Shell V-Power experiment data/ 3.0si MPG

[ab7]

Some people will fall asleep in the first paragraph of this topic, but for people like me (engineer turned accountant) you may find the numbers interesting.

To set the scene I recently started working in Sheffield which means driving back and forth either side of the weekend and staying in a hotel for the week, this results in sticking some serious mileage on the zed. I've always been fairly economical with my driving style on longer journeys but certainly have some fun on the weekends. I've always wanted to experiement with premium unleaded so in December I though why not and switched for a few tanks, the results are below.

So previously I was averaging 32.96MPG, since switching I've averaged 35.12MPG however as highlighted on the graph there are 2 fills which were purely around town driving over Christmas which really aren't a fair comparison to all the others... take that out the equation and I've been averaging over 36MPG.

A fill is generally over 400 miles of driving calculated from filling/ mileage not from the trip computer although I've found the trip to be fairly in line with my numbers. I did have one tank since the last one on here which was showing 42mpg on the trip computer over the week, but some spirited driving over the weekend upon my return dropped it down to 40. Obviously traffic conditions and my journeys aren't exactly the same every week, but similar enough to compare.

I did genuinely believe the engine sounded like it was running smoother on the V-Power especially after a few tanks, and there's no doubt that I was seeing better MPG (certainly noticed the difference having now switched back to the cheap stuff at Shell). A final disclaimer - I have my car to enjoy it, not to worry about MPG, but the amount I've been spending on fuel recently it was worth investigating! The good news (for me) is that the Sheffield thing will shortly be coming to an end

So here's the data (I know I know - no title, axis not labelled, my old lecturers would not be impressed!)

Take out the Christmas runs and the V-Power seems to deliver more consistent figures, and a noticeable improvement as it run in over the first few tanks. There is one data point missing at the end as I mentioned which was 40.XMPG.



EDIT:

When I ran the experiment regular unleaded was 126.9, V=Power was 137.9 (Ouch!)

Including the Christmas fills (i.e. all tanks):

Regular Unleaded - £0.173255 per mile
V - Power - £0.173241 per mile

Eliminating the Christmas fills:

Regular Unleaded - £0.173255 per mile
V - Power - £0.167852 per mile

Which means from my research the additional cost of Shell V-Power is covered by the improved MPG.

Based on the better V-Power MPG figure I calculate an extra 48.8miles over a 55L tank (which fits about right with the increase I've seen when I fill up usually 45-50L).

 

[Carol M]

Great post.
There's plenty of talk about this on the porsche forum and it's generally agreed that 98ron gives better mpg (and performance) there's a few that say they don't notice the difference.
If your graph is anything to go by, for zeds anyway, it makes a significant difference over time.

 

[ab7]

Great post.
There's plenty of talk about this on the porsche forum and it's generally agreed that 98ron gives better mpg (and performance) there's a few that say they don't notice the difference.
If your graph is anything to go by, for zeds anyway, it makes a significant difference over time.

Thanks Tbh as I say, it's only having switched back to the cheaper stuff that I've realised how much further V-Power was actually getting me

 

[Carol M]

I use it in the Boxster, it's the stated type to use but you can use 95 as well.
I've been in two minds whether to keep paying the extra but based on your findings (must work for most marques too?) I'm going to carry on using it. Thank you

 

[Half Colin]

Looks good but due to the different cost it needs to be taken to the final conclusion - how much did it cost per mile on Regular and V-Power.

 

[JonnyB]

Looks good but due to the different cost it needs to be taken to the final conclusion - how much did it cost per mile on Regular and V-Power.

+1

 

[Carol M]

It's about 6p a litre more.

(Edited because I put wrong number)

 

[AndyBeech]

As above. With the extra cost per litre I would imagine it evens out.
Should have taken Tesco's rocket fuel, otherwise known as Momentum into the mix as well. A few pence cheaper per litre than V-Power I believe but after running it myself plenty of times and hearing good things about it I'd happily stick it in over V-Power TBH.

 

[MHZ4C]

Interesting data, thanks for sharing ab7.

I have used V Power since day one with my z. It is more expensive, and pence per mile may average out on the cost, but there 'may' also be something in the additives and cleaning properties.

I have no facts, but I hear that the V Power additives are better than regular supermarket fuel, and combined with the potential mpg gain, I figure it's worth it - but this isn't based on fact: 95 RON and the occasional Techron shot may be the same. I haven't played with Techron yet. Maybe it's just marketing hype, and the same tankers carry the same fuel from the same refinery.

I always used supermarket 95 RON in my previous golf (which had a knock sensor) and it would still have clean plugs at each service. Maybe I'll try 95 RON to check for real differences too.

Impressive numbers from an I6 engine that is so flexible! Make sure the Vanos still gets a workout now and again!

 

[dhobbs]

I have been using Tesco momentum 99. It's only 2p more than the normal Shell and 5p less than v power. That's £2.50 per tank.
I can't tell the difference!

 

[ab7]

Well the numbers are in (I'll add this to the original post):

When I ran the experiment regular unleaded was 126.9, V=Power was 137.9 (Ouch!)

Including the Christmas fills (i.e. all tanks):

Regular Unleaded - £0.173255 per mile
V - Power - £0.173241 per mile

Eliminating the Christmas fills:

Regular Unleaded - £0.173255 per mile
V - Power - £0.167852 per mile

Which means from my research the additional cost of Shell V-Power is covered by the improved MPG.

Based on the better V-Power MPG figure I calculate an extra 48.8miles over a 55L tank (which fits about right with the increase I've seen when I fill up usually 45-50L).

Guess I better switch back to the expensive stuff!

 

[ab7]

Interesting data, thanks for sharing ab7.

I have used V Power since day one with my z. It is more expensive, and pence per mile may average out on the cost, but there 'may' also be something in the additives and cleaning properties.

I have no facts, but I hear that the V Power additives are better than regular supermarket fuel, and combined with the potential mpg gain, I figure it's worth it !

I'd agree it's about more than just the MPG, as I say I've definitely noticed the engine sounds a bit smoother (especially from cold).

I'm going to experiment with a few more tanks now given how close the figures are to financial justification alone - but if it really is cheaper then all the other benefits will be an added bonus!

 

[gordongecko500]

Great post ab7!!

I haven't really had a chance to get a decent run in my car since getting it a month ago - mainly communting, so currently averaging 26 mpg - hoping to start getting close to your results!

 

[mason storm]

nice post I've switched to V Power for a while now but am never really sure it's worth it but at least it doesn't look like I'm loosing anything based on better mpg, I would love to see a comparison with Tesco Super I remember reading someone else thought it gave better power than V Power but mpg not as good

 

[Half Colin]

I'm not sure I agree with your final conclusion though.

If your Regular was 126.9p per lt that's 576.88p per gal (4.546 lt per gallon) and VPower at 137.9 is 626.89 per gallon.

So over 100 miles the Regular uses 100/32.96=3.03 galls which costs £17.48
and 100 miles with VPower uses 100/35.12=2.85 galls which costs £17.86

 

[mcbeee]

I can't believe anyone uses anything other than Premium fuel..???????

It's about performance, compression ratios, having your motor not gum up and die, mileage is just an extra benefit.
I"ve had two vehicles in the last 15 years that used regular fuel, both were large pickup trucks. Try 16mpg .. ouch!
ZEDS, Porkers, Old volvos they want good fuel 8)

I always found that it was a wash, the mileage increase was roughly equivalent to the increased cost of the fuel, the benefit was a longer lasting engine with better performance.

We had an issue here where a distributor was marketing fuel 2 octane points higher than their Premium. The difference in my cars was immediately noticeable so I used it whenever I found it... The issue was that the fuel mileage was no higher than that of Premium fuel, the performance was great. sounds a bit illogical but it was what it was. End result, the company dropped Premium and replaced it with the higher octane fuel at the lower premium cost. They didn't have to have extra pumps so they saved a ton and we got super premium for premium price. What a win

 

[ab7]

I'm not sure I agree with your final conclusion though.

Hi, I used 35.82mpg for my calculations as the 35.12mpg figure for V-Power on the graph doesn't include the additional tank I mentioned (which raised the average).

I think that explains the difference :wink: (Also I rounded to 4.5L to a gallon but that's not really significant)

Thought has occurred to me that regular unleaded fuel in Cheltenham is now 2p/litre more than when I did this... but V-Power is still the same 8)

 

[Half Colin]

I'm not sure I agree with your final conclusion though.

Hi, I used 35.82mpg for my calculations as the 35.12mpg figure for V-Power on the graph doesn't include the additional tank I mentioned (which raised the average).

I think that explains the difference :wink: (Also I rounded to 4.5L to a gallon but that's not really significant)

Thought has occurred to me that regular unleaded fuel in Cheltenham is now 2p/litre more than when I did this... but V-Power is still the same 8)

Interesting, it seems realistically that you're better off with Premium as long as it's not more than 12 or 13p per lt more than Regular.

 

[grayboots]

Agree totally with mcbeee here. My Zed used to pink when using regular unleaded from my local Jet station. Not a major issue granted, as the knock sensors would detect it and adjust the timing accordingly. Since switching to "V" Power however it never pinks at all. I've used "V Power" for nearly 12 months now and I swear the car runs better but I can't say I've seen any discernible difference in fuel economy.

 

[Titan]

I've always felt that the extra mpg is greater than the proportionate extra cost.
Your figures go along way to proving that.
Even if the cost per 100 miles is approximately equal, I'de rather have the higher octane mix in the tank.

Sadly I cannot say the same of my diesel oil burner. I started to record the numbers but there doesn't yet seem to be a marked improvement.
Anyone else done a diesel comparison?