Any benefit in using Shell V-Power?

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We use this gasoline in the Uplander to help combat the pinging issue it has. I understand the higher octane has its benefits as far as reducing engine knock, but in a car that requires 87 octane and is operating as designed without any known issues, is there any benefit? I read an article here recently that the "premium grades" of gasoline had more "pure" basestocks that left fewer deposits behind. I also have read that Shell V-Power has more detergents than the other grades of Shell gasoline. I used the V-Power in the Accord this previous fill up. I just started a MPG log and will see if the MPG goes up or down while using it. IGNORE THE COST, any benefit using the V-Power over regular 87 octane as far as cleanliness goes? I understand this will not improve performance, Im not looking to do that.
 
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Maybe. Difficult to know. If the problem seems to improve after a few tankfuls, then you'll know.

What we know today with the "v-power" is that it is from their marketing department. Only time and a few tankfuls will tell if there's really any benefit to you.
 
Originally Posted By: mrsilv04
Maybe. Difficult to know. If the problem seems to improve after a few tankfuls, then you'll know.

What we know today with the "v-power" is that it is from their marketing department. Only time and a few tankfuls will tell if there's really any benefit to you.


Well there are no problems with the Accord, just using it for any cleaning benefits it might possess. I am also going to track my MPG to see if there are any changes.
 
Shell is top tier, so it's going to burn cleaner than a non top tier gas. Between top tier gas stations, buy the cheapest you can find; if you can find one! I have a hard time going across town to buy shell when its 50 cents more expensive than non top tier, but i do on occassion. (Its the only top tier gas station close to me besides BP and they are both always that much more)
 
Running octane that is higher than required will actually reduce power output and cause more problems. Do you understand how octane works? Higher octane means it is MORE difficult to ignite. If the octane is too high for your motor, it does not explode correctly/completely which causes a whole host of problems. (this is an oversimplification, but should work for our purposes here)

Stick with 87 octane and troubleshoot the root cause of the problem.

And no, I don't think V-Power is any better than any other 93 octane gas out there. Until we can see multiple independent double-blind tests proving it is superior, I will consider it to be equivalent to everything else. You have to remember that name is mostly marketing for something that most premium fuels already have.
 
Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
Shell is top tier, so it's going to burn cleaner than a non top tier gas.



Prove it. Don't buy into marketing hype.
 
I use V power because I have limited choices in my area for non-ethanol enriched top tier premium. I honestly notice no benefit in my direct-injected turbocharged N54 BMW engine, verses other brands that I have tried while driving in the US (Holiday, ARCO, Exon, Chevron, etc.).

Recently, I was driving my car in California and found the best deal on top tier was at ARCO. I'd suggest buying the least expensive top tier (toptiergas.org) that you can find. I really do not find anything extraordinary about V-power and think it is all just marketing.

If you really want to clean your engine, you should buy a bottle of Techron at Wal-Mart and use it in a tank of gas just before each oil change.
 
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Originally Posted By: dparm
Running octane that is higher than required will actually reduce power output and cause more problems. Do you understand how octane works? Higher octane means it is MORE difficult to ignite. If the octane is too high for your motor, it does not explode correctly/completely which causes a whole host of problems. (this is an oversimplification, but should work for our purposes here)

Stick with 87 octane and troubleshoot the root cause of the problem.

And no, I don't think V-Power is any better than any other 93 octane gas out there. Until we can see multiple independent double-blind tests proving it is superior, I will consider it to be equivalent to everything else. You have to remember that name is mostly marketing for something that most premium fuels already have.


Im pretty sure the the octane rating is how resistant it is to burn off BEFORE ignition. When the spark plug ignites the fuel, it should all burn off no matter how high the octane rating.
 
I can say without a shadow of a doubt that shell v-power was the best running fuel in my very picky Harley and when I use it consistently in my other vehicles I gain mpg over using other branded premium fuels.
V-power 'a nitrogen branded cleaning agents are just the horn in a different package,in case anyone wonders.
And when using v-power in my vehicles the engines feel more lively and responsive.

There was a news station that tested various brands of fuel in the regular and premium flavours. Mobil had the highest detergent levels in the regular grade and shell had the highest in the premium grade.


And dparm doesn't have it quite right. Octane is a fuels ability to resist pre-ignition,not burning as a whole.
Lower octane fuels might pre-ignite if carbon deposits have increased compression in an engines combustion chambers or if compression is high to begin with.
Basically you want the fuel to explode when the spark fires, not before. Octane helps control pre-ignition.

Greg. Forget all of us and our opinions. Try out using v-power for 2000 miles and see for yourself. Track mileage and whatnot then inform us of your results.
I'd like to see if any fuel economy gains are realized,and if the vehicle runs better in your opinion.
 
Greg. unless your owner's manual specifies premium, the ONLY benefit to you is that it contains more cleaners, in general (true always for top-tier brands). however, you can accomplish more cleaning by putting a bottle of Techron in your tank just before each oil change. I would save your money and use regular, top-tier. Even Costco is top-tier. Both my ford and BMW recommend top-tier gasoline in the owner's manuals.
 
Premium gasoline is not made from 'more pure basestocks.' It is the same gasoline. Shell's gasoline is the same 'base stock' as the fuel I buy at Wawa. Which has never given me any issues btw.
 
Originally Posted By: bvance554
Premium gasoline is not made from 'more pure basestocks.' It is the same gasoline. Shell's gasoline is the same 'base stock' as the fuel I buy at Wawa. Which has never given me any issues btw.



Correct. V-Power is just the name for the EPA-mandated additive package (which blenders are free to exceed).
 
Originally Posted By: PFP
Greg. unless your owner's manual specifies premium, the ONLY benefit to you is that it contains more cleaners, in general (true always for top-tier brands). however, you can accomplish more cleaning by putting a bottle of Techron in your tank just before each oil change. I would save your money and use regular, top-tier. Even Costco is top-tier. Both my ford and BMW recommend top-tier gasoline in the owner's manuals.




No way would 1 bottle of techron clean combustion chambers better than a consistent supply of techron in every tank of fuel.

And today's vehicles have active ecu's that adjust timing for power, and at start up they advance timing til ping is sensed,to maximize power output.
So under these conditions it's certainly possible that more mpg can be realized if the engine is producing more power thereby requiring less pedal to attain and maintain speed.
 
I'd use the Shell, no problem. It's Top Tier, for what it's worth, and I never had bad luck with it in the past. I don't use it much lately, but that's just a preference over rewards issues.

No one is going to easily be able to "prove" that Top Tier gas is better. But, I've had enough issues over the years with garbage stations who sell for essentially the same price, anyhow, so Top Tier is the way to go for me. Note, though, as I said in another thread, that Top Tier and E0 proclamations are no guarantee of much of anything in winter blends.
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[/quote] No way would 1 bottle of techron clean combustion chambers better than a consistent supply of techron in every tank of fuel.

And today's vehicles have active ecu's that adjust timing for power, and at start up they advance timing til ping is sensed,to maximize power output.
So under these conditions it's certainly possible that more mpg can be realized if the engine is producing more power thereby requiring less pedal to attain and maintain speed. [/quote]


I just drove Calgary-San Diego in a direct injected N54 twin turbo, with a recommendation for premium grade. I did most all of the trip down using mid-grade and the trip back using premium. Over 7K kms, no difference in mpg between the trip down and the trip back. 8.2 l/100km (30 MPG) for both, based upon the car's computer readout, at a steady 120 km/hr. So, not sure that this makes a real-world difference.
 
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Last I knew of Shell V-Power had 5 times the minimum detergents in it. A tank full every 3rd or 4th fill up should be enough to keep the engine parts clean.
 
And so, like many issues here, as with oil, YOUR engine may prefer "high-test" (don't know why high octane used to be called high-test, but it was)...or it may not.

...just as YOUR engine may prefer Mobil-1 OR Pennzoil Platinum or Castrol...or 5w-30 rather than 0w-20...

...getting advice about other cars, other engines, even the same engine in other cars, is not going to be as useful as your own experience, experimentation and testing...

So give it a "high-test"...for a couple of tankfulls...and get back to us.
 
Just because your engine was marketed as "runs best on regular" doesn't mean that it can't benefit from premium. But your mileage here may vary, and quite literally.

I once had a 2011 Camry that would ping pretty regularly on regular, but that cleaned right up on premium. I also noticed a big difference in how it drove, and a notable increase in fuel economy as well. In fact, the fuel economy increase pretty much made the price difference a draw.

I tried it in our CR-V and couldn't tell a difference, so I stopped using it. But I then got curious again and tracked various engine parameters with the Android app "Torque" on both regular and premium, and found that the numbers were certainly different on premium, though it still didn't make enough of a difference in economy to justify the cost difference. Namely, there's a notable increase in maximum spark timing when using premium, but only under certain conditions, and not enough to influence average fuel economy. So even though the engine is marketed to run regular, it certainly "can tell" that it's got premium. In the case of this particular engine, though, it's not enough to change fuel economy. It was in our Camry.

Just try it and see if you like it.
 
Which is interesting, as our 2011 Camry hasn't complained about 87 octane. Then again, haven't ever tried high test--but I've never heard pinging. And my wife has done her best to lug the motor.

YMMV indeed.
 
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