Car (or bike) Chat!

[Filterlab]

Even my distinctly non-performance C4 has a noticeable difference between standard diesel and V-Power - remarkedly so. Plus it guards against injector failure, which you definitely don't want in a diesel as many of them get seized into the head and have to be drilled out.

Had that problem with a Vito years back at the company I worked for - cost a feckin' fortune to get sorted. Mind you, they were utter junk as most Mercs of that era were. It rusted itself to pieces in the end, as did the other one we bought at the same time.

[Marco]

What would be the point of that? You do say some strange things

I hate going to fill up, can't be arsed with it, so I fill to the brim, run until 'reserve' comes on then fill to the brim again. Refuelling is just 'dead time', like waiting at traffic lights If your car is too precious to tolerate reserve tank running, you need to ditch the diva, buy a Lada Riva

Haha - just stating a fact, in terms of distance!

'Dead time' isn't an issue when the 'alive' stuff isn't rationed, lol... I wash the car sometimes 3 times a week, too [black's a bastard to keep clean]!

And when it's all nice and shiny, I like taking 'her' for a wee drink [fill up] afterwards

Marco.

[Marco]

This looks like a common sense approach - I'm happy to accept that big brand fuels offer some performance advantage over supermarket fuels, but not to any worthwhile degree. I smile a bit when I hear someone say they only ever use premium fuel as their car/bike runs better on it - how would they know? Did they run comparison tests, or more likely, have they fallen for the marketing hype?

Nope, they (I guess like me), can just feel the very obvious difference in engine smoothness/responsiveness when better fuel is used, or the reduction in such when it isn't - BUT it helps to have a performance-designed car to notice that difference.

Anyway, each to his or her own, I'm not here to push premium fuels - just stating what my car undoubtedly runs best on.

Marco.

[Marco]

AFAIK it's identical fuel from the same source, only difference is the additives. I use it quite happily in my 535d, don't detect any difference. I do occasionally fill up with some premium stuff though, and also change the oil every 5k and run these through-

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Keeps the engine and turbos clean.

Fair enough, mate. I used to use similar stuff in the Brabster (which it benefited from), before I switched to the Texaco diesel. Now it's unnecessary (makes no difference if I do), as the cleaning agents/additives in the Texaco diesel does that job, which beforehand other premium diesels obviously didn't.

IME, the only two worth using, are V-Power and Texaco Supreme. 'BP Ultimate' and 'Esso Synergy' did hee-haw, over the standard stuff, and were a total waste of money.

Marco.

[Ali Tait]

The Forte additives are more for maintenance and longevity, not cheap but a lot more so than a new turbo..

Don't notice any differences after a change, but then I do one every 5k.

[Marco]

Yup, totally getcha

Marco.

[Pigmy Pony]

Nope, they (I guess like me), can just feel the very obvious difference in engine smoothness/responsiveness when better fuel is used, or the reduction in such when it isn't - BUT it helps to have a performance-designed car to notice that difference.

Anyway, each to his or her own, I'm not here to push premium fuels - just stating what my car undoubtedly runs best on.

Marco.

So you used to put shit cheapo fuel in the poor old Brabster - shame on you

[Marco]

Nope, just got caught out on long journeys (and especially abroad) when the fuel I wanted wasn't available, and immediately sensed the downgrade.. That's one of the reasons why I like to keep half a tank at all times - so (depending on how far I need to go) there's less chance of that happening

Marco.

[Pigmy Pony]

Nope, just got caught out on long journeys (and especially abroad) when the fuel I wanted wasn't available, and immediately sensed the downgrade.. That's one of the reasons why I like to keep half a tank at all times - so (depending on how far I need to go) there's less chance of that happening

Marco.

So trying bio diesel (chip pan oil) in the Brabster is probably not on the cards eh I'm sure if it came from a nice family run restaurant it would be fine, rather than some soulless KFC...

[Firebottle]

I try not to go below empty - really hinders the car's progress.

A little tale of 'low fuel running'.
I took off on my paramotor with 7.5 litres of fuel on board and flew over to a friends microlight training school.
The journey took 50 minutes and I landed with about 4 litres still in the tank.

Had a good day over there then took off late afternoon for the return trip. The wind had picked up slightly so the return leg took 55 minutes.
When I landed I found I had 100 millilitres left in the tank

The thing was the barstewards at the school had a bet that I would run out before making it back