Shell Fuelsave

euro_micra

Matt :)
Has anyone tried Shells new Fuelsave petrol?

I gave it a go the other day, was running low and it was either that at 112.9p or some other down the road at 115.9p. I put in roughly 35 litres, and travelled the same 60ish mile route to and from work to the hostpital and back that I've done nearly everyday for the past couple of weeks. I usually average around 35mpg with tescos n morrisons stuff for this journey. But with Shells Fuelsave I'm only averaging about 25mpg!

I know it's not very acurate, roads are mix of city traffic, town, country lanes and motorway, and the 35 litres of Fuelsave I put in was ontop of about 3litres of tescos plus whats in the reserve. So I wasn't expecting much of a gain, but I didn't expect a loss.

So should I try it again or stick with the more familier stuff?
 

porkpie700

Buy & Sell Member
The stuff that was in there already will have 'watered down' the shell stuff to a point.
When i was commuting to uni back in the day i used to cover 45miles per day. I experimented with esso regular, total regular, and shell optimax. The esso wasn't particularly great, it only gave me about 55mpg. The optimax and the total were both excellent, but the additional cost of the optimax rendered it just as expensive to run as with the cheap nasty stuff.
The total was the best one i found, peaking once at 62.4mpg and rarely dropping below 58mpg, same figures as the optimax but at a much cheaper price and giving more fuel to the pound. I never use anything else now, even with the bigger 1.2 under the hood now it still touches 60mpg easily.
It might be a bit sad to admit it, but i did acctually sit down with pen, paper and calculator when i worked all those figures out, they're not just guess-work.
One thing worth noting though, when i switched from regular engine oil to 15/40 castrol gtx magnatec, my fuel economy went up by 6mpg and my Co2 readings dropped by .25%. *geek*
 
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euro_micra

euro_micra

Matt :)
Oh dear, my micra really does not like this stuff. I tried starting it earlier with about 8litres in the tank and it wouldn't turn over. Gave it some gas and could hear it trying, but took a few mins and a few attepts to get it going, and even then it was running lumpy until I put in some of the good old tescos stuff. Shall be avoiding that from now then.

The optimax and the total were both excellent, but the additional cost of the optimax rendered it just as expensive to run as with the cheap nasty stuff.
Ive heard good things about Optimax, might be worth it. Not tried Total yet as never come accross one when needed some.
 
ive been using fuelsaver recently and have been baffled as to why its been draining so fast, although my micra does seem to like it, my fuel gage randomly drops during the night time, guess ill be swapping back to tesco now also!!
 

Stani1029

Club Member
I think of it this way, people who don't get fuel there will most likely begin to go there on the chance they could save something. If you could really save something it would be on the price but it's no different from the rest
 

porkpie700

Buy & Sell Member
I think sainsbury's fuel is the worst, it's rat poison, cheap watered down crap. We've got two identical k11 inspirations in our house that both ran exactly the same origionally, but for the last 2 years one has been run on sainsbury's (JS) and the other on all sorts, mostly esso. The one on JS is now gut-less, subdued and very thirsty, it only gives 22miles to a tenners worth of fuel.
The other k11 is sharp, quick and gives at least 65miles to a tenner.
So we swopped over the fuel in the lazy car to total and after a couple of days it came round and the response sharpened up considerably, it started giving close to 60miles to a tenner. So i know it's the fuel, i mentioned this to a couple of my friends and they came back with similar experiences. I was told by my mate with a corrola 2D that he found tesco diesel to give very good milage compared to the other supermarkets, but he say's that bp's diesel excellium gives him the best milage.
But that's dirty diesel and we're micra people! Petrol is our chosen beverage (Y)
 

Retepetsir

King of Subsonic
ive been using fuelsaver recently and have been baffled as to why its been draining so fast, although my micra does seem to like it, my fuel gage randomly drops during the night time, guess ill be swapping back to tesco now also!!

I've always preferred Shell fuel, the K11 1.3 SR seems to like it. I've seen no difference with the Fuel Save fuel they've recently introduced.

I've always had that problem with my micra, I don't believe its the fuel, just a dodgy gauge/sender unit.
 
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euro_micra

euro_micra

Matt :)
ive been using fuelsaver recently and have been baffled as to why its been draining so fast, although my micra does seem to like it, my fuel gage randomly drops during the night time, guess ill be swapping back to tesco now also!!
I think I know what you mean. I didn't see the needle drop much while driving but after leaving the car a few hours I'd then notice a drop, puzzeled.

I think of it this way, people who don't get fuel there will most likely begin to go there on the chance they could save something. If you could really save something it would be on the price but it's no different from the rest
I thought the same when I saw the tv ads. And we all know fuel effeciency comes from driving style. But it was the cheapest there so worth a try.

I think sainsbury's fuel is the worst, it's rat poison, cheap watered down crap.
Sainsburys seems to make my car slightly louder lol, don't know why, but stopped using that too, got too expensive.
 
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euro_micra

euro_micra

Matt :)
I've always had that problem with my micra, I don't believe its the fuel, just a dodgy gauge/sender unit.
I thought that, like it notices a difference to the ordinary and tries to compensate for it or whatever, as I've not noticed different fuel making much of a change in other cars.
 

gtsnissanb

Official MSC Trader
Has anyone tried Shells new Fuelsave petrol?

I gave it a go the other day, was running low and it was either that at 112.9p or some other down the road at 115.9p. I put in roughly 35 litres, and travelled the same 60ish mile route to and from work to the hostpital and back that I've done nearly everyday for the past couple of weeks. I usually average around 35mpg with tescos n morrisons stuff for this journey. But with Shells Fuelsave I'm only averaging about 25mpg!

I know it's not very acurate, roads are mix of city traffic, town, country lanes and motorway, and the 35 litres of Fuelsave I put in was ontop of about 3litres of tescos plus whats in the reserve. So I wasn't expecting much of a gain, but I didn't expect a loss.

So should I try it again or stick with the more familier stuff?

what the hell engine are you running neither my impreza or 200sx both 2 litre turbos average mpg that low!
 
I've always preferred Shell fuel, the K11 1.3 SR seems to like it. I've seen no difference with the Fuel Save fuel they've recently introduced.

I've always had that problem with my micra, I don't believe its the fuel, just a dodgy gauge/sender unit.

Hmm, they ran out of fuelsave last week so i was back on regular shall and it lasted for apserlutely ages, but this just dissolves with me, and the dodgey gauge/sender unit is complete fail haha :).

Today i went 46 miles, i lost two whole notches on my fuel gauge and i believe thats in an accurate spot too :(, also do our cars have reserve tanks? you can apserlutely red line tank it for ages ! haha.
 

pollyp

Club Member
Hmm, they ran out of fuelsave last week so i was back on regular shall and it lasted for apserlutely ages, but this just dissolves with me, and the dodgey gauge/sender unit is complete fail haha :).

Today i went 46 miles, i lost two whole notches on my fuel gauge and i believe thats in an accurate spot too :(, also do our cars have reserve tanks? you can apserlutely red line tank it for ages ! haha.

i remember when my gauge went red and i syphoned my tank to fix the fuel sensor, theres was enough left in my tank to cover bout 100miles when going at 50mpg on the motorway
 
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euro_micra

euro_micra

Matt :)
what the hell engine are you running neither my impreza or 200sx both 2 litre turbos average mpg that low!

My micra drinks fuel keeping up with traffic on the motorway, and thrashing it around country lanes in derbyshire's hills doesn't help either. Which is a route I do on a daily basis now, so because I do that regulary I could easily compare the different fuels. In normal conditions between towns n such and on flat roads I can get 50mpg fine, but didn't do that type of journey with the Shell Fuelsave -didn't get the chance lol.

also do our cars have reserve tanks? you can apserlutely red line tank it for ages ! haha.

i remember when my gauge went red and i syphoned my tank to fix the fuel sensor, theres was enough left in my tank to cover bout 100miles when going at 50mpg on the motorway

I mentioned the reserve because I've read from a couple of sources(here n maybe in haynes) that theres about 5litres left when you go beyond the red, could be either in tank or pipes I dunno. But when I'm close to empty it seems to take ages for the needle to drop further.
 

porkpie700

Buy & Sell Member
According to the specs released by nissan there is a 1.1gallon reserve (5L), you are running on reserve when the fuel light and beeper come on (facelift models). So whatever mpg you're doing when you hit reserve is what you've got left in the tank, in theory anyway :p

what the hell engine are you running neither my impreza or 200sx both 2 litre turbos average mpg that low!

Those figures don't suprise me with the k11, before i passed my test my friend drove us to uni and back in his 93 4-door k11. It didn't matter how "eco" he drove, it only managed 22mpg max!!! With normal, quick driving it gave 18mpg. On a 45mile per day commute it was costing quite a bit to feed that monster. Which is why i took over the driving with my k10, i don't think my k10 acctually burns fuel, it just seems to sniff it and run on nothing :laugh:
 

gtsnissanb

Official MSC Trader
My micra drinks fuel keeping up with traffic on the motorway, and thrashing it around country lanes in derbyshire's hills doesn't help either. Which is a route I do on a daily basis now, so because I do that regulary I could easily compare the different fuels. In normal conditions between towns n such and on flat roads I can get 50mpg fine, but didn't do that type of journey with the Shell Fuelsave -didn't get the chance lol.
.
my old k11 drank fuel too: first time i fixed it the coolant temperature sensor was knackard then the second time there was a fault with the throttle body got one from the scrappy for a tenner and it fixed it
 

gtsnissanb

Official MSC Trader
Start with a cold engine. With the ignition
off, disconnect the wiring connector from
the coolant sensor.
Attach an ohmmeter across the sensor’s terminals.
Measure the sensor’s resistance and record
the reading.
Reconnect the sensor’s wiring connector.
Start and run the engine for two minutes and
then shut the engine off.
Disconnect the sensor’s wiring harness again,
and take an ohmmeter reading across the
sensor’s terminals.
Compare the two readings. There should be a
difference of at least 200 ohms. If not, the
sensor is defective or suffers from a buildup of
cooling system sludge which makes it less
sensitive to changes in engine temperature.
Remove and inspect the sensor, clean if
necessary and retest.
check the wires for condition check terminals
 
Iput £20 in and my mpg dropped noticably, got about 120 miles out of it approx 31mpg
usually get 40 +
It took a month for me to drive this far! so it has had plenty time to evaporate
 
I use a non-branded ("OEM" fuel) that is sold to companys such as tesco, asda etc all over the country. I used them first when I was filling the work van up on a delivery drop it was a "heres the fuel card, goto Midlands Fuel down road by Kullys get it there!" I then went there in the 1.0 micra and It was brilliant had propper balls, tried the fuel save for about 1 or 2 weeks (I got it to be empty.. the light came on and went off and it finally had no fuel about 50 foot from a garage sellin the fuel save ####e!) I tried it and it was like its "umpf" had gone ?? dunno though??
 

r-reg-sr

-------
Site Supporter
just done two loads of the supermarket brand £20 each time=gets lower mileage than when i put non super market fuel in
you can smell super market fuel it smells of bleach/ cleaners mixed in its no point realy!!
 

Eliot

Ex Super S Owner
I always got the shell and ever since 'fuel save' Ive been getting less and less miles out of it about 257. So I filled up with BP this time round and ive done 100 miles already and the fuel gauge is on the first white marking, so im already doing better!!
 

porkpie700

Buy & Sell Member
It's all watered down really. And the OEM crap used by sainsbury's is supplied by BP, but it's a much cheaper watered down version. I think even shell optimax isn't too cracking anymore either, i used to get wicked mileage out of that stuff but not anymore. I think the fuel companies are just watering stuff down to save money now, like they don't make enough already, greedy Do not swear
 

r-reg-sr

-------
Site Supporter
70-80% is tax-so the theives force the petrol companys to behave like these corrupt governments(theives)
imagine that you would fill your tank with a £tenner otherwise if it wasnt for the tax on the fuel
 
Yep, went back to tesco and now and my gauge acts much more appropriately (For no reason at all) and its lasting the full week on 20 pounds worth of petrol (NOT 40)!!

I did see something sneaky though, i saw a tesco pump with like (super less leaded 95 octane) - is it less or more by the way thats in this watered trash and i just though after dealing with shells 'fuelsaver' theres no way in hell.. MORE FORWARD.

Also tried out total, and that seemed to work beaut in my micra too!
 

r-reg-sr

-------
Site Supporter
Yep, went back to tesco and now and my gauge acts much more appropriately (For no reason at all) and its lasting the full week on 20 pounds worth of petrol (NOT 40)!!

I did see something sneaky though, i saw a tesco pump with like (super less leaded 95 octane) - is it less or more by the way thats in this watered trash and i just though after dealing with shells 'fuelsaver' theres no way in hell.. MORE FORWARD.

Also tried out total, and that seemed to work beaut in my micra too!

yeh i used that one(tesco fuelsave type one) and it done 20-30miles less
 

Alexx117

STI
Club Member
i heard somewhere that shell fuelsave is 90 ron instead of the usual 95 or 99.
i try to avoid super market petrol as its just crap to be honest.. shells normal fuel is one of the cheapest round here so i tend to use it a lot and the mpgs pretty good along with that i go to esso and its about the same, still only getting 40mpg though..
 
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euro_micra

euro_micra

Matt :)
hmm from a few of these replies it looks like our little micras don't like the stuff then. I've not used it since. Have tried esso at 112.9p, over tescos 116.9p, and I can't really tell the difference between the two, so i'll be sticking with esso but might try total if that seems the better choice, even though it's 115.9p where I am. Well that's until they all go up again anyway, tut.
 
I'd use shell reg if the whole garage didnt swap out to powersaver, although itd gone up 2p recently which means they may be out of cheap fuel for a while and back to proper shell.

Tesco is good from what i can see, as ive said total was running well and not tried asda yet.
 

MicraFish

Rollin' with Diesel and V8 Power
Grr don't say that! I got 320 miles to a tank (50 litres, should do more like 350-380 to a tank theoretically) and I filled up at one Shell using Fuelsave, and I've just spent another £40 odd quid getting some there again as it was cheaper! :(
Dammit if it's low RON, no wonder Winston is unhappy! He felt sluggish and unrespondent, and considering he runs a fairly high performance engine, cheap stuff won't help! But then again I'm commuting now, so I need to save all the pennies I can!
I will see what I get to this full tank, but if it's 320 again I will use different stuff next fill up and see what happens then!
I think I will be joining the Micra foray again come next year :(
 

Ed

Fusion Motorsport
MSC Founder
Official MSC Trader
I'll admit I've not read all this thread. But I can state now that there is NOTHING wrong with shell fuel save. More to the point its actually been at the pumps for months and only recently have they changed and done the media campaign.

Now on my Primera P11GT I can comfortably get 400 miles from a tank on Shell 'fuelsave' and in fact yesterday I managed 485 before I hit a refill station, I fill up all over the South East so I know its nothing to do with my local area.

Of all the 95 octane fuels shells one is imo about as good as you get. And nothing is better from the pump than their V-power with perhaps exception for those very few BP 102 octane ones.

This has been proven time and time again on the dyno. Oh and I have done many non turbo cars with "fuelsave" and have also had no problems.
 
This is interesting, while i cannot comment on how its turning out for you, i can tell you that its really run down very fast in my micra (As well as the engine sounding slightly different, almost smoother) i was only averaging about 25mpg, baring in mind this is with like (I think with like 8yo sparks) as well as the stock air filter (My micra is 11 years old now) so its possible its because of poor maintenance, but i am 100% certain im averaging more with other fuels then the used shell fuel save stuff (And i used shell regular - original too) and that lasted so much longer.
 

Eliot

Ex Super S Owner
This is interesting, while i cannot comment on how its turning out for you, i can tell you that its really run down very fast in my micra (As well as the engine sounding slightly different, almost smoother) i was only averaging about 25mpg, baring in mind this is with like (I think with like 8yo sparks) as well as the stock air filter (My micra is 11 years old now) so its possible its because of poor maintenance, but i am 100% certain im averaging more with other fuels then the used shell fuel save stuff (And i used shell regular - original too) and that lasted so much longer.

same for me aswell. BP's fuel is going alot slower then fuelsave.
 
I mean as i say, it could be because of condition of my car (Which granted its not great, but then i've not heard of a bad micra yet ;) )

I dont know much about what they do to this fuel save, but there must be a change, i'm certain.
 

frank

Club Member
i think you,re all talking balix personally fwn my understanding is that the various different companies all use the same base stock from the local refinery, and the only SLIGHT difference is with any additives that that brand may have added
 

Guy

Has gone over to the oily side...
Club Member
I have to agree with Ed and Frank on this one. I haven't tried fuelsave (I've been strictly Shell only for the last 15 years until about 6 months ago when I switched to BP because the Shell loyalty scheme's ajoke these days). There's is no way on earth a pan-global multinational like Shell is going to produce a petrol that halves your mileage - that's conspiracy theory territory. Having said that, I've never, and never will, use supermarket petrol in a car I own or a company car. Modern additives in branded petrol help keep your injectors and fuel system clean and all sorts of other good things :).
 
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euro_micra

euro_micra

Matt :)
I somewhat agree with Frank and Ed too, as I'm sure Shell Fuelsave is a decent fuel and not so different to the rest, otherwise why would they change it. But the way it behaved in my micra was rather noticable, avereging 10mpg less, failing to start when running low and a lumpy idol until I filled up with tescos. Quite signifacant really:laugh:

I know my car has been filled up with tescos standard stuff for the first 10 years of its life, so the reactions could be caused by that and infrequant servicing. But since I've had the car I've used tescos, sainsburys, morrisons, jet, esso n a couple more with no problems, but shells fuelsave is the only one that has stood out as being different.

I thought it might just be my car reacting badly to whatever it is shells done to make it more fuel efficient, but some of the replys say to me it's not just my car that doesn't like it. And only one reply saying they can't tell the difference. You could try it and prove it's just our cars being picky of course:laugh:
 
Yep , im with euro here, our micras been using standard tesco until the recent switch over (Because i automatically assume shell fuel, higher quality...for some reason.) and it was without a doubt very different.

I can't speak for the car not liking it, felt quite responsive and ran smoothly on the stuff, it was just the daft amount of fuel that was being guzzled, apserlutely hated it.
 

Pete

Site Supporter
I know you're not interested but I've noticed a 2-3mpg increase using shell fuel save in my French farmers car. It's an ancient engine design but it seems to work well with this fuel. It's got a little less power though which is the opposite of what I'd expect. I've bunged a tank of morrisons fuel in for a quick reality check and it's already spluttering and visually the fuel gauge has gone down faster.
 
I'm back on fuelsave after an emergency top up, it seems to be averaging miles quite appropriately now, after my redex treatment (See other related thread) economy, and torque (so probably notably hp) have gone up, engine sounds much better, but i've a sneaking thought that my engine oil may be low/out!

Its not too bad, seems to react nicely in my car and economy is doing quite well, on a downward note its gone up 4 p in the last 2 weeks.
 

gtsnissanb

Official MSC Trader
I'll admit I've not read all this thread. But I can state now that there is NOTHING wrong with shell fuel save. More to the point its actually been at the pumps for months and only recently have they changed and done the media campaign.

Now on my Primera P11GT I can comfortably get 400 miles from a tank on Shell 'fuelsave' and in fact yesterday I managed 485 before I hit a refill station, I fill up all over the South East so I know its nothing to do with my local area.

Of all the 95 octane fuels shells one is imo about as good as you get. And nothing is better from the pump than their V-power with perhaps exception for those very few BP 102 octane ones.

This has been proven time and time again on the dyno. Oh and I have done many non turbo cars with "fuelsave" and have also had no problems.

Agreed
It either a problem with your car or your just hammering th throttle more than you think!! Don't forget £20 ain't 4 gallon nowadays so be sure to not judge mpg on £5 equals 1 gallon!
Either that or it's all in your mind, my k10 averages 40- 50 mpg easily and I thrash it everywhere, £20 quid a week in fuel ftw!!!!!!
 
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