Fuel Quality - Diesel...

[dubsR33]

On my other forum the topic of petrol quality from different petrol suppliers is often spoken of as the mass majority of us on there are mapped to a certain brand of super unleaded like Shell, Esso, Texaco, tesco etc etc

Anyway, as this is my first Diesel car - I've never heard much about the same but with diesel if you get me?

I only mention this as up until now I've been using the same garage in Gloucester every time to fill up my CLK 320CDI, its a random own brand kinda garage - because its a penny cheaper than anywhere in Bristol... (I live in Bristol and work in Gloucester) With steady driving i average from tank to tank about 420-440 miles per tank.

Now is this diesel cheaper for a reason? i only say this because i had to use texaco petrol station in Bristol the other day and filled to the top and drove in the exact same manner and got almost 500 miles from the tank!! So would bog standard Texaco diesel be a better than this other garage?

i thought diesel was just diesel...


Cheers

 

[ItalianTuneUp]

I shall watch this thread keenly, as I have often wondered about diesel quality/price differences.

 

[cinek]

Some claim that V power fuel does make a noticeable difference.
I have tried it on number of occasions and truth be told, I did get some more miles out of the tank.

However, I did want the car to perform well, or shall I say, I wanted the car to perform better than usual. That in turn made me drive it more consciously, reducing harsh accelerating and unnecessary braking, which could have been the real factor behind improved economy.

It is normal diesel that goes in my cars and normal petrol that I fill the bike with. Never had an issue with either.

I do however use Shell fuels 99% of a time and keep well away from supermarket garages.

 

[dubsR33]

its worth talking about thats for sure.

I'm just wondering if the 'normal' diesel, not the diesel plus etc is better from a more well known branded supplier rather than the one off unknown places....

 

[cinek]

its worth talking about thats for sure.

I'm just wondering if the 'normal' diesel, not the diesel plus etc is better from a more well known branded supplier rather than the one off unknown places....

Yes and yes again.

 

[ItalianTuneUp]

... and keep well away from supermarket garages.

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but why?

Anecdotally, I have heard some people say that supermarket diesel is full of crap, but is that true? Has there been a scientific analysis to prove this, I wonder?

I generally use Asda diesel, so should I avoid filling up there?

So far, I've not noticed any strange issues from using it.

 

[chrisjfinlay]

Here on the Isle of Man, we have once choice for diesel... All the garages are run by one company...

 

[dubsR33]

I generally use Asda diesel, so should I avoid filling up there?

So far, I've not noticed any strange issues from using it.

have you compared a tank to tank mpg from asda diesel compared to another petrol station etc?

 

[ItalianTuneUp]

have you compared a tank to tank mpg from asda diesel compared to another petrol station etc?

No I haven't done that. I expect if I paid a 10p/15p premium per litre on shell v power, or equivalent, I may see improved mpg, but is it worth it? That's almost a £15 premium per tank on my car.

It seems likely the shell v power cleaning additives would be beneficial, certainly not harmful, but hopefully the fact I mostly do motorway miles keeps engine etc clean anyway, from the Italian tune up effect

 

[Stratman]

Is there a secret refinery somewhere marked "Supermarket crap"?

If not, I'd hazard that supermarket fuel comes from the same refineries as 'own brands'. It might lack one or two proprietary additives, but by and large it won't be too different.

 

[Dieselman]

I don't notice any difference in mpg from different brands, but do find V-Power gives LESS mpg and costs more.

 

[ItalianTuneUp]

Is there a secret refinery somewhere marked "Supermarket crap"?

If not, I'd hazard that supermarket fuel comes from the same refineries as 'own brands'. It might lack one or two proprietary additives, but by and large it won't be too different.

I expect you're right. Is it possible to find out who the supermarkets buy their diesel from? I can't believe we're the first ones to question this.

 

[dubsR33]

the cheap petrol station in Gloucester that i have been using is called "Pace" - never seen or heard of it before working here..

 

[Dieselman]

the cheap petrol station in Gloucester that i have been using is called "Pace" - never seen or heard of it before working here..

Pace fuels are a regional distributor. No problem with that, but they are possibly skimping on additives.

Perform more MPG checks before condemning it as a single tank isn't enough to go by, due to possible filling errors.

You could continue to use cheaper fuel and add your own additive.

 

[ItalianTuneUp]

I don't notice any difference in mpg from different brands, but do find V-Power gives LESS mpg and costs more.

Very interesting. Anecdotally, iirc, I seem to recall that others claim higher mpg with v power. Maybe it depends on other factors too?

 

[cinek]

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but why?

Because I recall number of stories involving water mixed with fuel causing untold of troubles for those who happen to fill up that day.

If I am not mistaken, it included Morrison more than once, Asda and I remember few years ago our local Tesco garage had some water contamination issues too.

 

[ItalianTuneUp]

Add which additives DM? I thought MB don't recommend additives?

 

[ItalianTuneUp]

Because I recall number of stories involving water mixed with fuel causing untold of troubles for those who happen to fill up that day.

If I am not mistaken, it included Morrison more than once, Asda and I remember few years ago our local Tesco garage had some water contamination issues too.

That's interesting. I wonder why non-supermarket diesel would not suffer the same water contamination as well?

Maybe more 'cheap skates' who use supermarket fuel let the fuel run right down before refilling? On the petrol thread, water condensation in the tank often occurred with emptier tanks, iirc. Purely a wild guess, but it would be good to know the reality here.

 

[Dieselman]

Not recommending additives, then using one at service time seems out of kilter, but that's what Mercedes do.

The don't recommend them as a catch all if someone adds snake oil and it goes bang.

I find Millers to be good and cost effective.

 

[dubsR33]

I've been using the Pace petrol station since November and the tank on tank has been pretty consistent, I'm on my 2nd tank of texaco now so i will see what happens this time...