Supermarket fuel

[Dearnla]

In the good old days (anyone remember them?) supermarket fuel was supplied off the spot market in Rotterdam and didn't contain the additives that branded fuels did.
I recall reading in the Telegraph Honest John's reply to an old couple complaining that their Honda Civic wasn't running right because they had used cheap petrol for 65k miles (serves 'em right, the skinflints).

These days, there's not supposed to be much difference, which is why there's no difference in price (not round my way, at least) or fuel consumption and also explains why the majors are trying to flog us the fancy fuels that are supposed to do our engines good.

What they can't say is they produce more power, because they don't. Only if your engine is designed to run on 98 Octane will it produce more than 95, and I bet you can't tell the difference in a blind taste test.

[Paddy]

2007 United Kingdom petrol contamination - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Supermarket fined after overcharging on fuel for 9 months - PetrolPrices.com

Are you getting all the petrol you pay for? - Two Pennies Worth

RE: Supermarket fuel: is it good enough?

[MrRobin]

There really isn't any difference. There are so many variables to fuel consumption that it would be extremely difficult to do a comparison under normal circumstances (i.e. just driving around day to day)

The only reason supermarket fuel is cheaper is because they want to encourage you into the store at the same time where they will make the real profit. Same with the big oil companies and their attached convenience stores. BP makes more profit from selling coffee in their stations than it does fuel for your car!

[Spacecadet]

RE: Supermarket fuel: is it good enough?

You know what? Every time something has gone wrong on one of my cars, I've put fuel in it beforehand. Well, I've visited the petrol station for the last time. No more "filling up" for me, and no more breakdowns either!

Is that our Timberwolf?

[VectraMan]

What they can't say is they produce more power, because they don't. Only if your engine is designed to run on 98 Octane will it produce more than 95, and I bet you can't tell the difference in a blind taste test.

That's another widely believed myth. Modern cars have ECUs that adjust to a range of octane ratings.

I did a proper test with 95 in my S2000 once, and apart from generally sounding a bit rougher, I found doing the same 100 mile trip I could only get 270 miles out of a tank instead of about 320. Which not only meant the super was cheaper, but also meant I could make it home without filling up half way.

[landl]

BP makes more profit from selling coffee in their stations than it does fuel for your car!

...although this is just the result of some clever manipulation of the ownership of the various elements of the supply chain to remove the visible profit from the retail layer...

[landl]

I've noticed x litres of fuel from supermarkets (Tesco and Sainsburys) doesn't go as far as x litres from a 'High Street' petrol station, over the same journeys and driving conditions.

...could this be explained by the fact that you're more likely to have a boot full of shopping and some passengers (not in the boot hopefully) when you're filling up at the supermarket...