Shell standard & Shell V Power Nitro+ diesel

[vw spur]

I've had my GTD just over 3 weeks and made a decision to run it on Shell V Power Nitro+ Diesel, I was pretty sceptical about the benefits but thought it's only another few quid per tankful so why not. Anyway I hadn't thought much about MPG figures, Tank Range or anything else until yesterday, I'd left London with just under a quarter of a tank and had a 60 mile journey home to deal with, getting diesel before I left was a bit of a pain as the Shell garage was a bit out of the way so I thought I'd chance my arm and get it near where I live, after a bit of traffic I made it to my Local shell garage with a range of 10 miles left, but typical they never had no V Power diesel so I just chucked £20 of standard diesel in it, when I started it up it gave me a range of 205 miles but that quickly dropped and by the time I got home after about a 10 minute drive and about 3 miles it had dropped to 170 miles range. I never noticed any difference in how the engine was running but I was surprised at how quickly the range dropped, using V Power it had never done that before, so I guess there are benefits to using VPower over standard diesel, I'll always use it where available, just annoyed I put £20  of standard diesel in it now 

[Watts]

Hi vw spur - perhaps the range was high to start with because the car calculated it on the 50 miles of what was good economical driving but recalculated once you completed your journey in a less economical drive? (What I mean is the 50 miles was perhaps a steady run followed by town stop/start driving after the fill up).

[itavaltalainen]

V Power nitro Diesel is OK..... but worst of the premium diesel fuels around.

Esso seems to be the best premium diesel (runs smoothest and gets best mpg), followed by BPs then Shells (don't know how the supermarket premiums compare, never tried them).

I occassionally use 2 stroke oil when I use cheap diesel (1:200 ratio, i.e. approx 250ml per 50 liters) - makes it runs smoother (you need to get very low ash semi synthetic 2 stroke oil - fully synt is waste of money to add to fuel and mineral tends to burn with too much ash).

[vw spur]

Hi vw spur - perhaps the range was high to start with because the car calculated it on the 50 miles of what was good economical driving but recalculated once you completed your journey in a less economical drive? (What I mean is the 50 miles was perhaps a steady run followed by town stop/start driving after the fill up).

My drive out of London was on the A40 so was stop start pretty much all the way out to the M25 and then round to the M4, it's a regular journey and I've never seen the range drop as quick as it did after I put standard diesel in it yesterday.

[vw spur]

V Power nitro Diesel is OK..... but worst of the premium diesel fuels around.

Esso seems to be the best premium diesel (runs smoothest and gets best mpg), followed by BPs then Shells (don't know how the supermarket premiums compare, never tried them).

I occassionally use 2 stroke oil when I use cheap diesel (1:200 ratio, i.e. approx 250ml per 50 liters) - makes it runs smoother (you need to get very low ash semi synthetic 2 stroke oil - fully synt is waste of money to add to fuel and mineral tends to burn with too much ash).

Not really got any Esso around me, mainly Shell and BP, I'll give the BP stuff a go and see how I get on

[mcmaddy]

Doesn't make any difference at all. All the nitro stuff does is supposedly clean your system as you use it.  Your better off using standard shell and using millers diesel power plus, works out cheaper in the long run.
Interesting to hear why Itavaltalainen thinks esso premium is best of the three though?

[itavaltalainen]

I drive a lot! I tend to get another few mpg with Esso fuel over e.g. Morrisons diesel. It also runs a lot smoother and my bottom thinks that the engine vibrates a bit less with it.

Spending 20 hours a week driving you get a feel for the car and it just seems smoother with Esso's DSL..... followed by BP's, which is still better than regular DSL. Shell doesn't really make much of a difference, not enough to justify higher price.

[mcmaddy]

Cheers. Its always good to get others experiences.

[The ANT]

It's not relevant to diesel but the v power petrol is a lot better than ordinary stuff, so I'd give it the benefit of the doubt. 

My old clio 197 ran like a pig unless it was on v power or tesco 99 and it was as smooth as anything. So I only ever use good fuel since then.

[GTI_Ant]

Not sure about the agricultural stuff but I've always used the V power petrol (and its predecessors) well over 20 years not just for performance but mainly to keep the top of the engine, injectors and valves clean.  It has worked very well - big mileage and no problems with coking/clogging etc  Not sure how well it works with tractors though.