Dodgy petrol

[toejam237]

Any of you guys had any of this kangaroo juice that tescos are selling?
Do Seat cars have oxegyn sensors?
How much would thay be to replace if i get some rogue petrol.
Also who would be responsible for it as its not a warranty issue is it?
toejam237

 

[Tell]

That's the lamda censor that you "hear" them talking about on here [think all modern engines have them now as part of the engine management system whether petrol or diesel].... ah well with diesel no need to worry as long as it's good quality diesel, I never put supermarket stuff in mine you these days for the very reason that they don't get their additives right as this has proven. Companies don't spend millions on additives for supermarkets to claim that they are not important etc etc. Twenty years ago Tesco didn't put additives in at all claiming that they were a hoake and not required. No without them your engine gummed up. I remember the warnings from the Daily Telegraph not to use Tescos fuel, they continued for the next twenty years still warning not to use supermarket fuel since it's a false economy. Some people have probably found that out now.

 

[ray bigblue]

very true tell, i used to drive a pug 406 hdi before i bought the altea, and if i ever used sainsburys or tesco diesel in that i would lose 40 to 50 miles from a full tank , put in shell or bp and the mpg would shot back up again , since then i have learnt my lesson and just stick to shell or bp ,engine runs smoother and less smoke as well.

 

[jtmac]

I'm going to regret starting this... (How many supermarket fuel threads does a forum need? also i'm hi-jacking a petrol thread to talk about diesel)

I record my mileage at every fill up and calculate my MPG and found that the 2 times I filled up at Shell I got 2 mpg LESS than the 2 times I filled up at ASDA, 42.5mpg and 44.5mpg respectively. (2 mpg is roughly 25 miles a tank in an Altea?). I personally put this down to external factors like tyre pressure, whether the air-con is on, traffic, whether I was driving slightly more thirstily that week.

Whether Shell's additves are doing more to prolong the life of my engine? My very unscientific experiment doesn't even try to answer.

The thing about the bad petrol in the news is that the petrol in question is not bad because of any additives like detergent or octane enhancers. It's been narrowed down to probably be bad storage.

I personally hope this doesn't damage the 5% biofuel content that tesco begining to slip into their fuels without telling us. I think that seeing as SEAT warranty only allows 5% biodiesel I'd rather have 5% UK made biodiesel than 0%.

 

[Tell]

Yes but diesel is the real fuel .... well I regret filling up with Tesco fuel 20 years ago for cheapness when there were no additives and it caused poor performance over a period. I wouldn't trust the additives in supermarket fuel not to wreck your pump long term [I know diesel talk]. As for performance when I was doing 120 miles a day the best ummff I got was when I used BP fuel and it use to shoot allong on my daily commute. I refuse to use BP fuel now due to the price difference.

If you are not bothered about getting supermarket points or spending £££ on groceries to get 2 p off etc at the supermarket and you don't live in the sticks you might as well use http://www.petrolprices.com/ to strategically pick where you fill up on the journey that you are going to make and not use cheapo fuels. I always do. Cheapness moves around so you move with it as far as Esso, Shell, BP. The main oil companies sell at supermarket prices but you don't get your supermarket points, so why except poor performance 10p of points or whatever and the garage bill or spending £50+ on groceries to get additional pennies off. Sides the chavs fill up in Supermarkets .

If Honest John says don't use supermarket fuel that's good enough for me.... should have taken the Telegraphs word for it 20 years ago when Tesco decided that additives were not important as my Fiat engine caked up. Poor handling seems to be down to these events and there again what do you get if you go for cheapness over quality. Notice how they have continued to sell their fuels and haven't accepted a problem yet linked to their own business practices a re-run of the no additive line.

 

[Rallye Dale]

Only ever used Shell since i was 20,now 36, a mechanic friend told me about cheap fuels all that time ago

Its hard to compare MPG unless its under strict conditions,too many contributing factors to alter it

My wife used to think i was daft only using Shell,i always used to tell her to stop using Total,but now she's convinced

 

[Tell]

It has been with Total when I've had rough running with my Altea TDI, when it's refused to start first time, needs several turns and I have to give it a bit of "gas" to get it going, so stopped filling up at that garage, reckon there was something wrong with their fuel although interesting sale assistant who seemed to be in the Tamil Tigers and had escaped to the UK as an illegal. Conversations were tricky but good to find out the latest position on the politics - LOL - duff fuel. I'd been to all the places that are unsafe for tourists these days .

This wasn't just one fill up, I used the fuel for about three months since http://www.petrolprices.com/ put the cheapest at that place I was going through, well as far as non supermarket fuel. Back to trusty Shell and Esso.

 

[jtmac]

Tell,

I aggree with you about http://www.petrolprices.com/ being even more worth while when you commute further. I've got a choice of two cities to fill up in. For a couple of weeks I'll fill up in near work because it's 2p cheaper than the same brand at home, then maybe they'll switch over and I save 1p by filling up near home.

Also agree about Total. I don't think my altea likes it very much. Not a complete loss of performance but noticably not as good. Round my way live BP never goes as low as supermarkets but Shell and Esso (and Total) are often same or only 1 more. It's maybe a shame that I have to detour slightly for either of these on my daily journey.

What do people think of smaller fuel companies (Rix, Murco etc.)? Up with Esso/Shell? or down with supermarket?

I had thought that the supermarket thing was either out of date (i.e. it used to be poor but now it's better) or just snobbery. I'm sure the supermarket pumps say that there are additives now. I guess it's my choice and I if my engine dies young then it'll be my problem! Maybe I'll get around to getting some Millers.

 

[Tell]

I don't think Murco is up to much myself. The supermarket fuel has got additives in now and with low sulphur diesel it has to else the pump give up, since there is no lubrication once the sulphur is taken out, but for sure supermarkets aren't spending money to research additives, just taking what is off the shelf and throwing it in the tank when the lorry pulls away from effectively a box shifting plant of imported fuels bought on the spot market in Amsterdam. Whilst ones happy with a 12 p own label tin of tomotoes to put in your pasta, I don't think the same is true for your own pride and joy.

 

[loadswine]

Be careful if you are using any bio diesel mix with the 2.0 TDi engine, as far as I am aware, VAG do not allow any percentage of Bio for that unit as it has injector issues and if you try to claim under warranty they don't want to know.
Earlier and other VAG diesels may be okay.
Its a shame, really, as I agree with the greener side of things ,but can't do much about it if the manufacturer says no!