Mpg Increase With Shell Unleaded

[Snert]

My TSport is a 2003 model, 24,000 miles. My journey to work is about 75 miles, round trip. I've pretty much always run the car on Sainsburys Super Unleaded (97RON) as the price/performance was better than when I tried it out on Optimax. The trip shows that my average is 33.8mpg which I was pretty happy with. Car is usually in lift once a day, depending on how many BMW drivers get up my nose, but that's another story...

Last week I was low on fuel, warning light was on, so I pulled into next filling station which was Shell. I nearly died when I saw the price of Optimax so filled the car full of normal unleaded.

A week later and the trip was showing 35.9mpg. I was thinking I had put Optimax in by mistake but on checking my receipt, I paid for bog standard unleaded. So maybe Shell put the wrong fuel in the tanks at the filling station? possible but unlikely! Maybe just a 'good' tank of fuel.

I went to a different Shell garage and filled the car up again on unleaded and today, 2 weeks after this 'experiment' began, I'm up to 37.2mpg.

Same route to work, same traffic jams, same fast motorway stretches. The car feels no different yet I can now see a difference in the position of the fuel gauge, the mpg figure is now markedly better.

How wierd is this, anyone else seen marked differences in makes of fuel?

I seriously thought that as all fuel comes out of the same refinery, just in a different coloured lorries, petrol was petrol, except for the additives of course.

Snert

[rich-mansfield]

You get 33.8 to 37.2 mpg from your TSport

I only ever manage to get between 20 and 27 depending on the number of times I am in lift, and the roads I am on.

I think I might need to have my right foot surgically lightened :)

I do seem to get better mpg on Shell fuel (95ron) but better again on Optimax.

Rich.

[branney]

My nearest petrol forecourt is a Q8.

Compared to Shell charging 83.9 for 95, and 86.9 for 97, Q8 charges 87.9 for 95 and 97.9 for 98!

There is an Esso forecourt on the same road so it's not lack of competition, but Esso is only doing 95 so I don't go there.

I am assuming there must be something better in the Q8 petrol, otherwise how can they stay in business charging those prices? Anyone tested mileage on that?

[TOYMOTA]

Tesco and sainsbury's sell the cheap and nasty fuel that the big companies (BP, Shell etc) won't touch. If you want good fuel then as said it's best to get BP or Shell. It cost more for a better mpg. I normally buy the better stuff for long distance journeys.

At the end of the day, you get what you pay for.

[The Gooner]

I work in the oil industry and can assure you that tescos ect buy the same fuel as everyone else, its just diff additives when its loaded onto the tankers

[Fmrl]

I have been using Sainsburys petrol for a couple of months but a few weeks ago I switched to BP and my MPG has been going up ever since - currently I'm at 35.8!

The car feels slightly different too - maybe just a tiny bit more "revvy".

I definitely haven't changed my driving or anything so I think there's a difference between Sainsburys and BP.