Trip computers !!!

[gatesmr2]

Hiya

I have a mondeo TDCI and after looking through another forum on this engine decided to try BP ultimate diesel to see if it would

A - cut down the knocking sound a little from the engine
B - give me better fuel economy
C - possibly a bit more power as well

Well on going to pick up my better half at Stansted i had 548 miles left in my tank, when i got there i had 564 :shock:
Ok i know driving on main roads and not in town all the time makes a difference but did not expect to have more than when i left lol.
Also the engine does knock less now after finishing the first tank i have again filled it up with ultimate to see how much difference it makes around town as well.
As for more power can't say there is a difference that i notice.

Juts wondered if anyone else has either tried a better diesel or like me has ended up being able to go more miles than when you started out.
I would say its a good 80 odd miles and i don't drive that slowly. I am now showing about 53 MPG driving around town with no sign of it dropping down which is a little better than before. They say that the extra money you pay at the pump you get back by getting more MPG.

Martin

 

[thejhw]

Hi Martin.
The reason you have more miles range left at the end of a journey than at the start is simply that the computer calculates the range left both on the amount of fuel in the tank and on your driving style since the computer was last re-set.
Absolutely the only way to check your fuel consumption is measure the mileage you get from fill up to fill up.
I have got into the habit of this and do the arithmetic every time I fill up, however a lot of people just put a fiver or a tenner's worth of fuel into the tank at a time and so can't do a check.

For what it's worth, I have used BP Ultimate diesel for the last 4 years in the same car, it doesn't smoke, it isn't noisy and it runs just fine.
I have no idea whether or not (given my driving style and habits) I would be as happy if I was using cheap supermarket fuel, because I haven't done it!
This is an interesting article, but you really need to read it all.
http://www.dervman.com/fuelbrands.htm

I have done a quick calculation, and at my 10,000 miles per year, Ultimate costs me less than 10 pounds per month more than the cheap stuff.

Sorry about the length of the post, just my thoughts on the subject.

Jim

 

[gatesmr2]

Cheers Jim

Used to work it out back in the good old days of gallons and to be honest recently been ill for a while so i was one of those people putting £10 pounds in every now and then.
But now back to my old habits of filling the tank costs me about 2 or 3 pounds more a fill at a guess so will work it out.

Thanks for your reply and was not a long reply just very informative.
Think after reading into it a bit that paying that little bit extra is worth it in the long run as with these new fangled injectors etc and after reading your link a cleaner diesel can only be better in the long run. Even if you are right saying it costs £10 pounds extra a month it will save a big bill which would make it a more cost effective way to go. As the few bad reviews of the TDCI are all to do with injectors and at about £900 to replace :shock:

Martin

 

[ByronBlack]

I have a mondeo 2.0 TDCI zetec (02 plate) and I've always ran on it the cheap stuff, I don't get any noise, smoke or under performance, and get decent enough mileage (combined motorway and urban). I've tried BP Ultimate a few times when the cheap-stuff wasn't available and I can't say I noticed any difference in the mileage or performance. I do the same miles every week, and i had the same left in the tank at the end of the week as I did with regular diesel.

I suppose it won't hurt to use the ultimate once a month or so for it's supposed cleaning properties, but I certainly wouldn't use it all the time as I don't personally see the benefits.

My TDCI has done 114k miles and it still drives like new and pulls like a train, it's a fantastic car

 

[Maia28]

Martin,

I have a '56 TDCi 130 that I run on Shell regular. I mostly do motorway miles at reasonable speeds. The trip computer is currently showing 61.4 mpg and just hovers around that all the time.

I have used the super stuff in the Land Rover from time to time when I couldn't get the ordinary fuel. I didn't notice any difference. What does make a difference is used cooking oil - quiter and smoother. Don't try this is your Mondeo. The best way to make them quiter is to have the auxillary belt gear changed

Andy

 

[RogerS]

I don't have any gizmo's but use the CUSUM method for calculating my mpg and it works no matter how much fuel you put in, you just have to note down the mileage and no. of litres.

Didn't Which say there was no perceived benefit on using Ultimate petrol?

 

[Raggy]

I certainly wouldn't use it all the time as I don't personally see the benefits.

To notice any benefit or improved mileage you would need to reset the ECU and/or use more than 1 tank full, the ECU adjusts the fuel ratio according to the way you drive/quality of fuel etc etc, so it takes time for any real difference to be noticed.

 

[kityuser]

living fairly near brands hatch, and having a BP near to me that stocks the 102 octane stuff.
http://www.bp.com/sectiongenericarticle ... Id=7016865

AND having the advantage of mates in the trade (car builders)...... I can say that "hand on heart" the only fuel I`ve seen make a difference is this stuff (102), and thats ONLY if the car is tuned for it.

"ultimate" fuels may have more detergents in them, but are most of the metrics people use to gauge performance "perceived", if your trip computer says you are getting better mpg MAYBE you're just not putting your foot down as much (sub-consciously).
Same for smoke and noise.... very hard to measure.

Steve (uses the closest fuel to me, or the best points )

 

[gatesmr2]

Hiya

Thanks for your replies.

I have now had three tanks of ultimate through the engine and i can't really comment on it getting a better MPG or any more power. I think Kityuser might be right as i have left it on MPG so keep an eye on it so while it is showing an improvement of 3 or 4 MPG would not like to say one way or the other.

The one thing it has done to quite a degree is how much quieter the engine is, i now have the diesel i expected it still has a diesel knock but no worrying rattle in the background. And after checking out a few of the links supplied here about it being a cleaner fuel together with what i found before about injectors being a complaint on this type of engine and costing close to 1k to replace think, i will carry on using it as a couple of quid a tank is much better than finding 1k plus having no car for a few day.

Thanks for your replies.

Martin