Do Performance Fuels Make A Difference? - Fifth Gear

Vicki finds out if expensive performance fuels can actually make a car run better.
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[@Can-Am1989]

1.45 pounds per liter? I will never complain about fuel prices again.

[@Edwinedwin1]

You can really really feel those 5 extra hp while being stuck in London traffic behind an old focus.

[@omfgwtfbbq90]

I think you are gonna feel the decrease on your bank account more than you can feel the tiny increase in power lol

[@M00DS87]

Switching from 95 to 99 v power made a WORLD of difference to my FSi engine. Any engine with injectors should be run on 99. Better throttle response and runs so much smoothly. I couldnt believe how much of a difference it made. Even got a few more MPGs! Highly recommend guys.

[@Alexandra-Rex]

Vicki shouldn't have known which fuel she had in the test runs until it was all over.

[@harmstrongg]

Higher octane fuels are

[@Half_Centaur]

For any Americans who watched this and, like me, thought that these octane ratings were incredibly high, I looked into it and, apparently, we use a different octane rating system than most of the rest of the world (of course we do). AKI (Anti-Knock Index) is used in the US and RON is used basically everywhere else. AKI ratings are generally a few points lower than RON, but the actual quality of the fuels is almost identical.

[@Connor-kd3mv]

The ECU would take a while to adjust timing/compression. Seems pretty flawed to assume it’s instant.

[@DCHZS]

Brought to you by: SHELL V-POWER

[@jasonjudge7966]

they fail to explain the benefits of the premium fuels burning cleaner and keeping injector jets cleaner it's not all about the performance also they should have tested tescos premium momentum at 100 Ron

[@M0HKB]

Would love to see this done again on Diesels showing mpg differences.

[@jumbaleo1]

I occasionally used to run (what was Shell Optimax) many years ago in an old Peugeot 309, 1.3 litre. The difference between running standard petrol and Optimax was huge. So much so that when I sold the car the new owner was convinced I had fettled with the engine which was not true. It sounds crazy but the performance was amasing. So I would say you are really going to notice more of a difference in a standard family type car rather than something that is already supposed to be a performance car.

[@FatRakoon]

I did a little trial on my Kawasaki ZZR a few years ago, with Shell and Shell V-Power, and I am really sure that the V-Power helped the engine run somewhat better and more responsive.

[@MC_AU]

Australia: I did the mpg test several years ago with ULP 91/95/98 RON. Same brand.

[@VTBOW]

That was actually very interesting and well carried out ! Keep up the good work

[@dougsullivan9022]

Interestingly, a few years ago, my wife owned a Daihatsu Charade. I took it out a few times and felt that it was a bit sluggish. I let the tank (nearly) empty and then filled it with premium unleaded. The difference was quite remarkable. On std unleaded, the engine needed to rev up to 2500rpm before changing up a gear. If you didn't reach 2500rpm, the engine would struggle in the next gear up. Once on premium unleaded, that 2500rpm dropped almost exactly to 2000rpm where I could change up a gear quite comfortably. This was a consistent result over several tanks of fuel. The consumption figures improved quite a bit and the engine just felt 'happier'and more responsive on the premium fuel.

[@ThatSashaBee]

The overall message I was getting from the petrol was better mpg so you pay more to save more.

[@TheMidnightNarwhal]

It's not about HP or how much power these fuels give you it's more of how it cleans and leaves less carbon.

[@jamesmeek754]

I’ve put V Power in my Vauxhall Astra 1.8i Sri 57 plate the other day . I didn’t put it in to get any extra power . I put it in Just for the cleaning capabilities . The car runs smoother and picks up a lot better . Probably because the V power as given the engine a good clean and restored my engine back to factory settings ? Anyway I’m happy with how the car is running now rather than on Shell fuel save . So I’m happy to pay the extra per tank just for maintenance purposes 👍

[@JJ_ExMachina]

The main issue with this sort of test is you are relying on the vehicle (in stock form) to advance its own timing to take advantage of the added octane. However if you were to do a software upgrade and tune the engine properly for the fuel you were using, you would most certainly see a huge increase in performance over all. The VW does a descant job at detecting the octane (RON) of the fuel, since there is a notable difference in power output, otherwise there would have been no difference. The issue here is what type of vehicle you are using and how it is set up from the factory. A naturally aspirated vehicle with standard compression would not really benefit from a high octane (RON) fuel. However high compression vehicles like the Toyota GT86 or sport bikes like the ZX6R will see a difference (high compression engines can not run lower octane (RON) fuels with out causing damage). Forced induction vehicles are even more flexible then high compression ones, since the amount of "compression" the engine would see is dependent on how much boost there is. That is something that can be easily controlled by the computer and thus take advantage of the higher octane (RON) fuels.