[Dr.Naren]

I just filled regular diesel at Shell Mysore. V Power diesel would be available here from next week. But most of the manufacturers recommend regular diesel without any additives.

[Y@SH]

As GTO mentioned, manufacturers stress on the fact to use NORMAL FUEL ONLY while purchasing the car itself. Those additives, if any, aren't approved by the manufacturer. Certainly for sports/performance cars we have to use higher octane fuel, but for a normal car with us driving from point A-B in B2B traffic, its pointless.

See this test done by Fifth Gear

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTaBngvsPrc

And this by CBC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPPkPAbzwbU

[Racer911]

Originally Posted by Ananthc

Hi Racee911- thanks for this. Mine is 1.3 version and will definitely try out your suggestion. Probably after few more days of run , will comment on this. In mean while can you also check out the Vpower and let us know how it is. Thanks !

Yeah I definitely will. My next fill in the Ciaz is due tomorrow and if the V Powers in Stock, thats what I'm gonna fill and give unbiased feedback.

Hi, someone previously mentioned smoke in MJD Engines. Can someone clarify? I didnt get what MJD engines mean!!

And the smoke problem, is this a regular thing in the MJD Engines? Because when I switched over to Shell with my Corolla 1.4D4D & Later the Honda City 1.5, light smoke was observed for a day or two of driving & then things got pretty clear thereafter. I am assuming it might have been some cleaning agents at work or something.

@yash

I have already seen these sort of mythbuster videos but I felt it doesn't apply as strongly to us because the quality of regular unleaded fuel available in developed countries is already better than what we get here.

Although I do agree that one must not purchase premium fuel just for octane rating. All that does is increase the flash point of fuel thereby eliminating the knocking problem on high compression high performance engines. That is all the octane is for, to prevent knocking in high compression engines. Apart from that, its not gonna give any performance gains whatsoever. Infact, some regular engines might even have trouble processing that fuel optimally.

But this difference in performance I'm talking about, isn't octane rating or based on some marketing influence. Its first hand tried & tested experience. Its difficult to prove anything over the forum as some people also share negative experiences with the same fuel I am praising so much. I guess at the end of the day, it all comes down to what works best for us individually.

However, the thing that confuses me is that, in the cars that I own, the performance improvement is clearly, clearly visible to me. Especially the Corolla and Ciaz. Then how do people end up having conflicting experiences with similar cars. I am 100% sure of what I'm saying and would be ready to prove it if someone from my city with the same car is willing to go head to head on an open stretch with a different brand of fuel for comparison sake.

@mods sorry. I am still trying to build the habit of editing posts. instead of new ones back to back. kindly merge this with the previous post. all this because of the whatsapp culture. Earlier when SMS ruled, we would always type & send judicially to save money.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by GTO

Guys, please proceed with caution. Nearly all manufacturers strictly forbid using any fuel with additives. If there is any sort of engine damage, your warranty claim could be refused as well, with the blame game starting on these additives.

Pure, unadulterated, regular diesel will always be my first choice. If there was a Shell pump near my house, I'd fill from there, but only regular diesel.

Agreed. However, also had to point out that manufacturers also recommended using fuel with additives occasionally. For example - have seen the Germans like Audi and BMW providing fuel additives bottle after service, and they recommended using such additives for one tankful every 5000 kms or so.

Which is what I intend to do. Will try using V Power Diesel once every 5 tankfuls and see how it goes. 4/5 tankfulls will only be regular Shell Diesel.

[prkiran]

Originally Posted by Racer911

Hi, someone previously mentioned smoke in MJD Engines. Can someone clarify? I didnt get what MJD engines mean!!

MJD = the 1.3 liter Fiat diesel engine which is known in TBHP as India's national engine
While taking the car for emissions testing I had noticed that the values were close to the limit. Was on Shell diesel from the day or purchase and found a few more others with the same engine had reported the same problem on the Shell discussion thread. Moved back to HP/BP and it would seem that the smoke levels are under control. There is no perceptible change in the fuel efficiency as well so didn't find a need to revisit Shell.

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Which is what I intend to do. Will try using V Power Diesel once every 5 tankfuls and see how it goes. 4/5 tankfulls will only be regular Shell Diesel.

@CrAzY dRiVeR, quoting you to seek your opinion on the above observation as a long term Fiat and Shell diesel user.

[Racer911]

Originally Posted by prkiran

MJD = the 1.3 liter Fiat diesel engine which is known in TBHP as India's national engine
.

Well, in that case my Ciaz has the 1.3 liter Fiat engine, but I've never noticed any smoke problems. There is no visible difference in fuel efficiency but the engine responsiveness and improvements in pick up is quite noticeable.

I have been using Shell Diesel for the past 4 years now. The Ciaz is being fed the Shell Diesel right from day one from the showroom.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

also had to point out that manufacturers also recommended using fuel with additives occasionally. For example - have seen the Germans like Audi and BMW providing fuel additives bottle after service

Those are from the targets-driven service advisors & after-market departments.

The factory guys who build the car have this to say:

[manjubp]

Originally Posted by Racer911

No idea regarding price as havent visited the outlet yet. Will go in the next 3 to 4 days for my weekly fill.

Hi, this harassment issue seems like an isolated issue with that pump. Although they do try to promote the V power, I've never faced strong persistence. They sometimes request me to try and feel the difference, but I always deny clearly and politely + never had an issue like regular petrol not available. Maybe a tactic to clear their V Power Stock.

Not really, it is common thing across shell pumps here in Bangalore. Today inspite of refusing v-power, the attendant at Magadi Road shell pump, started filling v-power. By the time I noticed almost 15 liters of petrol has been pumped in. I instructed the attendant to stop and fill normal petrol, and plainly refused to pay the additional cost due to v-power. After short discussion with manager, he agreed to waive off the additional cost due to v-power, with is nearly Rs120 for 15 liters..

[Racer911]

Hi guys,

sorry couldn't get the V Power diesel tried out. Am trying to as early as possible. Meanwhile, noone from any city has been able to get their hands on it??

[Dr.Naren]

Originally Posted by Racer911

Hi guys,

sorry couldn't get the V Power diesel tried out. Am trying to as early as possible. Meanwhile, noone from any city has been able to get their hands on it??

V Power diesel is available only in few cities. Not yet launched here in South. It's available in Vadodara as per their website. It's priced 7 Rs more than regular Shell diesel.

[Racer911]

@Dr. Naren

I guess thats why I got the message. Because I am a registered shell card customer in Vadodara. Actually my dad took the car for the refill without my knowledge, & obviously dad being dad wasnt gonna fill the V Power under any circumstances. Next refill should be up this Tuesday & I will make sure to go personally and give updates about the fuel.

[Waspune]

I have filled shell v-power diesel this time and would come up with the changes it brings to my Punto. Yes the premium over the regular Shell diesel is of Rs 7. It is available in Pune.

[Racer911]

Ok guys.. update.

Just filled up 40 litres of Shell V Power Diesel in my Honda City. Will share observations by tomorrow evening. tonight I'll be driving in the city and judge the low end difference if any, tomorrow morning on the Highway to see what happens after 2000 rpm. Difference in price as stated in above post is Rs. 7/-

@ Waspune really looking forward to your observations because you've got the European engine.

Guy at the pump said it's been 10 days since they got the V Power Diesel, so that means stock arrived exactly on the day I received the message.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by prkiran

@CrAzY dRiVeR, quoting you to seek your opinion on the above observation as a long term Fiat and Shell diesel user.

Never had any issues with Shell regular diesel. Surely would have run more than 70-80k kms on it for now.

Originally Posted by Racer911

Ok guys.. update.

Just filled up 40 litres of Shell V Power Diesel in my Honda City. Will share observations by tomorrow evening. tonight I'll be driving in the city and judge the low end difference if any, tomorrow morning on the Highway to see what happens after 2000 rpm. Difference in price as stated in above post is Rs. 7/-

Shell doesn't claim any performance increase. Only "cleaning performance" increase.

[Racer911]

@Crazy driver

Right you are. Talked to the shell guy. He said some additives have been put in the fuel to clean the insides. The fuel injectors, fuel line etc. . Nothing to boost performance.

UPDATE

Ok Guys, I think I've adequately tested the Honda after filling the V Power Diesel. There is absolutely no noticeable difference in performance, which they're not claiming anyway. So no complains over there..

The engine idling is same.. no difference like people sometimes claim after adding additives. The engine does feel smoother, but I am not really sure the fuel has anything to do with it. The Honda engine being usually grunty anyway settles down quite a bit after warming up properly or after an oil change anyway. There might be a very slight difference (have to concentrate hard to even notice), but nothing to drop jaws for.

Now the question whether to use this fuel, the thing that is clear is that it basically will help in cleaning out the fuel supply system if we're to assume the claims of the company to be true at face value. Nothing else.

The Rs. 7/- price difference translates to an extra Rs. 280/- for a 40 liter fill. (average for most cars within the 8 to 12 lakhs price bracket. Thats basically the same amount someone would pay if they'd buy after market additives from various brands. This one I feel, would have the advantage (or maybe not really) of having the additive mixed evenly throughout the full capacity of the tank. So if you're someone who likes to pamper (personal state of mind, one might be actually ruining something rather than improving for all you know) their engines & spend money on aftermarket additives anyway, you might as well use this fuel to save the trouble of purchasing something separately and putting in the tank.

To be honest, I drove the Corolla for 2.25 lac Kms. before selling it off, never added any additives or used fuel with additives, never had any problems whatsoever. Same for all the diesels we've ever driven in the family. We've never sold a car without atleast 1.5 lac Kms on the odo. Never used additives.

I feel, unless you're staying in a region which probably sells dirty or substandard fuel, the use of any kind of additives is absolutely unnecessary. I think for the peace of mind, one might spend the negligible extra money maybe every 5000 or 10000 Kms or so, but do not under any circumstances fall for the pump attendants ignorant recommendation that the premium fuel will always be good for the engine every time you go for a fill.