Diesel - Normal Or Premium

[tram]

The book says diesel with lowest sulphur is best. I put in some BP Excellium by mistake,as I would usually go for the standard diesel. But then it got me thinking that maybe this would be better for the van to use it all the time.

The other big fuel maker/providers do their own sort of thing with a higher grade diesel.

I will stick to these and avoid supermarkets and the like, just sticking with the big known ones and their excellium type.

Is this a good idea? What thoughts do other people have about fuel?

 

[Davenjo]

Standard and Premium diesels are, I understand, both ultra low in sulphur and so tick the "lowest sulphur is best" box. Premium diesel just has various additives and detergents which may or not be required by the engine. With my Land Rover, what I tend to do is fill up with premium diesel every third or fourth time - this does seem to make the engine run a bit better and I do seem to get a few more miles to the gallon on the premium tank (about 26 rather than 24 - ouch!). Not a scientific test and probably not a justification for the extra money it costs though!! Unless someone can give me a very good reason to do so, I don't intend starting a similar regime with the T6 and will be sticking with the standard diesel.

 

[Loz]

One thing premium diesel and additives contain more of is cetane which is good for lubrication and combustion.

 

[former member]

It's a diesel van.
So I put diesel in it.

 

[RattyMcClelland]

Yer I can't be certain premium diesels offer anything over regular diesel. I have never noticed any difference apart from price.


It's not like petrol when there is a big difference between standard 95ron Vs 99ron.

 

[mopardave]

Shell Titanium.......or whatever it's called these days? I also use diesel rhino too. Maybe over the top but I really do think it makes a difference......just seems to run better. I just spent all that money on a 150bhp kombi......I'm not quibbling over a few quid on a tankful. Premium petrol definitely made a difference in my old 2001 bmw e46 320i. Only time will tell if I feel the same way about premium diesel??????

 

[VanBlanc]

3 tanks ago I decided to experiment using branded premium diesel over supermarket ordinary. So after 2 x BP and 1 x Shell I can't say I have seen any real difference except my wallet is £32 lighter.

If I carry on the annual running cost increase at today's fuel cost is about £350 at today's prices. Over a 10 year 120K life that is £3500. Is it good VFM?

 

[former member]

I'll put super petrol in the BM (used 99 on my track day) if available, which it often isn't in Cornwall but the Subaru gets normal stuff as does the van.

While I get the petrol thing, super diesel has a slightly higher cetane (as opposed to octane) rating but I have yet to hear of a single shred of proper evidence supporting better mpg or performance.

 

[mopardave]

I know what you're saying.......I do it because there was a discernable difference with the premium petrol in my BMW......it seemed like the natural thing to do with the van??????????

 

[RattyMcClelland]

Petrol and diesel behave very differently and both types of engines want to do different things.
Petrol engines don't want to pre ignite and rely on engine timing and the spark plug to get the correct burn. Lower octane can ignite early under the wrong conditions. Higher octane means more resistance to detonation so the timing can be advanced and more power made.
Diesel relys on compression to ignite So higher compression ratios.
Diesel ignites well on compression no matter what, so the premium stuff won't make much difference. Just extra cleaners in it to clear out the injection system maybe.

 

[Pedro]

That's exactly what I was about to say....

 

[VanBlanc]

There must be other ways of tweaking diesel, after all I doubt the WEC cars would take kindly to Tesco diesel

 

[tram]

I filled up with Texaco premium. It cost about %11 more than standard, so that was an extra £8.

If it does run better, there is no obvious indication of this, but it may very well do if there is extra cetane in the mix. My gut feeling is that it is a bit more nippier, and so maybe I probably would get more mpg and power.

I think what I will do, as some posts suggest, is to go with the premium once every three fills, just for the possible cleaning agents, and to buy from the big producers.

 

[BiTurbo]

Standard diesel will have upto 10% bio diesel in it. Performance diesel won't.

 

[Mark Woodhouse]

With premium or more refined diesels they contain less water content and this is what builds up in tank and fuel system, diesel/fuel treatment like fortron total fuel cleans out the water residue, this resulting in smoother running and increased mpg. We use this at the VW dealership I look after and initially was very sceptical, however after using this 1ltr for every 6-8k miles this has made a noticeable benefit of 3-5 mpg and van not fully run in yet at 6500mile. Premium fuels are meant to have a similar effect but I prefer to use regular and spend £25 every 6months on total fuel treatment.

 

[Keeff]

You can get millers ecomax from halfords for £15 . This will treat 500 litres but I won't say you get better mpg but it picks up better at low revs 1500 rpm. You can then use the cheapest fuel you can find as it contains the additives you need .

 

[BiTurbo]

Diesel blend with biodiesel | Diesel | Fuels | Products & services | BP Australia

 

[Loz]

You can get millers ecomax from halfords for £15 . This will treat 500 litres but I won't say you get better mpg but it picks up better at low revs 1500 rpm. You can then use the cheapest fuel you can find as it contains the additives you need .

I always use this but buy in bulk from opie oils.

 

[mopardave]

does nobody use diesel rhino?

 

[t6dsg]

Run a good diesel fuel additive every 3 months
Ignore this long life servicing crap too