Shell V Power petrol

[Flyingfifer]

Have a read of the Millbrook report and make your own decision.

https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1460676&d=1468877098

But the short answer is that V-Power is the best fuel on the market.

Really interesting read that, thanks for adding it

While its probably widely accepted that the V-Power is the "best" fuel on the market I would liken it to paying £100 for the "best" walking shoes for your hour walk vs the £30 general walking shoes. Are the £100 ones the best? Yeah sure but is it worth all the extra money for the very negligible difference? Not really.

If we were talking about a big power turbo car or some sort of NA supercar that was mapped for 99RON then yeah fine I'd absolutely say go V-Power but we arent, we are talking about a 4 pot e85.

 

[B21]

Have a read of the Millbrook report and make your own decision.

https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1460676&d=1468877098

But the short answer is that V-Power is the best fuel on the market.

Really interesting read that, thanks for adding it

While its probably widely accepted that the V-Power is the "best" fuel on the market I would liken it to paying £100 for the "best" walking shoes for your hour walk vs the £30 general walking shoes. Are the £100 ones the best? Yeah sure but is it worth all the extra money for the very negligible difference? Not really.

If we were talking about a big power turbo car or some sort of NA supercar that was mapped for 99RON then yeah fine I'd absolutely say go V-Power but we arent, we are talking about a 4 pot e85.

3% to 4% better economy for 9% more cost

 

[Flyingfifer]

3% to 4% better economy for 9% more cost

Exactly, it doesnt pay for itself and it isnt giving any more in the way of performance. Just not worth it imo

 

[enuff_zed]

Have a read of the Millbrook report and make your own decision.

https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1460676&d=1468877098

But the short answer is that V-Power is the best fuel on the market.

Really interesting read that, thanks for adding it

While its probably widely accepted that the V-Power is the "best" fuel on the market I would liken it to paying £100 for the "best" walking shoes for your hour walk vs the £30 general walking shoes. Are the £100 ones the best? Yeah sure but is it worth all the extra money for the very negligible difference? Not really.

If we were talking about a big power turbo car or some sort of NA supercar that was mapped for 99RON then yeah fine I'd absolutely say go V-Power but we arent, we are talking about a 4 pot e85.

I think as we are supposed to be helping the OP make an informed decision regarding his 2.0-engined Z then we should accept that the V-Power, whilst acknowledged as 'best', is not necessary for his application.

 

[Flyingfifer]

I think as we are supposed to be helping the OP make an informed decision regarding his 2.0-engined Z then we should accept that the V-Power, whilst acknowledged as 'best', is not necessary for his application.

:happyclap:

 

[Zimmergimp]

I have made a decision.
I normally put £40 of 95 octane.
So in future, I'm going to put £40 of V Power in the tank.
That way, I get the Premium petrol for the price of the normal stuff.
Now, I know what you are thinking.... but even the extra visits to the garage will be worth it, since the attendant is hot.
Thanks again guys.

 

[Flyingfifer]

I have made a decision.
I normally put £40 of 95 octane.
So in future, I'm going to put £40 of V Power in the tank.
That way, I get the Premium petrol for the price of the normal stuff.
Now, I know what you are thinking.... but even the extra visits to the garage will be worth it, since the attendant is hot.
Thanks again guys.

You will fit right in here

 

[enuff_zed]

I have made a decision.
I normally put £40 of 95 octane.
So in future, I'm going to put £40 of V Power in the tank.
That way, I get the Premium petrol for the price of the normal stuff.
Now, I know what you are thinking.... but even the extra visits to the garage will be worth it, since the attendant is hot.
Thanks again guys.

 

[clarker63]

since the attendant is hot.

surely put less in, you'll be back sooner!

 

[Pondrew]

I normally put £40 of 95 octane.
So in future, I'm going to put £40 of V Power in the tank.

Who said V power is more expensive? £40 is £40, so they are the same cost. :?

 

[R60BBA]

I used to think that way (ie V-Power is reserved for high performance cars). Until one day whilst at the petrol station I saw a chap with an old Yaris putting in a full tank of V-Power. I was surprised by this and asked him why he did this, and he said quite simply it’s because he cares about his car.

I used to put V-Power in my E86 3.0si, I put it in my E46 M3, used to put it in my E31 8 Series and currently put it in my Mini Cooper S R53.

Admittedly if I had a 2 litre E85 Z4 I wouldn’t use V-Power, but I wouldn’t run it on bottom of the market Asda fuel either. I would probably run it on Shell 95 RON and put in the odd tank of V-Power for the odd motorway run.

Nevertheless, I am not going to explain why I run V-Power, because it is long and will probably bore most. However I think it is important that the OP makes the decision himself as it is his car at the end of the day, hence sharing the report.

 

[parabolica]

I used v power or equivalent in plenty of my previous cars but tbh for the last few years the price hike put me off and I’ve just been using regular in my ‘03 3.0 without issue. But lately the car would be jerky/stuttering when pulling away from a stand still and after eliminating mechanical issues I thought I’d try running it on premium. Jerkiness and stuttering is gone; looks like I’ll be using premium from here on out.

 

[veryverydarkblue]

I’m convinced my old 4pot (12 years ago) used to show an engine/emission light as a result of using sainsburys 95 fuel continuously. Some premium in the tank and a spirited drive always cleared it before I went back to the cheaper stuff again.

No such issues with the SI on BP 95 so I only intend on using premium when I’m not driving the car much, as I don’t want E10 sitting in the tank for months on end

 

[Pondrew]

This subject can be found multiple times on EVERY car forum/club in the Country (probably globally) and has been discussed ad infinitum since 'premium unleaded' was invented; I remember talking about it on a performance car website over 20 years ago. :|
For context, my N54-engined (higher performance from the factory) E92 says use 95 RON fuel, it doesn't say use 'minimum' 95 RON. I have checked the BMW and Alpina manuals, they both say use 95 RON. They don't specify which 95 RON to use.
My N20-engined Z4 says exactly the same.
Pays your money, takes your choice.

 

[Nanu]

Hmm, I must admit, as a "newbie", I wasn't sure what to expect, in terms of informed, in depth, technical advise from established members, allowing me to gain precious information to help to improve my driving experience......I shouldn't have worried, thanks guys.
Avoid Nectar Points then.

When you get 7x it brings the price down to supermarket levels.

 

[Billbob10]

I just use normal e10 cant tell difference not worth the extra dosh

 

[Flyingfifer]

This subject can be found multiple times on EVERY car forum/club in the Country (probably globally) and has been discussed ad infinitum since 'premium unleaded' was invented; I remember talking about it on a performance car website over 20 years ago. :|
For context, my N54-engined (higher performance from the factory) E92 says use 95 RON fuel, it doesn't say use 'minimum' 95 RON. I have checked the BMW and Alpina manuals, they both say use 95 RON. They don't specify which 95 RON to use.
My N20-engined Z4 says exactly the same.
Pays your money, takes your choice.

This

 

[roblightbody]

This subject can be found multiple times on EVERY car forum/club in the Country (probably globally) and has been discussed ad infinitum since 'premium unleaded' was invented....

Thats true, however the equation has changed now that "normal" petrol has become E10.

In other motoring forums, I have seen people saying they have noticed a significant drop in MPG using the new E10 petrol, which if true, would mean there is a bit more reason for using E5 super unleaded than there used to be, despite the large price gap. Some of the people were reporting 15% drop in mpg.

https://commercialvehiclecontracts.co.uk/news/general/complaints-over-e10-petrol-economy

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/new-e10-fuel-could-reduce-cars-economy-10-cent

But there's lots more, just google for e10 mpg

 

[tomscott]

There is also another issue with premium fuel is most people see fuel as a commodity so will put the cheapest.

I filled my Z4M up at esso as the nearest shell is a 7 mile round trip. Depending on the area and how much the garage is frequented by that customer that will pay for the better grade it can actually be a detriment.

I put half a tank in the Z and it ran like a bag of nails had no power etc but it was in November.

If the fuel isn’t used regularly it does deteriorate. This is the first I’ve experienced of it but it does happen. Went to another station and put another half in and it went away.

It also happened to legit street cars when he bought hoovies SL65 AMG and filled up in Chicago in the winter months where most sensible people in that part of their world put their cars away.

He thought the engine was about to go as it started misfiring and in end end determined that moisture had got into the fuel and had to put a moisture removal agent

Worth a watch about 13:30

https://youtu.be/fCuMb330bfo

 

[Mr Tidy]

Pays your money, takes your choice.

That sums it up nicely assuming you have a car that can use either.

BMW recommend at least 98 RON for both of mine whenever possible so they both get Tesco Momentum as that is my nearest filling station.
Bonus is it is much cheaper than Shell, Esso, BP, etc. premium fuel.