premium unleaded in the UK

Drew20

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just wondering, what is the general view of which fuel company does the best and most cost effective* premium unleaded. Obviously there's differences in octane, but it's the additives and ethanol % that interest me

Shell v power, 99 Ron
BP Ultimate, 97 Ron, and eats dirt, whatever that means
Tesco Momentum 99 Ron, but is it full of ethanol?
Total Excellium, think is only 95 Ron, so what's the story here?

* for cost effective I mean that, I really can't see premium fuel, high octane fuel, or whatever making any difference to how fast my CSL goes, pick-up or responsiveness etc., but I do still put premium stuff in, as I was under the impression that it has less ethanol, and that ethanol is bad for old fuel lines in some way, and premium stuff is better in other unspecified ways (you can tell I've done my detailed research, yes?? ;-) )
 
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Marco 54

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Good afternoon Drew

I remember an episode of 'Fifth Gear' in which Vicki Butler-Henderson made some similar comparisons.
As luck would have it this is available on YouTube. See -


Cheers.
 
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Drew20

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Thanks for the input, think I have esso fuel in at the mo.

Thanks for sharing the 5th gear link. That's the bhp argument, which isn't really something I worry about. My 46 year old supercar doesn't have knock sensors (I don't think it does anyway) so unlikely to see anything in the bhp dept.

Really thinking about what's the best fuel for keeping the engine in fine fettle
 

mr bump

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She'll v power, plus I used either a good splash of 2 stroke oil, or a splash of Castro R as well. I stay well away from any other petrol, ethonal is in every fuel now, some firms admit it, some don't. Just stick with v power and a Castrol octane booster, or the 2 I listed above. I've done thus now for years with all my pre 80 cars and all run spot on and have never had a problem (touch wood)
 

mr bump

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We've had more modern cars come in with burnt/damaged injectors, cracked heads and valve damage in the last year than any other, and 80% of customers admit they use supermarket fuel because the wives get a £5 voucher off their food shop on every £200 spent on fuel.
And their little faces when you tell them the repairs will cost over a grand is priceless.
 

Drew20

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I looked at this recently, and came to the conclusion that Esso were the only ones to guarantee super unleaded as ethanol free (as long as you don't live in certain areas) of UK).

https://www.esso.co.uk/fuels-faqs

game on, I'm in for a tank of Esso supreme

And their little faces when you tell them the repairs will cost over a grand is priceless.

schadenfreude I think? Happy to be corrected by our German members

I confess I run my modern on anything that comes to hand, and it gets more than it's fair share of supermarket offers. Think my next modern will be electric, the horror!
 
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