Benefits of v-power

[andystone]

Morning all, been regularly reading about v-power fuel. My question is; how long should you use it for it to make a difference to the car, driving experience and engine cleanup etc?

[Adil_3]

A touchy one to be honest. Some people say dont bother pit whatever in others will stick by v power. My personal opinion, i dont put anything else into my car other than shell v power. Wether its an advertisement gimic or what not, id rather be safe in the long run if i expect to keep the car kicking healthy in the years to come. Rather safe than sorry tbh

[philbo909]

great on engines that are meant to run on it, same goes for all 97ron+ fuels. never noticed a difference in economy/power/cleanliness, but have noticed it costs way too much, so unless your car handbook says to use it, might as well use 95ron
https://www.confused.com/on-the-road/co ... emium-fuel

[mmm-five]

Taking from a Z4M point of view, as I don’t know if the non-M makes use of higher octane fuel or not.

It’s more of a progressive thing, unless you’ve got a turbo where it can quickly change boost to accommodate the extra energy in the fuel (of any super vs regular unleaded).

I use it to keep the internals clean (or Tesco Momentum) and put 102 RON in when it’s available at the Ring (about the same price as UK V-Power) as an insurance policy.

Without taking the head off, you’ll not be able to see much evidence of the cleaning, but if you’re taking the head off it’s ususally because you have a problem, so what you see may not be a fair reflection of what the fuel should do.

Mine drives about the same with Momentum or V-Power, but gets better fuel economy on V-Power, but not enough of a difference to make up for the wallet-raping difference in price. I just fill up at whichever is closest when I need fuel.

Even in an emergency, I will not put anything less than 97 in, and only from a high-traffic, big brand (e.g. no Sava or small single-pump vintage garage in mid-Wales).

[philbo909]

Taking from a Z4M point of view, as I don’t know if the non-M makes use of higher octane fuel or not.

It’s more of a progressive thing, unless you’ve got a turbo where it can quickly change boost to accommodate the extra energy in the fuel (of any super vs regular unleaded).

I use it to keep the internals clean (or Tesco Momentum) and put 102 RON in when it’s available at the Ring (about the same price as UK V-Power) as an insurance policy.

Without taking the head off, you’ll not be able to see much evidence of the cleaning, but if you’re taking the head off it’s ususally because you have a problem, so what you see may not be a fair reflection of what the fuel should do.

Mine drives about the same with Momentum or V-Power, but gets better fuel economy on V-Power, but not enough of a difference to make up for the wallet-raping difference in price. I just fill up at whichever is closest when I need fuel.

Even in an emergency, I will not put anything less than 97 in, and only from a high-traffic, big brand (e.g. no Sava or small single-pump vintage garage in mid-Wales).

The s54 is a high performance engine though, so performance fuel makes sense?
Not sure if the regular engines benefit in the same way. I know high power turbo engines need higher octane fuels, but the m52 is a tough beast

[Trav]

Tesco momentum was way cheaper than diesel today. Brimmed it for a run through the hills later. It makes a difference, but you may never tell in real world driving. No one would cheat lab results - would they?

[R60BBA]

Taking from a Z4M point of view, as I don’t know if the non-M makes use of higher octane fuel or not.

It’s more of a progressive thing, unless you’ve got a turbo where it can quickly change boost to accommodate the extra energy in the fuel (of any super vs regular unleaded).

I use it to keep the internals clean (or Tesco Momentum) and put 102 RON in when it’s available at the Ring (about the same price as UK V-Power) as an insurance policy.

Without taking the head off, you’ll not be able to see much evidence of the cleaning, but if you’re taking the head off it’s ususally because you have a problem, so what you see may not be a fair reflection of what the fuel should do.

Mine drives about the same with Momentum or V-Power, but gets better fuel economy on V-Power, but not enough of a difference to make up for the wallet-raping difference in price. I just fill up at whichever is closest when I need fuel.

Even in an emergency, I will not put anything less than 97 in, and only from a high-traffic, big brand (e.g. no Sava or small single-pump vintage garage in mid-Wales).

Basically what he said although I have a Shell card and so solely use V-Power. The only time I put in a different fuel is when in Europe, and even then I plan my trips so that I can do fuel stops at Shells, and if not, I use the premium fuel (usually 98 RON) at the non-Shell garages.

However to answer the OP’s question I would like to add if you use V-Power you should notice a difference in the following:

Slightly more BHP
A more pronounced exhaust note
Cleaner intake and exhaust valves
Better fuel economy.

However as you drive a 2.5si (don’t take offence), I don’t think V-Power is really worth it.

Standard fuel should do the job.

[Mr Tidy]

Well the OP's 2.5Si will have the N52 engine, which ideally needs 98 RON - although it can use lower octanes.

I used to put Shell V-Max in my Coupe, until the price difference over their standard offering got so extortionate.

So now it gets Tesco Momentum, which is 99RON IIRC, in the hope the higher Octane rating will give the promised benefits!

I also use the same fuel in my E91, which has a 2.5 litre N52 engine.

[greg81]

Tesco basics with a wee redex topup does the trick for me

[bigredrob]

l always carry and use "millers petrol" additive ... due to living in Wales .. , lol, and previously owning an impreza, which needed 97+ RON, which was not always available, also use the deisel version in my Landrover, Both are meant to raise the RON or Cetane value by a couple of points, and clean the injectors/fuel lines,

[buzyg]

It's modern petrol made to a set of strict regulations. If Shell tell us there are extra cleaning agents in theirs ,then there probably are, or some one would have moaned to the standards agency. But in the real world, away from the adverts and the hype, as others have said I'm happy putting either Vpower or Tesco momentum in mine. Which ever I am closest too, when she needs a fill up.

[mmm-five]

Both are meant to raise the RON or Cetane value by a couple of points, and clean the injectors/fuel lines,

The Millers EcoMax/PetrolMax ones are one of the better ones, but be careful of what statements you believe on some of these boosters.

A lot of easily-available 'octane boosters' typically only raise the RON rating by 0.1 RON per 'point' not 1.0 RON.
So when they say 'raise by up to 5 octane points' they mean about 0.5 RON, and '10 octane points' is only 1 RON.
With that type, the only way you'll see much improvement is if you add a full bottle at about 5 times the recommended concentration.

...and yes, I used to use an octane booster all the time once I'd modified my Corrado VR6 - but bought the bulk version from Demon Tweeks (similar to Silkolene ProBoost @ £12 for 1L which gives about 2-4 RON depending on concentration)

If it actually states increase in RON or AKI are by 'NUMBERS' then they tend to do a proper, full RON increase per number.

If you really want a big boost, then something like the Silkolene Pro Boost (best value for money) or NOS Race formula or Amsoil Dominator actually gives you about 3-4 RON (30-40 points).

But be wary about using some of the 'race' higher powered options in a modern road car, as they'll ruin the cat - make sure you only buy one that says it's cat safe - some will offer you up to a very tempting 8-10 RON increase!

Never bothered in the M5 or the Z4M.

[MACK]

Most of the zed engines are designed/mapped from the factory for the 97+ fuels (not sure about the N42 2.0 in the E85). So your better of using the premium fuels for a number of reasons inc slight power/torque increase, smoother running/idle and superior cleaning properties. Alternatives to the mega pricey V Power or whatever Shell are calling it these days include the previously mentioned Tesco Momentum or Costco 99. Costco is the cheapest and they also claim there's has the most cleaning additives, last time I filled up at the Manchester Store it was 116p/l a few weeks ago. Tesco was 121p/l at the same time.
Obviously you've got to be a member etc

[MrPT]

Had a 2.5si and did the same, 300 mile round trip commute every week for months, tracking every fill up with an app (I had to log and expense business mileage). I didn't notice any performance increase but I was able to hit higher mpg consistently with V-Power, cancelling out the cost difference. This was 5 years ago, mind.

There are lots of variables in engine management. I don't see why most modern engines wouldn't be able to exploit higher octane fuels in some way.