Fuel - Do brands differ?

[calypso]

Does anyone have any conclusive evidence to say that one fuel is better then another, or are they all pretty much the same? Or do you only only go to one garage?
There is alot of talk about poor fuel quality in SA so was just wondering if there is any info available as to the differences.

 

[freerider]

I dont touch fuel from caltex anymore. I put R200 in there once, and my car felt as dead as a cat lying next to the road.

I fill up with Shell V-Powa now, or Sasol. I get kak fuel consumption when I use Sasol though.

 

[andrewbuch]

Bp suposidly has something in it to give you more Km's out of it. I dont have any proof. I just fill up either at BP, Shell, Engen.. Depends where I am when the orange light comes on

 

[vimal32]

Have no conclusive proof, but I seem to get more KM's out of Engen 93 Unleaded.

I dont notice any power differences between the different brands.

I'd like to see an independant test done between the different brands that will show which can potentially give more KM's, which burns cleaner and which is most effective at removing deposits.
They all seem to claim these things, but would be nice to see a comparison in a test environment.

 

[freerider]

when my orange light comes on and I absolutely will not not reach a Shell or Sasol within the next 80kms, then I will put R100 in at either BP or Engen and then top up at the usual places.

 

[clutchplate]

I dunno, I go anywhere that there is 93.. which is everywhere ..my car was dynotuned on 93 so thats all I run.

never really had a bad experience with fuel anywhere...

 

[Beast_Power]

The fuel all comes from the same place, the only difference is the additives that are added, these do not get added with every load as should be, thus sometimes it will happen that you fill up and your car will not feel the same, like happened to Freerider. I personally only use Shell and BP at the moment, but that is only by personal preference. The Caltex Techron additive is apparently amazing at cleaning up carbon, but I do not have one close by me that sells unleaded 95.

 

[Ryder]

I stand to be corrected, but from what I heard from friends in the oil industry is that all the major oil companies, bar Sasol, in the Cape get the their base fuel from the Caltex refinery out in Table View and then add their own additives.

Some independent tests to compare would be welcome though. I normally just get my fuel from the nearest garage...

 

[Hellas]

We are limited to Caltex, Engen and Shell here. I stick to Shell since the sell the only 50ppm diesel in town, but the other day I filled the Polo at Caltex and guess what: 300km down the line I replaced my petrol pump. And do remember: I serviced the car and the first (and last) tank to go in was Caltex. I'll be sure to steer clear from now on. Anybody know if you can legally take on Caltex? I got the proof of the service as well as ALL petrol slips to prove that their's was the faulty tank.

 

[///Motorsport KoP]

ONLY SHELL dude - any other fuel sux, i've tried them in various cars and if it aint Shell then the performance sux.

 

[SirSparky]

shell is supposadly to give the worst consumption,i take shell v powa because the octane rating is 95

 

[Nic_s]

hmmm... I just realized something... there is no Shell garage in Somerset it self a far as know. There are 2 engen, 2 BP, 1 Total, and 2 Caltex. I know there is a shell on the N2 on your way to Sir Lowry's pass and I think there is another on your way the city. I usually fill up with engen as they are usually the cheapest around here. Never had any issues with fuel before.

 

[vimal32]

:excited:
Heres an idea,

If all the Petrol companies out there use different additives that possibly do different things, wont it be best to use all of them???

ie fill it up with shell, when empty, fill up on caltex, when empty fill up on BP, etc etc etc, and just keep the cycle going.

That way we get the best of all the worlds in terms of cleaning power...

This wont do much for performance or fuel consumption though.
just a thought, I wonder if there will be any benifit...

 

[plonkster]

hmmm... I just realized something... there is no Shell garage in Somerset it self a far as know.

There is a Shell on Lourensford drive in Land and Zeezicht area. Sometimes buy milk and bread there after hours.

I drive a Diesel, so I usually try to get low-sulphur Diesel. The Shell at Stellenbosch square has ULS and the BP at the Lord Charles. Don't know others (except maybe the Shell mentioned above, but I only buy milk and bread there )

 

[Nic_s]

hmmm... I just realized something... there is no Shell garage in Somerset it self a far as know.

There is a Shell on Lourensford drive in Land and Zeezicht area. Sometimes buy milk and bread there after hours.

I drive a Diesel, so I usually try to get low-sulphur Diesel. The Shell at Stellenbosch square has ULS and the BP at the Lord Charles. Don't know others (except maybe the Shell mentioned above, but I only buy milk and bread there )

I trying really hard to think were that is. I've only been in Somerset 1 year and 1 month, so I don't know all the in's & out's yet.

 

[BimmerMan]

I dont know about the actual fuel differences, but I do find the service that I get differs from company to company. By far the best service you can get at a petrol station is Sasol. All their pumps have all the fuel octanes (meaning you dont need to search for a diesel or LRP pump) and the service personel do see to take a genuine interest in being careful with your vehicle...

I always, ALWAYS get bad service from Engen. If I tell the guy to put in R400, he will inveriable put in R402 or something like that, and then ask me to search and find another R2, eventhough it was his fault for putting too much in! They also tend to RAM the fuel nozzle into the car, making the whole car shake from side to side! One guy also managed to overfill the car and caused fuel to come splashing out all over the car and the floor. I caused a MASSIVE stink about this as I refused to pay for the fuel that was not inside my cars tank. Eventually I was forced to pay under threat of calling the police on me!!!

 

[Nic_s]

I dont know about the actual fuel differences, but I do find the service that I get differs from company to company. By far the best service you can get at a petrol station is Sasol. All their pumps have all the fuel octanes (meaning you dont need to search for a diesel or LRP pump) and the service personel do see to take a genuine interest in being careful with your vehicle...

I always, ALWAYS get bad service from Engen. If I tell the guy to put in R400, he will inveriable put in R402 or something like that, and then ask me to search and find another R2, eventhough it was his fault for putting too much in! They also tend to RAM the fuel nozzle into the car, making the whole car shake from side to side! One guy also managed to overfill the car and caused fuel to come splashing out all over the car and the floor. I caused a MASSIVE stink about this as I refused to pay for the fuel that was not inside my cars tank. Eventually I was forced to pay under threat of calling the police on me!!!

Wow... that's bad. It does depend on the management though. I can be at one Spur and get excellent service and get terrible service at another. I have to say the Total in somerset is kinda good although a bit out of the way.

 

[Beast_Power]

I dont know about the actual fuel differences, but I do find the service that I get differs from company to company. By far the best service you can get at a petrol station is Sasol. All their pumps have all the fuel octanes (meaning you dont need to search for a diesel or LRP pump) and the service personel do see to take a genuine interest in being careful with your vehicle...

I always, ALWAYS get bad service from Engen. If I tell the guy to put in R400, he will inveriable put in R402 or something like that, and then ask me to search and find another R2, eventhough it was his fault for putting too much in! They also tend to RAM the fuel nozzle into the car, making the whole car shake from side to side! One guy also managed to overfill the car and caused fuel to come splashing out all over the car and the floor. I caused a MASSIVE stink about this as I refused to pay for the fuel that was not inside my cars tank. Eventually I was forced to pay under threat of calling the police on me!!!

Wow... that's bad. It does depend on the management though. I can be at one Spur and get excellent service and get terrible service at another. I have to say the Total in somerset is kinda good although a bit out of the way.

+1 Agree with you fully there nic it is all down to management, but then again if you have a few slackers working for you making mistakes and basically giving bad service, you can not just fire them, and I know out of experience it is a bitch to get rid of these workers, mostly you as employer are stuck with them till they really screw up, and then again they have to screw up 3 times before you are able to get rid of them.

 

[plonkster]

I trying really hard to think were that is. I've only been in Somerset 1 year and 1 month, so I don't know all the in's & out's yet.

You know the BenBel in Town on Main Road? If you're coming from the direction of the Lord Charles towards the center of town (past the police station, and you take a left at the next crossing (at BenBel), you are on Lourensford. Go down that road for a couple kms, past the playhouse (on your right). You'll eventually end up at a circle, with cricket grounds on your right and a Shell on your left. Voila.

 

[danielscvhamann]

For me big time....

1. Shell
1. Sasol
3. BP

And then al the rest in that order.... Total I have to put at the end, I tested the different fuels a few times on the dyno and on the road and that's what I came up with.