Tesco Petrol

Volvoboy

For the last while ive been filling up at tescos it being the cheapest around.


I'd struggle to get 240 miles out of 50 litres

Last week i filled up a Texaco

I got 290 miles out of the same 50 litres!


I had always heard that tesco petrol ''burned quckier'', but now i'm a beliver that tesco petrol is muck.

Steve

Not the first time I've heard that - was talking to a mate and he said he saw a Statoil tanker filling the (station) tanks in Tesco Dundrum recently.


Personally, I only use Maxol E5.

Run_to_da_hills

Volvoboy wrote: »

For the last while ive been filling up at tescos it being the cheapest around.


I'd struggle to get 240 miles out of 50 litres

Last week i filled up a Texaco

I got 290 miles out of the same 50 litres!


I had always heard that tesco petrol ''burned quckier'', but now i'm a beliver that tesco petrol is muck.

I believe their Diesel is pretty much the same, mind you their Vegitable oil is not bad

Max_Damage

SteveC wrote: »

Personally, I only use Maxol E5.

Well, if you use fuel with ethanol in it (which has approx. 30% less energy per unit volume than petrol), shouldn't that in theory mean you get less MPG's?

Holsten

Yeah I noticed this too, used to always get it due to the cheaper price, it's **** though.

Maxol 4tw.

I've seen the Statoil tanker filling up the Tesco Maynooth station too.

Cionád

This has come up many times. My diesel gets the same from Tesco as it does from Esso, Maxol, Topaz & supermarket as well as highway stations in France.

Think it depends on the car, heard complaints from Petrol drivers.

Big Nelly

Heard from a mate in a garage that the petrol in Tesco is less quality than in other garages and this means it burns quicker!!

L1011

The Statoil logos on the tankers are just down to Wincanton buying the Statoil tankers when they pulled out of Ireland...

newbusiness

Folks it's down to air temperature (Boyles Law).

Summer time - circa 25 degrees Celcius == high tire pressure, less tire rubber on the road, lower rolling resistance == better fuel efficiency.

Winter time - temperature drops, so does your tire pressure and your fuel efficiency.

We've just had a nice few days, expect driving to cost less in better weather, or pump up your tires!

miju

I fill in 3 different stations which are all same price (well within 2 cents of each other). One of them is tesco and I have to say I've noticed no difference in MPG in any of the stations.

And I'm one of those people who is quite anal about things like that

listermint

newbusiness wrote: »

Folks it's down to air temperature (Boyles Law).

Summer time - circa 25 degrees Celcius == high tire pressure, less tire rubber on the road, lower rolling resistance == better fuel efficiency.

Winter time - temperature drops, so does your tire pressure and your fuel efficiency.

We've just had a nice few days, expect driving to cost less in better weather, or pump up your tires!

im inclined to agree, until folks around here stop the hear say which is banding around. i would like to see some serious stats on tesco ireland's petrol versus any other suppliers on a standard motor be it diesel or petrol.

Steve

Max_Damage wrote: »

Well, if you use fuel with ethanol in it (which has approx. 30% less energy per unit volume than petrol), shouldn't that in theory mean you get less MPG's?

In theory yes, it should be less - I don't understand the science behind it but it does seem to give better results.

I believe it's something about the fuel burning more efficiently because of the higher RON. Not all cars can map past 98RON so it seems to vary a bit depending on who you talk to.

Not really sure though - as I said, I don't fully understand the science.

Steve

newbusiness wrote: »

Summer time - circa 25 degrees Celcius == high tire pressure, less tire rubber on the road, lower rolling resistance == better fuel efficiency.

Check your tyre pressure more than once a year == better fuel efficiency;)

Winter time - temperature drops, so does your tire pressure and your fuel efficiency.

Engines are more efficient in cold air == more efficient in the winter.

bazzachazza

SteveC wrote: »

Check your tyre pressure more than once a year == better fuel efficiency;)



Engines are more efficient in cold air == more efficient in the winter.

The air is denser when cold so you will get better efficiency from your engine in the winter.

JHMEG

SteveC wrote: »

Engines are more efficient in cold air == more efficient in the winter.

They are more efficient (effective) at burning petrol as cold air is denser and therefore contains more oxygen. This is the reason I believe fuel economy goes down slightly in colder weather, and not tyre pressure. Tyres when warmed up will probably be the same-ish temp regardless of weather.

I too agree with VB.. I measure mileage over almost ever tank. Tesco is 250 miles, the rest are about 270 miles. That's a sizeable difference and doesn't justify buying petrol from Tesco that's a few cent cheaper than the one up the road.

Darando

I've seen the tankers fill up the Statoil in Dundrum and then head up to Tesco in Dundrum straight after..and not just recently, I do a fair bit of travel out that way and have seen the Statoil tanker fill up Tesco in Dundrum ever since it was built...so not just a recent thing.

You really reckon they have seperate parts of the tank for Statoil and Tesco petrol? personally doubt it.

Personally I think its complete rubbish and hear say that Tesco petrol is worse than any other type, maybe some people just have a mentality that if its cheaper then its because it not as good quality..only in Ireland. I too will only believe it when hard evidence is before me .

testicle

MYOB wrote: »

The Statoil logos on the tankers are just down to Wincanton buying the Statoil tankers when they pulled out of Ireland...

Statoil haven't pulled out of Ireland - Statoil Ireland and Shell Ireland were bought by Topaz. All their stations and trucks are being rebranded from their original companies to Topaz.

JHMEG

Darando wrote: »

I've seen the tankers fill up the Statoil in Dundrum and then head up to Tesco in Dundrum straight after..and not just recently, I do a fair bit of travel out that way and have seen the Statoil tanker fill up Tesco in Dundrum ever since it was built...so not just a recent thing.

You really reckon they have seperate parts of the tank for Statoil and Tesco petrol? personally doubt it.

Personally I think its complete rubbish and hear say that Tesco petrol is worse than any other type, maybe some people just have a mentality that if its cheaper then its because it not as good quality..only in Ireland. I too will only believe it when hard evidence is before me .

I've been buying petrol at Tesco for 2 years. It's only in the last few months that I started buying around and comparing.

Steve

From another site that I visit:

I can't really substanciate any bhp/performance gains on the Zed but my trip computer doesn't lie - I've been doing a little experiment over the past few months. This wasn't exactly an economy run - it ran over several thousand kms at MyFeckin pace.
1) Shell V power (95RON) - worst economy of 7.8km per litre (22mpg) - best of 8.4km per litre (24mpg)
2) Shell V power + 3% solution of silkolene proboost (98RON) - worst economy of 8.6km per litre (25mpg) - best of 9.6km per litre (27mpg).
3) Maxol E5 (99.2RON) - only on 2nd tank so far but worst economy of 10.2km per litre (29mpg) and present tank is currently sitting on 10.3km per litre after 560kms.

Doesn't mention tesco but E5 is the best out of that lot.

BrianD3

I do 35k miles per year in a petrol car and I pay a lot of attention to how much petrol i'm using. Based on a lot of fills I notice no difference between petrol brands.

Car owners seem to be very susceptible to superstition and brand name fanboyism. Applies to everything from cars themselves to engine oil to tyres, now perhaps fuel too. I generally laugh when I hear someone confidently asserting that Castrol oil or Pirelli tyres are great/muck without considering any of the many variables involved

One thing I'll say about Tesco petrol is a lot of their stations have newer pumps than other garages, I would tentatively suggest that the newer pumps may dispense slightly less than older ones due to older ones overdispensing.

chris85

newbusiness wrote: »

Folks it's down to air temperature (Boyles Law).

Summer time - circa 25 degrees Celcius == high tire pressure, less tire rubber on the road, lower rolling resistance == better fuel efficiency.

Winter time - temperature drops, so does your tire pressure and your fuel efficiency.

We've just had a nice few days, expect driving to cost less in better weather, or pump up your tires!

New one that. Have made thread on this topic before and it seemed japanese cars seemed to be most sensitive towards the fuel quality.

I noticed a difference on the same month when driving and filling from empty to full from two different stations. So cant see how tire pressure will make a difference as i always keep pressure at what it should be.

And i quickly have look at tires every morning to see if they look deflated a bit and top up once a week if needed.

Did not make a difference for me between Summer and Winter.

Newcarneeded

I know a man who used to work on oil tankers. At one point in his career he was bringing fuel over from Texaco in Wales. When the vessel docked in Dublin it offloaded it's cargo. The fuel that came off the ship was then bought and distributed by Texaco, Jet, Statoil, Shell basically all the vendors.

I don't know who refines fuel but I would venture that it is still imported by the vessel load into Dublin port and pumped ashore. I doubt very much given the size of our country and economy that it pays for Topaz or Tesco to only taken fuel from one particular refinery.

I suspect that what you get in Tesco is identical to what you get in Topaz/Texaco or whoever else.

From my own point of view I make 29-33 mpg per fill. The fluctuation is down to whether i'm staying below Vtec or not and also whether i'm doing 2 mile trips to the shops or just doing motorway trips.

I try to spin into Tesco when i'm nearby but for me the 3 cent per litre usually isn't worth the drive so I often use Texaco and Topaz. No brand, Tesco included, has ever been more or less efficient than the other. Was the OP's mix of driving the same when he noticed the decrease in mileage per fill?

And while i understand air is more dense in winter as it's cooler and you get more power, I wonder how much of that fuel efficiency gain is absorbed by the increased air density which your car has to drive through. Im sure the effect isn't much at low speed but surely makes a difference at motorway speeds?

In my book having your tyres properly inflated, avoiding hard accelerating and breaking and taking the golf clubs outta the boot Monday to Friday are all you want to worry about.

I know every little helps but I reckon i spend (10k miles @30mpg = 333.33 gallons = 1513 litres @1.35 = ) €2,043 on fuel at 30mpg. If i get 35mpg (10k miles @ 35mpg =285.7 gallons = 1,297 litres @ 1.35= €1,751. So I save about €300 a year or €6 a week by getting 16% more mpg.

Personally i'd rather spend that €6 a week and enjoy my driving.

Fuel is a drop in the ocean relative to the total cost of running your car.

It's the €5.90 bottles of Heineken and €3.30 Lucozades I'm worried about. Thank God cars don't run on hops barley yeast water or glucose, we'd be rightly flocked then.

L1011

testicle wrote: »

Statoil haven't pulled out of Ireland - Statoil Ireland and Shell Ireland were bought by Topaz. All their stations and trucks are being rebranded from their original companies to Topaz.

Not true. Statoil sold the master franchise and the owned and operated stores to Topaz. There are many Statoils which are not rebranding to Topaz but are instead switching franchise or becoming independent. And the trucks were picked up by Wincanton. There are rebranded ones of those already, I've seen one filling a Tesco station as recently as last night...

L1011

Darando wrote: »

I've seen the tankers fill up the Statoil in Dundrum and then head up to Tesco in Dundrum straight after..and not just recently, I do a fair bit of travel out that way and have seen the Statoil tanker fill up Tesco in Dundrum ever since it was built...so not just a recent thing.

You really reckon they have seperate parts of the tank for Statoil and Tesco petrol? personally doubt it.

Personally I think its complete rubbish and hear say that Tesco petrol is worse than any other type, maybe some people just have a mentality that if its cheaper then its because it not as good quality..only in Ireland. I too will only believe it when hard evidence is before me .

The same tanker carries petrol and diesel for a starter - its entirely possible that different segments carry different grades; as well as the possibility of additives being dosed in to the ground storage tanks after filling by the specific retailers.

I can get from my house to Portrush and back to Dundalk on a tank from Esso Maynooth. I can't get back to Banbridge on Tesco. I do 25,000+ miles a year and don't vary my driving style and I consistently get worse results from Tesco and some of the no-namer independents than anyone else.

JHMEG

Newcarneeded wrote: »

Personally i'd rather spend that €6 a week and enjoy my driving.

It's not about changing habits.. it's about changing petrol station. Enjoy your driving *and* save €6 a week. All those sixes will pay your insurance at the end of the year...

Seth Brundle

With regard to the distribution from the terminals, the different suppliers often 'borrow' fuels from another supplier but its the additives that make the difference.
As for the trucks, stand outsite the Statoil/Topaz terminal on ALexander Rd and watch the different lorries coming out. AFAIK many contractors deliver fuel to the forecourts.

chris85

Newcarneeded wrote: »

I know a man who used to work on oil tankers. At one point in his career he was bringing fuel over from Texaco in Wales. When the vessel docked in Dublin it offloaded it's cargo. The fuel that came off the ship was then bought and distributed by Texaco, Jet, Statoil, Shell basically all the vendors.

I don't know who refines fuel but I would venture that it is still imported by the vessel load into Dublin port and pumped ashore. I doubt very much given the size of our country and economy that it pays for Topaz or Tesco to only taken fuel from one particular refinery.

I suspect that what you get in Tesco is identical to what you get in Topaz/Texaco or whoever else.

From my own point of view I make 29-33 mpg per fill. The fluctuation is down to whether i'm staying below Vtec or not and also whether i'm doing 2 mile trips to the shops or just doing motorway trips.

I try to spin into Tesco when i'm nearby but for me the 3 cent per litre usually isn't worth the drive so I often use Texaco and Topaz. No brand, Tesco included, has ever been more or less efficient than the other. Was the OP's mix of driving the same when he noticed the decrease in mileage per fill?

And while i understand air is more dense in winter as it's cooler and you get more power, I wonder how much of that fuel efficiency gain is absorbed by the increased air density which your car has to drive through. Im sure the effect isn't much at low speed but surely makes a difference at motorway speeds?

In my book having your tyres properly inflated, avoiding hard accelerating and breaking and taking the golf clubs outta the boot Monday to Friday are all you want to worry about.

I know every little helps but I reckon i spend (10k miles @30mpg = 333.33 gallons = 1513 litres @1.35 = ) €2,043 on fuel at 30mpg. If i get 35mpg (10k miles @ 35mpg =285.7 gallons = 1,297 litres @ 1.35= €1,751. So I save about €300 a year or €6 a week by getting 16% more mpg.

Personally i'd rather spend that €6 a week and enjoy my driving.

Fuel is a drop in the ocean relative to the total cost of running your car.

It's the €5.90 bottles of Heineken and €3.30 Lucozades I'm worried about. Thank God cars don't run on hops barley yeast water or glucose, we'd be rightly flocked then.

Its a bit stupid not worrying about tire pressure as tire pressure doesnt just affect the fuel consumption and personally thats the last reason i check my tire pressure often. The main reasons are the reduced grip, the damage done to the tire (cracks in side wall usually) as well as the ride comfort and handling.

But thats grand you can not check your tire pressures and get new tires more often and leave your golf clubs in the boot so you can practice your swing when in the queue for buying the tesco petrol.

I wonder why it has come up here so often about tesco petrol fuel. I have heard from many people and it seems that Japanese cars are more sensitive to it.

You do understand that the temperature difference affects the density and volume of fuel i guess. Do you realise its so important that the suppliers have compensation guages in place when delivering this to the fuel stations yet the fuel station do not have a compensator when supplying to us.

unkel

Newcarneeded wrote: »

personally i'd rather spend that €6 a week and enjoy my driving.

Fuel is a drop in the ocean relative to the total cost of running your car.

If only a few more people would just do their sums, like you. Many people don't think twice about spending thousands a year in depreciation on a common as muck car and then they try their utmost to save a few euro a week on petrol

JoeA3

Newcarneeded wrote: »

I know a man who used to work on oil tankers. At one point in his career he was bringing fuel over from Texaco in Wales. When the vessel docked in Dublin it offloaded it's cargo. The fuel that came off the ship was then bought and distributed by Texaco, Jet, Statoil, Shell basically all the vendors.

I don't know who refines fuel but I would venture that it is still imported by the vessel load into Dublin port and pumped ashore. I doubt very much given the size of our country and economy that it pays for Topaz or Tesco to only taken fuel from one particular refinery.

I suspect that what you get in Tesco is identical to what you get in Topaz/Texaco or whoever else.

From my own point of view I make 29-33 mpg per fill. The fluctuation is down to whether i'm staying below Vtec or not and also whether i'm doing 2 mile trips to the shops or just doing motorway trips.

I try to spin into Tesco when i'm nearby but for me the 3 cent per litre usually isn't worth the drive so I often use Texaco and Topaz. No brand, Tesco included, has ever been more or less efficient than the other. Was the OP's mix of driving the same when he noticed the decrease in mileage per fill?

And while i understand air is more dense in winter as it's cooler and you get more power, I wonder how much of that fuel efficiency gain is absorbed by the increased air density which your car has to drive through. Im sure the effect isn't much at low speed but surely makes a difference at motorway speeds?

In my book having your tyres properly inflated, avoiding hard accelerating and breaking and taking the golf clubs outta the boot Monday to Friday are all you want to worry about.

I know every little helps but I reckon i spend (10k miles @30mpg = 333.33 gallons = 1513 litres @1.35 = ) €2,043 on fuel at 30mpg. If i get 35mpg (10k miles @ 35mpg =285.7 gallons = 1,297 litres @ 1.35= €1,751. So I save about €300 a year or €6 a week by getting 16% more mpg.

Personally i'd rather spend that €6 a week and enjoy my driving.

Fuel is a drop in the ocean relative to the total cost of running your car.

It's the €5.90 bottles of Heineken and €3.30 Lucozades I'm worried about. Thank God cars don't run on hops barley yeast water or glucose, we'd be rightly flocked then.

Excellent post! Completely agree. I know of lots of friends/relations who won't use their aircon for example, cos "it eats fuel". No amount of reasoning would persuade them otherwise! Same people wouldn't baulk at the €3.30 lucozade

JHMEG

unkel wrote: »

If only a few more people would just do their sums, like you. Many people don't think twice about spending thousands a year in depreciation on a common as muck car and then they try their utmost to save a few euro a week on petrol

That's an over simplistic way to look at things, and not based in reality.

unkel

JHMEG wrote: »

That's an over simplistic way to look at things, and not based in reality.

On the contrary, very much based on reality. Let's take a typical average Irish car, a Ford Focus 1.4 (randomly picked - feel free to replace this with any of its competitors). It will cost about €4k per year in depreciation over the first few years (and lets even ignore the not unsubstantial opportunity costs). At a typical 10k miles per year, the difference between a light foot (40MPG) versus the very heavy foot of someone enjoying their driving (30MPG) will only be about €1k per year