Asda, Morrisons, Tesco, Sainsbury's drivers must 'only' use Super Unleaded petrol
Some Asda, Morrisons, Tesco and Sainsbury's drivers have been warned they need to stick to "premium" fuel. Motorists at some forecourts - including supermarkets - have been warned they need to stick to Super Unleaded unless they want their car to need urgent repairs.
A Reddit user explained in a warning to Asda, Morrisons, Tesco and Sainsbury's motorists: "You only really need to use premium if you have a high performance car designed to run on high octane fuel or a really old car that's not designed to run on E10 petrol. I usually run through 5 tanks of regular and then put a tank of premium in just for the better detergent package premium fuels have to clean out my injectors and valves."
"Premium is different in three ways. It has a higher octane rating. If your car's ECU [electronic control unit] can adapt to it (most modern cars will] it will produce more power," another said. "A lot of high performance cars have to run on super [unleaded]. It basically means the fuel is less likely to spontaneously combust under compression, so the spark can be fired later when the mixture is more compressed."
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A second said: "I always use Momentum, and I only drive a C1. It worked out about the same cost as using a bottle of Redex pre-covid, and there's slight performance gains to be had if your car has VVT/mapped to use it or such. On the topic and since I work in a Petrol station, stop bringing in your £300k performance cars and putting in E10 you cheap b*******s."
Another said: "Once in a blue moon it's worth it for the detergents etc. I used to do it every time I had a long motorway trip (long enough to go through a full tank) 2/3 times a year. For every tank unless the car demands it, it's not worth it."
Fuel Genie explains most drivers won’t feel the benefit of filling up their vehicles with premium fuel. Many people believe that premium fuel lasts significantly longer than regular, but this isn’t actually the case.
"For mainstream cars, the difference is only a few extra miles, as they run optimally on standard fuel types, which can be purchased from supermarkets. Only those with high-performance vehicles may notice a difference in the drive and fuel efficiency of using premium petrol or diesel," it says.
"This is because these cars are put under more strain, particularly when they use a turbocharger or supercharger, so with premium fuel, they will get more from high-octane fuel. Therefore, if you drive a sports car, to help maintain its performance, it may be worthwhile using premium."