What Diesel

[trevskoda]

I used to use Tesco fuel, and my warning lights came on, so I added some Diesel magic and ran my engine a little harder for awhile. I cleared the lights and went back to Asda fuel, and since then (touch wood) no more warning lights. I have been told that Tesco fuel has a higher Ethanol content, but I wouldn't have a clue.

No ethanol in derv ,only in petrol.
The only dif in expensive derv is it has a higher cetane and less sulpher content and for very high performance engines with particulate filters ,bmw and mercs spring to mind,anyway all fuel comes from a few makers,even tesco and asda fuel as they dont own any refinerys.

 

[Iandsm]

You really need to use the better diesel all the time although I imagins if you use it one in three or every other fill up it will still keep your engine guts clean.

 

[kenspain]

Do you treat your pride and joy to expensive fuel, or bang anything in. A refill a two ago, the only fuel available was the expensive stuff. I put half a tank of this in, just so I could get out of Portugal. To be honest, I think the van ran sweeter on it. It's back on regular now, and I think I can hear a difference.
I'll be interested in other peoples experience.
Confused and cold from Spain.

I always put half a tank of cheap stuff 1,.9 cents a liter and then the fill up with the good stuff 1,25 cents a liter

 

[wildebus]

Putting in your own additives can work out just as effective in terms of apparent benefit (I say apparent for any additive, be it at source in the Premium Fuel or aftermarket, as no one really knows if it is better or worthwhile for THEIR specific engine unless they strip it down).
Something like Diesel Rhino (https://shop.dieselrhino.co.uk/) costs around £24/Litre (2.5L for £60) and will treat 1000L of Diesel per litre of additive - so 2.4p/Litre cost rather than the typical 15-20p a litre extra for the premium fuels.

Unless you do the exact same journey everyday it is very hard to tell if they make a difference to the MPG, but the 'smoothness' is maybe something that can be felt and probably the emissions figure come MOT time is a good indicator.
I personally avoid Supermarket fuel whenever possible (and NEVER Morrisons or Tesco) with the exception of Costco, which is my preferred supplier, followed by Shell Standard Grade. I have no idea what difference it makes to MPG as trips way to variable to tell but my exhaust emissions a year ago were 0.47 and a week or so was 0.26 which is clean, especially for a engine from 2003.

 

[Vanterrier]

I used to have a 2.8 td Mitsubishi Pajero SWB and did the same commute from Northumberland to Huddersfield twice each week for the five years I had it. My fuel was paid for so I could experiment...
Regular diesel from anywhere got me 25 mpg but BP Ultimate gave 28 mpg so a useful improvement. However Ultimate was around 8% more per litre. So there was no significant cost benefit on the fuel cost alone but the improved consumption and smoother engine lead me to believe it was worthwhile as I was doing so many miles, even a small reduction in wear and tear per mile was worth having. I eventually changed for another Mitsi at 265,000 miles!
I do know however that despite some folks claims otherwise, that the more expensive fuel is different to the regular stuff.
Believe what you will.,,
K

 

[Deleted member 2784]

Running older Merc diesels for nearly 20 years I've found the best additive is Millers, about £12 a bottle treats 500 litres. The claim is a cetane [oomph] boost and a cleaner burn and I think it does just that. For smoother and quieter running vegoil works a treat and also provides better lube to the good old fashioned injector pump, you can introduce a very high percentage as long as it's an indirect injection lump. For those that say it'll kill your engine I'm still waiting after 350,000 miles and 2 sets of injectors... she just keeps on running.

 

[wildebus]

Running older Merc diesels for nearly 20 years I've found the best additive is Millers, about £12 a bottle treats 500 litres. The claim is a cetane [oomph] boost and a cleaner burn and I think it does just that. For smoother and quieter running vegoil works a treat and also provides better lube to the good old fashioned injector pump, you can introduce a very high percentage as long as it's an indirect injection lump. For those that say it'll kill your engine I'm still waiting after 350,000 miles and 2 sets of injectors... she just keeps on running.

I ran my T4 on 100% Pure Rapeseed Oil and it was good I would love to keep using it but my current vans engine is a Common Rail jobby so not suitable.
The engine in my T4 was designed for Bio with some good forward thinking by VW - not a single change needed to use it, although recommended to change the fuel filter (£2 from Halfords) every 2,000 miles if moving from Diesel as the veg oil was renowned to dislodge all the diesel gunk lining the fuel tank.

 

[trevskoda]

All this talk about diff fuels is total cr-p,i worked painting the tanks in belfast dock,in fact the gray tank was the one i did.
Fuel is unloaded by BP then pumped to the big holding tanks,some have sup names on them and there tankers fill up there,other do not and many different tankers pull in and fill,tesco asda etc,all the fuel is the same so get over it.

 

[Deleted member 2784]

I ran my T4 on 100% Pure Rapeseed Oil and it was good I would love to keep using it but my current vans engine is a Common Rail jobby so not suitable.
The engine in my T4 was designed for Bio with some good forward thinking by VW - not a single change needed to use it, although recommended to change the fuel filter (£2 from Halfords) every 2,000 miles if moving from Diesel as the veg oil was renowned to dislodge all the diesel gunk lining the fuel tank.

You'd be surprised regarding common rail and vegoil... I know one chap that runs his common rail Renault van with 25% [used] veggy and have heard of others really pushing boundaries. When time permits I'll be on the lookout for a cheapo common rail 'throwaway' banger, - testing it to destruction to see just what they'll tolerate.

 

[Deleted member 2784]

All this talk about diff fuels is total cr-p,i worked painting the tanks in belfast dock,in fact the gray tank was the one i did.
Fuel is unloaded by BP then pumped to the big holding tanks,some have sup names on them and there tankers fill up there,other do not and many different tankers pull in and fill,tesco asda etc,all the fuel is the same so get over it.

As an aside to what you say... Some 30 years ago I knew a tanker driver who used to collect from Bristol that said he could tell the difference between fuel refined from Saudi crude and good old North Sea crude, he reckoned that Saudi stuff was more dense = heavier and his lorry handled accordingly..

If that is / was the case then I'd guess denser = more goodies per injection that go bang in your engine = better performance. I'd be interested to hear your views!

 

[oppy]

When Tesco have RedX on at half price, I buy a few and use as directed 'ish every few fills. When started from cold it still pumps out a load of smoke and stinks a bit, but within a couple of minutes everything is wonderful, and Mr MoT man is more than happy to give me a pass certificate

 

[trevskoda]

As an aside to what you say... Some 30 years ago I knew a tanker driver who used to collect from Bristol that said he could tell the difference between fuel refined from Saudi crude and good old North Sea crude, he reckoned that Saudi stuff was more dense = heavier and his lorry handled accordingly..

If that is / was the case then I'd guess denser = more goodies per injection that go bang in your engine = better performance. I'd be interested to hear your views!

After refinement all fuel is just the same and meets gov standards which includes all additives

 

[trevskoda]

When Tesco have RedX on at half price, I buy a few and use as directed 'ish every few fills. When started from cold it still pumps out a load of smoke and stinks a bit, but within a couple of minutes everything is wonderful, and Mr MoT man is more than happy to give me a pass certificate

Some of these fuel additives including redex were lab tested and they found nothing to say they do what they claim,there was one which was made here and did however extract more oxygen from fuel and raise the cetane up a notch,but for the life of me i cannot remember the name right now,age creeping in again.

 

[wildebus]

You'd be surprised regarding common rail and vegoil... I know one chap that runs his common rail Renault van with 25% [used] veggy and have heard of others really pushing boundaries. When time permits I'll be on the lookout for a cheapo common rail 'throwaway' banger, - testing it to destruction to see just what they'll tolerate.

if I was in a position (facilites/knowledge) to rebuild/replace an engine I would be tempted to give it a go, but the benefits (for me) are no way large enough to offset the risk to try it. Good luck to those that do though.
It seems to me all the 'improvements' to diesels and their associated bits are of no benefit to the invididual owners and have just resulted in a less tolerant, more fragile and more expensive power unit.

General question - are all fuels the same? Clearly different people have different opinions and it matters not what anyone else says as their minds are set.
OBVIOUSLY there ARE differences, but I am not going to attempt to convince anyone otherwise as their minds are closed to the idea - and so is mine to anyone telling me there are not.

 

[trevskoda]

if I was in a position (facilites/knowledge) to rebuild/replace an engine I would be tempted to give it a go, but the benefits (for me) are no way large enough to offset the risk to try it. Good luck to those that do though.
It seems to me all the 'improvements' to diesels and their associated bits are of no benefit to the invididual owners and have just resulted in a less tolerant, more fragile and more expensive power unit.

General question - are all fuels the same? Clearly different people have different opinions and it matters not what anyone else says as their minds are set.
OBVIOUSLY there ARE differences, but I am not going to attempt to convince anyone otherwise as their minds are closed to the idea - and so is mine to anyone telling me there are not.

Well i have worked there so unless my porky pies are going down hill or dem is setting in i wil defo say all the same as it comes out the same pot,just the cetane grades are different.
As for bio fuel older engine do run well on it and much cleaner to once the crud has been cleaned out,BUT new transits will not take more than about 10% or hiccups set in as the electrics go haywire.

 

[oppy]

Some of these fuel additives including redex were lab tested and they found nothing to say they do what they claim,there was one which was made here and did however extract more oxygen from fuel and raise the cetane up a notch,but for the life of me i cannot remember the name right now,age creeping in again.

Well young fella, it worked for us. That said though, there always was a little pump thing at the filling station that we were charged 6d a squirt for the UCL Redex when we were younger, and to be truly honest, I've no idea as to its value, but its placebo effect seemed to work, and as we are of a similar age, I think that we both ought to call for nursie to come and do her thing with us, so with a withered smile---------bon nuit

 

[wildebus]

Well i have worked there so unless my porky pies are going down hill or dem is setting in i wil defo say all the same as it comes out the same pot,just the cetane grades are different.
As for bio fuel older engine do run well on it and much cleaner to once the crud has been cleaned out,BUT new transits will not take more than about 10% or hiccups set in as the electrics go haywire.

Trev, I am not disputing the tankers fill from the same tank. The Additives are on the tanker, NOT in the refinaries storage tank. And they are not just Cetane boosters but include other stuff which obviously is not publicised as they are commercial secrets (but as I said, I will not convince you from your belief, and you won't change my opinion )

 

[trevskoda]

Trev, I am not disputing the tankers fill from the same tank. The Additives are on the tanker, NOT in the refinaries storage tank. And they are not just Cetane boosters but include other stuff which obviously is not publicised as they are commercial secrets (but as I said, I will not convince you from your belief, and you won't change my opinion )

I asked some drivers when i worked in esso and they just grin and said if you want to beleave then good do so,to pass they did put in a thimble full of magic keeping them within the advertising rules at that time but dont think it happens anymore.

 

[Tezza33]

A few years ago in France, I accidentally started putting petrol into my van (2002 2.8JTD) but fortunately noticed after 6, 7 or 8ltrs, I then filled up with 60ltrs of diesel and knew it would not be a problem because years ago we used to add petrol to our tanks to stop waxing in cold weather, I noticed it ran smoother with more MPG for the rest of that fuel fill up, it surprised me because the old Scania's, Fords and Bedfords I drove they were too slow to notice any difference, it was very noticeable on this engine so every now and again I put a few ltrs in

 

[wildebus]

I asked some drivers when i worked in esso and they just grin and said if you want to beleave then good do so,to pass they did put in a thimble full of magic keeping them within the advertising rules at that time but dont think it happens anymore.

I avoid Esso stations as their drivers fuel the forecourt tanks incorrectly.