Supermarket or top brand fuel?

[daginge]

Hi ABers
I was informed recently that paying for cheap supermarket diesel is less economic than paying for more expensive top brand fuel as you get poorer fuel economy from the cheap fuel hence, you need to fuel up more often. Does anyone have any hard facts on this, or just their own ideas?
TIA

[hc4361]

There is absolutely no difference. If there were it would be screamed from the tabloids, tv programmes such as Top Gear, people such as Martin Lewis....

The media love to have a dig at Tesco - it would be common knowledge or headline news.

[jomifl]

do any of you remember about 4 or 5 years ago a lot of new cars were having engine problems when run on supermarket fuels because they did not contain the correct additives such as anti knock and upper cylinder and valve guide lubricant. Do you think much has changed?

[factor-fiction]

I remeber that, jomifl, but it was the result of contamination in a tank in Essex
http://www.petrolpric...aminated-fuel-66.html

[cazzz1975]

Im sure I remember reading it was down to a faulty batch of fuel which could have been from anywhere, if supermarket fuel causes so many issues then a vast majority of cars would be suffering problems. scaremongering can take on a life of its own, look at the cucumber scare a month or so ago, I know people that still refuse point blank to eat cucumber as a result

[hc4361]

jomifl You are blinkered. Many fuel stations were affected at that time. Do you really think Tesco, Sainsbury et al have their own refineries?


According to the Petrol Retailers' Association, there is no difference between the standard petrol and diesel that you buy from either a franchised fuel station or a supermarket forecourt. In many cases, the fuel is sourced from the same refineries and sometimes delivered in the same tankers.

Supermarkets are prepared to sell their fuel at very little or almost no profit in order to tempt shoppers into the supermarket. The theory is that shoppers will think that if it sells cheap fuel, it'll also sell cheap food.

The difference in fuels is in specialist or premium fuels, such as Shell Optimax and BP Ultimate, which contain additives to improve performance and efficiency. When you buy these fuels, you pay for the special ingredients.
http://www.whatcar.co...iesel-inferior/217130


And you have no doubt noticed that many fuel stations have stopped selling 'premium' fuels and now just offer unleaded or diesel.

[daginge]

Re hc4361's answer regarding Shell Optimax etc. - Does this fuel then have the supposed properties I originally questioned? i.e. Do you get better fuel economy, greater longevity from your engine and therefore, is it more economic in the long term?
Thanks all by the way, an interesting mix of thoughts from the ABers as usual!

[hc4361]

Dagine, unless you buy the 'City Diesel' or 'Premium Unleaded' or whatever they call it, you get exactly the same fuel at the supermarket as you do at the garage.
Unless your car's manual advises you that it needs 'superior' fuel to run efficiently you will be wasting your money buying premium fuels. It will not make one inch of difference.

[ladybirder]

Motoring columnist Honest John states that supermarket petrol should be avoided because it doesn't contain as much detergent to stop carbon building up inside the engine as the big name brands like Shell, BP + ESSO do. Not my opinion but FACT from a very knowledgeable chap.

[Maydup]

Would you buy a used car from "Honest John"?!

[ladybirder]

LOL maidup. I would certainly buy one he recommends - in fact I did.

[jomifl]

Hc ..of course I'm blinkered we all are, you want to believe you are not being conned by the supermarkets, I suspect that we are being conned by the supermarkets..
If someone who knows more about a subject than I do then tells me something and I have no reason to disbelieve him then I'll accept it as true until proved otherwise. As far as the price of fuel is concerned I am quite happy to pay a few pence per litre more if it means I am not using fuel from a 'contaminated' batch. I used to live next to a refinery and yes I have seen Shell tankers leaving an Esso refinery, but refineries produce a vast range of products and if they can offload inferior fuel on Tesco then they will.
'A contaminated batch'? that would have been my excuse too.

[jomifl]

Factor 30..thanks for the link, did you read all of it?

[Ankou]

asda is supplied by shell
morrisons is supplied by bp
tesco is supplied by shell
sainsburys is supplied by esso

the top brands are just that, brand names. they even have their top of the range optimax vpower or whatever. supermarkets generally sell their petrol at cost as a loss leader. it brings more people to the store. the brand names are still making money.

[jomifl]

Just because all fuels meet the same minumum standard does not mean they are all the same, An octane rating can be achieved by having a tank of one single octane (molecule size)or a mixture which has the same AVERAGE molcule size, some of these molecules can be practically non combustible. Which one would you go for.

[Ankou]

the cheapest

[jomifl]

Try googling 'supermarket fuels' if you want a general concensus of opinion on this topic.
Hc..it is possible to have a rational discussion without resorting to personal insults even mild ones, just because someone doesn't agree with you.

[Davethedog]

As others have said on here the same fuel comes from the same refinery.

Supermarkets are prepared to sell fuel as a loss leader, but not only that they buy in bulk, despite appearnces most fuel stations are franchises and the individuals buy product from the chain BP etc. So a supermarket can buy huge amounts in comaparison.

Last point if there was any fuel in the world could save 10% on consumption it would be the only fuel in the world.

Consensus doesn't mean fact.

[jomifl]

not if it ain't cheap..

[factor-fiction]

I think some of the points made in this thread are influenced by an anti -supermarket philosophy. I still cannot see a logical financial or technical argument for shunning supermarket fuel in favour of local garages.

[jomifl]

The composition of fuel especially petrol varies from region to region, according to season and according to availabilty of ingredients. It is a blend of many distillates and additives. It doesn't all come out of a big tank marked 'petrol' or 'diesel', it is blended as and when it is required.You might just as well say bottled water is all the same it all come out of the ground. Any facts about composition are very difficult to obtain as the refineries aren't going to tell us. Some people on this thread are quite sure that all petrol is the same without any more evidence than I have that it isn't. The only evidence we have is anecdotal and subjective, so should probably be taken with a pinch of salt.