Shell V-Power

[alien365]

I randomly stopped in a shell garage a few days ago and they were out of/didn't have gasohol 91 at the pump I was at. I asked for the 95 instead as I was lazy to move but they said it was V-Power (so I assume it's different) and that I should use E20. I have an eco car but I don't like E20 so I got the V power, to the laughter of the attendants. 

 

Can any car use v power or is it just for high performance cars? Does anyone use it and is it worth the extra 30% in price? I felt a bit more oomph off the line today but I don't know if it was just psychological. 

[Ron jeremy]

If your vehicle does not call for premium fuel u r simply wasting your money. Google it.

great utube video. Premium versus regular, any difference, a marketplace investigation. Look at it.

they took vehicles to a dyno lab for vehicles, ran with both fuels, computerized graphics, dyno tests etc. Nada difference.

in the end even the fuel execs admitted your wasting your money.

wTch it.

[Kwasaki]

1 hour ago, alien365 said:

I don't know if it was just psychological. 

Yes definitely when your ecu adjusts it will be ok.

[scubascuba3]

It's a scam, they either pretend the 91 is finished or guide you to the 95 VPower which has a much higher price. They try to give it to me for my Honda Click. That's why they were laughing, caught another one

[Coremouse]

Doubt V-Power would be much better as it's still gasohol and 95 RON, guess maybe someless ethanol contets or some additives for GDI engine, but that's it. 

 

Malaysian 98 V-Power would be great though, too bad in Thailand fuels capped at 95. 

 

E20 has been advertised (at least by PTT) having 98-99 RON, could be used by most cars without big modding, would be best pump gas except E85.

[pineapple01]

There is a little label by the filler cap telling you the correct fuel. I can only stop where she says the Toilets are Clean.

[Martinpeter]

Hi/.

 

one thing i have found my SUV seems to run far better on gasohol 91 considerably always. When i use E20 though even cheaper my SUV runs slower, not so much power?

I prefer to use 91 gasohol always if available, if not use E20 and i prefer Shell fuel.

 

cheers

[alien365]

4 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

It's a scam, they either pretend the 91 is finished or guide you to the 95 VPower which has a much higher price. They try to give it to me for my Honda Click. That's why they were laughing, caught another one

They tried to get me to buy the E20 that I don't like. They could have been laughing though as they knew the price. At the time I didn't know nor care.

 

I didn't want much fuel in anyway as I had a 70baht off voucher from Tops for Caltex that I needed to use before the end of the month. The Caltex is out of the way a bit. I went there yesterday and they just said they dont accept the vouchers. What a rip off that was.

[alien365]

40 minutes ago, Martinpeter said:

Hi/.

 

one thing i have found my SUV seems to run far better on gasohol 91 considerably always. When i use E20 though even cheaper my SUV runs slower, not so much power?

I prefer to use 91 gasohol always if available, if not use E20 and i prefer Shell fuel.

 

cheers

I know some members on here report that E20 works very well for them both in power and mileage. For my car, even though it says E20 on the petrol cap, it's underpowered and uneconomical. With a fuel tank of 35l I want to get the best mileage from the tank, within reason.

 

91 is my go to fuel but I usually fill the tank with 95 once a month because I feel my car prefers it. I find it quite amazing that Thailand only has RON 95 V-Power as when I searched the net I thought it was meant to be 98. 

[scubascuba3]

3 minutes ago, alien365 said:

I find it quite amazing that Thailand only has RON 95 V-Power as when I searched the net I thought it was meant to be 98. 

Most (all?) Shell garages only do V-Power 95, most other garages have two 95 options, the standard about 20 baht a litre and the unnecessary premium at about 28 baht a litre. I avoid Shell garages and if i do have to go i opt for the 91

[alien365]

1 minute ago, scubascuba3 said:

Most (all?) Shell garages only do V-Power 95, most other garages have two 95 options, the standard about 20 baht a litre and the unnecessary premium at about 28 baht a litre. I avoid Shell garages and if i do have to go i opt for the 91

When I mentioned most, I meant internationally. I couldn't find Thailand's RON rating list.

 

Like you I tend to avoid shell garages as they make it so difficult to see which pump sells which fuel. My local shell has a red diesel sign above every pump and the colour of each pump handle is not clear to me as they are different to my usual Bangchak (self service :)). I went to shell that time to buy some coffee from D'oro as that's the only one near me.

 

I am wondering if to occasionally use the v power again though, but if the posters who have used it say it's a waste of time and isn't any better for the car then I won't bother.

[scubascuba3]

12 minutes ago, alien365 said:

When I mentioned most, I meant internationally. I couldn't find Thailand's RON rating list.

 

Like you I tend to avoid shell garages as they make it so difficult to see which pump sells which fuel. My local shell has a red diesel sign above every pump and the colour of each pump handle is not clear to me as they are different to my usual Bangchak (self service :)). I went to shell that time to buy some coffee from D'oro as that's the only one near me.

 

I am wondering if to occasionally use the v power again though, but if the posters who have used it say it's a waste of time and isn't any better for the car then I won't bother.

It was developed with Ferrari. Does your car need that?

 

https://www.shell.co.th/en_th/motorists/shell-fuels/alternative-fuels/shell-v-power-gasohol-95.html

[alien365]

7 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

It was developed with Ferrari. Does your car need that?

 

Well my car is red so... The conditions are rather punishing here in Thailand for cars so it interested me that it is meant to be better for the engine and responsiveness. I sometimes say my car has a turbo (it doesn't) due to the lag from putting my foot down to moving. I personally felt this was reduced with the v power (psychological?). To have that extra bite would be nice for longer distance drives when having to overtake so many trucks and not inconvenience the speeding pick-ups and Mercedes flying by. I've not had the opportunity to do any long distance driving yet though.

[petermik]

7 hours ago, alien365 said:

Well my car is red so...

Stick some "go-faster" stripes down the side you will get the same response as putting V Power in the tank 

[VocalNeal]

I look at V-Power as I look at Caltex with Techron. It has some additives which can be beneficial to the fuel system but are unnecessary 100% of the time. 

I believe diesel systems are more in need of a clean out than petrol but I cold be wrong. So filling up with V-Power every six months might be beneficial, even clever. 

 

If it works out cheaper then adding a bottle of Techron to the tank every six months would do the same. 

Same maybe said for Seafoam. But that is not available here but DIY enthusiast can make their own.

V-Power? Twice a year?

 

EDIT: I should add that I am the result of my Dodge turbo mentioning combustion chamber cleaning in the service instructions using this:

Edited May 25, 2020 by VocalNeal

[KhunBENQ]

15 hours ago, alien365 said:

and they were out of/didn't have gasohol 91 at the pump I was at.

Sooner or later you will have to use 95 octane anyway.

91 octane will be outphased about 3rd quarter of the year (all pumps/companies).

Of course you can use "V power", will only harm your purse.

E20: I have used E20 since 2011 for the slight cost advantage based on measuring liter/100 km compared to gasohol 95. I came to conclusion that E20 should be cheaper than 95 by 2.5 Baht at least.

BUT: after the very recent price hikes, the price difference of E20 to gasohol 95 has gone down to about 1.5 Baht/liter. With that it makes no sense for me to use E20 due to the higher fuel consumption compared to 95.

I never use Shell or Esso and mostly use PTT or Bangchak (green leaf).

 

Now wait for posters claiming that the additives in V Power will mutate your eco car to a muscle car.

[KhunBENQ]

16 hours ago, alien365 said:

is it worth the extra 30% in price?

No fuel can save you the 30% of extra price.

A few percent in fuel consumption maybe but that's it.

 

E.g.: my comparison between 95 and E20 was 7.0l/100km vs. 7.5l/100km at max! Roughly 7%.

Edited May 25, 2020 by KhunBENQ

[tlandtday]

1 minute ago, KhunBENQ said:

No fuel can save you the 30% of extra price.

A few percent in fuel consumption maybe but that's it.

 

E.g.: my comparison between 95 and E20 was 7.1l/100km vs. 7.3l/100km. Roughly 3%.

I used to burn e20 in an older bike with no problems and it was carbed however I did add paint thinner to the gas every few months to clean it out)

[KhunBENQ]

11 minutes ago, tlandtday said:

I used to burn e20 in an older bike with no problems and it was carbed however I did add paint thinner to the gas every few months to clean it out)

My Mazda 2 from 2011 is specified for E20.

Ran almost 120'000 km on E20 (99% from PTT) without any problem.

But as stated, currently the price advantage is just too small.

Ethanol has risen in price.

Only 1.51 Baht compared to Gasohol 95:

[VocalNeal]

1 hour ago, KhunBENQ said:

I have used E20 since 2011 for the slight cost advantage based on measuring liter/100 km compared to gasohol 95. I came to conclusion that E20 should be cheaper than 95 by 2.5 Baht at least.

In my flexfuel car in Brazil. I got about 600 kms per tank on gasolina (E20) and only 450 kms on alcool (E99-ish)  That's about 33% less km per litre. 

Sadly I couldn't experiment with non ethanol fuels as they did exist. So if E20 is less than 33% more than E85 use E20

Currently run on LPG so don't use 91/95 or E20 much. With LPG it is about 1.8 to 2 baht per km regardless of speed.

[DaLa]

I must say I've not noticed a great difference when I'm stuck on a Friday evening on Sukhumvit, if anything it seems to take about 1 hour 1 minute as opposed to 59 minutes between Nana and Em Quarter with the V-power.

 

Now on the expressway, that's where you really notice the difference. Especially when your flights leaving in 65 minutes.

[alien365]

2 hours ago, KhunBENQ said:

Sooner or later you will have to use 95 octane anyway.

91 octane will be outphased about 3rd quarter of the year (all pumps/companies).

Of course you can use "V power", will only harm your purse.

E20: I have used E20 since 2011 for the slight cost advantage based on measuring liter/100 km compared to gasohol 95. I came to conclusion that E20 should be cheaper than 95 by 2.5 Baht at least.

BUT: after the very recent price hikes, the price difference of E20 to gasohol 95 has gone down to about 1.5 Baht/liter. With that it makes no sense for me to use E20 due to the higher fuel consumption compared to 95.

I never use Shell or Esso and mostly use PTT or Bangchak (green leaf).

 

Now wait for posters claiming that the additives in V Power will mutate your eco car to a muscle car.

I thought 91 was to leave the forecourts a while ago but it kept being sold so I continued buying it. Once it disappears I'll most likely use the standard 95. E20 just never gave me any power when I needed it. I wouldn't say I'm a boy racer but people drive very aggressively in my area so even for city driving I need something under the right foot.

 

I prefer to use Bangchak as my local is self service. I don't like sitting in the car with no Aircon (engine switched off)

[alien365]

26 minutes ago, DaLa said:

I must say I've not noticed a great difference when I'm stuck on a Friday evening on Sukhumvit, if anything it seems to take about 1 hour 1 minute as opposed to 59 minutes between Nana and Em Quarter with the V-power.

 

Now on the expressway, that's where you really notice the difference. Especially when your flights leaving in 65 minutes.

If I was stuck in nose to tail traffic like that every day I'd lose the will to live. I am looking forward to a 350km drive down south once the provincial borders open up again though. Id be tempted to use V-power for that journey as an opportunity to clean the system a bit and test the fuel economy. As another poster mentioned I may use 2 or 3 times a year to treat the engine. I understand whatever I put in though will not allow me to keep up with all the pickups going 150+ after Prachuab

[Coremouse]

8 hours ago, alien365 said:

I thought 91 was to leave the forecourts a while ago but it kept being sold so I continued buying it. Once it disappears I'll most likely use the standard 95. E20 just never gave me any power when I needed it. I wouldn't say I'm a boy racer but people drive very aggressively in my area so even for city driving I need something under the right foot.

 

I prefer to use Bangchak as my local is self service. I don't like sitting in the car with no Aircon (engine switched off)

Doubt E20 would negatively impact power output, unless dyno prooved.

 

Unlike E85, whether closed loop or wot, E20 have very little difference than Gasohol 95 in terms of power density and AFR, if not for better (slightly leaner would increase power for most cars, until you can't hit certain AFR in 90%++ duty cycle). Also E20 is said have at least (if not better) same 95RON as Gasohol 95. And Gasohol 95 itself is E10, too. 

 

Alas Thailand fuel grades are just s*lly. 91 RON is only 87 AKI if in states, and even worse almost no much cheaper than 95. Should be phased out ages ago. And should introduce RON100 pump gas like in Malaysia! ????

 

Edited May 25, 2020 by Coremouse

[DaLa]

16 hours ago, alien365 said:

If I was stuck in nose to tail traffic like that every day I'd lose the will to live. I am looking forward to a 350km drive down south once the provincial borders open up again though. Id be tempted to use V-power for that journey as an opportunity to clean the system a bit and test the fuel economy. As another poster mentioned I may use 2 or 3 times a year to treat the engine. I understand whatever I put in though will not allow me to keep up with all the pickups going 150+ after Prachuab

Me too, off to Chiang Ria as soon as a breakout is possible.  There and back from Nothaburi on one tankful at Thai prices compared to UK with some left over is a journey just waiting to happen.

 

Wifey is from Krabi and we usually complete that drive twice a year.  All time record of 7 vehicles in the central ditch between Phetchaburi and Krabi in that one 6 hour journey.

[Pilotman]

Never ever use Shell here, its always more expensive and they are up to all the scams.  Stay clear. 

[lesmac]

On 5/25/2020 at 10:21 AM, alien365 said:

I know some members on here report that E20 works very well for them both in power and mileage. For my car, even though it says E20 on the petrol cap, it's underpowered and uneconomical. With a fuel tank of 35l I want to get the best mileage from the tank, within reason.

 

91 is my go to fuel but I usually fill the tank with 95 once a month because I feel my car prefers it. I find it quite amazing that Thailand only has RON 95 V-Power as when I searched the net I thought it was meant to be 98. 

And they cook the books on the ron, they use some inaccurate calculation so the fuel is less than stated and bad compared to Malaysia

[alien365]

14 hours ago, Coremouse said:

Doubt E20 would negatively impact power output, unless dyno prooved.

 

Unlike E85, whether closed loop or wot, E20 have very little difference than Gasohol 95 in terms of power density and AFR, if not for better (slightly leaner would increase power for most cars, until you can't hit certain AFR in 90%++ duty cycle). Also E20 is said have at least (if not better) same 95RON as Gasohol 95. And Gasohol 95 itself is E10, too. 

 

I expected E20 to work well and I wish it would for my car but I used it when I first got my car several years ago thinking I'd save money. Unfortunately my calculation at the time for cost per km was better for gasohol and with a small tank the distance was important to me. I also felt like when I pressed the gas pedal it was more 'air-like'. I rarely put E20 in now but when I do I get the same response from my car. It's frustrating if I'm pulling out at a junction, some guy sees me and speeds up while my car is still thinking about moving (slight exaggeration but that's how it feels). U turns are even more risky.

[alien365]

6 hours ago, DaLa said:

Me too, off to Chiang Ria as soon as a breakout is possible.  There and back from Nothaburi on one tankful at Thai prices compared to UK with some left over is a journey just waiting to happen.

 

Wifey is from Krabi and we usually complete that drive twice a year.  All time record of 7 vehicles in the central ditch between Phetchaburi and Krabi in that one 6 hour journey.

I can make my 700km round journey on one 35l tank but the drive into town and short day trips means I have to fill up again on the way back. At present 700 baht for that distance is very good to me.

 

I'll have to count the vehicles in the ditches next time. Unfortunately on my last trip some poor guy on his bike was hit at speed and became  another statistic on the roads here.

[pineapple01]

 The Young People are nice in Shell Outlets. The most important factor to normal folk who can read a Handbook.