Current Affairs Cost of living…

[AndyC]

This is partly why I think London have extended the ULEZ to stop people doing this; eventually, I think Bristol will do the same.

As I said, it isn't perfect and there'll be people who, like yourself, divert their journey to miss it. But a fairly okay percentage will probably move to a new car.

Over time, this adds up - small, marginal gains etc. It will also help distribute the leftover emissions from a relatively small area, which will be densely populated.

It definitely is poorly timed. A survey even said that 80%+ people were opposed to it, but Khan for whatever reason is hell-bent on pushing it through.

Part of it, I suspect, is for what I mentioned above - the second phase of trying to reduce it, as the first phase alone doesn't do enough.

There is the ‘argument’ that by announcing the extension to the charging areas now, Khan has given everyone 9 months notice (time) to either change their cars for cleaner ones, revaluate their personal transport needs and look further into public transport options.
The £12.50 charge might alleviate the twice a day school runs for a couple of miles or less that are arguably the most air polluting journeys as cars are ‘dirtier’ when cold ??

 

[AndyC]

That’s good to know, thanks. Genuinely quite interesting.

I have noticed that £50 at Sainsbury’s gets me less MPG than other fuels. I’ll keep away from the supermarkets from now on I think.

It’s something of a fallacy about supermarket fuel giving less mpg.
I use Sainsburys regularly for all manner of cars and mpg is much more related to driving style and traffic conditions.

 

[Rita_Poon]

I have a two bed apartment. I WFH, have the TV on all day and the heating on for half the day, yet my day rate on my smart meter rarely goes over £3. When you consider the government are subsidising £2, my energy bills are significantly lower than before the energy crisis.
I paid £17 in last month.

But the stories I read are terrifying. What is going on?

Sounds like you are onto a good thing, I'd enjoy it for as long as it lasts.

 

[PhilM]

It’s something of a fallacy about supermarket fuel giving less mpg.
I use Sainsburys regularly for all manner of cars and mpg is much more related to driving style and traffic conditions.

There's a sizeable difference between it being a fallacy and comparing with one variable (the fuel) rather than comparing various other variables too.

Of course, you can buy the best quality fuel and have low MPG if you drive harshly such as strong acceleration, braking and excessive use of low gears.

Likewise, if road conditions constantly change, then you're going to be impacted by this. The point, however, was the impact fuel quality does indeed have.

I posted this back in 2021.

With Shell V Power, you're getting extra MPG, better overall performance and reduced engine wear over the life of the engine.

If you're only doing short journeys, the difference may not be as significant but for a lot of people you'll see that it's worth the extra pence per litre.

On another note, supermarket fuels are awful for your engine in the long term if that's all you ever use because of the level of detergents they use, or lack of.

They recommend a 1-in-3 tank being a brand (Shell etc.) rather than cheap stuff even though it comes from the same refinery due to the the cleaning process.

I'd seen the difference myself based on my pretty regular driving habits, but a family member on my wife's side is a manager for Essar (they own Stanlow).

Pretty much all the petrol stations in NW England, NW Wales and the Midlands, regardless of brand, get their oil from tankers from their site there.

It's pumper even as far as Lincoln and Greater London. He says the raw petrol is the same, but the level of additives added (or not) is chosen by the supplier.

The supermarkets keep their price of petrol low by lowering the number and quality of the additives, which over time can heavily impact on MPG and wear.

Diesel quality is the same with the same source, but the stuff they sell cheap is cheap for a reason; partly, supermarkets want to draw you in, but also it's rubbish.

If I fill my tank with Shell V-Power diesel or even their standard diesel it'll probably cost me £140, but if I go to the supermarket I can do it for a bit cheaper.

I'll run out quicker though...

 

[Lobster Johnson]

No mate. They need proper assistance….

Have you considered voting for a political party that doesn't actively despise them?

 

[Yarrgh]

We needed to build nuclear power stations quickly some 25 years ago. Yet both Labour and Conservatives screwed this up and did sod all……

Theresa May pulled the main plug on that.

Labour and the Tories are both shockingly negligent with regards to energy requirements and safeguarding them. Today's Sizewell C news is only as a result of them looking down the barrel of the gun energy wise.

 

[roydo]

Theresa May pulled the main plug on that.

Labour and the Tories are both shockingly negligent with regards to energy requirements and safeguarding them. Today's Sizewell C news is only as a result of them looking down the barrel of the gun energy wise.

Hinckly Point C comes on line soon.They have all but completed installing new futuristic pylons across Somerset to carry the power lines and they look awesome.

 

[GrandOldTeam]

There's a sizeable difference between it being a fallacy and comparing with one variable (the fuel) rather than comparing various other variables too.

Of course, you can buy the best quality fuel and have low MPG if you drive harshly such as strong acceleration, braking and excessive use of low gears.

Likewise, if road conditions constantly change, then you're going to be impacted by this. The point, however, was the impact fuel quality does indeed have.

I posted this back in 2021.


I'd seen the difference myself based on my pretty regular driving habits, but a family member on my wife's side is a manager for Essar (they own Stanlow).

Pretty much all the petrol stations in NW England, NW Wales and the Midlands, regardless of brand, get their oil from tankers from their site there.

It's pumper even as far as Lincoln and Greater London. He says the raw petrol is the same, but the level of additives added (or not) is chosen by the supplier.

The supermarkets keep their price of petrol low by lowering the number and quality of the additives, which over time can heavily impact on MPG and wear.

Diesel quality is the same with the same source, but the stuff they sell cheap is cheap for a reason; partly, supermarkets want to draw you in, but also it's rubbish.

If I fill my tank with Shell V-Power diesel or even their standard diesel it'll probably cost me £140, but if I go to the supermarket I can do it for a bit cheaper.

I'll run out quicker though...

I go for Shell V Power because I read it helps prevent diesel particulate filter fails/issues.?

 

[PhilM]

I go for Shell V Power because I read it helps prevent diesel particulate filter fails/issues.?

Yup, it’s a byproduct of the quality. In layman’s terms, it’s cleaner fuel (look at the colour if you can) that burns better and has less impurities.

All that means it reduces wear on the engine and corresponding elements like your DPF. You'll get better because of it in the short and long term.*

*The longevity of the engine’s performance.

 

[Brennan]

I’ve used supermarket fuel on all the diesel cars I’ve owned driving over 120,000 miles in seven years and never had any engine issues. Consistently reporting 60mpg in my current car.

I started using Costco premium diesel in the past few months as it’s cheaper and have noticed no increase in performance or efficiency.

There’s little to no evidence that regular diesel or petrol from Shell is better for your car than regular diesel or petrol from Tesco.

Premium fuel might be better but again I’m not sure there’s any real evidence that the added cost to buy the fuel is made worthwhile by any future cost savings on vehicle upkeep.

 

[catcherintherye]

We needed to build nuclear power stations quickly some 25 years ago. Yet both Labour and Conservatives screwed this up and did sod all……

This isnt meant as a party political point, but there is a big issue with politicians thinking in far too short term ways.

The conservatives predominately to their older vote base, labour more to be wary of innovation.

It's sort of the negative of having decisions made in 4-5 year time cycles, with politicians who are incentivised by just winning the next election.

 

[COYBL25]

There's a sizeable difference between it being a fallacy and comparing with one variable (the fuel) rather than comparing various other variables too.

Of course, you can buy the best quality fuel and have low MPG if you drive harshly such as strong acceleration, braking and excessive use of low gears.

Likewise, if road conditions constantly change, then you're going to be impacted by this. The point, however, was the impact fuel quality does indeed have.

I posted this back in 2021.


I'd seen the difference myself based on my pretty regular driving habits, but a family member on my wife's side is a manager for Essar (they own Stanlow).

Pretty much all the petrol stations in NW England, NW Wales and the Midlands, regardless of brand, get their oil from tankers from their site there.

It's pumper even as far as Lincoln and Greater London. He says the raw petrol is the same, but the level of additives added (or not) is chosen by the supplier.

The supermarkets keep their price of petrol low by lowering the number and quality of the additives, which over time can heavily impact on MPG and wear.

Diesel quality is the same with the same source, but the stuff they sell cheap is cheap for a reason; partly, supermarkets want to draw you in, but also it's rubbish.

If I fill my tank with Shell V-Power diesel or even their standard diesel it'll probably cost me £140, but if I go to the supermarket I can do it for a bit cheaper.

I'll run out quicker though...

My van deffo runs, smoother and quieter on V power.

However, as you know, the cost between the likes of V power and supermarket stuff, can be as much as 30p a litre, which is the real kicker.

Especially if you`ve got something, like my van, that costs over a £100 to fill up, even with the cheap stuff.

 

[Baines' left foot]

I go for Shell V Power because I read it helps prevent diesel particulate filter fails/issues.?

Yup, it’s a byproduct of the quality. In layman’s terms, it’s cleaner fuel (look at the colour if you can) that burns better and has less impurities.

All that means it reduces wear on the engine and corresponding elements like your DPF. You'll get better because of it in the short and long term.*

*The longevity of the engine’s performance.

This is good to know. I’ll pass that on to my mates. They’ve both got euro 6 vans which have recently been back to Renault for DPF issues.

My van deffo runs, smoother and quieter on V power.

However, as you know, the cost between the likes of V power and supermarket stuff, can be as much as 30p a litre, which is the real kicker.

Especially if you`ve got something, like my van, that costs over a £100 to fill up, even with the cheap stuff.

At Costco the £120 limit usually kicks in before I’ve filled my tank up.

Depressing isn’t it.

 

[AndyC]

I go for Shell V Power because I read it helps prevent diesel particulate filter fails/issues.?

The biggest factor behind DPF failures is lack of use of the vehicle, or localised, stop-start driving. Vehicles with DPF fitted should be given a decent run every so often in order to ‘blow’ the filter out.

 

[AndyC]

For those with cars interested in improving MPG and cleaning out injection systems without the need for expensive main dealer maintenance, I thoroughly recommend a German fuel additive called Normfest.
It’s available from Euro Car Parts and there are both petrol and diesel versions, so buy the right one !!
In my experience, and I drive all manner of vehicles on a daily basis and cover around 40,000 miles per year… Normfest is by some considerable margin the most effective fuel additive.
It knocks Redex into a cocked hat !!!

As an example, my missus has a 2015 diesel Renault Captur and she averages around 54-56 mpg.
Every six months or so, I put a full can of Normfest in the tank ahead of filling right up and the mpg immediately improves to 64+ and on a decent run, easily tops 68. The last time I did this, we were driving up to Warrington to Oban, and recorded 71mpg.

I recently did the same with a Range Rover Sport and on a run from Newcastle to Hemel Hempstead the car recorded 51mpg driving to the speed limits the whole way.