premium fuel. Is it worth driving?

At gas stations, in addition to unleaded gasoline with an octane rating of 95 and 98, classic diesel and gas, you can also find so-called improved fuels. Their price is clearly higher than standard fuels, but do they really guarantee better performance?

All advertising for premium fuels basically comes down to one slogan - more power. Comparisons with Formula 1 cars, the puff of fire from the exhaust pipe, the start with a squeal of tires ... We know all this from TV commercials. Pictures like this can stimulate the imagination and encourage us to fill up on more expensive fuel. But is it really a good choice?

Verva (Orlen), V-Power (Shell), Ultimate (BP), milesPLUS (Statoil), Dynamic (LOTOS) are upgraded fuels offered at petrol stations in Poland. Statistically speaking, they are about PLN 20 more than their standard counterparts (in the case of premium diesel, this is even more than PLN 30). Most of them come from Polish distributors, with the only exception being Shell, which imports fuel from abroad. Thus, the base is the same in all cases, and the fuel differs mainly in the means that the companies add to it. The exact composition of the mixtures is unknown.

Both gasoline and premium diesel contain less sulfur, among other things, making them greener. In addition, due to the use of lubricants in these fuels, the internal components of the engine wear out less. Thanks to the use of improvers, the combustion of improved fuels is cleaner, which affects the life of the engine.

However, with regard to power, tests carried out in the laboratory show only traces of its increase. These are really small differences - according to estimates, the increase in power is in the range of 1,6 - 4,5%. In fact, such minor power surges can even be caused by changing weather conditions.

“How premium fuel affects engine performance is a sweet secret of the manufacturers of this fuel,” says Andrzej Szczesniak, an expert on the fuel market. “However, in general, it is assumed that improved fuels can perform very differently in different engines,” he adds.

In his opinion, the age of the engine is a very important aspect in this case.

– Newer, more advanced units can perform better in many ways when fueled with a higher grade of fuel. On the other hand, in the case of older engines, their condition can sometimes even worsen. Premium fuel can flush out contaminants built up in the engine over the years, which can clog and damage the injection system. Remember that the average age of a Polish car is 15 years, and in a car of this age I would be careful when filling premium fuel. However, we can safely refuel newer vehicles,” says Szczesniak.

His words are confirmed by Michael Evans, a British engineer who has been preparing Shell fuel for Ferrari Formula 1 cars for years.

“I know the composition of Shell V-Power very well and can assure you that these fuels are safe for newer engines. Not only that, they are better than regular fuel because they contain components that protect the metal parts of engines. Interestingly, premium fuels use the same substances as Formula 1 cars, but of course in different proportions, says Evans.

“I use only premium fuel in my personal car,” he assures.

Fuel additives

Improved fuels are not enough. At almost every gas station, the counters are full of all sorts of improvers. Experts do not advise against them, but at the same time they advise moderation.

In older diesel vehicles, there may be a problem with a deficiency of sulfur, which acts as a lubricant in such units. When cars with modern diesel engines based on the common rail direct injection system began to enter production, sulphated diesel fuel had a negative impact on the operation of these units. Therefore, refineries were forced to reduce the amount of sulfur in diesel fuel.

This increased the life of new units, but there was a problem with older diesels. Experts advise adding a drug to the aquarium from time to time to fill these gaps.

A separate issue is the winter period, which may affect the owners of diesel engines. At low temperatures (about minus 20 degrees Celsius), paraffin can fall out of diesel fuel, which clogs the fuel system (mainly the filter). Substances called depressants come to the rescue, reducing tolerance by a few degrees Celsius.

Current premium fuel prices at Polish filling stations (as of 10.07.2015, July XNUMX):

Station	Name and type of fuel	Price
orlen	Verva 98	PLN 5,45
	Verva ON	PLN 4,99
shell	V-power nitro+	PLN 5,48
	V-Power Nitro+ Diesel	PLN 5,12
BP	Ultimate 98	PLN 5,32
	Absolute Diesel	PLN 5,05
Statoil	milesPLUS 98	PLN 5,29
	miPLUS diesel	PLN 5,09
Lotus	Lotus Dynamic 98	PLN 5,35
	Lotus Dynamic Diesel	PLN 4,79

(10.07.2015 July 98 the average price of regular Pb 5,24 is PLN 4,70 and ON is PLN XNUMX)