Does Anyone Use VPower Diesel?

[Mervin]

Used V power for firsr time after reading this artcle. Engine was definitely smoother with less hesitation . I paid £1.47 per litre. Will monitor mpg

[Jim314]

Originally Posted by ChrisE

One of the reasons that a diesel engine always lasted such a long time was that the fuel itself was a lubricant and kept the pump etc in good condition.

I have read that modern diesel is not as good a lubricant as the older stuff. How does these premium diesels compare to the ordinary stuff?

The fuel formulators now add specific lubricants to the purified modern diesel fuel to make up for the lubricants removed to produce ultra low suphur diesel. The first processes to produce purified diesel fuel removed components which contributed to lubricity. This decrease in lubricity was not understood and these fuels did cause some problems with fuel pumps, but I think this is a thing of the past now that lubricants are added.

[The Hooded Claw]

Originally Posted by Jim314

The fuel formulators now add specific lubricants to the purified modern diesel fuel to make up for the lubricants removed to produce ultra low suphur diesel. The first processes to produce purified diesel fuel removed components which contributed to lubricity. This decrease in lubricity was not understood and these fuels did cause some problems with fuel pumps, but I think this is a thing of the past now that lubricants are added.

I KNOW I'm way off topic here but this is the same for Natural Gas... it is a DRY ODOURLESS Gas ....... The "Smell" has to be added.. "Ethyl Mercaptan" & then the gas is "Oil Fogged" ...... Because the old "Towns Gas" was a "Wet" Gas it made the gas mains Rust on the insides when Brit Gas introduced Natural Gas it dried out the mains & caused the rust to "Flow" along the mains to the Customers House & Block up their "Pilot Lights" on their various appliances ect

They now have "Oil Fogging Stations" (you'll have seen them about) but not noticed them they are in the "District Governors" Boxes (Little Green Metal "Sheds" about 8 foot by 4 foot) dotted about the various roads & Lanes ect

The "oil Fogging" coats the inside of the main to "Stick" the Rust "in Place" & stop it from travelling along to customers appliances.


SEE!!! You've all learnt summott now .... Everytime to pass one of them "Green Metal Sheds" on the corner of a road you'll KNOW its the "District Governor" & the Oil Fogging Point for Your area !!!

Keith

[bigtree]

Slightly going away from tne original topic but are there any fuel additives that do the same thing.

Doing the sums the diference between V power and normal diesel is around 8pence per litre

Filling with 50 litres of V power costs an extra £4.

Redex is around £2 at Asda

Does it do the same?

[wadhurstdaisy]

I only fill up using V-Power Diesel in my XC90 and have done so for at least the last 2 years (approx 30,000 miles). Compared to 'normal' Shell Diesel it has only given me at most 2mpg more so for me the additional cost of the fuel isn't offset by the increased mpg. I do however find that the engine runs smoother and i feel if you also take this benefit into account then the extra cost is worth it.

For the last year I've also run a Mini Clubman Diesel originally on 'normal' Shell Diesel but now exclusively on V-Power Diesel. This has also shown a 2-3mpg improvement (58-65mpg vs 28-32mpg for the same journeys in the XC90) and the engine is much, much smoother with a far cleaner take-up. I would not willingly use anything other than V-Power Diesel in it.

Other vehicles I've owned:-

1) MG ZT-T+ 190, absolute no mpg improvement or change in engine smoothness.
2) Blackbird, mpg improvement with no change in engine characteristics.
3) Honda CBR600rr with airbox & exhaust modifications and power commander tuned on rolling road, mpg wasn't a criteria but engine ran better using V-Power which was in the tank when rolling-road performed, ran poorly when normal fuel used.
4) Ducati 900SS, ran like a bucket of bolts no matter what fuel used.
5) Honda CB1000R, no improvement in mpg or engine characteristics so normal Unleaded Shell used.

In conclusion, mpg improvements have not in themselves outweighed the extra cost but the smoothness of the engine should also be taken into account. If changing to V-Power whether unleaded or diesel, always try to do so from an empty tank and to fill to brim and do this for at least 4 tankfulls before deciding whether any improvements are real or imaginary.

Dave.

[Arianne]

I know most of the dialogue about the v-power diesel revolves around economy and smooth performance but...........

Since reading quite widely (Autoexpress & What Car) that the D5 XC90 is prone to injector failure at around 100,000 miles, I am wondering whether the cleaning agents and purity of the v-power fuel might help prevent early failure of the injectors?

Any thoughts guys? I can't say I understand why the injectors fail but I have assumed it might be because they get clogged up?

With a repair on this item likely to be a chunky affair (£1k+) I've been feeding our XC90 the expensive Shell fuel because it seems a modest price to pay if it helps avoid premature injector failure.

Interested in your views......

Arianne.

[RoyMacDonald]

Originally Posted by Arianne

I know most of the dialogue about the v-power diesel revolves around economy and smooth performance but...........

Since reading quite widely (Autoexpress & What Car) that the D5 XC90 is prone to injector failure at around 100,000 miles, I am wondering whether the cleaning agents and purity of the v-power fuel might help prevent early failure of the injectors?

Any thoughts guys? I can't say I understand why the injectors fail but I have assumed it might be because they get clogged up?

With a repair on this item likely to be a chunky affair (£1k+) I've been feeding our XC90 the expensive Shell fuel because it seems a modest price to pay if it helps avoid premature injector failure.

Interested in your views......

Arianne.

Hi Arianne

I often read the diesel part of the forum and someone on there said that the injectors arn't failing they are getting fouled with deposits, hence the reason Volvo offer "refurbished" ones. She used some special cleaner on hers when they played up and she said they ran fine afterwards.

V+ is supposed to keep them nice and clean so in theory should help avoid the problem.

The fouling problem I belive is related to the original 5 hole injectors and not the later 7 hole ones used on the 185bhp engine.

Just to add that the 165bhp engine wasn't designed for the amount of biodiesel that the government insists on now.

All the best.

Roy

[Arianne]

Thanks for the info - I'll hand over my credit card for the expensive v-power diesel feeling a little less guilty at spending that bit more of the family budget in future - spend to save & all that!

We have the 185bhp D5 engine so, the good news is that the injectors should be more resiliant then.

Best wishes. Arianne.

[wadhurstdaisy]

Originally Posted by Arianne

I'll hand over my credit card for the expensive v-power diesel feeling a little less guilty at spending that bit more of the family budget in future - spend to save & all that!

You mean like this ...

http://flickr.com/gp/43042508@N06/pHr0U0

[ChrisE]

Just a note of caution.

I tried using the garage locator on the Shell web site & it happily directed me to a garage, only 12 miles away, that has been shut for about a year now. I wouldn't make a detour without phoning first.

I reported it to Shell & my nearest VPower diesel is now nearly 20mls.