Which brands of Diesel and Petrol do you find best for quality and MPG ?

killwill · 21-08-2011 10:41am

No brand name / independent supplier / other

Mech1 wrote: »

so a dyno takes atmospheric pressure / humidity into account when working out the bhp?

Is atmospheric pressure not constant? It never varies so does not need to be monitored?

mm_surf · 21-08-2011 10:48am

killwill wrote: »

Is atmospheric pressure not constant? It never varies so does not need to be monitored?

Varies with weather, but also allows a certain correction between dyno stations at different heights above sea level. (although the variance between different dynos can be pretty big anyway)

For best comparisons, do all your dyno runs at the same place.

johnos1984 · 21-08-2011 10:51am

Maxol

One quick question:

Who owns and supplies the Corrib Oil garages?

Monty. · 21-08-2011 10:54am

No brand name / independent supplier / other

johnos1984 wrote: »

One quick question:

Who owns and supplies the Corrib Oil garages?

I don't know who owns them, but they seem to be suppplied by Topaz : http://www.corriboil.com/

volvoman480 · 21-08-2011 12:22pm

Lads, I don't know whether one type of diesel or petrol is different from another or not, to be honest, I have no personal opinion either way. However, stand outside the refinery in Whitegate someday if you have a chance. One tanker after another coming out of there, any brand you care to mention, all of them filling from the same gantry. I know a number of lads driving for a couple of different fuel delivery outfits, the fuel is loaded from the same tanks. There is also a requirement for a percentage of the fuels these companies buy to be purchased from the refinery and not imported. It's more or less the same stuff. Anyone remember the old joint fuels terminal in Tivoli in Cork?? How many outfits were drawing out of that? I'm not saying that various companies don't add some additives to the fuel but I do know that the only way that some of them could do it is to give the driver a 5 gallon drum and tell him to pour it in on his way from Whitegate. To be fair, my opinions only come from my own experience and I stand open to correction.

tails_naf · 21-08-2011 12:31pm

Modnote: Threads merged

Has anyone else noticed the MPG can drastically change depending on where they buy the petrol/diesel?

I watch the fuel consumption like a hawk - using the fuel log app on my phone, but before that I always kept an eye on it.

I recently have been doing a lot of mileage, and have bought diesel at a few different places - and twice I bought it at applegreen just outside dublin on the M8 south. And both times I get approx 100km per tank more than other stations.

I normally get just under 1,100 km in my 1.9l passat, but those times I have been getting close to 1,200 km. I initially thought it was somehow related to me driving more optimally - but the next fill ups came from other petrol stations, and my fuel economy was back down again.

Mentioned this to a guy in work - and before I said the station name, he said it - he had noticed it in his petrol car too. So - is there anything to this?

MugMugs · 21-08-2011 12:54pm

Great Gas

This could explain it.

http://touch.boards.ie/thread/2056362126?page=3#post_73928331

I fill Applegreen on the M1 and refuse to fill anywhere else anymore.

tails_naf · 21-08-2011 1:04pm

MugMugs wrote: »

This could explain it.

http://touch.boards.ie/thread/2056362126?page=3#post_73928331

I fill Applegreen on the M1 and refuse to fill anywhere else anymore.

Well the usual place I buy it from is large and I guess reputable - so are you saying there is a chance it is washed? that would be quite the scandal for the size of this place...

The thing is almost all places I buy give less MPG - only applegreen (and I've only tried that one station) seemd to give better MPG..

callaway92 · 21-08-2011 1:10pm

I always get my petrol at Apple Green because it's the cheapest in Clonmel anyway.

Tesco is the worst, and it's clear for me anyway. Apple Green, Amber & Topaz all seem to be the same for me.

mm_surf · 21-08-2011 1:13pm

volvoman480 wrote: »

Lads, I don't know whether one type of diesel or petrol is different from another or not, to be honest, I have no personal opinion either way. However, stand outside the refinery in Whitegate someday if you have a chance. One tanker after another coming out of there, any brand you care to mention, all of them filling from the same gantry. I know a number of lads driving for a couple of different fuel delivery outfits, the fuel is loaded from the same tanks. There is also a requirement for a percentage of the fuels these companies buy to be purchased from the refinery and not imported. It's more or less the same stuff. Anyone remember the old joint fuels terminal in Tivoli in Cork?? How many outfits were drawing out of that? I'm not saying that various companies don't add some additives to the fuel but I do know that the only way that some of them could do it is to give the driver a 5 gallon drum and tell him to pour it in on his way from Whitegate. To be fair, my opinions only come from my own experience and I stand open to correction.

I don't doubt what you are saying, but with my little experiment, there was a definate difference, in the order of 25%, between texaco & tesco fuel. Over 4 days, two days on each fuel, alternated. Driving distance, timing, traffic, driving style all the same.

Apart from E5, I have noticed no variations to speak of in other fuels - although in my defence I've always avoided the non-name brands. But all the big names seemed to be the same, near enough.

As I said, cars without knock sensors won't behave any differently, until you get a real bad batch - say something that's been sitting in a can for a few months.

M.

MugMugs · 21-08-2011 1:19pm

Great Gas

tails_naf wrote: »

MugMugs wrote: »

This could explain it.

http://touch.boards.ie/thread/2056362126?page=3#post_73928331

I fill Applegreen on the M1 and refuse to fill anywhere else anymore.

Well the usual place I buy it from is large and I guess reputable - so are you saying there is a chance it is washed? that would be quite the scandal for the size of this place...

The thing is almost all places I buy give less MPG - only applegreen (and I've only tried that one station) seemd to give better MPG..

Nooooo. I couldn't say that other large stations supply washed diesel. That would be a very broad statement to make with no proof. I can however state that I know AG have very high standards and that they can be trusted. It's quite coincidental that they give better mpg too.

shaunandelly · 21-08-2011 1:22pm

Maxol

gpjordanf1 wrote: »

Petrol is petrol, diesel is diesel, doesn't matter where ya buy it from.

It cannot be manufactured, so quality is down to nature, not brand name!

Anyone who thinks it makes a difference is obviously easily influenced by the media, and as they say " God Bless Them "

The only thing that makes a difference in MPG etc is driving style and as they say dont drive like a " Knobhead !"

I'm afraid you is wrong. there are usually 3 different grades. Low rent stuff usually found in supermarkets,normal and the high end premium fuels. The ron rating will be on the pump.

Monty. · 21-08-2011 1:30pm

No brand name / independent supplier / other

volvoman480 wrote: »

Lads, I don't know whether one type of diesel or petrol is different from another or not, to be honest, I have no personal opinion either way. However, stand outside the refinery in Whitegate someday if you have a chance. One tanker after another coming out of there, any brand you care to mention, all of them filling from the same gantry. I know a number of lads driving for a couple of different fuel delivery outfits, the fuel is loaded from the same tanks. There is also a requirement for a percentage of the fuels these companies buy to be purchased from the refinery and not imported. It's more or less the same stuff. Anyone remember the old joint fuels terminal in Tivoli in Cork?? How many outfits were drawing out of that? I'm not saying that various companies don't add some additives to the fuel but I do know that the only way that some of them could do it is to give the driver a 5 gallon drum and tell him to pour it in on his way from Whitegate. To be fair, my opinions only come from my own experience and I stand open to correction.

I hear what your saying alright, and that would always have been my opinion as well. I used to pride myself on finding the cheapest fuel, but in the last few years myself and other people I know have too many problems with premature failures of pumps and injectors on diesel cars. Even things like new leak off hoses have perished really quickly on the non brand stuff. I also think modern fuel pumps, injectors, and engine management systems are particularly sensitive.

I really hate paying the big brand names a couple of extra cent, it goes against my grain, but I have been surprised to find that with one big brand in particular my current car definitely runs much sweeter and gets a few extra mpg. Maybe the stations storage tanks are of a higher quality, maybe it's something else I don't know.

Looking at the results so far Topaz and Maxol seem to be two that stand out, perhaps they get theirs from the same source, and the rest all use another source, maybe there is only two real bulk refinery sources of legal fuel in Ireland, I don't know. Maybe some of them add additives for lubrication and boosting, I don't know.

We don't have enough data to go on, so all this is of course completely non scientific, but interesting and worthwhile exercise non the less.

Incidentally, where do the non brand suppliers get their fuel, as presumably the big boys will only supply to you if you agree to sign up to their brand only ?

bennyx_o · 21-08-2011 1:32pm

Tesco

Car seems to run better on Maxol as opposed to other brand, but then I've run the car on Maxol since I imported it back in April (except the odd fill up in Applegreen, which I don't rate at all)

Tigger · 21-08-2011 1:44pm

Texaco

Gary ITR wrote: »

You're not making a whole lot of sense. Just in case you don't know, my car spends a lot of time on the dyno, over 300 runs now actually and fuel makes a difference. Why don't we take it point by point

Why does my car make more power with Maxol fuel?

Why does my car give me a knock warning on Wide Open Throttle when running Topaz fuel?

If you could answer those two for a start I'd be grateful

your using e5 which has ethanol at 5% in it so it is different

higher octane means a more controled burn so topaz stuff might be 91 or 89

as low as 86 is on pump in the us jap stuff needs min 92 and good jap stuff (and bikes) loves super ' 98

The octane rating of gasoline is measured in a test engine, and is defined by comparison with the mixture of 2,2,4-trimethylpentane (iso-octane) and heptane which would have the same anti-knocking capacity as the fuel under test: the percentage, by volume, of 2,2,4-trimethylpentane in that mixture is the octane number of the fuel. For example, petrol with the same knocking characteristics as a mixture of 90% iso-octane and 10% heptane would have an octane rating of 90.[1] This does not mean that the petrol contains just iso-octane and heptane in these proportions, but that it has the same detonation resistance properties. Because some fuels are more knock-resistant than iso-octane, the definition has been extended to allow for octane numbers higher than 100.

Octane rating does not relate to the energy content of the fuel (see heating value). It is only a measure of the fuel's tendency to burn in a controlled manner, rather than exploding in an uncontrolled manner. Where the octane number is raised by blending in ethanol, energy content per volume is reduced.

don't look at the price its too sad

MugMugs · 21-08-2011 1:55pm

Great Gas

Gary ITR wrote: »

Make you sick.

shaunandelly · 21-08-2011 2:06pm

Maxol

and the Yanks moan about their prices!

zilog_jones · 21-08-2011 2:07pm

Tigger wrote: »

your using e5 which has ethanol at 5% in it so it is different

higher octane means a more controled burn so topaz stuff might be 91 or 89

95 RON is the standard unleaded petrol sold in this country - there is nothing lower available as this is what the majority of cars sold in this market are designed to run on. In the US they do not use RON octane ratings, so they are not the same! The "Premium" 91 octane in your picture is roughly equivalent to our 95 RON.

barura · 21-08-2011 2:17pm

For myself, from getting 20eur from the pump each time I've noticed that maxol gets me 115miles and texaco gets me 130miles. Also, I feel more confident in the texaco petrol to squeeze a few more miles out of. this is normal driving, mainly during off peak times. So regardless of price, I'd generally go for the texaco.

Tigger · 21-08-2011 2:24pm

Texaco

zilog_jones wrote: »

95 RON is the standard unleaded petrol sold in this country - there is nothing lower available as this is what the majority of cars sold in this market are designed to run on. In the US they do not use RON octane ratings, so they are not the same! The "Premium" 91 octane in your picture is roughly equivalent to our 95 RON.

Sorry but I never mentioned Ron numbers I said that the toPaz stuff was probably 91 octane which as you rightly pointed out is 95 Ron which is standard here so why are trying to correct me?

As for there being nothing lower available I'm an analytical chemist I'd I have loads of friends that work in the fuel industry so ill have my informed opinion and you can have your facts.

The picture was to show catagorricly that there are different types of petrol as people were telling Garry that there was only one type of petrol yet he had empirical evidence ( the performance of his tuned engine) ghat there was .

Tigger · 21-08-2011 2:28pm

Texaco

From wiki again

Ireland: 95 RON "unleaded" is the only petrol type available through stations, although E5 (99 RON) is becoming more commonplace.

savagecabbages · 21-08-2011 3:36pm

A personal observation, several times I've seen a Topaz truck transferring fuel at Tesco in Limerick. Would lead me to believe they are the same...
I dont think your likely to find washed fuel at any petrol station any more, but I would believe that there may be (slight) differences between brands.

5th Gear did a test of different octane fuels from a purely bhp point of view, and I know we don't really have drastically different fuels like that here in Ireland, but makes for interesting watching. Technically, and increase in engine power would allow one to drive the car less hard, increasing economy, but by how much I dont know:rolleyes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQghB4asSnI

-Chris- · 21-08-2011 6:49pm

Texaco

Has this thread not already been done?

zilog_jones · 21-08-2011 7:16pm

Tigger wrote: »

Sorry but I never mentioned Ron numbers I said that the toPaz stuff was probably 91 octane which as you rightly pointed out is 95 Ron which is standard here so why are trying to correct me?

You said "octane"; one would assume that would mean RON in this part of the world. Saying "octane" doesn't exclusively mean AKI, and you're just confusing matters by using it without saying so...

Voodoomelon · 21-08-2011 7:23pm

In regards the question "Regardless of price, which brand of fuel do you find best", I dont know, so i'm not voting. Unless anyone else has done conclusive testing, they shouldn't really vote either, its not a "what petrol do you use" poll.

Having said that I use Maxol E5 exclusively because of its popularity on here. It gives me decent economy and performance; as to whether it's any better than any other brand, I have no clue.

Eric Cartman · 21-08-2011 7:43pm

anything but tesco or those dodgy stations that recently appeared , theres something just not right with tesco diesel

Monty. · 21-08-2011 8:39pm

No brand name / independent supplier / other

Voodoomelon wrote: »

Unless anyone else has done conclusive testing, they shouldn't really vote either, its not a "what petrol do you use" poll

I think most people understand its not a "what petrol do you use" poll.

There are lots of things you can have an opinion and feel for, and discuss, without carrying out scientific testing, especially when such data is not available.

Over the years, I used to pride myself on only buying the cheapest fuel I could find.
But carefully trying lots of fuels, I know for a fact that my particular car/engine runs better on a certain brand and gets better mpg, it surprised me no end, as it kills me to buy branded diesel, but I do now because of the cost / benefit, and all the problems I’ve seen with injectors and pumps etc. on unbranded diesel.

I’m not saying all unbranded diesel is bad, there are probably some excellent ones out there, but where do they get it if it's not off the big boys ?

Also if I drove another make/model of car less sensitive to fuel quality, it probably might make no difference at all. I think some modern diesels and some engine management systems are particularly sensitive to fuel quality, and some are not. So yes, this poll is not for everyone, it’s really for people who have found a difference in fuels for their particular car, and the results, including rolling road/bhp tests, show some people have.

TJJP · 21-08-2011 9:10pm

Texaco

Drivers urge action over laundered diesel

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/0625/1224299585963.html

Monty. · 21-08-2011 9:15pm

No brand name / independent supplier / other

TJJP wrote: »

Drivers urge action over laundered diesel

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/0625/1224299585963.html

The customs need to start doing significant random testing on filling stations, and it doesn't take a genius to keep an eye on the tankers supplying them.

Gophur · 21-08-2011 9:34pm

tails_naf wrote: »

Has anyone else noticed the MPG can drastically change depending on where they buy the petrol/diesel?

I watch the fuel consumption like a hawk - using the fuel log app on my phone, but before that I always kept an eye on it.

I recently have been doing a lot of mileage, and have bought diesel at a few different places - and twice I bought it at applegreen just outside dublin on the M8 south. And both times I get approx 100km per tank more than other stations.

I normally get just under 1,100 km in my 1.9l passat, but those times I have been getting close to 1,200 km. I initially thought it was somehow related to me driving more optimally - but the next fill ups came from other petrol stations, and my fuel economy was back down again.

Mentioned this to a guy in work - and before I said the station name, he said it - he had noticed it in his petrol car too. So - is there anything to this?

You, based on a very crude system of measurement, claim a difference of approx 9%.
km per tank is not a valid measurement figure. The only figure you can use, with a measure of credibility, is the km per litre, based on mileage between fills.

Which brands of Diesel and Petrol do you find best for quality and MPG ?

Comments