Fueling on the "wrong side"

[unsprung]

PanzerCommander said:

Toaster Pilot said:

Does V-Power make a difference to your Mustang? They don't sell fuel that high octane in the USA do they?

It does with a custom tune yes but in standard tune it makes no difference at all (keep an eye on the readers rides section over the next couple of weeks I will be doing a thread on my car).

They do sell high octane stuff in the US, but they often have several grades of 'gas' and they use a different scale, for instance US 93 is the same (or as near as damn it) as our 98 their 91 is as near as makes no difference our 95. They also have several lower grades, I think the Mustang (quite a low compression engine) can run on 87 (but I'd have to check the book).

time and again one stumbles across PH threads in which Britons claim that they're filling a US holiday hire car with swill or that engineers at US OEMs struggle with things like octane and compression ratios -- lol

it is also claimed that while US petrol is available in high octane, this is somehow an anomaly and that most US petrol is of lower octane than in Europe

then, of course, there is E85 which is widely available in the US Midwest yet little known in the UK; it is somewhere near 110 octane on the UK octane scale; a remarkably clean-burning car fuel as well

the following have been posted on PH a number of times

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octane_rating#Anti-K...

https://www.quora.com/Why-are-octane-levels-of-US-...

Edited by unsprung on Friday 12th October 14:35

[Cloudy147]

Very rarely do I fill up at the 'wrong' side. I daren't. Past experience has found that, unless you have parked within an inch or two of perfection in relation to the proximity of the pump and the location of your petrol cap, it won't always reach. I am then left with a difficult choice, I either stand there with a determined poker face whilst the upside down pump in the nozzle clicks off every three seconds with the queue of people looking on at my topsy turvey world of impatience, or I face the humiliating shame of reversing out of the 'wrong' pump and rejoining the smug people patiently queuing for the 'right' pump.

The embarrassment is just too much to bare, so I wait - or ideally go outside of peak times.

Have to admit, I've never ever seen a pump with "Extra Long" written on it, or similar - but I'll look out for that in future.

[jfire]

motco said:

I've had a few 'long hard stares' for driving down the centre aisle between cars at the pumps so I could use the vacant farthest pump of parallel lines of pumps. This is where the nearest pump is occupied and the farthest one's user has finished and gone. It means they have to drive around my car in order to leave, but there's ample room even if the other farthest pump is busy.

Well yes, because with pumps laid out 2x2 which is most garages, they're likely to have to go round the car in front a lot of the time anyway so I don't know why people are so sensitive. This layout doesn't really lend itself to queueing, not least because the large shops in garages means it's anyone's guess in which order the 2 cars front to back will complete their transaction.

[donteatpeople]

Al U said:

Grahamdub said:

Al U said:

The real thing that annoys me and I have only come across a couple of numpties that do it, is when people will queue in the middle of 2 pumps to try and go to whichever one becomes free first.

Most people know that this is not how it works, you must place your bet, pick a side and if like me you always pick wrong and end up behind the person that likes to do their weekly shop in the kiosk or the sad bloke trying to chat up the lady on the till then you must accept you picked the slow side and wait.

Or they try and dominate the whole row of pumps by parking in the middle of the entrance

I haven't come across any specialists that adopt that tactic. That would be special.

I’ve used a variation on this theme on many occasions. Obviously stopping in the entrance would be monumentally dim but where spaces allows hanging back and waiting to see which queue moves first seems logical to me. If someone else enters the forecourt behind me I’ll pick a pump queue at that point, I’ve never delayed anyone else from joining a queue for more than 3 seconds (adding zero total time to their filling experience).

[Al U]

Cloudy147 said:

Very rarely do I fill up at the 'wrong' side. I daren't. Past experience has found that, unless you have parked within an inch or two of perfection in relation to the proximity of the pump and the location of your petrol cap, it won't always reach. I am then left with a difficult choice, I either stand there with a determined poker face whilst the upside down pump in the nozzle clicks off every three seconds with the queue of people looking on at my topsy turvey world of impatience, or I face the humiliating shame of reversing out of the 'wrong' pump and rejoining the smug people patiently queuing for the 'right' pump.

The embarrassment is just too much to bare, so I wait - or ideally go outside of peak times.

Have to admit, I've never ever seen a pump with "Extra Long" written on it, or similar - but I'll look out for that in future.

Here you go. Of course this is Pistonheads where everyone shops at Waitrose so accept you may not have stumbled into a Sainsbury's recently

https://www.google.de/search?q=sainsburys+long+rea...

[DoubleD]

Pica-Pica said:

Mr2Mike said:

Pica-Pica said:

Never had this issue filling with diesel. Simply never.

You have never held a diesel pump nozzle without gloves and had your hands stink of diesel afterwards? Makes you wonder why they provide gloves at all...

No, never had need to wear gloves, or wipe hands after using diesel, or had hands stink. Never had drips running down the car. Why would people accept fuel stations that have such issues? Don’t blame the fuel, blame the filling stations and their equipment (I always use Shell).

Ive filled up at all kinds of filling stations in the past, some the handle is covered in diesel and others it isnt. And yes this includes shell. I just put it down to luck.

[Cloudy147]

Al U said:

Here you go. Of course this is Pistonheads where everyone shops at Waitrose so accept you may not have stumbled into a Sainsbury's recently

https://www.google.de/search?q=sainsburys+long+rea...

Cool, thanks for that, have never seen those. The next time I'm slumming it in Sainsbury's I'll keep an eye out.

It would be good if all petrol stations did this, keep the queues down.

[Glasgowrob]

Have to admit have a habit of using the hgv pumps with the van

Only because it's the only one with an attached adblu pump and price at the pump is half of the 10litre containers in the shop

He high pressure pumps are a bonus too when filling up from empty

[wazztie16]

Cloudy147 said:

Very rarely do I fill up at the 'wrong' side. I daren't. Past experience has found that, unless you have parked within an inch or two of perfection in relation to the proximity of the pump and the location of your petrol cap, it won't always reach. I am then left with a difficult choice, I either stand there with a determined poker face whilst the upside down pump in the nozzle clicks off every three seconds with the queue of people looking on at my topsy turvey world of impatience, or I face the humiliating shame of reversing out of the 'wrong' pump and rejoining the smug people patiently queuing for the 'right' pump.

The embarrassment is just too much to bare, so I wait - or ideally go outside of peak times.

Have to admit, I've never ever seen a pump with "Extra Long" written on it, or similar - but I'll look out for that in future.

I filled up on the wrong side yesterday, at the Shell station near where I was meeting some friends.

It didn't say anything about extra long hoses, but I took the chance, and the hoses pulled out like they would from a fire engine. I was a very happy man.

In, paid, and out and the guy waiting for the pump I would've had was only just starting to fill up.

[DonkeyApple]

RicksAlfas said:

SonicShadow said:

Isn't that more because any petrol spillage down the side will evaporate fairly quickly but diesel won't it'll stick because it's oily?

Yes, that's very true. But you rarely get petrol "blow back" in the first place, (unless you are really trying to get 60 litres in to a 55 litre tank ).

Or own a TVR which will just decide half way through filling that it’s going to fart a few quids worth of fuel out.

[sr.guiri]

Impasse said:

I'm not so fussed about the paintwork on my Range Rover ..........But there's no way I'd risk the paint on the Aston by...............

Name dropper!!!!

I bet you drink at Gastro Pubs

[motco]

DonkeyApple said:

Or own a TVR which will just decide half way through filling that it’s going to fart a few quids worth of fuel out.

My Westfield blows back constantly once past half full.

[DonkeyApple]

Cloudy147 said:

Very rarely do I fill up at the 'wrong' side. I daren't. Past experience has found that, unless you have parked within an inch or two of perfection in relation to the proximity of the pump and the location of your petrol cap, it won't always reach. I am then left with a difficult choice, I either stand there with a determined poker face whilst the upside down pump in the nozzle clicks off every three seconds with the queue of people looking on at my topsy turvey world of impatience, or I face the humiliating shame of reversing out of the 'wrong' pump and rejoining the smug people patiently queuing for the 'right' pump.

The embarrassment is just too much to bare, so I wait - or ideally go outside of peak times.

Have to admit, I've never ever seen a pump with "Extra Long" written on it, or similar - but I'll look out for that in future.

The general rule that I work to is that if the pipes are swinging down from above the pump then they will reach the far side without having to manhandle them or risk dragging them across your car etc. If they are the retractable type then it becomes not only difficult to drag them out and round your car without getting dirty hands but carry a significant risk of not reaching. The swinging down pipes are also cleaner as it’s harder for people to drop fuel on them from the nozzle as they finish.

[PositronicRay]

sr.guiri said:

Impasse said:

I'm not so fussed about the paintwork on my Range Rover ..........But there's no way I'd risk the paint on the Aston by...............

Name dropper!!!!

I bet you drink at Gastro Pubs

I had a car with shoddy fragile paintwork too once.

[Pica-Pica]

theoriginalpaul said:

You've clearly never used the Morrison's stationnear me - the pumps are always minging. Come to think about it there's always loads of spillage on the floor too. It's probably due to volume of traffic as it's always busy, but surely at some point it becomes a safety issue, rather than just an annoyance for customers?

Last, and only time I used Morrison’s I got a small ding and blue paint deposited on my car in their car park. So never again.

[DoubleD]

Never again after a 1 off event!

[Pan Pan Pan]

Used to get something like this, many years ago when out with my brother, in his twin cam Europa. He would pull up to the pumps, and fill the nearside fuel tank first, then walk around the car and fill up the offside tank, at which point the moron behind, would start whingeing or tooting, never did understand why

[Pica-Pica]

DoubleD said:

Never again after a 1 off event!

So if you went to a different pub than usual, and got punched in the face, you would go there again?

[DoubleD]

Pica-Pica said:

DoubleD said:

Never again after a 1 off event!

So if you went to a different pub than usual, and got punched in the face, you would go there again?

Lol

[SmilerFTM]

DonkeyApple said:

The general rule that I work to is that if the pipes are swinging down from above the pump then they will reach the far side without having to manhandle them or risk dragging them across your car etc. If they are the retractable type then it becomes not only difficult to drag them out and round your car without getting dirty hands but carry a significant risk of not reaching. The swinging down pipes are also cleaner as it’s harder for people to drop fuel on them from the nozzle as they finish.

MX-5 is the answer (always is), you can park however the hell you like and if on the wrong side it'll always reach over without any issues