Super market fuel V Branded fuel.

[gavroche]

Apologies if this has been asked before but is there a difference in quality between the two. My daughter-in-law works for a Texaco service station and she keeps telling me her fuel is better than Sainsbury or Asda. I use good old diesel by the way.
Any experts on here who can resolve it?

 

[Deleted member 26715]

 

[midliferider]

Pedal power is better than all other fuel.

 

[Markymark]

My understanding is that supermarkets are not tied to a source and scout aroubd for the best prices around the world. Sometimes from one refinery, sometimes another. They'll have a minimum standard and I presume it's luck as to whether what you're buying meets or exceeds it depending on the batch they bought last week which happens to be in their tanks that day.

 

[vickster]

Never had an issue with supermarket fuel (Tesco / Sainsburys), I do mostly use super UL and the difference versus Shelll Optimax or BP Ultimate. I reckon the difference is cobblers and most independent garages just hike their prices to make up for the undoubted loss in tobacco revenue over the last few years

 

[smutchin]

All petrol sold in the UK comes from the same small handful of refineries.

They all claim to have additives to supposedly help your engine perform better, but good luck finding specific details of what those additives are and whether they actually make one petrol brand better than another.

 

[smutchin]

independent garages just hike their prices to make up for the undoubted loss in tobacco revenue over the last few years

More likely down to be down to economies of scale, I reckon - supermarkets can afford a smaller profit margin.

 

[User482]

Supermarkets use the same base fuels, but there are differences in the additives used. I'm not aware of any evidence that this makes any real-world difference.

 

[midlife]

Way back when I had my Impreza specifically mapped to run at the edge of performance on Shell Optimax as it was then........It hated running on much else as the octane was slightly lower.

Makes no odds however for the average car which can ingest any old crap from the pump and still run

I stick the cheapest I can find in the Mini and Picasso lol

Shaun

 

[growingvegetables]

A bit like gas from Scottish Power being SOOOOO much better than that from British Gas, I reckon.

 

[mjr]

Quality control at supermarket petrol stations seems poorer. They pop up in the papers after diesel comes out of petrol pumps or vice versa. Worst I've had is slight uneven running on a fussy car a few cars ago. And a relative suffer an upset stomach after a dud salad.

Local branded station matches the prices of the nearby supermarket so what's the incentive to switch?

 

[Brains]

When I used to drive a Landrover I could get about another 40-50 miles to a tank full of diesel supplied by a local garage in Cornwall, to drive up to London via the A303, I would then get 40-50 miles to the tank less when driving from London to Cornwall on the A303

I do the run often enough to notice the 10% difference, so it was not a one off experiment

I always assumed the London supermarket fuel had additives in it to make it less polluting, whereas the Cornish stuff was of a higher quality, but probably polluted more.

Literally; you get more bang for your buck in Cornwall !

 

[Supersuperleeds]

When I used to drive a Landrover I could get about another 40-50 miles to a tank full of diesel supplied by a local garage in Cornwall, to drive up to London via the A303, I would then get 40-50 miles to the tank less when driving from London to Cornwall on the A303

I do the run often enough to notice the 10% difference, so it was not a one off experiment

I always assumed the London supermarket fuel had additives in it to make it less polluting, whereas the Cornish stuff was of a higher quality, but probably polluted more.

Literally; you get more bang for your buck in Cornwall !

You're going downhill to London and uphill back to Cornwall

 

[Slick]

Looks like even these guys aren't quite sure.

https://www.simplemotoring.co.uk/supermarket-vs-branded-fuels/

 

[Drago]

A litre of supermarket fuel is as energy dense as any other. The difference is liable to be combustion enhancers which, theoretically, give a more even flame front and a more complete burn. However, any difference is liable to be miniscule and no proper, rigorous independent testing has show any difference.

The same applies to petrol. In addition, the petrol issue is compounded by octane. 97/98 actually has a lower energy density than 95, but it is possible to compress it further before pre ignition occurs. Thus a car can run a higher compression ratio, and make more power. 99% of cars will see zero benefit, only a few models (MK7 Golf GTi, Some Imprezas etc) are capable of advancing their ignition and this exploit the extra octane. Because 97/98 RON is less energetic you'll actually lose a tiny fraction of performance by pouring it into a car not designed to run it, although you won't do any damage, it's quote safe - just a waste of money.

The biggest difference will be the quality and standard of fuel storage, and you can't tell that by looking at the brand or flashy logo. Folk who say they got an extra 40 miles from a tank om such and such fuel did so because their normal outlet is mucky and wet, not because their new tipple is super duper.

Wrote a paper about liquid combustion fuels for My Masters, think even my tutor was bored at the end of it.