Which Petrol?

EXCF350

EXCF350

Junior Member
Messages
177
My previous car, like the GTS, stated that 95 RON petrol minimum should be used but I found that I got 15-20% better fuel consumption using premium such as Shell V-Power which made the extra cost worth it.
I'm not looking to get the maximum power, just the best consumption. Has anyone done any comparisons? Does premium give better MPG? Is it worth paying the extra?
 
highlander

highlander

Member
Messages
5,223
no idea on mpg comparisons but when I bought mines I was told to use a branded premium so have just stuck to that.
 
Doohickey

Doohickey

Velociraptor
Messages
2,497
I bought mine from a main dealer and was told that you should only use branded petrol (i.e. not supermarket) but it's fine to run on standard unleaded and put premium in every 1,000 miles or so. I tend to put premium in more often than not so can't really compare the mpg of the two though I would say if you are worried about consumption you might have the wrong car!
 
EXCF350

EXCF350

Junior Member
Messages
177
Doohickey said:
I bought mine from a main dealer and was told that you should only use branded petrol (i.e. not supermarket) but it's fine to run on standard unleaded and put premium in every 1,000 miles or so. I tend to put premium in more often than not so can't really compare the mpg of the two
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I always use branded unless there's nothing else - I've found in the past that using a lot of supermarket petrol makes the engine run rough.

Doohickey said:
though I would say if you are worried about consumption you might have the wrong car!
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I see your point but I'm just looking to get the best value - I am a Yorkshireman after all ! Unless buying a very cheap car or doing huge mileages, I've always wondered why people get so worked up on fuel consumption because the cost of fuel is negligible compared to depreciation and other running costs.
 
CatmanV2

CatmanV2

Member
Messages
48,794
Be interested to see if it's actually verifiable under controled conditions.

I must confess the only time I ever used premium was to stop carb icing in my old Ducati Monster. I may well try a tank in the 4200 though as I've been sensing some roughness

C
 
Doohickey

Doohickey

Velociraptor
Messages
2,497
I went to Le Mans 3 up with all the camping gear on super all the way. The computer showed an average of over 25mpg including lots of sitting around in traffic whilst there and nearer 30 on the AutoRoute.

I suspect that you do get better economy on super but thoroughly unscientific research (i.e. Google) seems to suggest that no-one really knows and for cars like ours it's probably better for the engine leaving aside economy.
 
CatmanV2

CatmanV2

Member
Messages
48,794
Most of the controlled research indicates theirs no difference (at least that which I've seen) which is not really surprising. Unless the calorific values varied wildly you're looking at getting 20% increase by basically altering your spark timing....
This seems to indicate that the higher octane actually reduces calorific value
http://www.elektro.com/~audi/fuel/gasoline.chemical.analysis

C
 
EXCF350

EXCF350

Junior Member
Messages
177
safrane said:
20% is a huge increase in efficiency...if its fact I would stick with the premium.
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I've found that some cars it made no difference but previous car (Lexus IS-F which has a 5.0 V8) it did make a difference but it was only noticeable after a few tanks. Not scientific but I ran the car alternate months on premium and super for a while which averaged out any driving differences.

I've been filling the GTS with premium up until now so if nobody has a definite answer, I'll switch to normal and report back in a few months.
 
hodroyd

hodroyd

Member
Messages
14,150
I always use Super Unleaded such as Shell V-Power-Nitro, I find it gives better performance overall and acceleration is better. If I have to use normal unleaded due to not finding super, I normally stick some redex in the tank to keep everything clean..!!
 
CatmanV2

CatmanV2

Member
Messages
48,794
hodroyd said:
I always use Super Unleaded such as Shell V-Power-Nitro, I find it gives better performance overall and acceleration is better. If I have to use normal unleaded due to not finding super, I normally stick some redex in the tank to keep everything clean..!!
Click to expand...

Can I interest you in this finest oil of snake, sir? ;)

C
 
highlander

highlander

Member
Messages
5,223
think it is better for the 32's turbos........not so sure about any difference for the NA engines though.
 
CC4200

CC4200

New Member
Messages
297
I Used to use octane booster when I did 1/4 miling, not sure if it worked, because one bit of wheel spin or gear hesitation could knock off a 1/10 th
 
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