[dxb335d]

Originally Posted by Giff

If you could give any physical reason why V power is worth the 8p a litre extra then that would be a fair question.

Only that I that the car drove better. I aint one for the placebo effect. I soy a numpty who gets a service and then thinks the car is quicker....


I ran BP ultimate for ever, then the fuel went up (sometime in 08) thought fuck the wankers and ran standard tesco shot, several tanks later and the far felt flat, so much so I was gonna check her intothe dealers, got back on the good stuff and the car was more spritely. V-pow-pow is slightly better, also here has been dyno tests.

[Giff]

I would be genuinely interested to learn how the claims about V power et al are physically possible. Google isnt helping.

[kaishang]

V power has a lower cetane number than BP Ultimate, so I've never got excited about it.

I usually use one of:
BP Ultimate
Shell Fuel Save
Esso... 'cos I can pay at the pump

[MEGA]

Originally Posted by sa12

The Vpower stuff is better for the engine but unless your car has been mapped for 99RON (or whatever it is now), you wouldn't notice a real difference.

Errr - What has a RON rating got to do with a diesel fuel thread? Unless Ron is the name of the guy driving the tanker or something ??

[MEGA]

We have a bunch of 6 cyl petrol owners appearing in this topic flabberghasted we would ever consider standard fuel. But it's not the same argument at all!! There's a few differences between a petrol and a diesel engine

Can I make a point. I used premium petrol in the 350z exclusively. It ran like shit on standard fuel. This is because there's more fuel and less shit in higher octane fuel - and the car runs better with higher octane fuel. In fact t he 350z is specifically designed and mapped for 97+ ron fuel.

Well.. This is absolutely not the case with diesels. The higher end fuel just has more additives. Yet at the same time, BMW specifically recommend NOT adding Millers to the tank? Standard diesel + Millers = V power grade. So it actually seems BMW for whatever reason are telling us NOT to use V power ?

That's all nonsense anyway. But the fact is, time a run with your car on both fuels. It won't be different.

High octane petrol is a tangible difference andi mprovement over the standard stuff
High "rated" diesel is a marketing product to sap more profit from the consumer.


IMHO.

[Dave_3]

Originally Posted by MEGA

High "rated" diesel is a marketing product to sap more profit from the consumer.

IMHO.

Really ?

Originally Posted by BP website

With its higher cetane quality and outstanding cleaning properties, new BP Ultimate Diesel helps your engine perform better.

Our best-ever diesel is designed to work well in all diesel engines and especially the latest ones with sophisticated fuel injection systems.

Cetane is the key measure of diesel fuel combustion quality. It relates to ignition delay - the time between fuel injection and combustion. Good quality combustion occurs with rapid ignition, and then smooth, complete fuel burn.

With a cetane number of 55 minimum, significantly higher than normal, BP Ultimate Diesel burns more smoothly and completely than ordinary fuel. So it releases energy more efficiently, which contributes to better engine performance

Have a look yourself : http://www.bp.com/retail/ultimateart...tentId=7067699

But if you are lucky enough to not notice the difference. Keep using the cheaper Diesel.

D.

[mistryn]

All I know since this panic buying business and my local shell and most of the stations putting the price up of fuel I have been using tesco diesel for the last 5 tank fulls and come monday morning to re fill I will be going back to shell normal diesel

I do not know if its psycological or what not but runnig on tesco fuel has made my car run rough and perfomance has been affected i.e hesitation on when giving it full power.

Will I use v power or the more expesnive diesel, I probably wont as I cant see any justification to use it (apart from getting free costa coffee at my shell station if I buy v power). I have ran it with a few tankfulls and not noticed it in the past apart from 2mpg increase

[parapaul]

Originally Posted by Dave_3

But if you are lucky enough to not notice the difference. Keep using the cheaper Diesel.

D.

Same for V Power diesel - higher cetane rating as well as the detergent additives. I can feel the difference, and it's worth the extra 8p a litere to me.

[Giff]

So a higher cetane rated diesel will ignite faster, the effect being similar to advancing the ignition of a petrol engine?

[dopper99]

I've used BP Ulitmate in both my pre-LCI and LCI 330d and found the car is far more responsive over normal diesel.
I tried a tank of V Power in my LCI just after I had it and found it made the car run like with normal diesel and felt no difference at all, couldnt wait to get rid of the tankful and get some BP Ultimate back in it.
To be honest, it doesnt make the car any quicker - I did some Dynolicous testing with both BP Ultimate and V Power and there was no difference in performance figures. But to me, the responsivness is definately there with Ultimate everytime you press the throttle and this for me adds to the enjoyment of driving the car.

Bottom line - if it made no difference then I wouldnt be paying the extra out on it. But you can tell the difference and normal diesel just makes the car run flat IMO.

[The_Bear_Yid]

Originally Posted by MEGA

We have a bunch of 6 cyl petrol owners appearing in this topic flabberghasted we would ever consider standard fuel.

I'm not flabberghasted.

[CarAbuser]

Originally Posted by dopper99

I've used BP Ulitmate in both my pre-LCI and LCI 330d and found the car is far more responsive over normal diesel.
I tried a tank of V Power in my LCI just after I had it and found it made the car run like with normal diesel and felt no difference at all, couldnt wait to get rid of the tankful and get some BP Ultimate back in it.
To be honest, it doesnt make the car any quicker - I did some Dynolicous testing with both BP Ultimate and V Power and there was no difference in performance figures. But to me, the responsivness is definately there with Ultimate everytime you press the throttle and this for me adds to the enjoyment of driving the car.

Bottom line - if it made no difference then I wouldnt be paying the extra out on it. But you can tell the difference and normal diesel just makes the car run flat IMO.

When i tried dynolicous it was gash. Does it actually work now?

[dopper99]

Originally Posted by CarAbuser

When i tried dynolicous it was gash. Does it actually work now?

The only way I could get it to give me half decent readings was to prop the iphone upright. I used blue tack to tack it to the centre console and rest the bottom of it on the gear lever console (not fantastic - but seemed to work). Although I havent tried it for a few months.

[TMP]

Originally Posted by Dave_3

Really ?



Have a look yourself : http://www.bp.com/retail/ultimateart...tentId=7067699

But if you are lucky enough to not notice the difference. Keep using the cheaper Diesel.

D.

One of the reasons I prefer BP Ult over Shell -at least they quote the science / cetane behind their fuels.

A useful PDF as well: http://www.caranddriving.com/feature...20ultimate.pdf

Think Carlos said it before...why run a high-performance engine, but put in average fuel? (or have I fallen for the marketing as well )

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by Giff

So a higher cetane rated diesel will ignite faster, the effect being similar to advancing the ignition of a petrol engine?

The idea is to have a smoother, more complete burn of the atomised diesel. Higher cetane assists this, gets the fuel ignited faster, allowing more time for the fuel to burn efficiently. It is also why we typically have a quieter more refined engine, on the higher cetane fuels. Extra diesel knock is often due to an incomplete burn.

Users often say there is no difference in mpg, a lot will depend on use. The diesel is best suited to steady state running, so drivers who just cruise, mile after mile at lowish revs, (best flame burn) will get the best mpg benefit from better combustion. If we drive with a lot of high revs, then mpg benefits will be less likely.

My car is definitely smoother and quieter on BP Ultimate, compared with the standard BP fuel, feels more responsive and returns more mpg.

Peter

[Ste133]

After reading more into this thread, I think I will try and run my car on 'the good stuff' from here on..

[dxb335d]

Ste, you should have listened to me in the first place LOL

[Shelfsidestu]

Because of this thread I am now on the good stuff too!

[Ste133]

Originally Posted by dxb335d

Ste, you should have listened to me in the first place LOL

Carlos, when I listen to you I end up spending more money on my car..

Not that I mind...

[mistryn]

I thought I would give BP ultimate a go, drove to 2 different BP stations and both did not stock any of the ultimate diesel so ended up putting in regular bp diesel

It appears not all BP stations stock ultimate :-(

[dopper99]

Originally Posted by mistryn

I thought I would give BP ultimate a go, drove to 2 different BP stations and both did not stock any of the ultimate diesel so ended up putting in regular bp diesel

It appears not all BP stations stock ultimate :-(

If you go to www.petrolprices.com you can search for stations in your area for premium diesel. Stations selling BP Ultimate are bound to show up.

[magic77]

I have to say Vpower diesel is more than placebo. With milage I do I got to test the lot. Found on both my cars e46 and E90 that with BP standard or ultimate car run pants. When I moved to either Shell standard or Sainsubyry Diesel I got very good performance. Move to Vpower and the car was noticibly more eager to pull.

Recently been running esso and car has felt crap even with new Performance Pack it just felt rough. Been running the tank down and will be going over to shell asap.

The biggest difference is when you get to europe their have slightly differnet quality diesel and in past found normal shell there give snearly same car feedback as Vpower here. Fill up with VPOWER in germany and its like having a remap