V-Power v Momentum v Ultimate Cleaning Additives

[ColinForsecks]

Do Tesco Momentum and BP Ultimate contain cleaning additives like Shell V-Power? If so, are these a match for Shell or does Shell just market themselves better at 'cleaning'.

Not interested in performance gains at all, just the cleaning additives of premium petrol. V-Power always gets recommended where engine cleaning is concerned; I don't think I've ever come across anyone recommending Ultimate!

[NGRhodes]

BP does, Tesco does not.
I don't know how BP additives compare to Shells.

[anonymous-user]

All I know is that using a combination of momentum and v-power and thrashing the car on tracks for the best part of 25k miles I removed my spark plugs and looked down at the pistons and they are literally shining like new. They are so shiny that I can see the numbering on the tops of the pistons.

[Grayedout]

Simple rule is you get what you pay for and more/better addtives cost more money

[untakenname]

NGRhodes said:

BP does, Tesco does not.
I don't know how BP additives compare to Shells.

Tesco do as well, imo it's the best of the bunch as one of my cars is mapped from Japan for 100, doesn't like V-power at all and will noticeably pull timing yet is fine on Momentum.

Tesco said:

What are the benefits of using Tesco Momentum99?
Momentum 99 contains a special blend of additives to help keep the fuel system clean and working at its best.

Additionally, the higher octane level (99 compared to 95 for regular unleaded petrol) gives improved overall engine performance for those cars that are able to take advantage (generally sportier models).
[quote]

[Aiminghigh123]

untakenname said:

Tesco do as well, imo it's the best of the bunch as one of my cars is mapped from Japan for 100, doesn't like V-power at all and will noticeably pull timing yet is fine on Momentum.

Tesco said:

What are the benefits of using Tesco Momentum99?
Momentum 99 contains a special blend of additives to help keep the fuel system clean and working at its best.

Additionally, the higher octane level (99 compared to 95 for regular unleaded petrol) gives improved overall engine performance for those cars that are able to take advantage (generally sportier models).
[quote]

Interesting. I noticed on my standard old Saab 9-3 aero momentum was slightly better as well. It would idle slightly better and coming on boost would be slightly smoother than v power.

[NGRhodes]

untakenname said:

NGRhodes said:

BP does, Tesco does not.
I don't know how BP additives compare to Shells.

Tesco do as well, imo it's the best of the bunch as one of my cars is mapped from Japan for 100, doesn't like V-power at all and will noticeably pull timing yet is fine on Momentum.

Tesco said:

What are the benefits of using Tesco Momentum99?
Momentum 99 contains a special blend of additives to help keep the fuel system clean and working at its best.

Additionally, the higher octane level (99 compared to 95 for regular unleaded petrol) gives improved overall engine performance for those cars that are able to take advantage (generally sportier models).

Sorry, you are right, I was getting mixed up with Sainsburys from the recent Esso 99 thread.

Edited by NGRhodes on Wednesday 11th November 20:03

[Grayedout]

All fuels sold in the UK will have some additives in them but the amount and quality of additives will vary between companies.

Also higher octane/cetane levels and higher additive levels are two very different properties.

The former will allow your engine to run at more advanced timing before pre-ignition which can result in more power.

The latter will keep your fuel system clean and may even clean it up if used continuously. They can also have additives which improve the atomisation of the fuel and hence the efficiency of the burn and improved fuel economy.

[Evercross]

Grayedout said:

Also higher octane/cetane levels and higher additive levels are two very different properties.

The former will allow your engine to run at more advanced timing before pre-ignition which can result in more power.

Higher cetane ratings for diesel/compression ignition work a bit differently from higher octane ratings for petrol/spark ignition. The higher cetane rating means that the ignition of the fuel begins at a lower temperature/pressure meaning that you get a longer 'burn' for the same level of engine tuning.

This means you will get more efficient use of the fuel - less soot (which is great for preventing DPF/EGR clogging) and more power/more mpg depending on driving style.

Cetane boosters for diesel fuel are exceptionally cheap because their formulas are not subject to patents. You can mix your own premium diesel for a fraction of the cost of buying it ready-made at the pumps.

Edited by Evercross on Wednesday 11th November 21:35

[Mr Tidy]

I read a post somewhere yesterday that said the new Esso 99 Ron had a premium of 27p per litre over the regular unleaded.

Which is why I try to avoid Shell because V-Power is also priced way higher then regular unleaded.

Luckily I have a Tesco less than a mile away and Momentum is only a few pence dearer then regular, so that is what I use.

[cornershop]

Mr Tidy said:

I read a post somewhere yesterday that said the new Esso 99 Ron had a premium of 27p per litre over the regular unleaded.

Which is why I try to avoid Shell because V-Power is also priced way higher then regular unleaded.

Luckily I have a Tesco less than a mile away and Momentum is only a few pence dearer then regular, so that is what I use.

Maybe in some regions - 13p here in Woking

[stevemcs]

V Power is 23p a litre more expensive here, it always used to be 7p. I run the petrol minis on v power and always have, the 508 just gets standard shell or by diesel.

[davwill]

Now that petrol engines are going to direct inj is there any point in adding cleaners to the fuel? Have had to remove a few heads and replace the gaskets on a certain car recently and have noticed that the inlet ports are getting full of carbon and most had not done a very lot of miles!!

[Mr Tidy]

cornershop said:

Maybe in some regions - 13p here in Woking

Not so bad then. I'm not far away in Sandhurst and the premium in Tesco was 6p on Friday, plus Momentum is 99 RON.

It may not be such an issue with later DI engines, but my cars are too old to have that!

[Haltamer]

Mr Tidy said:

I read a post somewhere yesterday that said the new Esso 99 Ron had a premium of 27p per litre over the regular unleaded.

I was at an Esso and was quite suprised; Was only about 4p more than Momentum usually is - Far better compared to Shell, which is usually at least 24p more than Tesco Momentum.

It's the classic magic placebo effect, but it did seem to run nicely on Esso's new 99.

[cornershop]

Mr Tidy said:

cornershop said:

Maybe in some regions - 13p here in Woking

Not so bad then. I'm not far away in Sandhurst and the premium in Tesco was 6p on Friday, plus Momentum is 99 RON.

It may not be such an issue with later DI engines, but my cars are too old to have that!

That’s good value at Tesco but note Esso are rolling out 99 too (my local Esso in Chobham is 99).

Neither of my cars need Esso 99, but they do due to lack of ethanol.

[Jag_NE]

Elatino1 said:

All I know is that using a combination of momentum and v-power and thrashing the car on tracks for the best part of 25k miles I removed my spark plugs and looked down at the pistons and they are literally shining like new. They are so shiny that I can see the numbering on the tops of the pistons.

Arguably that’s a potentially meaningless observation though.
Unless you had also ran an identical car on standard fuel in the same way over the same duration you cant be certain that the piston tops wouldn’t look any different compared to the v power ones.

[Krikkit]

Why do you think your engine needs cleaning in the first place? What a load of horsest

[Mr Tidy]

I'm not sure that is true - later BMW engines like the N53 have Direct Injection and can suffer from coked up inlet manifolds (search walnut blasting).

I don't understand any of the science but I believe additives can help keep that issue at bay.

I use Momentum because in the handbooks for both of my cars the manufacturer says they are rated to run on 98RON. "Fill up with fuel of this grade whenever possible so that the nominal performance and fuel consumption values are achieved."

And because I have a Tesco a mile away I stick to Momentum because it's 99 RON and cheap (6p a litre dearer than Regular today) whereas V-Power is 97 RON and stupidly expensive, and until recently Esso Premium was also only 97 RON as well as being silly expensive in some places.

They were my back-up options if I was away from home, but now Esso is 99 RON it will take precedence over Shell.

[Haltamer]

Shell is 99 And has been for a fair while? It is very expensive though. (Compared to Momentum and Esso IME)