Do performance fuels really work? | Fifth Gear Classic

#FifthGear #PerformanceFuels

[liljay]

The price per litre on the board 😂 this must be a history documentary lol

[MrRedRye]

I've kept track of the real consumption of my car for 2 years (around 80 tanks) and tracked the difference between 95 and premium (almost always Shell V-power) and there is 0.5% difference between them - well within the margin of error of the pump or temperature differences when filling the tank. We all know that high octane has a purpose in more highly tuned applications but fuel economy is not the main benefit in most vehicles.

[MoePower]

If the car was designed to run on premium fuel it is more likely to loose power with cheaper, low octane fuel. The reason for this is that most cars today have a knock sensor, and if it detects knock it will reduse ignition timing and hence reduce power with the cheaper fuel in it. If a car was designed to run on cheaper fuel in the first place, there will be no gain with high octane fuel. It won't compensate for the more premium fuel and advance the timing, it will just run the standard map. You may even loose power, as the higher octane fuel is less likely to self ignite and may take longer to ignite than the regular fuel. High octane fuel is more knock resistant and allows the engine to have higher compression and more advanced timing, which gives the engine more power. So upgrading the fuel alone in a car that is designed to run on lower octane is a waste of money, simple as that. Some older vehicles have a switch where you can choose if you are going to use low or high octane fuel depending on availability. What this switch does is either retard or advance the timing, based on which fuel you are going to use. The advanced timing is what gives you power and higher octane fuel is what makes it safe to do so. Otherwise it would self ignite, overheat and possibly melt a piston. Much like a lean mixture would do.

[dhies]

with a turbocharged engine you can feel the difference at acceleration.

[desantos]

Good for bikes with aftermarket endcans, makes them pop like mad

[TheNorville]

That's it then, ditching BP and moving to Shell for my Tuned TT

[Tomcatters]

Do a new video with current fuel types/brands.

[RichardEnglander]

I'd like to see them to efficiency with the E10 fuel that we are forced to buy, my fuel economy has dropped significantly, over 6%

[fuffoon]

Shell V-power diesel is my second choice for a Mercedes 250CDI. Total Fina is number one. The car runs quieter and smoother with the best mileage. My friends that have tried it and paid attention agree for their diesels. For gasoline, I have not noticed a difference between fuels in my other car's running character, a VW Golf 7.

[paultasker]

Volkswagen TSI small petrol turbo engines definitely feel nicer with premium fuel. Idle smoother and rev higher before hitting the wall. 1.2tsi seemed to benefit the most, with idle rock solid on premium and a bit erratic on standard. 1.4tsi ran sweetly on both but slightly more top end with premium. Mpg about 10 percent higher on long trips but that didn't make premium cost efficient as mpg around town similar. So worth using if going on a long run but maybe not if driving around town. No effect on mazda 3 1.6 naturally aspirated. Direct injection engines seem to benefit more. Curious to know what difference performance diesel has because my diesel is running a bit rough at the moment with slightly jerky acceleration at lower revs.

[christopheredison]

I get this, if you have a tuned sports car ie like the impreza and above cars the high octane fuel will work but put in a bog standard car ie Ford fiesta then its completely useless
Great upload 👍

[bensta]

Imho the greatest benefit is the cleaning effect! I really think that engines live longer when you always buy ultimate. So in an older car where the engine was dirty inside and gets clean it will also produce more horsepower (at least in comparison to before)...

[bEEBO]

My evo 10 uses Shell V power 99 ron. Was tuned on that specific fuel and makes 385bhp with 3 port, calibration and decat. Big difference from standard but costs a fortune to run!

[AzanAli-]

Wow look at those fuel prices 😢
90p for a litre. I filled up for 160 today.

[thevdubber]

Tesco momentum 99 is a good performance fuel, one of my cars is mapped to use it and is noticeably down on power if I use anything else.

[mabskha]

Ahhh those were the days...0.94p🤣🤣 I still remember when it was 0.65p once

[ParallelSyntax]

You should be running 99 on that particular spec of Subie regardless. Running it on 95 will give you irreparable bottom end damage.

[cujbaion]

it's worth it if your timing isn't getting late - you will feel it on pedal response as deprogresive and somehow diesel like, on carburetor motorcycle bad fuel was giving non-linear response kicky at around 20% trothle load impossible to catch and lots of deposits on sparkplugs (the slight power increase was probably due to rich mixture for that fuel considering wasn't injector and detonation avoided because the compression rate it's low on that old engine).

[samandbencollies]

Could that garage be any tighter to get into ?

[davewilliams]

This is nearly 20 years old now! Hence those lovely 90p per litre prices!
If the car is mapped to run on higher octane, the bigger the difference, if not, use 95.
I only use V power, Momentum and Supreme, never used std 95 in my car as it's mapped for it.