# Supermarket or Branded Diesel ?



## 100852 (Sep 4, 2006)

Can anyone tell my if there is any deference, other than the price between supermarket diesel and branded diesel.
The reason I ask is that I have a Vauxhall Vectra 2L dti and have always filled it up with supermarket diesel. The vehicle feels sluggish to drive, is poor to start and on occasions beltches out black fumes from the exhaust. When I put diesel additive in the tank the problems disappear for a while but always return. 
I decided to try a not so scientific experiment, I let the tank drain free of the supermarket brand and filled up at a BP Garage. I have done this on three occasions now and the car appears to be running better. (without the additional additive.)
Is there a difference or am I wearing rose tinted glasses hoping that I have solved the problem and more importantly I don't want to damage my Motothome engine by putting cheap diesel in the tank


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## Snelly (Aug 20, 2005)

I cant say ive noticed a difference as dramatic as you have, but I do try to stick to a branded fuel station anyway... mainly Shell so I can get my points!


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## neilandsue (Jul 13, 2006)

Hi Bob,

That's an interesting question. We always reckoned in France that we had better economy from branded fuel than the supermarkets..the calorific value of the fuel was less?
But I am not so sure over here, Our local Esso is often as cheap as the supermarkets and it does not seem to make much difference!

When there was all the trouble with the contaminated petrol, it was amazing to find who was supplied from the same fuel depot 8O

Neil


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

neilandsue said:


> When there was all the trouble with the contaminated petrol, it was amazing to find who was supplied from the same fuel depot 8O
> Neil


Do they supply _exactly_ the same fuel though ? Do they put additives in some and not in others in the same way that one firm will make jam for M&S, Tesco, Hartley's etc but not all to the same recipe ?

G


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## 100852 (Sep 4, 2006)

Grizzly said:


> neilandsue said:
> 
> 
> > When there was all the trouble with the contaminated petrol, it was amazing to find who was supplied from the same fuel depot 8O
> ...


My thoughts also. Do firms like Esso, Shell and Texaco add fuel cleanser to help clean the injectors. If I have to add diesel cleanser to supermarket diesel and not to branded fuel then maybe it has already been added. 
Anyone work in the industry who could give us the answer ?


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## Mikemoss (Sep 5, 2005)

I've worked in and around the oils/petrochemicals industry all my life and it's certainly my understanding that while the supermarkets are likely to buy their fuel in bulk on the spot market, the majors do take the trouble to develop their own additive packages which are the bits that make a real difference.

I know people poo poo this after seeing tankers of all brands filling up at the same terminals, but the fuel they are taking will have come from different storage tanks (ie with, or without, the additives).

I always try to stick to branded fuel, including the Shell and BP premium ones when the price difference isn't too crazy, and will only use supermarket fuel as a last resort. I'd have thought last months Tesco/Morrisons fiasco should have served as a warning. For the relatively small difference in cost, is it really worth taking a chance?


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## peedee (May 10, 2005)

I used to think there was little difference between any of them and I have a habit of going for the cheapest or the offers until a couple of years ago when running my diesel car on Tescos fuel I had problems with low power and in fact it almost stopped running which prompted me to take it there and then to an agent for a check before I continued my journey. They could find nothing wrong with it. The running continued to be poor and I only could suspect the fuel. I chnage to Shell and I have been running it perfectly ever since.
So I do believe there is a difference.

peedee


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## 100852 (Sep 4, 2006)

Mikemoss said:


> I've worked in and around the oils/petrochemicals industry all my life and it's certainly my understanding that while the supermarkets are likely to buy their fuel in bulk on the spot market, the majors do take the trouble to develop their own additive packages which are the bits that make a real difference.
> 
> I know people poo poo this after seeing tankers of all brands filling up at the same terminals, but the fuel they are taking will have come from different storage tanks (ie with, or without, the additives).
> 
> I always try to stick to branded fuel, including the Shell and BP premium ones when the price difference isn't too crazy, and will only use supermarket fuel as a last resort. I'd have thought last months Tesco/Morrisons fiasco should have served as a warning. For the relatively small difference in cost, is it really worth taking a chance?


Mike
I think you are correct, from my own experience with my car I believe branded firms put additives in the fuel to improve performace. I was thinking of now putting a tank of supermarket fuel in the car to see if the performance drops.


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## motorhomer2 (May 9, 2005)

All fuel at Esso is tested to the same standard whether imported or manufactured in UK. I have seen various tankers apart from Esso using the local esso refinery.


Motorhomer2


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

motorhomer2 said:


> All fuel at Esso is tested to the same standard whether imported or manufactured in UK. I have seen various tankers apart from Esso using the local esso refinery.
> Motorhomer2


But have you seen them all taking fuel from the same storage tank ? Do they all take the same fuel and then add additives to the fuel in the tanker or at the petrol station ? Is the fuel you buy from Esso _exactly_ the same in all respects as the fuel you buy from Shell or from Tesco ?

In my teaching days I used to take part in a yearly project with year 11 chemistry students called the Exxon Project. There we tested various Esso fuel additives. I imagine these were added exclusively to fuel sold at Esso stations.

G


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## 96523 (Oct 14, 2005)

*Fuel Source*

Having several friends in the oil industry they have always said that the additives make all of the difference and that Shell, Esso and BP are the most reliable. This is particularly true with the high quality petrols. They also tell me that it is much more common than you might think to get a low quality load. We use diesel in the MH and in our central heating boiler and have found tremendous variations in smoke, smell and power over many years. I use an additive from Halfords (Wynne) in the MH and in our petrol Volvo very regularly and can feel the difference within 5 miles at most. The mpg increase after adding the additive is always more than enough to cover the cost of the additive.
Having said that we still buy more than half our petrol from Morisons.
Alan


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## RichardnGill (Aug 31, 2006)

I have ran my Golf TDI exclusively on Tesco derv. It is now 21 months old with nearly 60,000 miles on it. It has never been any problem and has given a regular 52mpg since new. Our fuel card company give us these stasticts. Just for peace of mind when its is serviced I ask them to put an injector cleaning additive in, I find that the stuff manufactures use to be far better than stuff you can buy as they use it to solve many running problems these days. I use Tesco for the points, but when we get our M/H I will be using 3 tanks of Tesco to 1 Bp/Shell just for peace of mind.


Richard...


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## 100852 (Sep 4, 2006)

*Re: Fuel Source*



pamal said:


> Having several friends in the oil industry they have always said that the additives make all of the difference and that Shell, Esso and BP are the most reliable. This is particularly true with the high quality petrols. They also tell me that it is much more common than you might think to get a low quality load. We use diesel in the MH and in our central heating boiler and have found tremendous variations in smoke, smell and power over many years. I use an additive from Halfords (Wynne) in the MH and in our petrol Volvo very regularly and can feel the difference within 5 miles at most. The mpg increase after adding the additive is always more than enough to cover the cost of the additive.
> Having said that we still buy more than half our petrol from Morisons.
> Alan


Thanks Alan,
Do you add the Wynne even to branded diesel or just when you buy the supermarket stuff.


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

*Fishy Diesel*

Helo there,

Long time ago I worked for Shell. They sold Bulk fuels to supermarkets long before they became as big as they are now in fuel retailing.

I use Tesco Fuel as they are the nearest I will buy from and I get Tesco points to convert into deals. However, when away from home we tend to Buy Shell as it usually as cheap if not cheaper than supermarkets.

Going back on the Tesco dodgy fuel. Back in 2000 I had to have our BWM Engine replaced as part of a BMW recall. BWM claimed however and I do not know how true it was that the recall mainly affected cars in areas around the Stanlow oil refinery!

Whilst I am on the subject of fuel. Isnt it annoying when your on the motorway and you need fuel. It is usually around 10p a litre more than one just off the motorway. So a fill-up can cost for us around £7.50 more. Sat navs are a waste of time in this respect as by the time they have calcualted the nearest its 3 miles back and has been shut for 3 years.

So does anyone know of a database for filling stations just off the Motorway? I am considering marking them all on a motorway route map of the UK.

Here are 1 or 2 I can think of now

*M66/A56*

Junction 2 Texaco A58 Direction Heywood <500yards

*M61*

Junction 5 M61 Head on A58 Towards Bolton Shell < 1 Mile on left 1st lights

*M60*

Junctions 26/27 & 1 of the M60 Stockport Tesco <500 Yards
Junction 19 Direction Manchester A576 Sainsburys <1/4 Mile on left
Junction 23 Direction Ashton A635 Around 1 mile BP on Major Juncion with A635/A9017
Junction 24 Direction Hyde A57 <1/4 on <1/4 Mile Head Along 1 way and keep in right lane turn right at first set of lights under M67 and Sainsburys is on the right (Ruby Street).

If anyone is interested in adding to these or wish to start a new post please do.

(sorry to waffle on a jump on your post)

Trev
All average 10p less per litre than Motorway services.

Trev


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## 96105 (Aug 23, 2005)

motorhomer2 said:


> All fuel at Esso is tested to the same standard whether imported or manufactured in UK. I have seen various tankers apart from Esso using the local esso refinery.
> 
> Motorhomer2


hi correct :wink:.......... the dodgy batch came from thames valley
which tesco and morrisons use :wink: people forget that buncesfield depot was a big suppler and has caused a strain in the supply network has for derv it all must conform to un standards

ray 
>>>>greenergy<<<<


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## jocie (Dec 24, 2006)

*Supermarket diesel or branded?*

I am convinced that it is false economy to use supermarket diesel. I have had problems with rough running of my 1997 vectra diesel (done 55,000 miles) which was solved with changing to BP Ultimate diesel, or Shell diesel. My daughters Espace 2200 diesel (2001, done 26000 miles) had warning light on dash at 22000 miles. She had always used Tesco or Sainsbury diesel against my advice. She asked me to take the car to our local (very poor) Renault dealer. I did not. As the tank was only quarter full I filled it with BP Ultimate diesel, and after a fast run down the A1M for 5 miles the light on the dash went out, and the problem has not reappeared as my daughter no longer uses supermarket diesel. By the way both vehicles get better m.p.g. which offsets any higher cost for diesel.


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## 100852 (Sep 4, 2006)

Found this info on the BP site. I know that a lot of it may be a sales hype but it sounds convincing. My car runs awful on supermarket diesel and there is an improvement using BP diesel so I think I will stay with BP or branded diesel from now on. 
Thanks all for your views, a lot of you are of the same opinion as me.

http://www.bp.com/genericsection.do?categoryId=4005610&contentId=7009112

:wink: Asda SmartPrice and Tesco Value bread tastes Bl***y awful too.


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

*BP Utimate*



jocie said:


> I am convinced that it is false economy to use supermarket diesel. I have had problems with rough running of my 1997 vectra diesel (done 55,000 miles) which was solved with changing to BP Ultimate diesel, or Shell diesel. My daughters Espace 2200 diesel (2001, done 26000 miles) had warning light on dash at 22000 miles. She had always used Tesco or Sainsbury diesel against my advice. She asked me to take the car to our local (very poor) Renault dealer. I did not. As the tank was only quarter full I filled it with BP Ultimate diesel, and after a fast run down the A1M for 5 miles the light on the dash went out, and the problem has not reappeared as my daughter no longer uses supermarket diesel. By the way both vehicles get better m.p.g. which offsets any higher cost for diesel.


Hello, I have had a problem with our VW T5 (Van Not motrorhome) giving poor fuel economy (see my other posts). However, our previous T5 gave outstanding MPG.

I will put your recomendation to the test and report back.

Current mpg avg 25.5 (Tesco City Diesel)

Trev


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## 2kias (Sep 18, 2006)

I never buy supermarket fuel since meeting a guy on holiday a couple of years ago who worked in the industry. The comments above are quite correct about the additives. They are not put in the supermarket fuel and that is why they are cheaper. My vehicles always go better with non supermarket fuel and our 1500cc Kia Rio diesel achieves 55 mpg but the mpg falls to less than 50 mpg if I use the cheaper fuel.

The MH seems to go better aswell.

The supermarkets don't supply fuel cheaper they just supply inferior fuel at a lower price.


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## Sport-Pics (Jan 28, 2007)

All the big fuel companies operate what is known as "Naional Fuel Exchange"

There is no benefit in running fuel all around the country in tankers so the fuel you buy tends to come from your nearest refinery.

I used to do a job for Mobil (now BP) where I would have to go around various nominated garages around the country and fill up a container with a gallon (5 litres) of all the fuel sold on the forecourt. These garages were Mobil garages but the fuel they sold came from another refiner. The containers were then taken back to the lab and analysed for their properties to see if they were up to standard.

The guy in the lab told us that Esso "gave" away the best product, ie it was higher spec than all of the others.


Only problem is you can't be sure if you buy your fuel in an Esso garage that it is in fact from Esso!

Rusty


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## Rapide561 (Oct 1, 2005)

*Fuel*

Hi

With the car - I use what ever is cheapest and convenient. Same for the van.

In two separate posts, however, I have commented that foreign diesel seems to quieten the engine and quicken the pace.

Russell


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## dethleff (Jun 25, 2005)

super market fuel. I add Millers.
branded fuel I don't.
Stan


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## 96523 (Oct 14, 2005)

*Fuel Source*

Hi Banjobob59
I only add Wynnes when I buy supermarket or similar "lower grade" fuels. I normally use the additives in about 1 in 3 or 4 tanks. If I have more than 4 tanks in a row without a "high grade" one I usually use the additive in two consequtive tanks.
Alan


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## Mikemoss (Sep 5, 2005)

Rusty, you're right about tankers filling up at the nearest refinery or distribution terminal, but my original point still stands - the difference between the brands is in the additives, and the different brands are thus drawn from their respective storage tanks.

Also, just a small point, but Mobil is no longer anything to do with BP, it's ExxonMobil (ie Esso).

Having met a number of highly-paid fuels/lubricants/additives boffins employed by the big oil companies, I'm still convinced there really is a difference between brands, and an even bigger difference between the branded stuff and the pool fuel that supermarkets dispense. May be right, may be wrong, but for the relatively small difference in price I'm not risking it.


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

*Oil*

I have just changed my Auchan Semi Sythetic oil for Mobil 1 5w-40 Turbo Diesel

Purchsed from Auchan @ £21 for 5 litres UK Price is around £38-40, if you buy it in Alcampo it is even Cheaper.

When in France has anyone ever noticed that the diffrence in price between normal BP Diesel and BP ULTIMATE is around 3ppl whilst here in the UK it is at least 10p a litre?

Trev


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## CatherineandSteve (Dec 20, 2005)

*DIESEL*

Hi all,

We have a distribution centre in Plymouth, all the main distributiors go there, the reason the supermarkets are cheaper is that fuel prices are of set against profit in there supermarket.
Never had a problem with fuel economy or engine problems what ever fuel supplier whe have used.

Cheers Steve.


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## 101368 (Oct 12, 2006)

*Re: Fuel*



Rapide561 said:


> Hi
> 
> With the car - I use what ever is cheapest and convenient. Same for the van.
> 
> ...


French diesel is what's sold in this country as biodiesel that is 15% vegetable oil.


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## gromett (May 9, 2005)

Ran my last hymer through 2 tanks of vegetable oil. It was a bugger lugging it from the checkout till to the tank and I did spill a bit. It "seemed" to run smoother and I did notice a slightly nicer smell from its back end but the economy was pretty much the same.

Other than that experiment I alway use forecourt fuel and never use supermarkets (I hate shopping).

Karl


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## 103818 (Apr 9, 2007)

I work at an oil refinery and can say that all the road tankers that leave this refinery loaded with diesel have filled from the same storage tank. We supply branded and supermarket filling stations and do not put any different additives in depending on where it is going to. 

Diesel specs change between summer and winter. The obvious difference is ambient temperature where in winter the diesel will crystallise more readily and plug the filter so we add a chemical to stop this and a lubricant which lubricates the fuel side of the engine.

I tend to use supermarket filling stations for both diesel and petrol mainly because they are a little bit cheaper and, in some, get points back. Of course, I have used branded filling stations but have not noticed any difference whatsoever.

Gwyn


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## motaman (Mar 25, 2007)

*supermarket diesel or branded*

WE have a buiseness where we meet research employees from Castrol etc. ask them whos petrol and diesel they use.'' it aint supermarket if you have any respect for your motor'' Years ago we had the likes of Jet and Gulf who always were a couple of pence cheaper and that was before the days of supermarkets making a big noise in petrol retailing, the reason for that couple of pence then was cos they were no additives


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