Hi all

Now getting used to the L322 and I think I am in love, but one of the decisions I need to make is what fuel to run it on

I am a reluctant diesel owner, I have had performance Jap and German cars that needed premium petrol for the tuning and prior to this most of my LR have been petrol/lpg V8s I had a brief flirt with a 300tdi softdash but that was not an engine/car combination for me

Back to the point, my diesel Audi (3.0 tdi) and Subaru Both had significantly better mpg running on premium diesel, they also where cleaner at the tail pipe on a family owned caddy 1.9 it had no noticeable effect

What are peoples experiences? I don’t run supermarket fuel unless I can really help it so let’s accept that

What are you running your 4.4 Tdv8s on why and will I notice the “premium” from premium?

Whilst many on this forum state they have no issues with supermarket diesel, I personally prefer to fill up with premium diesel. Have done so for over a decade and have had comments on the cleanliness of the engine internals from mechanics that have worked on the cars.

On the odd occasion when I have used non-premium diesel I have had the water in fuel warning on both my 2010 3.6 TDV8 and now on the 2012 4.4 TDV8.

A further factor is that I drive a lot in Europe where temperatures often dip to -10c or -20c and premium diesel is rated for those temperatures. 2012 4.4 TDV8 Vogue SE Current
2015 E220 with AMG Sport Pack - Currently driven by my son
2010 3.6 TDV8 Vogue - Written off by my son

I use Shell diesel, but the regular not premium. The Shell loyalty scheme helps compensate for the higher price than supermarket fuel.

Having worked at various petro-chems refineries and seen various branded tankers filling from the same fuel pumps, I don’t believe in the ‘supermarket’ issue also fuels are very tightly controlled for quality and ingredients.

There are some sight differences between Oil companies own brand premium fuels with some additives likes lubricants and cleaning agents but again this is very tightly controlled.

Thanks all

On the “supermarket thing” I can accept as it leaves the refinery it’s the same thing but after that like anything it’s how the product is treated, like two pubs next to each other serving the same beer if one of them has a good landlord/cellar person it’s a cracking pint, the other is a chain and no one cares and cleans the lines etc it’s rubbish

My experience of petrol was definitely better mpg avoiding it and the cars felt smoother (V6 etc) and ran cleaner

So result is 50/50 with a 2 person sample

Hum, I guess I need to try a few tanks of each before I make my mind up, standard “branded” vs premium ....

esso every time, not the premium though

Given that Range Rovers can run on any old , think Africa and similar, I just use the supermarket stuff and have done so for years without any issues. Geoff

Same here i run my 4.4TDV8 on supermarket fuel no issues at all.
I had a Jag xf V6 that had DPF issue (Kept filling up) i was told to run it on premuim fuel for a while and it made no difference at all. I cleaned the DPF and ran another couple of tanks then went back to supermarket fuel.
after 3-4 tanks there was not difference at all

DPF still filled at the same rate
No difference in MPG
and i could not tell any dip in performance!

the only car i have had where premium fuel was required was my Focus RS and that was tweaked to within an inch of its life 400HP!! if i ran normal fuel she would mis fire under load. 2012 Vogue 4.4 TDV8 - Current
2014 Navara V6 - Gone
2004 Vogue TD6 - Gone
Grand Cherokee - Gone
Discovery V8 (LPG) - Gone
Discovery TD5 - Gone

supershuttle wrote:

Given that Range Rovers can run on any old , think Africa and similar, I just use the supermarket stuff and have done so for years without any issues.

Going back 30 years maybe. I wouldn’t want to run any L322 or L405 on any old though.

I used to get a bit more mpg* from regular Shell diesel than I did from Asda diesel with my Disco’s, so I’ve stuck with it for the SDV8.

*I appreciate that it’s not possible to be accurate/scientific.

I was only sharing my experience, I've never been to Africa (well at least not with the car) but I have been using regular diesel (or petrol) for well over 50 years and never had a problem. I never check my mpg so even if I get 10% more the fuel costs 10% more so where's the gain? Anyway I won't get hung up on this - apparently Tesco is the largest retailer of fuel in the UK, that's what I use now and never had a problem. Geoff

My very first tank of fuel in the RR was supermarket and it broke down. Ever since that day it's been BP premium all the way. 09 RR Westminster 3.6TDV8 - Stornoway Grey / Black interior - now gone (sad face)
Nissan X Trail 1.6TDCi Tekna
Fiat 500 1.2

I agree that premium fuel is the way to go. The extra cost? Who cares?

But maybe there’s an even better way. I used regular non-supermarket diesel in my Sport but used a quality additive. I had run this spoilt brat of a Sport on premium derv in the past, but my experience of using Archoil was extraordinarily good. Purred like a kitten, I tell you. Only downside is the faff of keeping bottles of the stuff handy. I shall be using the Archoil equivalent on my petrol once the mileage is a bit higher, it’s too new still, but I’m ready.

See my original post https://www.rrsport.co.uk/forum/topic54747.html?highlight=archoil L405 P400e Autobiography (MY2020)... Silicon Silver / Espresso

Over the last 40 years I have used nothing but supermarket fuel (usually Morrisons). I have done over a million miles on it with no issues. Ford Transit 180,000, Merc Sprinter 430,000, Audi Allroad 200,000, VW Touareg 150,000, Range Rover 4.4 TDV8 12,000.

Theres nothing wrong with supermarket fuel, the premium stuff is little other than snakeoil, if it gives you peace of mind, great but in my opinion its a complete waste of cash. BMW i3 Electric Car
2012 Full Fat RR 4.4 TDV8 (now gone)
2006 VW Touareg 3.0 TDi V6

All my petrol cars require higher RON than any supermarket can provide; even Tesco Momentum is a bit of a risk as their RON is lowering on older fuel. I've never been so embarrassed as after 'filling up' with that and then taking the car on Santa Pod raceway spluttering away

If I had a modern high pressure common rail turbo diesel; hell yeah I'd give it premium fuel. It will only drink from Shell.

Will it breakdown when not doing that, of course not. It is fine to use anything for an emergency. But I am definitely a Shell fan with regards to fuel.

Shell V Power every time for my RR. I know that it will run fine with standard fuel, even supermarket fuel, but I get peace of mind knowing that I'm doing all I can to cosset the engine with the V-Power additives.