Shell V Power vs Normal Unleaded | Is It Worth It?

After a tank of each, I come to some conclusions about high octane fuel value for money.

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[ConquerDriving]

Over 200, 000 miles on the cheapest fuel I can find in the same car from new. Still on original fuel injectors and last time I checked the engine hadn't lost power. Still on the original fuel filter as it's not a service item on my car, the filter is integrated into the low pressure fuel pump. Most engines are direct injection now so the fuel can't clean the back of the intake valves which do get dirty due to the positive crankcase ventilation system.

[MrLense]

Another factor you missed is that you're driving a "Performance" Ford Focus ST there. So performance cars with Higher compression engines will get more out of higher octane fuels compared to a "pedestrian" non performance car. There's a reason why when you open the fuel cap on higher end cars, manufacturers will say "Recommend 97-98 RON" on them because that will be where they factory tuned their cars for and the ECU will adapt accordingly to the quality of fuel you are using.

So for 90% of the driving population, you can keep filling up on 95. Unless you drive a performance car.

[DavidLee-qerd]

I tried the same experiment seven years ago. I drive a 2L Diesel Ford Kuga and compared the fuel economy using Morrisons normal Diesel against Shell V-Power Nitro. Each fill was up to the top and trip mileage was recorded between fills.

Results:
1) 5 fills of normal diesel - Totals: 1918.7 miles & 43.3 gallons, average: 44.3 mpg
2) 2 fills of V-Power4 - Totals: 949.3 miles & 21.8 gallons, average: 43.6 mpg
2) 5 fills of normal diesel - Totals: 2185.5 miles & 49.7 gallons, average: 44.0 mpg

Conclusion - absolutely no observable difference in fuel economy within experimental uncertainty.

Obviously this data refers to Diesel rather than petrol - but Shell was making the same claims for both fuels.

[neiloflongbeck]

Knocking 5 to 10 mph off your top speed depending on the road type and outside of 40mph speed limited areas and lifting off early to slow down rather than using your brakes will also give you more miles per litre of fuel irrespective of fuel type. I did this for a couple of years about 25 years ago, due to being an impoverished graduate, and almost doubled my range. OK, journeys took a little longer, but I had the time and needed to save some money.

[JCKO]

I use V Power all the time as I do very few miles and a tank of petrol lasts me months. I won't use E10 as I don't like it lying in my tank for a long time. I also feel, rightly or wrongly, that the car runs better and feels smoother on V Power.

[Leo]

I'm an efficiency engineer, here's how you can do a super accurate comparison with little effort:
Take a note of your odometer when you fill up the tank. When you need to fill up next, take another odometer reading to get the distance travelled between refuelling. You have the Litres from the pump. This should give you miles per litre/MPG if you can be bothered doing the maths. 👍

You can use this to validate your in car mpg gauge accuracy.

[alanchase]

Octane level is purely to prevent knocking. Higher compression engines require higher octane fuel. It has no benefit regarding better fuel economy. Ethanol has a higher octane rating than petrol but you get less miles per gallon. I have been putting E10 in my 1.8, 2016 Civic and have never bothered resetting the mileage computer, over those eight years I am averaging 48 miles to the gallon.

[TheTechGiantYouTube]

I have a Mercedes AMG A45s which is the factory standard 421bhp. And on the inside of the filler cap it states that you should use 98 ron or above. So for many performance cars, you don’t really have a choice but to use premium fuels.
For what it’s worth the average consumption of the lifetime of my car has been 27.2mpg, and on a motorway run i can see around 43mpg. But with a heavy right foot, i may as well be throwing £10 notes out the window 😅

[EightPawsProductionsHD]

Have always used V-Power since I had my 2003 Mini Cooper (the manual for that car stated using higher octane fuel may increase MPG, which proved to be the case), the engine generally ran better too, and now that I've got a 2012 Audi A1 1.4 Turbo, have continued to use V-Power after experimenting, and again found increased MPG and the engine runs so much better with improved driveability (especially when cold).

[AnthonyTeasdale]

I have exclusively used the premium fuels since getting my car 8 years ago. It does specify it on the filling door also.
Given the age of my car too and the new switch to E10. My car is a lot happier on the expensive fuel.
On other vehicles. One of my past bikes would have major issues on cheaper fuel. Often just cutting out completely. Using the premium fuels fixed that also. But this was 1989 Yamaha.

[Figureight]

On my Evo I have no choice but to run V Power or Tesco Momentum as that's what it's mapped for. If I run normal fuel the engine would die. I think your results make sense given you're driving an ST too. I would like to see how it compares if you're doing this test with a more average commuter car. On my old car that had a Carburettor I tried running premium and it made the car run absolutely terribly.

[Denali]

A benefit of the premium fuels - especially relevant to motorcycles - is they typically have a lower ethanol content: if your bike is older and/or spends long periods stored and/or has a plastic tank, ethanol can cause issues.

[dgphi]

High octane doesn't mean it burns better. If anything it burns worse. The point of higher octane fuels is that they better resist pre-ignition or knocking. That is, when the air-fuel mixture is compressed in the cylinders, it can spontaneously explode by itself at the wrong time, which will be bad for the running of the engine. If you have a high compression engine, then you need a high octane fuel. If you don't, then you are wasting your money. You should just use what the manual says to use.

[johncarnie]

I'm like you - I full up with V-Power (or it's equivalent) every so often, more often if I'm driving only local short journeys!

[roberthuntley]

Depends on the type of engine, and how you use it. A high compression engine might be able to take advantage of the higher octane, but only on a long distance speed run where you get to take advantage of that. Idling in city traffic jams its not going to help at all.
On a standard low compression engine, it will probably reduce mpg because it burns more slowly.

[spikyone]

There's a lot of misunderstanding about fuels and I don't think this video is enough to answer the question. For most engines, there is no direct benefit in terms of performance, economy, etc. when comparing premium fuels to an equivalent standard fuel. V Power and similar fuels (Tesco Momentum, BP Ultimate, etc.) have a higher RON (Research Octane Number, or just octane). This improves their resistance to detonation or knock - which is caused when high pressure in the combustion chamber causes high temperatures, in turn leading to uncontrolled ignition of the fuel/air mix away from the spark plug. The benefit of 98/99 RON fuels is in engines with a high compression ratio (typically above 12:1) as these generate higher cylinder pressures. In those cars, if you use standard (95 in the UK) fuel, the cars will adjust their ignition timing to prevent detonation, which will reduce their performance. All new cars have to work on 95 so it won't harm a car with a high compression ratio engine, but they generally tend to be high performance cars and using 95 will reduce their performance.

IMO the more interesting comparison here would've been regular Shell to regular Asda fuel. I wouldn't be surprised to find that regular Shell also gives you better performance compared to supermarket fuel. It's also worth remembering that more expensive fuels will often contain other constituents intended to keep your engine 'clean' (free from deposits) so some of the benefits could take much longer to be noticeable.

[rrp]

one thing to remember that i bet most will not know or forget, most lawnmowers are not set up for e10 so you should put the more expensive fuel in those

[nowiplay]

I use V power every fill up. I’ve monitor my engine (B58 3L straight 6). A lot more timing corrections happen within the cylinder on regular fuel, whereas timing corrections are minimal when using higher octane fuel. Also cleaning additives are helpful for the injectors

[WilliamHacknov]

I’ve never put E10 fuel in my new car. I only use E5. That’s because there’s clear evidence to show rubber seals break down under E10 a lot quicker

[whitemarmite]

the only benefit from using v-power (over other premium fuels) is that it contains more cleaning agents, prolonged running of v-power will help clean and maintain the engine. but thats it, getting better MPG is too variable to actually give better MPG. some people are under the impression that it "boosts power" but it doesnt, it will help maintain the current power. unless your car/bike specifically states to run on e5 or 99 octane, you do not need premium fuel.

the only reason i run it in my bike, is purely to avoid preignision and detonating the engine. i run tank or two through the car every now and then to help it clean injectors and such.