Grades of diesel...... your thoughts

[Eshrules]

ive heard good things said of shell too, but tescos is practically on my doorstep,nearest petrol station after that is 2 mile away, hence my choice LOL

huweth, as above really. whats needed to run your car on biodiesel? are there any 'maintenance' impacts, eg specific maintenance as a direct result of the biodiesel? and what cons? is this the same kind of scenario as the LPG conversion?

[Eshrules]

first bit of info i found.... extracted from forcourttrader.co.uk

BP is stirring up the forecourt market with the launch of a new range of premium fuels called Ultimate.

The new range is being marketed with the ambitious promise of ‘more performance and less pollution’, and will be priced at an extra 3p for the diesel version and 5p for petrol. The initial launch phase has seen the new fuels rolled out at 400 company owned BP sites around the country. The dealer take-up will follow more gradually, as they re-balance their tanks.
The expectation is that dealers will be keen to stock it and enjoy some of the extra profitability from selling a premium-priced fuel which will benefit from an intensive publicity campaign including TV, radio and billboard activity towards the end of the year.
The new Ultimate range is seen as a rival to Shell’s premium petrol Optimax. However the BP range has taken the lead in having a diesel version as well, to cater for the tremendous growth in diesel sales – 10 per cent per year for the past four years.
The fuels were created to meet the specific demands of BP’s customers following a global survey of motorists – in the US, UK, Greece and Portugal. They wanted more from their engines and less from their exhausts; and wanted the fuel to work as well on old cars as new.
BP claims Ultimate unleaded can make a 1.6 litre engine vehicle perform more like a 1.8 litre model; and Ultimate Diesel can make a 1998 model perform like a 2002 model. The fuels are also said to improve fuel economy to give the motorist more miles per tank; they are also less polluting because BP Ultimate burns better and has twice the cleaning power of ordinary fuels.
Another interesting claim is that if all cars in the UK used Ultimate (petrol and diesel) in one year, it would be like removing at least a million cars from the roads in terms of the key engine emissions that contribute to pollution.




http://forecourttrader.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/739/BP's_ultimate_fuel_launch.html

[devonutopia]

Trouble is, the ultimate diesel is worse for my car, and costs 5 pence extra a litre on average. It's a no-brainer for me to stick in the cheap stuff. I will be getting the car remapped again on cheap stuff, this time with Millers Sport 4 additive mixed in, and with propane being injected at the same time. It's an odd combination which seems to work well in my situation.

[ian]

im have been using tesco diesel as the station is on my door step and is cheap, just read about shell v-power performance diesel, the same diesel that powered the audi r10 to victory in Le Mans 24hr.

going to fill up with that next time round to see if i can fell if the car runs any different.

[loupee]

I used to use Morrisons diesel in mine for 2-3 months, had problems with the tick over, the vw dealer in barnsley told me I MUST use shell diesel, i thought he was taking the micky. The car now runs 100% better.

[NicholasP]

i was at shell today and couldn't find their performance diesel? So filled up with the regular diesel and added my usual dose of injector cleanser....

when are shell releasing their v-power diesel?

[Gadgeteer1066]

My two cars both have the 2.0 TDi engine which specifically rules out bio-diesel.
I currently use Tesco because I collect the points/airmiles and adding fuel to the shopping bill builds up the points very nicely.

I would move to a more expensive fuel if it was proven to make a difference, but it is all so subjective. I have tried Shell and BP and maybe it did, maybe it didn't. It certainly wasn't a wow-effect that converted me over but maybe it was subtle and I should have stuck to it.

Trouble is most of the blurb about this stuff comes out of the mouths of advertising executives who are just good with words, not with science. Look how M&S have sold their food on tv!

What it needs is some sort of scientific review, a Which magazine comparison, even Top Gear (except they would probably drop a caravan on something in the middle of the test).

[NicholasP]

What it needs is some sort of scientific review, a Which magazine comparison, even Top Gear (except they would probably drop a caravan on something in the middle of the test).

haha yeah...

I suppose somebody could dyno their car with each fuel variant so we could have some real bhp values to compare

In the meantime, Ive found Shell's version of diesel ultimate so when i finish this tank..im gonna try it. I really did notice a difference between Tesco Diesel and BP Ultimate. Enough of a difference for me to pay £1/litre!

Shell's stuff on trial next....

[ian]

when are shell releasing their v-power diesel?

i think there is only a few selected filling stations around the country that have the v-power diesel.

thoes living down south have the better chance of getting it first, i have to travel 12 mile to reach the nearest shell station and about 18 mile to reach the first one later this month to try the v-power diesel.

if you hit the shell web site there is a list of current stations around the country that is already selling the v-power stuff.

cant wait to try it !!!

[NicholasP]

high octane petrol will only make a difference in newer cars...i know my dad puts it in his audi a3 2.0T and used to laugh when i put it in my fiesta, cause apparently older engines cant take advantage of it. Dunno...

all i know is that im trying to burn fuel at the mo cause I found a local shell that is selling V-Max Diesel