My last few cars for the past decade or so have all been new or almost new, and turbocharged, so the benefits of buying premium have been noticed and appreciated too. Note, premium in the US is usually the same as our "normal" fuel. The premium here is not available in the US. Notice how the Civic type R has 10 more HP in Europe because of the fuel differences.
UK octane ratings are RON, US are AKI. 91 AKI is equivalent to 95 RON. 95 RON is the basic fuel sold in the UK and referred to here as Premium. Our Super Unleaded, 97 RON, is the equivalent of US 93 octane.
Incorrect, standard is 95 here, premium is usually 97. The fuel quality and octane is higher here, hence the higher performance figures this side of the pond.
Incorrect, standard is 95 here, premium is usually 97.
Yes, that is what I said, but the 95 RON pumps are labelled Premium, at least they are in my neck of the woods.
This from my owners manual:
"Your vehicle is designed to operate
most effectively on Premium
unleaded petrol with a Research
Octane Number (RON) of 95 or
higher."
This morning it was time to fill up with petrol again, and since my local Asda filling station is closed for what looks like new pumps going in (I contacted Asda to ask how long it would be shut, but I haven’t had the courtesy of an answer), therefore I decided to use the local Shell station. I could have gone to Morrisons but I didn’t want short measure again.
Since I was going to Shell I decided to opt for V-Power, to see once again how much (if any) of a difference it made.
Local supermarkets are charging £1.25.9p/litre or £5.72/gallon (I like to use gallons as mpg is what I am used to). Shell V-Power was £1.45.9p/litre or £6.63/gallon. That is a 16% premium in price, meaning I would have to get something like a regular 63 mpg to offset the cost over my all-time average mpg of 54.2 mpg. I doubt that is achievable.
Now I do appreciate there is not a 16% difference between Shell Fuelsave (their standard 95 RON) and the 97 RON V-Power, but I also believe there is no appreciable difference between Shell Fuelsave and Asda’s petrol.
Shell V Power is marketed as a performance enhancing fuel, not a fuel consumption reducing fuel. The regular fuel save should be what you wanted.
I didn't want 95 RON, I wanted the enhanced fuel. I feel the car runs smoother and there is lots on fuel forums about people achieving better mpg using the likes of V-Power and I wanted to try it again for myself. Last time I tried it I got improved mpg but not enough to justify the cost increase. Because I had to use the Shell station I thought I'd give it another try. If I want 95 RON I will go to a supermarket filling station.
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