Shell v power

[bullet]

was wondering how many fellow members use the premium fuel when they fill up and do they notice any difference with it against the standard variety of fuel,is it worth the extra money? :scratch:

[stoney]

yes i norm run the GP on v power and runs a lot better than when on the fule save stuff

[Gismo]

Always maintained that my last UK S ran better and gave slightly better mpg when using V Power, or at least 98 ron and higher

[AndyP & Lenore]

We use Tesco's Momentum or Shell V Power. I haven't sat down and worked it out to the penny, but I suspect the higher octane fuel doesn't save us any money at the end of each trip, when you take into account the extra cost. But we do get extra power from the engine so that makes it worthwhile for us.

A.

[KenL]

I have never noticed any improvement in performance or economy but probably not ran it over a long enough period of time. I can hardly afford the price of normal fuel!

[Stewart]

Well said Ken. Although I do see the point if you get more power and lets face it in a GP or a Works that’s what you bought it for so you may as get full enjoyment.

I have even been picky with fuel on just My Coop with Shell from day one. The only time its not been on shell was on the HT runs when like everyone this year it was Morrison’s finest that went in.

[GCA3N]

Only use v power or momentum and the car definetly feels.more lively. I do however think its only.worth it on the cooper s and jcw models. Ken it takes about 3 tank fulls before you start to notice a change.

sent from my galaxy S ll

[MINI William]

I only put in either V Power or Momentum

[T5LLC]

I only use Vpower or Tesco 99. I notice the difference in performance but not sure about MPG....

[bullet]

have also read online about a deeper exhaust note when using premium fuel,not sure if thats true,will give the v power a try for a month or two and see what the difference is,if it makes the engine more lively then thats fine by me ! :thumbs up:

[Mon the fish]

Worth bearing in mind for all R56 owners, that the detergent/cleansing properties of V-power have no effect as it doesn't touch the back of the intake valves. You'll have to control coke build-up in other ways

[SuperCooperS]

I am on my first tank of v power and i already feel the car is more responsive.. but I dont think ill be running it on the v power all the time with the additional expensive of it.. I usually use the premium fuels from tesco, mainly sainsburys

[ELFMAN]

I've always used V-Power (or Optimax as was), in all my MINIs. According to what I've read, the higher the state of tune, the more benefit you'll see, and the JCW Upgrades actually recommend 98 Octane to get the best out of these engines. I'll only put 'ordinary' fuel in when I have no option - like if I'm up North and running low - even then I try to have a 5 litre can of V-Power in the boot just to top the Octane up! I don't think it would make any difference to the power etc of eg a standard ONE, but def a must for tuned motors. My wee 1.1 Pug 106 runs just fine on 95 octane, so apart from the cleaning issue, there's no point spending V-Power money on it.

Interesting point from MON though - re. the R56 intake valves - could you elaborate? (as long as you clean up the mess afterwards)

[Mon the fish]

Direct injection, so the fuel doesn't touch the back of the intake valves. Quite a few stories now of R56's with relatively low mileages needing a de-coke.

On the R53, because the injector is in the inlet tract, the detergents in V-Power help prevent carbon build-up on the back of the intake valves

[ELFMAN]

Thanks Mon - Sorry I didn't reply earlier! :argh:

[Burple]

Direct injection, so the fuel doesn't touch the back of the intake valves. Quite a few stories now of R56's with relatively low mileages needing a de-coke. I've been reading up a wee bit on that too.. what do you reckon the best methed for de-coking is? (Best = Cheapest! ;)) It's not likely that the Mini "Crud-b-Gone" stuff will help much will it? looks like injector cleaner maybe? Incidentally, SAinsbury's super unleaded is usually pretty good too... normally givesd a few more pops and bangs for the pennies too! ..I actually got 42mpg over a 16 mile trip on twisty A roads in the JCW the other day, and not driving like a granny!!:eek::eek::eek::thumbs up:

[bullet]

i was told that you cant get pops and bangs on the r56 jcw by mini sales,havi been told porky pies??:scratch:

[GCA3N]

i was told that you cant get pops and bangs on the r56 jcw by mini sales,havi been told porky pies??:scratch:

What! Mines pops and bangs all the time. It's even better on the super unleaded.

[Mon the fish]

I've been reading up a wee bit on that too.. what do you reckon the best methed for de-coking is? (Best = Cheapest! ;)) It's not likely that the Mini "Crud-b-Gone" stuff will help much will it? looks like injector cleaner maybe? Incidentally, SAinsbury's super unleaded is usually pretty good too... normally givesd a few more pops and bangs for the pennies too! ..I actually got 42mpg over a 16 mile trip on twisty A roads in the JCW the other day, and not driving like a granny!!:eek::eek::eek::thumbs up:

Few people on NAM have tried Seafoam through the PCV hose - not sure what the valves look like afterwards, but plenty of smoke out the exhaust anyway. Any fuel additive won't work, as it won't touch the valves

[euan]

My A4 is only recommended to run on 98 RON or above. I notice a massive difference in it - more MPG and more power (noticeably more). Used to use it all the time, however I now only fill it up with it when it's not madly expensive. Don't notice it so much in winter anyway as the turbos love the cooler air and the MPG is on the floor due to the heated seats!

[ELFMAN]

i was told that you cant get pops and bangs on the r56 jcw by mini sales,havi been told porky pies??:scratch:

I don't have a 'Factory' JCW but with my 'Stage 1' JCW bits and Milltek downpipe, I get some decent sounds in the popping and banging dept. or maybe it was just the Christmas Sprouts... :smilewinkgrin:

MON - does this 'Mucky Valve Syndrome' indicate a fundamental flaw in all Direct Injection setups, or do the efficiency and performance benefits outweigh any long-term risks? What sort of mileages are showing up the issue?

[Mon the fish]

It is a fundamental flaw in a way, in that I've seen R56 valves after 30k black on the back, and a non-DI Saab head after 400k that looked like new. It because the crankcase vents into the head, bringing with it oil vapours into the head. I believe Mini did do a partial PCV fix sometime 2009-ish.

Direct injection does give you more power, and better economy. But there is a downside...

[bullet]

What! Mines pops and bangs all the time. It's even better on the super unleaded.

tut tut peter vardy sales,just goes to show they dont know everything.:popcorn:

[ELFMAN]

tut tut peter vardy sales,just goes to show they dont know everything.:popcorn:

Bet they know how to get folks to tick the Options List though! :smilewinkgrin:

Cheers for the info MON - is it something we should be worried about? My motor does really low miles, and I've cut out most of my 'commuter' driving - ie not warming up properly etc.

[bullet]

yeah,lol,there was no problems when it came to sorting a price.:Whistle:

[Mon the fish]

I would be concerned tbh, get a scope down the inlet tract and have a look

[ELFMAN]

Mon, I don't think I'll be bothering - far too much on my plate to start doing internal investigations on a 10K miles engine which is running sweet. If it develops a problem, I'll be down at the Dealers with the 'Watchdog' Team!