BP Ulimate Diesel - is it worth it? 110k mileage

[Agent_Trig]

Only just recently I have started to fill the tank with Ultimate Diesel, however I am a little disappointed so far as after 4 fills, I am getting less MPG than before on the cheap supermarket fuel

It is costing me around and extra £15 for a full tank too.

But is my 110k mileage A3 benefitting from this premium fuel? I am keeping the car for a long time so if the long term benefits are worth it then I'd carry on.

What are your thoughts on this? I've had the car since 30k, and it has been serviced and maintained regardless of cost. Midland VW have always commented on how nice a drive it is. I want to keep it this way for as long as poss

 

[SootySport]

I've never thought that Ultimate is worth the extra cost and always used Tesco diesel. Mind you it's the wifes car and she fills it up anyway as she works there and also gets the Clubcard points, who am I to argue with her.
Car is on 115,000 miles and still going strong with no problems. There are other more important factors that affect the longevity of a DERV.

 

[RafaelF]

nothing changes with ''expensive diesel'' sometimes I use cepsa optima, wich is kinda the same

 

[Sayam]

I don't use Shell v-power diesel or BP ultimate diesel but I sure as hell don't put that supermarket cr4p in either. I usually use normal BP or Shell diesel. Very rarely I'll stick £20 Esso in but again, that's just to get me home and/or to the nearest Shell or BP.

 

[NHN]

As above, made sweet fa difference to my car, so I went back to standard diesel.

 

[Agent_Trig]

Yeah I'm thinking that I'll just go back to standard fuel, but this time go for the more premium stations such as BP or Shell (they're only a few pence more than the supermarkets anyway).

I was really hoping for a difference... I used to get an extra 60 miles to a full tank when using VPower on my old FTO, but looks like the diesel variants is just a bit of a con.

 

[veedubsimon]

If its any use to you I also own a 2005 Polo 1.4TDI that I use as a daily and recently filled up with BP ultimate. Over the course of about 6 fills I am getting about 5 MPG more than on regular BP diesel, I work it out using the Road Trip iOS app. I'm sure I'm paying for that extra 5 MPG at the filling station tho

 

[Sayam]

Sorry I should clarify - 'premium' fuel does make a difference in my car in terms of the MPG and the general 'feel' of the car.

The feel of the car you can put down to placebo and I'll give you that, but I have (in the past) scientifically measured the difference in MPG the premium fuel gives. I just can't be bothered to drive round looking for a Shell/BP and then find one that sells the premium stuff lol.

 

[SnazzyWafles]

Is the supermarket diesel that bad? I usually stick to bp or shell standard stuff.

 

[Sayam]

Is the supermarket diesel that bad? I usually stick to bp or shell standard stuff.

Same here, standard Shell or BP diesel is fine.

Have tried supermarket fuel but it introduces a slight knock in the engine which is sh1t. I must say in my experience the quality of supermarket vs branded diesel varies much more than petrol. Petrol seems to be of a more consistent, and good, quality.

 

[Sherv]

I think the responsiveness is improved with shell v-power diesel, i saw a video with a VW on youtube that gained 5bhp with a performance fuel. It's all i'd use (but my wife does moan about it).

 

[Mindak]

Had my car just over 2 years and said from day one that I would only run v-power to look after it and Iv stuck with it....

 

[Hedski]

I'm of the opinion that the premium fuels make a difference but it's what kind of difference that matters more.
Petrol wise I can vouch for V-Power. Cylinder head on my Golf Mk2 was described as one of the best seen by the tuner who polished, ported and gas-flowed it and that was after 182k miles. Ran only on V-Power in my ownership. I can vouch for better fuel economy too and Fifth Gear confirmed performance gains in their test available on youtube.
On my old A4 DTM it helped, certainly more responsive but when I put BP Ultimate in the car felt positively slower.
Diesel wise I have friends with Golf TDi Mk5's and similar who will claim power gains. I suspect more torque improvement or even just responsiveness but the important factor for me would be better fuel means better care of engine internals and longevity.

Just my thoughts.

 

[Smirky]

As a petrol user I stay away from bp fuels as I done quite a bit of research into fuels one night at work (was really busy)
Bp came out quite poorly for leaving residue etc in the engine compared to shell and Tesco momentum ,
I'm not sure if this translates to diesel but may be worth a look

 

[bennyball]

I noticed a distinct difference by switching to premium diesel.
The biggest difference was that on standard fuel I had a low rpm, low speed hesitation, and the DPF would regenerate every 3 days on the same short journeys I've been doing lately.
Switching to premium diesel the hesitation has gone and the DPF regeneration is about once a week.
Also on longer journeys I noticed the MPG improved by 2-3.

I tested it by swapping back to regular diesel and the problems reappeared so for the last few months I've only been running premium, to me it seems worth the 10p extra per litre.

Something those who run premium may wish to consider as I am, is using 2-EHN with regular diesel to reduce the overall costs. Basically 2-EHN is the cetane booster that's added to make premium diesel and can be bought for about £15/L