhall Astra 1.4 SRi, recently became another casualty of the manufacturers trying to meet EU emissions.