BP ultimate diesel

[Topspeed]

[QUOTE=
So it gives the higher cetane number which is good (as mentioned before) but from what 5cylinders says it could be damaging the DPFs. Ah well just have to hope the DPF doesn't throw its legs in the air and give up regardless what fuel pump I use. I am now more confused than ever so better go and wash the car - it is Sunday after all!!![/QUOTE]

LOL. I've washed mine already. It's like therapy

[5cilinder]

Originally Posted by GrantA

Great, how do you know what fuel contains this stuff? Wikipedia says "As of 2007, almost all diesel fuel available in the United States of America, Canada and Europe is the ULSD type." this worrying but another publication from Chevron in 2007 states this about GTL:

"GAS-TO-LIQUID DIESEL
Another class of synthetic (non-crude oil derived) diesel fuel that has received significant attention recently is referred to as gas-to-liquid (GTL) diesel. GTL diesel is produced from natural gas using the Fischer-Tropsch® process, which was first developed in the 1920s. The Fischer-Tropsch® process uses special catalysts to convert natural gas through a carbon monoxide-hydrogen intermediate into a mixture of synthetic hydrocarbons referred to as syncrude. The syncrude is further refined via isomerization, hydrocracking/ hydrotreating, and fractionation processes to produce a completed fuel.
GTL processes can yield high-quality fuels with exceptional properties. Refined syncrude diesel, GTL diesel, is composed almost exclusively of paraffins, with virtually no aromatic hydrocarbon or olefins content. In addition, GTL diesel fuel is nearly free of sulfur and nitrogen. The cetane number of GTL diesel is significantly higher than conventional diesel – typically in the range from 70 to 75. GTL diesel is characterized by poor lubricity and must be treated with a commercial lubricity additive. In addition, it also has poor cold flow properties, limiting its potential use in cold weather applications.
At the same time, properly treated GTL diesel is fully compatible with existing diesel engine technology and can be used interchangeably (and mixed) with conventional diesel fuel. The energy density of GTL diesel is similar to conventional diesel. Typically, GTL diesel results in lower hydrocarbon, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, and particulate emissions when compared with conventional diesel fuel. GTL diesel does not provide any advantage, however, in terms of CO2 tailpipe emissions.
GTL diesel has not seen widespread commercial use. Its intrinsic advantage of upgrading low-grade natural gas to valuable liquid products is balanced against capital investment and production costs, which are significantly higher for GTL fuels than for its crude- dervied counterparts. However, over the past decade, technological advances have been made that significantly reduce the cost of producing GTL fuels. As GTL production technology continues to improve and global energy demand continues to increase,
GTL fuels will become increasingly cost competitive and will become more common in the marketplace."

The full article is here:
http://www.chevronwithtechron.com/pr...ech_Review.pdf

So it gives the higher cetane number which is good (as mentioned before) but from what 5cylinders says it could be damaging the DPFs. Ah well just have to hope the DPF doesn't throw its legs in the air and give up regardless what fuel pump I use. I am now more confused than ever so better go and wash the car - it is Sunday after all!!!

Your mixing things up
Lubricity is a different thing than pluggung dpf's EN590 spec diesel should be sufficient lubricitywise
The absent sulphur is replaced by lubricity additives and also the mixed biodieselpart is good lubricitywise
The gtl diesel is used for sure in shell vpower diesel other premium diesels i dont know for sure

[GrantA]

Originally Posted by 5cilinder

Your mixing things up
Lubricity is a different thing than pluggung dpf's EN590 spec diesel should be sufficient lubricitywise
The absent sulphur is replaced by lubricity additives and also the mixed biodieselpart is good lubricitywise
The gtl diesel is used for sure in shell vpower diesel other premium diesels i dont know for sure

Don't think I'm getting things mixed up, I never questioned the "lubricity", all I did was quote what Wikipedia and Chevron state about low sulphur or GTL diesel. What I was questioning was what you said in your earlier post "Gtl burnes very clean but has the sideeffect to produce extra thin "supersoot" wich needs higher temperatures to burn 650c/700c instead of 600c Wih adblue systems it will probably burn , but dpf with post injection to produce 600c temperatures dpf's can plug or excessivly regenerate"

My question is what diesel do I put my car so I can avoid damaging my DPF? I am happy that whatever diesel I use it will have sufficient lubricity. Do I put in supermarket diesel and take a risk that it has few additives and a low cetane number or do I put in a more expensive named brand with, I presume, a higher cetane number and of these which one will have GTL in it or will they all have GTL???

[Topspeed]

Originally Posted by GrantA

Don't think I'm getting things mixed up, I never questioned the "lubricity", all I did was quote what Wikipedia and Chevron state about low sulphur or GTL diesel. What I was questioning was what you said in your earlier post "Gtl burnes very clean but has the sideeffect to produce extra thin "supersoot" wich needs higher temperatures to burn 650c/700c instead of 600c Wih adblue systems it will probably burn , but dpf with post injection to produce 600c temperatures dpf's can plug or excessivly regenerate"

My question is what diesel do I put my car so I can avoid damaging my DPF? I am happy that whatever diesel I use it will have sufficient lubricity. Do I put in supermarket diesel and take a risk that it has few additives and a low cetane number or do I put in a more expensive named brand with, I presume, a higher cetane number and of these which one will have GTL in it or will they all have GTL???

In my opinion I wouldn't loose any sleep about it. A DPF worst enemy will allways be city driving, start and stop...
If you give it a good blast trough the gears every now and again it should reach regeneration temperature and condition.
Shell uses GTL in they'r diesel.
I will still be using the better fuel i can get.

[GrantA]

Originally Posted by Topspeed

In my opinion I wouldn't loose any sleep about it. A DPF worst enemy will allways be city driving, start and stop...
If you give it a good blast trough the gears every now and again it should reach regeneration temperature and condition.
Shell uses GTL in they'r diesel.
I will still be using the better fuel i can get.

Thanks Topspeed, here in rural France you have to travel miles to get anywhere so I shouldn't have any problems with the DPF and, like you, I'll be putting in the better fuel anyway. Ah time for a glass of red and chillaxing by the pool.........

[jaygee]

Originally Posted by GrantA

Thanks Topspeed, here in rural France you have to travel miles to get anywhere so I shouldn't have any problems with the DPF and, like you, I'll be putting in the better fuel anyway. Ah time for a glass of red and chillaxing by the pool.........

So it's decided then! Shell V-power or BP Ultimate all the way. What about the other premium diesels, if there are any?

I only ask if I am no where near either and that is the only option left to me. I guess it would unlikely that would be the case.

[GrantA]

Originally Posted by jaygee

So it's decided then! Shell V-power or BP Ultimate all the way. What about the other premium diesels, if there are any?

I only ask if I am no where near either and that is the only option left to me. I guess it would unlikely that would be the case.

Well I am no expert but as a retired Engineer I do understand that technology has moved on in leaps and bounds to make more efficient diesel engines. At the same time Governments have introduced more stringent regulations on emissions so fuel suppliers are continuing to meet the requirements of both. As has been stated often on this and other Forums the fuel that is distributed from refineries comes from the same storage tanks and it is often the tanker driver that adds the "additive" before delivering the fuel to the outlets whether it be Esso, BP, Shell, Total, Salisburys, Texcos or whoever. I have no idea what fuel would be best for these modern Volvo engines, what I do know is that many people report an improvement in MPG and say their cars seem to run quieter / better when they use a premium fuel such as Shell V-Power or BP Ultima. I haven't had my Volvo long enough to decide for myself but I have started filling up with the "Super Diesel - Excellium" which I can get in my local supermarket here in France. It cost 4c (3.2p) more per litre than the normal diesel so we will have to see after a couple of tank fills if there is any improvement in MPG etc. My neighbour (also a Brit) runs a Land Rover Freelander and he swears by Total Excellium which claims to offer much the same as other premium diesel fuels.

If you Google any of these fuels you will see what they claim but what you will not see is what they add to their fuels. What I would like to see is a chart of all the fuels, premium and basic, with what additives they have and what improvements the distributors claim we, the punters, can get by using their fuels. Perhaps this already exists in Which or somewhere, I haven't looked... yet.

[Topspeed]

Originally Posted by GrantA

Well I am no expert but as a retired Engineer I do understand that technology has moved on in leaps and bounds to make more efficient diesel engines. At the same time Governments have introduced more stringent regulations on emissions so fuel suppliers are continuing to meet the requirements of both. As has been stated often on this and other Forums the fuel that is distributed from refineries comes from the same storage tanks and it is often the tanker driver that adds the "additive" before delivering the fuel to the outlets whether it be Esso, BP, Shell, Total, Salisburys, Texcos or whoever. I have no idea what fuel would be best for these modern Volvo engines, what I do know is that many people report an improvement in MPG and say their cars seem to run quieter / better when they use a premium fuel such as Shell V-Power or BP Ultima. I haven't had my Volvo long enough to decide for myself but I have started filling up with the "Super Diesel - Excellium" which I can get in my local supermarket here in France. It cost 4c (3.2p) more per litre than the normal diesel so we will have to see after a couple of tank fills if there is any improvement in MPG etc. My neighbour (also a Brit) runs a Land Rover Freelander and he swears by Total Excellium which claims to offer much the same as other premium diesel fuels.

If you Google any of these fuels you will see what they claim but what you will not see is what they add to their fuels. What I would like to see is a chart of all the fuels, premium and basic, with what additives they have and what improvements the distributors claim we, the punters, can get by using their fuels. Perhaps this already exists in Which or somewhere, I haven't looked... yet.

For all its worth. A bit of research to confuse us even more.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diesel_fuel

[GrantA]

Originally Posted by Topspeed

For all its worth. A bit of research to confuse us even more.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diesel_fuel

Thanks Topspeed, by the time I got to the bit about "Algae, microbes, and water contamination" I was ready to throw myself onto my sword........

I have search the web and nobody appears to have done a comparison of the range of diesel fuels available. What I did find was this http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage...e-you-mad.html but it appears to mix up the results of high octane fuel (which I take as petrol) but then talks about diesel. I'll keep looking.......

[TiredGeek]

To throw another spanner in the works many people swear by adding ~300mls of two stroke oil to ~70 litres of diesel.
They say it improves mpg, gives a bit more power, makes it quieter and smokes less.
I assume it improves the cetane value a bit, or maybe it's just placebo.

I use "ordinary" Shell when I can but when I'm in Scotland the only stuff I can get is from Tesco. I've done many tanks on both and can't say I've ever noticed a difference.

I did try a few tanks of Shell V-power back to back, but on my normal daily route done at the normal times (so essentially the same traffic conditions) I found no difference whatsoever. MPG was the same to within a margin of error, no noticeable increase in power, no noticeable change to engine note or vibration.
No noticeable difference to ordinary Shell but about £5 a tank more. Not a big cost unless you do a lot of miles, but why spend it if you get nothing in return?