V-Power (etc) mpg improvement?

Busterboo

Veteran
Two questions in the context of Felixlamb's poll, "Premium Fuel - Yay or Nay?"
https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=117874 …

If you've swapped fuel from 95 RON to 98/99 RON, has your mpg improved?

If 'Yes', by how many mpg?
 
Yes.

On my 3.0si I used to get about 21 mpg around town on standard fuel. With V-Power that increased to 24/5 mpg.
 
I have always put premium in the Z4. My last sports car I tried both, made very little difference to the mpg. The car just felt better on better.fuel.
 
Around +2mpg city driving. Possibly another ~2 mpg on a longer run. Added benefit of better performance (remapped turbo car - I can definitely tell difference), cleaner engine and fuel system (apparently) and doesn't really cost that much more per tank esp' considering the extra mpg. I always use 99 RON V Power.

However, I noticed no difference in my previous NA 6 cyl coupe. I still ran V Power though. :wink:
 
There are just too many variables to conduct a reliable test of a tank of 95 versus a tank of 99
Apart from external influences of hills, wind, traffic, temperatures etc - there is also the drivers attitude, ie does he want to show performance or economy?

I have a copy of a properly conducted test of Tesco Momentum but its in pdf format - I don't think i can post that? If anyone knows how, I will :thumbsup:
 
ronk said:
There are just too many variables to conduct a reliable test of a tank of 95 versus a tank of 99
Apart from external influences of hills, wind, traffic, temperatures etc - there is also the drivers attitude, ie does he want to show performance or economy?

I have a copy of a properly conducted test of Tesco Momentum but its in pdf format - I don't think i can post that? If anyone knows how, I will :thumbsup:

What sort of increase did the test reveal Ron? :?
Rob
 
Test Method
The test process was identical for each vehicle:
1. Vehicle drained of fuel and full inspection carried out
2. Fuel tank filled with Tesco 95 Octane fuel
3. Vehicle driven on UK roads with all data logged and contemporaneously recorded
4. Mileage noted when low fuel warning light emitted 5. Fuel tank refilled with Tesco 95 Octane fuel
6. Vehicle driven on UK roads with all data logged and contemporaneously recorded
7. Mileage noted when low fuel warning light emitted
8. Fuel tank refilled with Tesco 95 Octane fuel
9. Vehicle driven on UK roads with all data logged and contemporaneously recorded 10. Mileage noted when low fuel warning light emitted
11. Vehicle power tested on chassis Dyno
12. Vehicle drained of fuel and full inspection carried out
13. Fuel tank filled with Tesco Momentum 99 fuel
14. Vehicle driven on UK roads with all data logged and contemporaneously recorded
15. Mileage noted when low fuel warning light emitted
16. Fuel tank refilled with Tesco Momentum 99 fuel
17. Vehicle driven on UK roads with all data logged and contemporaneously recorded
18. Mileage noted when low fuel warning light emitted
19. Fuel tank refilled with Tesco Momentum 99 fuel
20. Vehicle driven on UK roads with all data logged and contemporaneously recorded
21. Mileage noted when low fuel warning light emitted
22. Vehicle power tested on chassis Dyno

Upper Medium BMW 320i M-Sport
Registration Year: 2008

• Miles covered on 95 Octane Fuel: 1195
• Miles per Gallon achieved on 95 Octane Fuel: 32.89
• Miles covered on Momentum 99: 1419
• Miles per Gallon achieved on Momentum 99: 39.06
• Average of 18.74% Increase in Fuel Economy
• Average of 74.67 Miles Extra per Tank
• Maximum Power Gain of 11.25 BHP (6.0%)
• Maximum Torque Gain of 12 ft/lbs (7.4%)


Conclusion
In each vehicle tested the Momentum 99 generated higher power and better fuel economy than the Tesco 95 Octane fuel. Averaged across the test vehicles this equated to 5.6% higher power and a 18.5% improvement in fuel economy.
The Momentum 99 fuel contains a higher energy content due to its enhanced constituent ingredients, the fuel burns hotter, for longer and this energy content enables the vehicles to generate more power. The higher power generated by each vehicle means less fuel is burnt for a given speed and less fuel burnt for a given speed means higher miles per gallon as less fuel is burnt for a given distance.
The high number of variations that can affect the results of such testing have prevented such an extensive on road testing ever being attempted before, however by undertaking such an extensive testing period combined with a wide range of test vehicles the potential for corrupted test data is minimised. The adoption of strict test procedures designed to minimise any external affect on data also minimise any potential skew in results.
 
Afraid their test was only conducted on:-

Hyundai i10
Vauxhall Corsa 1.2
Ford Focus 1.6
BMW 320i
Mercedes-Benz C180
Audi TT 2.0T
Vauxhall Zafira
1.8 Honda CRV 2.0

The 320i was the closest vehicle to a 2.0l z4 i thought.
 
ronk said:
Afraid their test was only conducted on:-

Hyundai i10
Vauxhall Corsa 1.2
Ford Focus 1.6
BMW 320i
Mercedes-Benz C180
Audi TT 2.0T
Vauxhall Zafira
1.8 Honda CRV 2.0

The 320i was the closest vehicle to a 2.0l z4 i thought.

The Audi TT would probably be the closest to the 2.0 e89 due to the fact it has a turbo & the 320i bmw doesn’t :?
Rob
 
The bit about it containing a “higher energy content” is BS. The difference is due to timing of ignition relative to the compression cycle.
 
buzyg said:
Great article.

So it seems it works then. :D :thumbsup:

It certainly appears to work - the test conditions were more controlled and the Dyno runs confirmed any power increases.
 
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