Tesco 99 Octane Fuel

Anonymous · May 9, 2005, 15:16

Anyone tried this yet?

it's on sale in a select few Tesco petrol stations in the South East. I gather it's on trial and if it sells well will go nationwide. Many people rating this highly as not only is it cheaper than Optimax but apparently 'feels' better too. s8)

s8)

Stores selling this are:

Beford 1
Cheshunt Extra
Crawley Hazelwick
Gallions Reach Extra
Gillingham Kent
Lakeside Extra
Ramsgate Manston
Salisbury 2
Sandhurst Extra
Sevenoaks Riverhead
Stevenage Extra
Winchester

Reviews please???

Anonymous · May 9, 2005, 16:29

That'll be because (in the South East at least), Tesco is distributed by BP, so it's actually more-or-less the same as BP Ultimate (subject to the below). How do I know... I work next door (I can see the tanks from my office window) to BP's Hamble distribution depot - and a constant stream of road tankers (incl Tesco ones (and many others)).

Bear in mind that all fuel ultimately only comes from one of a small handful of refineries in the UK, and onwards through the distribution network, to tank farms, where road tankers are filled. Most of the different brands share the system upto this point, effectively metering what they put in, and take out, from a shared network.

Only at the point the tanker is filled does each brand add it's particular additives (mostly detergents and the like), turning bog standard petrol into "better" fuel; eg Shell Optimax, Esso Energy, BP Ultimate (for the super unleadeds, likewise for the normal stuff too). Typically, the supermarket brands don't add any such additives (saving a tiny fraction of a penny per litre), and it's not uncommon for 'slops' to be added (rubbish from the bottom of tanks, contaminated aircraft fuel, etc) to bulk out the raw product.

So, whilst you might see a BP tanker filling a Tesco forecourt, it's entirely possible that the fuel actually originated from an Esso refinery, and has no additive added.

Anonymous · May 10, 2005, 10:51

Nice! s:D

s:D Informative!

Even better news then if you'll be able to get basically the same fuel but at a competative rate. I wonder if Tesco add slops to their fuel? Hope not. s:(

s:(

Anonymous · May 11, 2005, 14:31

Probably a silly question, but what is this higher octane fuel meant to do?

Anonymous · May 12, 2005, 13:20

Quote from: "Jono & Emma"Nice! s:D s:D Informative!

Even better news then if you'll be able to get basically the same fuel but at a competative rate. I wonder if Tesco add slops to their fuel? Hope not. s:( s:(

The basic fuel will most likely be the same, but it won't have the "true" Ultimate additives.

As for slops; well, a certain amount is present in all road fuels (since purity is not a life and death matter, unlike aviation), but the supermarket brands tend to go for a higher %age.

Anonymous · May 12, 2005, 13:24

Quote from: "FunkyMonkey"Probably a silly question, but what is this higher octane fuel meant to do?

On an engine designed and tuned to run on normal 95RON, not a lot.

In theory, it allows the engine management systems to adjust the timing to get better performance, but ONLY within limits that the ECU knows about. Hence most ECUs aren't mapped to go as high as 97/98RON.

OTOH, some cars are the opposite, and are mapped to run on 97/98RON by default, and run like a real dog on 95RON - I have to feed the Leon 97/98RON, or it gets upset ... s:cry: :cry: s:cry:

Anonymous · May 12, 2005, 16:46

Cheers Pmdye, just wondering cos I was forced to fill up on the 97 cos they were out of the normal stuff, gotta say I hadn`t noticed any difference at all

Anonymous · May 13, 2005, 16:38

We didn't notice any difference off one tank - felt better after one tank had run through though - probably the ECU re-establishing itself based on the change of fuel.

Says I!

Tell me I'm wrong?! s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

Anonymous · May 13, 2005, 17:55

Might as well keep using it then, can`t hurt

Anonymous · May 16, 2005, 09:46

"Adaptation" (the process whereby the ECU 'learns' and changes parameters) happens much more quickly going from good to bad conditions (ie crap fuel, etc) than it does the other way. Hence why you probably notice no difference after just a single tankful of 97/98RON (although on a stock car with stock ECU, it's doubtful if you'd ever notice much of a difference).