Exxon Synergy Diesel Efficient, marketing from Exxon?

belome

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 8, 2010
Location
Mid MI
TDI
2002 Jetta GLS TDI 5-speed
Top-tier is mostly just a licensing agency money grab. They charge fuel suppliers money to be part of the club. Just because fuel isn't top-tier doesn't mean it is not good fuel, it just means the suppliers was too cheap to pay Top-tier money to register their product.
 

Lightflyer1

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Sep 13, 2005
Location
Round Rock, Texas
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2015 Beetle tdi dsg
Doesn't mean they were too cheap either. Just means they might not see any benefit from belonging to the club. Doesn't make them cheap just may mean they are frugal or good business owners.
 

belome

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 8, 2010
Location
Mid MI
TDI
2002 Jetta GLS TDI 5-speed
True, I should have chose my wording better. It is just a marketing gimmick and many companies don't see the benefits paying for the cost of the licensing.

No different from GM making oil suppliers pay money to put the Dexos label on their oil.
Plenty of companies make oil that would pass the Dexos requirements but they refuse to pay GM to license the Dexos name on it.
 

tikal

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 18, 2001
Location
Southeast Texas
TDI
2004 Passat Wagon (chainless + 5 MT + GDE tune)
I would say one of the advantages of a D2 fuel from places like Costco it would be that it is a very high volume reputable station and most likely with very competitive prices. Of course this is provided it is relatively close to your area.
 

Lightflyer1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Sep 13, 2005
Location
Round Rock, Texas
TDI
2015 Beetle tdi dsg
Well membership requirements negate some of that and there are many many high volume stations around that are "tier 1" type stations around.
 

belome

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 8, 2010
Location
Mid MI
TDI
2002 Jetta GLS TDI 5-speed
I would say one of the advantages of a D2 fuel from places like Costco it would be that it is a very high volume reputable station and most likely with very competitive prices. Of course this is provided it is relatively close to your area.
Is Costco actually a high volume diesel supplier? I mean, I'm sure they move a lot of gas, but it isn't like you pull your big rig up to a costco pump.
 

mopower

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 22, 2007
Location
Midwest vandweller
TDI
15 GSW
My closest Costco pumps are always busy but they are not a diesel retailer, and I've never seen a Costco truck stop. Are the big rig fuel pumps generally tied to the same tank that supplies the auto diesel pump?

My trip to the Exxon resulted in no diesel, it looked like they must have removed their diesel pumps when last renovated.
 

tikal

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 18, 2001
Location
Southeast Texas
TDI
2004 Passat Wagon (chainless + 5 MT + GDE tune)
Of course you normally do not get the Costco membership exclusively for fuel purposes but I see your point about membership fees.

I suspect that the Costco locations that do have diesel they are busy on the average. There is a thread dedicated to the topic of Costco diesel too :)
 

KevinGary

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 6, 2017
Location
Long Island
TDI
2015 A6 TDI
I wanted to report back on my experience with Exxon Synergy Diesel. At the outset, let me say that I know that this is not a scientific analysis and that it is one person's experience.

I have 89K miles on my 3.0 A6 TDI. Almost all of my miles are commuting miles in the NYC metro area. I have hand calculated the mileage of every tank since new and have input it into an excel spread sheet. (yes I have OCD!). After 89k miles my overall MPG is 28.6563. During those 89K miles I used BP and Shell fuel exclusively. So I have a pretty good baseline for comparison.

In recent months I noticed a decline in my MPG and decided to give Exxon Synergy a try. I have now driven 1,136 miles on it and have averaged 29.2783 MPG, i.e. an improvement of .622 mpg, or an improvement of slightly better than 2% when compared to my lifetime MPG. This is about the same as Exxon claims. These last 1,136 miles were typical commuting miles for me. No extended highway trips.

Of course that it is comparing it to my lifetime mileage. However, remember that I told you that I had observed a drop off on MPG and that is why I tried Exxon Synergy. In fact, for the 6,619 miles before the switch my MPG had dropped to 27.272. The drop off started last August and when it happened I tried various fuel additives to no avail. By late September I stopped with the fuel additives and decided that the car was just getting older. So by the time I tried Exxon Synergy I had driven over 5,000 miles since adding any of the additives. Comparing the Exxon Synergy to the entire "dropped period" the mileage was 2.006 MPG better, ie 7.3% better.

Of course part of the entire "drop period" included the warmer months and the impact of the fuel additives. So I also looked at my MPG for the 1,150 miles before the switch. This roughly lined up with the same number of miles that I had driven with Exxon Synergy (1,136) and all of the miles were winter miles (January-March). During this period I averaged just 25.727 MPG on BP and Shell. When comparing that MPG to the 29.2783 MPG I got with Exxon Synergy, there was an improvement of 3.551 MPG, or 13.798%.

Based on my experience it seems that Exxon Synergy does a better job of cleaning the fuel system than the additives I tried (Stanadyne, Power Service, Liqui Molly and XPD) or the fuel offered by Shel and BP. It also seems to improve the MPG by .6 MPG in my car, or about 2% when compared to the lifetime MPG.

I know that this is not a scientific analysis, but I thought I would report my observations.
 
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tikal

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 18, 2001
Location
Southeast Texas
TDI
2004 Passat Wagon (chainless + 5 MT + GDE tune)
Detailed and valuable post!

KevinGary, I agree with you that one data point is hardly conclusive statistically speaking. However I also think that people that make a honest effort to meaningfully contribute with your experience is what makes TDIClub a value added technical forum.

With this thread (and perhaps others in the future) we are adding important data points valuable specially with later TDIs and other modern light duty diesel engines with DPF/SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) that can benefit in a variety of ways with more suitable D2 formulations!

Thank you!
 

sloinker

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 27, 2015
Location
Casper, Wyoming
TDI
'15 Sportwagen '15 Golf Hatch
Absolutely no way to verify but I do feel I get more miles to a tank when using the local Exxon diesel over other stations I use. Since the price is fairly uniform I try to fill with Exxon diesel when it's convenient to my travels.
 

tdiman

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 30, 2000
Location
bridgeport wv
TDI
jetta 2015 sel grey / black interior


Here’s a mystery to figure out I have two 2015 Jetta SEL tdi one gets 550 on a tank the other gets 640 on a tank I’m using Exxon only mileage did go up 40 to 50 miles per tank


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

KevinGary

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 6, 2017
Location
Long Island
TDI
2015 A6 TDI
I wanted to report back on my experience with Exxon Synergy Diesel. At the outset, let me say that I know that this is not a scientific analysis and that it is one person's experience.

I have 89K miles on my 3.0 A6 TDI. Almost all of my miles are commuting miles in the NYC metro area. I have hand calculated the mileage of every tank since new and have input it into an excel spread sheet. (yes I have OCD!). After 89k miles my overall MPG is 28.6563. During those 89K miles I used BP and Shell fuel exclusively. So I have a pretty good baseline for comparison.

In recent months I noticed a decline in my MPG and decided to give Exxon Synergy a try. I have now driven 1,136 miles on it and have averaged 29.2783 MPG, i.e. an improvement of .622 mpg, or an improvement of slightly better than 2% when compared to my lifetime MPG. This is about the same as Exxon claims. These last 1,136 miles were typical commuting miles for me. No extended highway trips.

Of course that it is comparing it to my lifetime mileage. However, remember that I told you that I had observed a drop off on MPG and that is why I tried Exxon Synergy. In fact, for the 6,619 miles before the switch my MPG had dropped to 27.272. The drop off started last August and when it happened I tried various fuel additives to no avail. By late September I stopped with the fuel additives and decided that the car was just getting older. So by the time I tried Exxon Synergy I had driven over 5,000 miles since adding any of the additives. Comparing the Exxon Synergy to the entire "dropped period" the mileage was 2.006 MPG better, ie 7.3% better.

Of course part of the entire "drop period" included the warmer months and the impact of the fuel additives. So I also looked at my MPG for the 1,150 miles before the switch. This roughly lined up with the same number of miles that I had driven with Exxon Synergy (1,136) and all of the miles were winter miles (January-March). During this period I averaged just 25.727 MPG on BP and Shell. When comparing that MPG to the 29.2783 MPG I got with Exxon Synergy, there was an improvement of 3.551 MPG, or 13.798%.

Based on my experience it seems that Exxon Synergy does a better job of cleaning the fuel system than the additives I tried (Stanadyne, Power Service, Liqui Molly and XPD) or the fuel offered by Shel and BP. It also seems to improve the MPG by .6 MPG in my car, or about 2% when compared to the lifetime MPG.

I know that this is not a scientific analysis, but I thought I would report my observations.
I have now used the new Exxon fuel exclusively for the last 2,340 miles and have averaged a hand calculated 30 mpg. This is a 4.7% improvement over the 28.6563 mpg that I averaged for the car's first 89k miles. It is also a 12.8% improvement over the 26.59 mpg that I averaged during the 2,622 miles before the switch. While still not a scientific analysis, the MPG improvement that I have experienced with this fuel continues.
 

tikal

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 18, 2001
Location
Southeast Texas
TDI
2004 Passat Wagon (chainless + 5 MT + GDE tune)
I have now used the new Exxon fuel exclusively for the last 2,340 miles and have averaged a hand calculated 30 mpg. This is a 4.7% improvement over the 28.6563 mpg that I averaged for the car's first 89k miles. It is also a 12.8% improvement over the 26.59 mpg that I averaged during the 2,622 miles before the switch. While still not a scientific analysis, the MPG improvement that I have experienced with this fuel continues.
That's pretty impressive. Thanks for sharing your data KevinGary.

I wonder if in more performance engines, such as a V6 TDI, the potential MPG gains will be more noticeable (above 5% gain or so) and perhaps cost effective vs a TDI that is averaging around 40 MPG or better.
 

wensteph

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2010
Location
Savannah
TDI
2011 Touareg sold to VW 2014 Audi Q5 re-programmed
In trying to find an answer for something else I came across a paper by Infineum (world wide joint venture between XOM and Shell and one of the largest formulators of fuel and oil additives) on fuel borne catalysts which led to other papers. Short version is FBCs are catalysts included in fuel to cause the oxidation of soot in a DPF. Effective passive regeneration at at lower temperatures which increases time between active regenerations which would lower fuel consumption. Google fuel borne catalysts.

Perhaps Exxon is using this approach?
 
Last edited:

tikal

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 18, 2001
Location
Southeast Texas
TDI
2004 Passat Wagon (chainless + 5 MT + GDE tune)
In trying to find an answer for something else I came across a paper by Infineum (world wide joint venture between XOM and Shell and one of the largest formulators of fuel and oil additives) on fuel borne catalysts which led to other papers. Short version is FBCs are catalysts included in fuel to cause the oxidation of soot in a DPF. Effective passive regeneration at at lower temperatures which increases time between active regenerations which would lower fuel consumption. Google fuel borne catalysts.

Perhaps Exxon is using this approach?
Good info, thanks! I had read before on the topic of FBCs but your post made me curious to look it up again. Here is a link that explains the process of regeneration at a very high level but I think is a good summery about the role of PBCs and DPFs:

What you need to know about DPF regeneration additives

I wonder if there are any of the diesel fuel additives we discuss in this forum contain components such as cerium oxide and/or platinum. Here is one that might be available to fleet operators (the article is from 2005):

https://www.greencarcongress.com/2005/09/clean_diesel_te.html
 

KevinGary

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 6, 2017
Location
Long Island
TDI
2015 A6 TDI
I wanted to report back on my experience with Exxon Synergy Diesel. At the outset, let me say that I know that this is not a scientific analysis and that it is one person's experience.

I have 89K miles on my 3.0 A6 TDI. Almost all of my miles are commuting miles in the NYC metro area. I have hand calculated the mileage of every tank since new and have input it into an excel spread sheet. (yes I have OCD!). After 89k miles my overall MPG is 28.6563. During those 89K miles I used BP and Shell fuel exclusively. So I have a pretty good baseline for comparison.

In recent months I noticed a decline in my MPG and decided to give Exxon Synergy a try. I have now driven 1,136 miles on it and have averaged 29.2783 MPG, i.e. an improvement of .622 mpg, or an improvement of slightly better than 2% when compared to my lifetime MPG. This is about the same as Exxon claims. These last 1,136 miles were typical commuting miles for me. No extended highway trips.

Of course that it is comparing it to my lifetime mileage. However, remember that I told you that I had observed a drop off on MPG and that is why I tried Exxon Synergy. In fact, for the 6,619 miles before the switch my MPG had dropped to 27.272. The drop off started last August and when it happened I tried various fuel additives to no avail. By late September I stopped with the fuel additives and decided that the car was just getting older. So by the time I tried Exxon Synergy I had driven over 5,000 miles since adding any of the additives. Comparing the Exxon Synergy to the entire "dropped period" the mileage was 2.006 MPG better, ie 7.3% better.

Of course part of the entire "drop period" included the warmer months and the impact of the fuel additives. So I also looked at my MPG for the 1,150 miles before the switch. This roughly lined up with the same number of miles that I had driven with Exxon Synergy (1,136) and all of the miles were winter miles (January-March). During this period I averaged just 25.727 MPG on BP and Shell. When comparing that MPG to the 29.2783 MPG I got with Exxon Synergy, there was an improvement of 3.551 MPG, or 13.798%.

Based on my experience it seems that Exxon Synergy does a better job of cleaning the fuel system than the additives I tried (Stanadyne, Power Service, Liqui Molly and XPD) or the fuel offered by Shel and BP. It also seems to improve the MPG by .6 MPG in my car, or about 2% when compared to the lifetime MPG.

I know that this is not a scientific analysis, but I thought I would report my observations.
I have now used the new Exxon fuel exclusively for the last 3,530 miles and have averaged a hand calculated 30.3787 mpg. This is a 6.01% improvement over the 28.6563 mpg that I averaged for the car's first 89k miles. It is also a 12.93% improvement over the 26.8991 mpg that I averaged during the 3,626 miles before the switch. While still not a scientific analysis, the MPG improvement that I have experienced with this fuel continues.
 

asgoodasdead

Well-known member
Joined
May 6, 2019
Location
NJ
TDI
2011 Jettta Sportwagen TDI
a lot of exxon stations around here now carry this, but its always 40-60 cents per gallon more than diesel from any other station, so its impossible to justify buying for me
 

tikal

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 18, 2001
Location
Southeast Texas
TDI
2004 Passat Wagon (chainless + 5 MT + GDE tune)
My observations of the Exxon Synergy diesel fuel in the SE area of Houston are showing the same price, on the average, as compared to companies like Kroger, Valero, Shell, Murphy Oil and Chevron to name the ones I see more often.
 

belome

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 8, 2010
Location
Mid MI
TDI
2002 Jetta GLS TDI 5-speed
I have now used the new Exxon fuel exclusively for the last 3,530 miles and have averaged a hand calculated 30.3787 mpg. This is a 6.01% improvement over the 28.6563 mpg that I averaged for the car's first 89k miles. It is also a 12.93% improvement over the 26.8991 mpg that I averaged during the 3,626 miles before the switch. While still not a scientific analysis, the MPG improvement that I have experienced with this fuel continues.
Well, now it is time to switch back to regular for a few thousand miles and see if it goes down!
 
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