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Premium vs Standard fuel. MG3 test.

7K views 10 replies 10 participants last post by  48365 
#1 ·
Decided for the last couple of weeks to try Tesco Momentum 99 fuel instead of the regular. As they suggest the fuel is better quality, burns more efficiently etc.

I can honestly say I have noticed absolutely no difference whatsoever, the same MPG driving the same journeys the same style, doesn't idle and differently doesn't even feel more responsive.

Absolutely nothing not even a placebo effect of it feeling better.

So in my mind, there is absolutely not benefit from paying for a premium fuel from Tesco at least.

I know some people rate premium fuels but personally, I see no benefit at all so far on this single test from one fuel station.
 
#2 ·
Interesting observation. Some cars apparently benefit more from it but it must be dependant on the engines and their ability to adjust for higher octance fuel. I've used Momentum a few times without noticing any significant improvement so instead hope to derive benefit from the enhanced additives.
 
#3 ·
Maybe its the difference you can't see that makes it more viable, i:e cleaner running inside the engine, less carbon etc etc ?

On diesels i have noticed a difference when using shell v power compared to standard fuel, touch more lively and slightly better mpg, only about 1-2mpg but it is a difference you can feel.
I try to put a full tank of v power in once a month.
 
#4 ·
On higher performance engines it has benefits. When I used to tune my old minis I could run a higher compression ratio and increase the engines performance but only if I run it on the higher octane fuels, otherwise if I run them on standard fuels it would cause pinking and detonation which is never a good thing.
Also when I had my fiesta St which was also tuned, I run it on standard fuel and had a rolling road session and I managed 179 bhp, I then run it on bp ultimate for a week to clean it through and I achieved 186 bhp, and that was purely down to the fuel. I have since been told shell v power will produce better results.
On a normal every day car, the manufacturer designed it to run on a range of fuels, poor and high quality, it makes no difference to how it performs. As you say any actual increase is more the placebo effect then any actual improvement.
 
#5 ·
Decided for the last couple of weeks to try Tesco Momentum 99 fuel instead of the regular. As they suggest the fuel is better quality, burns more efficiently etc.

I can honestly say I have noticed absolutely no difference whatsoever, the same MPG driving the same journeys the same style, doesn't idle and differently doesn't even feel more responsive.

Absolutely nothing not even a placebo effect of it feeling better.
The 99 is the octane rating. That is it.

A car built for ~95 will see zero improvement in ANY area of the engine.

All octanes have the same amount of fuel cleaner, the same amount of ethanol, the same amount of climate compensating fuel rating (winter/summer petrol).

Unless you are running a heavily tuned or turbocharged engine there is no need to put 99 octane in your car... ever. The octane rating determines the ignition pressure. Higher pressure means more knock, so you need a higher ignition pressure to prevent it.

Any anecdotal evidence of the engine running smoother or better is purely placebo. These changes are from atmospheric differences and the engine turning over from different temperatures. Also from your ECU varying the timing.

Any difference will most likely be down to the brand of fuel and even then I doubt you will actually be perceiving the difference. Maybe in fuel economy, that's it.

The idea of "flushing out the system" is equally an urban legend born of just perceived improvement.

Any variations in power will be because your engine is setup to run on higher octane. Your bog standard ZS 120 does not run on high octane.
 
#8 ·
try using a premium garage , supermarket fuel of any type is pretty garbage and has a high water content , my zt190 does 50miles more to a tank when filled up at texaco or bp, i used to get cars in all the time with fuel problems drain them and put premium garage fuel in and they are were fine,

nearly all new cars are preset to run on the standard grade fuels and do not adjust the fueling to suit only a few of the higher end cars have the capability of changing fueling to match fuel quality and most of those are diesels
 
#10 ·
the advantage is there on some of the higher end cars as they are prepped for them but the extra few octanes make so little difference that it would take someone who is really aware to notice , if you put them on a dyno and emmisions tester then you do,

i used to run a naff renault scenic diesel as a work car instead of putting miles on my zt i used to add a bit of petrol and 2 stroke oil to the diesel every now and then to clean the system out and it used to go like stink , do more miles to a tank and was cheaper than high end fuels, but that really increased the combustability
 
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