Super Unleaded Brands- Different?

[steyning]

Much discussed over the years.. but...is there an easy to understand difference between the garage forecourt super unleaded brands?

I usually try to get BP Ultimate or Shell Optimax for my Turbo but I had to use some Esso Premier super unleaded the other day and the car now does not run as smoothly on idle - is there a link here or am I just paranoid and something else is playing up..

 

[Mark Elder]

ORIGINAL: steyning

.... Shell Optimax ....

Where do you get that? I thought they stopped selling it and moved to V-power (99 octane) about 18 months ago.

Anyway, to comment on your question....I think it's not so much a brand thing as poor quality control.

I almost always fill by RAV4 with BP95 at the same garage and one day I filled it up and it immediately started performing badly. I booked it in to get it looked at, but before the booking came around I had to fill it again - and it then worked perfectly.

I complained to the BP garage and they admitted they'd had other complaints about that one tanker load.

 

[darth510]

I have tried them all, in all of my cars(except the diesrl landrover!!) shell is by far in my opinion the best!!

 

[Guest]

If you go to Stanlow Oil Refinery (or any other) you might just be surprised to find tankers from different companies "filling up at the same tap". I have a now retired friend who was in the domestic heating oil business and who was invited to go on a tour of the refinery.
Being very much a motor sport enthusiast he was quick to notice this "same tap game" - and ever since has held the view that brand loyalty is an utter nonsense.
You may remember some years ago when a big petrol company was having a marketing push saying "Our brand contains something extra" or words to that effect.
Well, my friend quizzed his refinery contact and was told that company X still filled up at the "normal tap" and then before doing any deliveries, stopped in a layby and poured a 5 litre container of the 'secret ingredient' into his full tankload ! Hi-tech eh?

The petrol and oil business is full of kidology and marketing hype.
An oil company rep. admitted to a group of vintage enthusiasts a few years ago that Agri******* had exactly the same base oil and additives as the 5 litre cans of their 'Motor oil' sold in the car trade ..... but at an elevated price.

I still chuckle when I think of the Australian purveyor of "Specialist Motor Oils" ( who of course did not have a refinery and therefore bought oil from the big boys) - who advertised an oil for steering boxes that was - quote - "Self-levelling".
Well, other than in outer space, most liquids on Earth are self-levelling. Kidology at it's worst.

 

[burrow01]

Why do you think VPower is the only v high octane fuel and the other Premium fuels are 97 Octane []

Shell own Stanlow, and thats where they make VPower - it does not come from any other refinery

97 Octane premium fuels are made by adding additives to the normal 95 Octane base fuel that every refinery produces...

Its the same with the "same tap" - all the oil companies add their own additive pack to the base fuel - where the base fuel is made is irrelevent to each company, and they share refineries and fuel depots.

Pete

 

[Guest]

ORIGINAL: burrow01

Why do you think VPower is the only v high octane fuel and the other Premium fuels are 97 Octane []

Shell own Stanlow, and thats where they make VPower - it does not come from any other refinery

97 Octane premium fuels are made by adding additives to the normal 95 Octane base fuel that every refinery produces...

Its the same with the "same tap" - all the oil companies add their own additive pack to the base fuel - where the base fuel is made is irrelevent to each company, and they share refineries and fuel depots.

Pete

Pete. Just to be clear. V-power is only made and sold by Shell so it is truly 'different' ? Am very happy with that.

But a bit unsure about the 95 octane base. Are you saying that all the various brands tanker it away from refineries but then literally "all companies add their additive pack" ?
What are the mechanics of this I wonder, is it the 5 gallon per tankerfull route or do they put it into 'brand dedicated' storage tanks at the shared fuel depots and add their ingredients in bulk ?

 

[burrow01]

As far as I am aware, it is added to the tankers as they load the fuel

Pete

 

[geoff Ives]

Some years ago we had a technical seminar at Cornbury House given by a representative of the oil industry.
OK so he worked for a particular company but he certainly didn't favour a single brand.

What he said was the all petrol comes into the same (3 I think) terminals where addative are added for particular brands and specifications. The only exeption was Shell who were very secretive about their addatives (this was the start of the Optimax period) and added their own.