Super versus Standad Unleaded Petrol: Discuss

[user 1877]

I have only had my MY17 PHEV for a few weeks and I love it. Most of my journeys are less than 30 miles so my ICE infrequently fires up and when it does it is only only working for a short time. So far about 12 litres consumed in 500 miles. This is brilliant economy and no doubt Mitsubishi designed th ICE to cope with this intermittent operation.

My question is, is it worth using major brand Premium higher octane fuel or is Supermaket Standard 95 Octane unleaded fine?

I will probably stick to BP Ultimate but am interested in others views or experiences.

 

[AndyInOz]

I'm using the same, mainly because it is reputed to be very clean, and low sulphur.

Only using about 20 litres every six months, so no idea if it makes any difference.

There have been problems in the past with no-name brands of petrol being contaminated with water, particulates and in one particularly bad case adulterated with toluene.

Having said that, I haven't heard of anything like that here in Australia for a long time now.

 

[jthspace]

I use Shell V-Power Unleaded in my 1991 Eunos Roadster (MK5 Mk1 equivalent) and the difference is noticeable.

I have not seen any difference with the PHEV though, so it gets filled up with (usually) Esso or Sainsbury which are the two local filling stations in Cambridge or Norfolk where 90% of the journeys are. Maybe because the engine in the PHEV is primarily a generator?

Jeff

 

[jaapv]

The engine has been designed to use 95 octane fuel, using higher octane fuel will not harm, but neither will it bring any benefit. If you want to keep your engine extra clean, use a bottle of Wynns every three months.

 

[chrisnsteffie]

Not sure if this is useful info or not. I used to drive about 130 miles a day in my old petrol Rav4 - filled up every other day. I alternated between the cheapest fuel, and premium fuel every week to see if it made any difference. I repeated this for about months.

Whilst I don't have the spreadsheet any more, it worked out like this: I would get more miles out of the premium fuel, but the cost per mile stayed the same.

It wasn't a blind test, so maybe I unknowlingly modified my behaviour. So, it wasn't very scientific. However, I did run it for long enough to come to what I thought was a sensible conclusion. This might help, maybe it was just my specific car at the time. Who knows.

 

[user 1877]

Like Andyinoz my principle reason for using BP Ultimate is for its claimed active cleaning properties. I guess Shell V-Power would be similar but I have a BP station just up the road.

Prior to the PHEV I ran a remapped high mileage LR Disco 3. Great vehicle but ruinously expensive to maintain. Fuel consumption was terrible, not helped by my abusing it by using it on lots of short journeys. I used to fill up with standard diesel but religiously added an Archoil fuel cleanser/conditioner, probably similar to Wynns. Although lots of things went expensively wrong with Discovery, none of them were engine related. So perhaps the additive worked.

 

[Damaxta]

If you were going to remap, then you could remap on the assumption you will always use 'Super'. However, in the Outlander, I can't see you'll get any benefit from it at all.

Yes, the additive combination might be a bit different, but that doesn't necessarily mean better!

In some countries, may be worth taking the super option as the quality of the fuel and likelihood of contaminants can be greater.

But, there are cases where super unleaded tanks become problematic, as they just don't sell enough of the stuff and as a result they get all sorts of contamination problems or the fuel just goes 'bad'.

 

[maby]

Our PHEV is almost 3 years old and has always run on the cheapest plonk I could find - it has never complained and has a lifetime average of around 43mpg - I doubt it would do noticeably better on more expensive stuff.

 

[Tipper]

I have never used premium fuel grades for any of my cars over the last 40 years and have seen no deterioration in performance in any of them. They range from cheap petrol runabouts to expensive diesel executive barges.

As the PHEV only rarely drives the wheels and even then the connection does feel rather vague and, you do not get the manual gearbox driving feel, I see no reason to give it anything other than cooking fuel. It is after all primarily a petrol engined generator!

But I'll never cease to be amazed at the power of advertising! :lol:

 

[drdel]

Since the PHEV's engine is a standard 2 litre unit but without the turbo its de-tuned slightly. Additionally and the ECU controls its revs, which are limited, not the accelerator. Consequently any 'extra' power is unlikely to be noticed.

There may be marginal benefits from the 'super' fuels' cleaning additives if it (you trip characteristics) rarely run the ICE otherwise I'd suggest it might make you feel good but little else of practical significance.

 

[user 1877]

Thanks everyone for the comments/advice. I was never seeking any marginal benefit in power from higher octane. I was primarily interested in whether anyone else saw benefit in the claimed cleaning and lubricity advantages of premium fuels.

I think I will revert to bog standard fuel plus the occasional dose of the appropriate Wynns or Archoil additive.

 

[Tipper]

The PHEV engine is said to be modified with coated bearings and pistons, etc. I can't remember the details though but I'm sure someone will know.

 

[jaapv]

Unleaded petrol has never tasted as nice as the leaded stuff :lol: ...

 

[maby]

Unleaded petrol has never tasted as nice as the leaded stuff :lol: ...

A mis-spent youth siphoning tanks?

 

[jaapv]

Trying to start cars with SU carbs and Lucas petrol pumps...

 

[drdel]

Trying to start cars with SU carbs and Lucas petrol pumps...

Snap!

 

[user 1877]

Trying to start cars with SU carbs and Lucas petrol pumps...

Seeing as we are going down memory lane, in my dim and distant yoof I owned a Triumph 2.5 PI auto saloon. Lovely car when it was working but as one of the first mass production fuel injected cars it had its issues; the antithesis of the PHEV. Brilliant acceleration and top speed, 15mpg fuel consumption.

It had an unreliable Lucas petrol injection system. Astonishingly it had a high pressure (110psi) fuel pump in the back with plastic pipe work running the length of the car to the engine. I will never forget getting home from work one day when SWMBO told me she had driven 4 miles home from town with the engine misfiring. I started the car and there was petrol spraying ten feet out the side of the car. Pin hole in the fuel line. If the wife had driven past a smoker I dread to think what would have happened.

 

[jaapv]

Lucas, prince of darkness. I recall having a Lucas dynamo in my Morgan 4/4 in the late seventies. After replacing it four times within 20.000 km I fitted a French Ford alternator, which worked for twenty years and 160.000 km...

And to think they build avionics nowadays... :twisted: