Which Premium Vs Regular Gasoline (fuel Additive/detergent Claims) Brand Wins?
A head-to-head test of 2 premium vs regular gasoline (fuel additive/detergent claims) options with the measured results for each. See how they ranked and watch the full test video.
Some figures on this page were transcribed from the test video and have not been independently re-verified. Treat the numbers as a close guide and watch the full video for the exact readings.
Shell V-Power Nitro+
Price shown in test: about 40 to 50 cents more per gallon than generic gasoline (no exact per-gallon price given for either fuel)
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The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Scroll sideways to see all measurements. Products are listed in the order they finished.
| Product | Marketing claim tested | Ethanol content test (2ml water to 10ml gas, and 20ml water to 100ml gas, settled 15 minutes) | Compression test | Carbon deposit/cleaning test on a running engine (post-clean, full tank run through) | Greasy bolt soak test (several hours, then 24 hours) | Fuel efficiency/runtime test (generator running a space heater on medium, kilowatt meter, engine spec'd for 87 octane) | Flame color comparison (see-through cylinder head engine) | Ethanol content | Greasy bolt soak test | Fuel efficiency/runtime test |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Shell V-Power Nitro+about 40 to 50 cents more per gallon than generic gasoline (no exact per-gallon price given for either fuel) | claims 7 times the detergents of competing fuels; claims it prevents wear, removes gunk, and prevents corrosion | separation line settled between the 25 and 26ml marks, approximately 5% ethanol content | measured at approximately 100 PSI before cleaning the combustion chamber; after cleaning the chamber and running a full tank of Shell V-Power Nitro through the engine, compression was still at 100 PSI (no drop) | visual inspection afterward showed very little carbon buildup on part of the piston, an extremely clean exhaust valve, and fairly clean areas of the head | the fuel turned noticeably darker in color than the cheap gas, indicating the detergents were dissolving and suspending grease/contamination; after removing the bolts, noticeably less residue was left behind on paper compared to the bolt soaked in cheap gas; after 24 hours the Shell fuel remained visibly darker | no runtime/efficiency numbers given directly comparing the two fuels; narrator's conclusion is that no efficiency benefit was observed | described as being performed in the test plan, but no specific flame-color observation or difference is stated in the narrated transcript | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 2Generic/cheap gasoline 87 octane, 10% ethanol40 to 50 cents per gallon cheaper than Shell V-Power Nitro (no exact price given) | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not independently given its own measured percentage in the narrated transcript; the narrator later states 'the ethanol content was the same for both fuels,' implying it was also approximately 5%, but this is inferred rather than separately confirmed with its own number | left noticeably more residue on the bolt compared to the Shell V-Power Nitro, indicating a less effective cleaning/detergent effect | no runtime/efficiency numbers given directly; narrator concludes there was no efficiency difference versus the Shell V-Power Nitro in this particular 87-octane-spec engine |
How it was tested
- ethanol content test (water separation method)
- flame color comparison using a see-through cylinder head engine (test set up in narration, result not spoken)
- fuel efficiency/runtime comparison using a generator running a space heater, measured with a kilowatt meter
- greasy bolt cleaning/corrosion-prevention soak test (several hours, then rechecked at 24 hours)
- engine compression test before and after cleaning the combustion chamber, then running a full tank of Shell V-Power Nitro through the cleaned engine to check for carbon deposit reformation
Data notes and caveats
This is a myth-test of Shell V-Power Nitro's marketing claims versus generic 87 octane gasoline, not a simple single-winner comparison. The video reaches a split verdict: Shell V-Power Nitro clearly wins on cleaning/detergent performance (bolt soak test, combustion chamber cleanliness after a full tank run), but the two fuels showed no measurable difference in fuel efficiency or compression in an engine already designed for 87 octane, and had the same approximate ethanol content (~5%). The narrator's final recommendation is that the extra 40-50 cents per gallon is NOT worth it for a vehicle designed to run on 87 octane, and that a separate off-the-shelf fuel additive (Seafoam, Marvel Mystery Oil, Techron are named) likely achieves similar cleaning results for less money. Because this is a value/worth-it judgment rather than a declared single winner between two competing brands, winner is left null. Per the onscreen-only gotcha, this video's meta chapters reference an engine/exhaust temperature comparison during the fuel-efficiency run ('Engine and exhaust temps very similar,' 'Engine seems a little cooler with cheap gas') that is never spoken or described anywhere in the transcript; logged to data/onscreen-only.txt for video-frame recovery. Confidence is set to low primarily because of this apparent narration/caption gap around the temperature and flame-color sub-tests, both of which were set up in narration but never resolved with spoken results.
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