[asit.kulkarni93]

Shell is extremely over rated especially when it comes to diesel. I used to fill shell diesel and petrol at one point of time as it was close to my house. With my motorcycle which was going through some modifications, the higher octane petrol definitely helped me but it made no difference in our corolla. The diesel made 0 difference especially when they make tall claims about the quality and performance. On the contrary, i found the iocl xtragreen diesel much better. Shell is good for the coffee shop and washrooms. The biggest issue I have with shell is the engine oil scam. When the engines are hot, they pull out the dipstick and scare gullible customers in changing oil.

I honestly think reliance outlets are pretty decent. Competitive pricing and good quality fuel. I know a few transport company owners and they tend to stick to Reliance for their fleet.

[SideView]

Originally Posted by asit.kulkarni93

Shell is extremely over rated especially when it comes to diesel.

For me atleast, i feel the engine runs smoother using shell (normal diesel )compared to other brands.

[v1p3r]

Originally Posted by Shreyans_Jain

Can’t speak for others, but I can about Indian Oil. They have very stringent quality controls and regular audits and inspection. ....
How do I know this? We have an IOCL fuel bunk in the family.

Come to Bangalore. On one of the busiest roads, there are 2 such pumps within about a kilometre of each other. Locals know not to fill at either, unless there is a dire, dire need and you're otherwise screwed. These sit on a main road, in the middle of one of the richest residential / commercial areas in the city, but they are always deserted. It's because there are enough horror stories about mileage halving, or engines failing, that have done the rounds for decades. The company, of course, has taken no action.

[condor]

Originally Posted by ike

There are no additives in regular Shell diesel, that is as "regular" as regular diesel can get. Additives are present in V power.

Shell fuels have cleaner trucks to transport fuels, better storage in the retail sites (as opposed to rusty & leaky underground tanks that some regular pumps will have) and watertight QC procedures to avoid adulteration in quality/quantity. I'm confident that Shell fuels are of better quality and unadulterated compared to regular pumps.

@ike, thanks for that input.

If Shell diesel is plain, simple diesel, of better quality, then why is the FE lesser ? Not a big difference, but noticed difference. I have seen this ever since I have tried Shell in India, since they came in. My vehicles are Tata diesels.


regarding the rusty/leaky storage tanks - if a tank is leaky, it's a loss to the bunk. This may be happening with in some bunks, but not all.

There are more than enough bunks of PSU fuel which give clean fuel. Else our injectors may have got clogged by now, and our vehicles would have been showing water being collected.

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by Born 2 Be Wild

Sir, what you are saying means that Shell has its own refinery in india? Do they not source their product from Indian OMC's?

No Shell doesnt have any refinery of its own but picks products from refineries operated in India and definitely not from PSU OMC's.

Originally Posted by condor

@ike, thanks for that input.

If Shell diesel is plain, simple diesel, of better quality, then why is the FE lesser ? Not a big difference, but noticed difference. I have seen this ever since I have tried Shell in India, since they came in. My vehicles are Tata diesels.


regarding the rusty/leaky storage tanks - if a tank is leaky, it's a loss to the bunk. This may be happening with in some bunks, but not all.

There are more than enough bunks of PSU fuel which give clean fuel. Else our injectors may have got clogged by now, and our vehicles would have been showing water being collected.

Fuel quality could be one of the contributors for poor FE, others being driving styles, poor maintenance of vehicles, hard braking and many more.

OMC's would ensure that their premium products are generally adulteration free due to reputational issues. Plus its seen a very small % of adulteration happens in metro limit & busy NH bunks whereas a majority happens on the interiors of the state where there is no inspection/ assurance process & lack of consequence management in place.

[dkamath]

Since this thread is w.r.to PSU pumps and fuelling for Commercial Vehicles (CVs), posting some of my observations here.
The PSU pumps have got the Petrocard fleet management cards which have seen to have found patronage by operators.
Speaking of Bharat Petroleum in particular, where i've enrolled for one such SmartFleet card for our CV, a card can be pre-loaded with upto Rs.49,000, and redeemed while filling at any of their outlets. Mobile OTP based fuelling is possible too.
Loyalty Points worth 50ps. are added per Rs.100 of fuel filled through the card.
The staff (driver+conductor/cleaner) are insured for Rs.5 lacs for loss of life, or Rs.2 lacs in case of disabilities in road accidents.
As for the PSU pump where we fill in diesel to the CV (private vehicles fill in there as well), they got the similar sensor-based monitoring on the underground tanks, and density measurement that is taken every morning and entered in a ledger for inspection, which ideally would be performed at every pump, regardless of a PSU or privately held Co's
Cheers

[condor]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

Fuel quality could be one of the contributors for poor FE, others being driving styles, poor maintenance of vehicles, hard braking and many more. .

Well, I dont drive differently based on the brand of fuel

However, I would agree that adulteration would be more likely in interiors. But not with water as suggested in the thread. IOCL at least has automated systems, so any opening of the tank / adding liquid into the fuel storage tank would be visible on the centralized monitoring systems. Adulteration is more likely when the storage tanks are being replenished.

[hajaar]

Diesel from Shell / Reliance makes my Fortuner sound and feel a little smoother. This is not a placebo effect since multiple people who have no idea about the fuel have commented on it.

[krishnakarthik1]

I have never found any difference between Shell and IOC or HP. I find the Reliance pumps on the highway really good too.

That said I always go to a COCO. I have never filled my Innova so far at any dealer since owning it for about a year and maybe filled my old Hexa a couple of times in 3 years of its ownership.

But you know what, if you really want to find some difference in how your car behaves get that Xtragreen. It's like giving your car an anti anxiety pill. Everything calms down and is so smooth and sound free.

[Surfer84]

Hindustan Petroleum is my choice .
Practical runs on Verna Petrol and Tucson Diesel.
Driven > 1L kms with normal grade fuel.
Multiple runs on same highway but with different fuel brands.
-----------------------------
Shell :-FE is lower. Costly
IOCL:- Surge of Power, Higher FE compared to Shell. Engine RPM is a bit higher.
HP:- Linear power Output, Sweet engine feedback . Highest FE. Consistent FE results .
Reliance :- Between HP and IOCL.
Bharat Petroleum :- Lowest FE of all, slower acceleration .
---------------------------

My choice while on highway
HP>Reliance>IOC>Shell>BP.

[Hashed]

I switched to Shell for my BMW 2 litre Diesel engine many years back since I consistently noticed higher FE (bumper to bumper city traffic = +1.2 to +1.5 kmpl, don’t remember highway FE comparison but would be at least +2kmpl) and smoother engine idles, revvs etc. This was when per litre price was higher by 5-7 rupees. However, currently prices are higher by 17 rupees (BLR), so have switched to IOCL COCO near my place - cannot justify paying 20% higher.

[Rajat347]

I generally prefer HP for my Honda Amaze petrol but why ?

1) My experience with IOCL is not that fine. Many times their electricity goes off during refueling which results in tripping of fuel counter and their air top counter is generally not working.

2) HP Pump + ICICI Bank Debit = 0.07% Cashback.

3) Most of the times their Air Top Up counter is Working.

4) Sometimes they do offer a water bottle free with fuel worth Rs 1500.

5) I find their bunkers more maintained than other PSUs.

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by krishnakarthik1

if you really want to find some difference in how your car behaves get that Xtragreen. It's like giving your car an anti anxiety pill. Everything calms down and is so smooth and sound free.

IOCL mentions Xtragreen has higher cetane number. In theory knocking should increase no?

[VigneshMC]

I usually fill in Shell bunks and to be honest I don't know if Shell fuels provide better fuel efficiency or performance. But lot of my friends recommend using Shell for better performance. One thing I like about shell bunks is that all their value added services like tyre pressure check and restrooms are always in great shape . I have had bad experiences where petrol bunk employees are hesitant in checking air pressures giving some lame reasons but that never happened in shell.

But if you have ask me, is it worth paying premium of Rs.10. My answer would be No.

[kiran_aithal]

Until recently, I have always filled in Shell or Reliance, and found that the FE is bit high and engine run is pretty smooth (both in my previous cars - Corsa and Cruze and the current one - X4). However, ran into problems this time with all the reliance pumps running empty on Diesel.

One silly/dumb question - what are the different ways to find a COCO pump?
I have always looked for a board which says COCO. Apart from that referred to this forum or friends. Just checking if there are other smarter ways to find COCO. (IOCL, BP or HP websites??)