My brother went to a main Dealership yesterday and found out from a workshop technician that they had a couple of engines they were rebuilding - why he asked.
The answer was that the owners had used supermarket fuel ( and I mean it was one of the big names mentioned ) - apparently the fuel is cheaper than say ( Texaco or Shell which is good stuff he said ) - the supermarket fuel is cheaper and has less additives in or none at all !!!!!!!!!!!!

Has anyone else encountered this or head of it before.
It makes sense to me and I don't think I am going to risk the super market fuel going in my RR.

Would be nice to hear your thoughts on this one.
Thanks

This is a bit of an old chestnut... Plenty of threads/arguments/points of view if you do a search...  Previously..
Vogue SE TD6
Defender 90 2.4
Defender 110 TD5
Vogue 3.5 EFI

as said above - plenty about this has been discussed before.

My opinion (and it's only opinion) I know some folks that only ever fill up at supermarkets because of the price. We have very strict rules about fuel quality in the UK and if there any doubt that the fuel would cause damage, I don't believe they would be able to see it to the public. It's been on sale for years so presumably many hundreds of people would have suffered problems by now. Ash
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2016 SDV8 AB

Wouldn't catch me filling mine up in a supermarket!

Its cheap for a reason!!!

Our local shell now price matches the supermarket, so it's a no brainer.... Previously..
Vogue SE TD6
Defender 90 2.4
Defender 110 TD5
Vogue 3.5 EFI

Used supermarket fuel almost exclusively for years with no problems what so ever, all fuel has to meet a standard specification, aswell have been told by mates who work at storage facilities and load the tankers that various supermarkets wagons and oil companies all fill from the same main tanks, the only difference is the super plus type stuff.

i dont think i would have much confidence in the workshop tech if he says things like that ... ... - .- -.




Y. O. L. O.
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Its all the same stuff. When Shell owned the Stanlow oil refinery in Cheshire, I'd see Shell, Tesco, Morrisons and Sainsburys tankers leaving full of the same fuel. I cant see how supermarket fuel is poor quality unless it comes from non UK sources.

Stanlow provides a sixth of the UK's fuel needs. I'd worry about smaller independent fuel stations who may doctor what they sell. It does still occur. Travelling around in circles again.

Cam-Tech-Craig wrote:

Its cheap for a reason!!!

Quote:

Standard Unleaded and Diesel Fuels

The big debate is over whether the petrol and diesel sold by supermarkets is the same quality as that sold by branded fuel companies like Shell, BP, Esso and Total.

Let’s start with some known facts:

All fuels sold in the UK conform to the relevant British Standards. This means that they should all work in roughly the same way and you can mix them freely in your car’s fuel tank.

The standard petrol and diesel that’s sold on garage forecourts is mixture of two things:

‘Base’ fuel

An additive package

The base fuel is the same for all companies – in fact, it usually comes from the same tanks at the local fuel refinery/distribution centre. What varies is the additives package that goes into the fuel. These additives packages are secret recipes of extra ingredients that help keep the engine clean and improve lubrication inside the engine cylinders.

Each fuel company has its own additives packages and these are different. So it is possible (but not common) for some drivers to feel that their car responds better to the additives used by one fuel manufacturer over those of another.

What About Supermarket Fuels?

There are all sorts of stories that go round about supermarket fuels, but the fact is that supermarket fuel tanker lorries are often seen filling up from the same tanks as branded fuel lorries (e.g. Shell, BP) – so the chances are that most of the time, the fuel they sell is the same, although again, it may have different additives packages.

However, one common story about supermarket fuel is that some supermarkets don’t have a regular fuel supplier. Instead, they buy odd lots of fuel from wherever it’s cheapest. This could (if it happened) lead to supermarket fuel having a more variable set of additives than branded fuels.

Not many people really know the truth about this business, and they are not the kind of people who will reveal all on the internet, so we will have to keep guessing as to whether there is any meaningful difference between supermarket fuels and branded fuels.

J90 wrote:

Its all the same stuff. When Shell owned the Stanlow oil refinery in Cheshire, I'd see Shell, Tesco, Morrisons and Sainsburys tankers leaving full of the same fuel. I cant see how supermarket fuel is poor quality unless it comes from non UK sources.

Stanlow provides a sixth of the UK's fuel needs. I'd worry about smaller independent fuel stations who may doctor what they sell. It does still occur.

+1

The reason it is cheap is because the supermarkets use it as one of their lost leaders - its not difficult to work out - its just marketing

I use the supermarkets and a Shell station - I am not bothered which I end up at

I've an uncle who was a fuel scientist for Shell (now retired).
He spent his professional life working on fuel additives for Shell, so he knew exactly what was in the stuff, whether it were Shell's or any of the other producers.
Guess what ? - there is a difference . . . .
Yes, there are minimum standards but some are way above that -

 Where do you go after one of these . . . ?

Here we go again, Tesco are the largest supplier of fuel in the UK and my nearest garage so I have used them for years in various cars with no problem.
Others have had problems or, more often, know a man who has or read something on the Internet with reports of ruined engines and/or almost magical increases in mpg.
I think if you want piece of mind or are convinced about the reported benefits by all means buy Shell/Esso or whatever floats your boat, my experience with Tesco has been a good one so I won't be driving miles to get Shell neither will I be paying for anyone's higher priced stuff as the way I drive I probably don't need it. Geoff

@ Emirates That mechanic is talking boolocks - we have run many vehicles over many years and have used cheap supermarket fuel for literally hundreds of thousands of miles in many vehicles - without 1 jot of trouble 2021 L405 Vogue SE 4.4 V8 DIESEL ~ #17

^+1 Couldn't have put it better myself.
Why anyone would believe a Main Dealer workshop technician would be of sufficient intellect to usefully comment on the possible failure of an engine due to the type of fuel used is beyond me.
Diesel engined cars, including RR's, are used all over the world on various dubious grades of diesel fuel most of which are are far below the quality of even the lowest grade of fuel available in the uk. They are used because they can and are reliable.
People seem to forget Diesel engines were designed initially to run on waste vegetable oil and funnily enough still can.

Last edited by nicedayforit on 15th Apr 2015 7:12am. Edited 1 time in total

If the price is the same why not get the SHELL its a fact that shell has more/better engine cleaning additives than Supermarket fuel.