Chicago 2009 TDI Owners: Non-Biodiesel Support Group

You're making this harder than you need to. That site only has bio stations listed that I see. Just buy where we listed or at your Shell. If this is going to drive you nuts, then you should sell. Not worth the headache.

Warrenville,IL Speedway: biodiesel even during winter

Yesterday the attendant at the Speedway station in Warrenville, IL (RT.59) stated that they get biodiesel also during the winter months (delivery every other day, supposedly). He could not (or would not) produce a delivery sheet, and said he didn't have any information regarding the specific biodiesel content, beyond what is on the pump sticker (5%-20% biodiesel).

Since I've fallen off the diesel wagon for the last year I don't keep up with it as much, but the AM/PM branded BP stations used to be non bio. The Sam's Club in Addison told me a couple weeks ago their diesel was non bio.

BP at Golf & Gross Point, Skokie

The BP at 4511 Golf in Skokie doesn't have a bioblend sticker on the diesel pumps. Clerk didn't know anything, but it looks like it might be under common ownership with the BP on Central in Highland Park (i.e., Graham Enterprise, Inc.).

Circle K Shell going bio. Good News and Bad News ( I guess )

Stopped by my favorite straight diesel (D2) Shell station this morning at 119th and Route 59 in Plainfield and was shocked to see the following sticker posted at the pump:

"Contains up to 5% biodiesel"

Note: This is newly posted (within the past week) black and white sticker. It is not the customary blue 6-20 % bio sticker you see at other stations and it is the first < B5 pump I have seen in Chicagoland.

Bad News: Another station bites the (bio) dust
Good News: It's B5 or lower. "up to" is the key wording. Therefore it's VW warranty compliant.

Have any of you seen other circle K's with the same sign?


Mine: 2011 Golf ,40,000 miles, avg 40+ a gallon on the tollways, and never a problem (knock on wood). I regularly blend a small % B11 bio with straight diesel to get it below <5%, so I'm not really bummed at the recent change at circle K.

I sure wish they had black stickers down here. Nothing but blue, B11 available.


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Ernie's Update

I probably could cross post this in the fuel story section. Not feeling like driving all the way to Volo today due to time constraints, I fueled at my alternate station Ernie's Shell in Lincolnshire/Vernon Hills. As I'm about to hit the pump button a fuel truck pulls into the station. I hurry up as not really wanting to test the theory that its okay to fuel while the station refills its' tanks. As I'm pulling out the truck drivers waves me to stop. I'm curious, so I stop. He wanted to check out my JSW saying he has a Jetta and wished he had a TDI. So I ask him about the fuel he delivers. It turns out he is the regular delivery guy for Ernie's and that he had just dropped 7,500 gallons on Saturday. I asked him to confirm he delivers only D2 to Ernie's. He confirmed that Ernie's specially orders Premium D2 from his company. He said that's why they charge such a premium for their Diesel. He also confirmed that he only drops full loads and that no one else on his route gets D2 - only B11. He said that Ernie's has the best fuel in the area for our TDIs.

Did you note the name of his company? Maybe you could work backwards and call them and find out who else they deliver D2 to.

I thought I saw Sanchez or something close to that name on his shirt. When I asked him who else gets that fuel. He said none of his customers. I'll keep an eye out for him next week.

TDiSkater said:

I probably could cross post this in the fuel story section. Not feeling like driving all the way to Volo today due to time constraints, I fueled at my alternate station Ernie's Shell in Lincolnshire/Vernon Hills. As I'm about to hit the pump button a fuel truck pulls into the station. I hurry up as not really wanting to test the theory that its okay to fuel while the station refills its' tanks. As I'm pulling out the truck drivers waves me to stop. I'm curious, so I stop. He wanted to check out my JSW saying he has a Jetta and wished he had a TDI. So I ask him about the fuel he delivers. It turns out he is the regular delivery guy for Ernie's and that he had just dropped 7,500 gallons on Saturday. I asked him to confirm he delivers only D2 to Ernie's. He confirmed that Ernie's specially orders Premium D2 from his company. He said that's why they charge such a premium for their Diesel. He also confirmed that he only drops full loads and that no one else on his route gets D2 - only B11. He said that Ernie's has the best fuel in the area for our TDIs.

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Nice - great feedback ...

Shell at se corner of boughton and Rte 53 in Bolingbrook had up to 5% bio sticker this morning

oswegoPD said:

Shell at se corner of boughton and Rte 53 in Bolingbrook had up to 5% bio sticker this morning

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Now that (Circle K) Shell has turned to the dark side, is Meijer the only place in our area we can get straight diesel?. Our area refers to Naperville, Aurora, Oswego, Plainfield and others nearby.

I'm thinking to fill 1/2 tank from Shell then drive 2 miles the get the other half tank from Meijer to get it near B2.

Re-posting a link (below) about the good that can be had with a small amount (<5%) of Bio. What sucks is that we all have to go through this bulls... to find a place to fill.

http://www.tdi-issues.com/problems-tac69/lubricity-of-ulsd-diesel-gap168.htm

Meijer = prepay?

The Meijer in Bolingbrook (across from IKEA) is prepay only, and you can't just hand them your credit card and fuel up. They insist on ringing something up. I tried to explain to them that this is not how we handle things in the 21st century, but they were unimpressed. Apparently too many of you hypermilers stretch their diesel dollars by just driving off.

On the positive side, the pump still has no bio stickers, claims to deliver premium ULSD fuel at $3.899/gallon, and the attendants confirmed that there is no bio in there.

They do the same foolishness at the Meijer's in McHenry, but NOT The Meijer's in Rolling Meadows. Go figure. Luckily, the Phillips 66 in Volo is in the neighborhood.

Diesl said:

The Meijer in Bolingbrook (across from IKEA) is prepay only, and you can't just hand them your credit card and fuel up. They insist on ringing something up. I tried to explain to them that this is not how we handle things in the 21st century, but they were unimpressed. Apparently too many of you hypermilers stretch their diesel dollars by just driving off.

On the positive side, the pump still has no bio stickers, claims to deliver premium ULSD fuel at $3.899/gallon, and the attendants confirmed that there is no bio in there.

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Antioch Marathon Rt. 59 & Grass Lake No Bio!

For the first time I checked out the Marathon station on the corner of Route 59 and Grass Lake Road in Antioch this morning. They have diesel without bio and actually have a big sticker on the pump that says "No Bio Diesel". This station is very close to me so it looks like I have a new place to safely fill up.

Diesl said:

The Meijer in Bolingbrook (across from IKEA) is prepay only, and you can't just hand them your credit card and fuel up. They insist on ringing something up. I tried to explain to them that this is not how we handle things in the 21st century, but they were unimpressed. Apparently too many of you hypermilers stretch their diesel dollars by just driving off.

On the positive side, the pump still has no bio stickers, claims to deliver premium ULSD fuel at $3.899/gallon, and the attendants confirmed that there is no bio in there.

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I fill up there a lot and ask them when they will have pay@pump for diesel almost every time; they always say they are "working on it".

And yes, all the Meijer's that have diesel are all suppose to be premium diesel.

Meijer in Plainfield allows you to pay at the pump. Not sure what they need to "work on"

MSU Spartans said:

Meijer in Plainfield allows you to pay at the pump. Not sure what they need to "work on"

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As posted above, Rolling Meadows and Hammond IN has pay@pump as well (I go there too). Maybe the other stores can't get the $ to upgrade the pumps?...

Whereas my local Speedway has gone up to $3.999, Meijer Bolingbrook was still at 3.899 this evening. Which makes D2 cheaper than B11.

Meijer Oswego was at 3.82 last night

Da Region

I know that this is a "Chicago" centric thread, but I thought I would share a bit of what I have found out about Da Region in Indiana since so many of you Chicago folk drive through here on your way to the beach either here or in Michigan. Anyway, I was thrilled to find and confirm that the Speedway on Central Avenue and County Line Road in Portage, IN had #2 diesel for $4.199. This is good news for you Chicago folk because the major truck stops that surround the I-80/90/94/US-6 interchanges at Ripley (IN-51) all have 5-20% Bio in the normal auto bays. As for the semi bays, I cannot say. This Speedway in Portage is not too far off the beaten path from the freeway.

Another note: I found that the Pilot on US-20 in Burns Harbor and the BP truck stop in Burns Harbor also have 5-20% Bio. This area is another major truck stop haven so again, another place where people might assume there to be #2 only to find it marked 5-20%. (although the Pilot has it in the back for the semis).

Since a lot of you might be students at IU or PU or just travel to Indy for your small town needs, the Family Express in Rennsalaer right off of I-65 (IN-114 exit) also sells #2. The auto bay is next to the truck bays in the back and separate from the petrol bays, which I think is a good thing. The Marathon on the West side of I-65 at the same exit requires the large nozzle adapter, but is hopefully also #2 and is also separate from the petrol bays. So high hopes for the Marathon, but I didn't have an adapter.

And if any of you find yourselves traveling east on US-30 to Fort Wayne for a wedding or something, the Pilot just east of US-31 in Plymouth also sells #2 and is specifically marked 2-5% bio mass.

Last thing and then I will slink away. One of my projects that I have been extremely slow to start is to investigate as to why so many of the diesel pumps in NW Indiana do not have markings for Bio-Mass %. The only ones I have found marked are the ones marked 5-20%, which leads me to believe that the law in Indiana is that a station need only mark the fuels that have more than 5% bio mass. If anybody knows more about the laws in Indiana, that would be helpful. I have searched, but I have come up pretty empty. My next step is to call the Porter/Lake County offices of weights and measures.

Anyway, this thread is very helpful, so please don't stop posting...Happy Post Valentine's Day fellow TDI'ers!

tdirook-

Thanks for that post. I plan to do a lot of traveling in and through Indiana this summer ( my son is considering a couple engineering schools there) and it helps to know where I can get straight D2 or <5% .

I received a letter from VWOA today stating that my warranty would remain in force if I used up to 20% Bio-Diesel. The letter went on to warn of potential problems with using B20. This was quite disconcerting as the picture painted looked like B20 would be the only fuel available and it would require a higher level of maintenance including more frequent oil changes.

What additional maintenance other than watching out for oil dilution? Only if you see it does it require an oil change. I burned B11 for the first 5000 miles and B5 mixed for the next 15,000 and did two oil analyses. Didn't see a drop of oil dilution. Easy way to find out, take a sample at 7, 500 miles and see how good your oil protects. It's a 30 dollar test. Do it once or twice and you'll know.

VW announcement

Sounds like great news to me! Checking the oil used to be standard procedure when filling up back in the day, so no big deal to me.

I will still seek out pure diesel, but good to know that the worry is oil contamination and not fuel or exhaust system.

I am curious how many of you following this board has purchased extended warranties and if so with what company?

I still don't get it. Though I exclusively fill premium d2 from meijer since day 1, what are the benefits of say b11-20?

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Enhanced lubricity, but it's not a matter of benefits, it's a matter of availability. Since B11 is cheaper due to tax breaks, and most stations are competing on price, it's no wonder they all sell B11. In the case of Sam's Club Addison not only are they cheaper than the rest of the stations, they are selling non bio. A dime cheaper and B0, you have to wonder about the price at the rest of the B11 stations. Methinks they must be pocketing the tax savings instead of passing it on.

Diesl said:

The Meijer in Bolingbrook (across from IKEA) is prepay only, and you can't just hand them your credit card and fuel up. They insist on ringing something up. I tried to explain to them that this is not how we handle things in the 21st century, but they were unimpressed. Apparently too many of you hypermilers stretch their diesel dollars by just driving off.

On the positive side, the pump still has no bio stickers, claims to deliver premium ULSD fuel at $3.899/gallon, and the attendants confirmed that there is no bio in there.

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FWIW, perhaps mentioned already. But I happened to catch the fueler at Meijer as he was filling the station with diesel. Talked for a little bit. He claimed the Meijer diesel is the best pure diesel you can get. And pretty much the only place to get it.

While I've used both Feece Oil and Palatine Oil, the Bloomingdale Meijer location is my go to station.

I've used several tanks of Meijer's diesel and I have no issues using it. But back in the summer, I started running Citgo Premium Diesel at Delta Sonic (and also available at the Citgo station in downtown Westmont better known as Jimmy's Premium Diesel) and the car gets 1-2 mpg better than Meijer. It is also a little quieter (less diesel-ish). I also have run Amoco Premier Diesel (50 cetane) when I've been in Michigan. With both Citgo premium and Amoco Premier, the car does low to mid 50's at 65-70 mph. I have not been able to accomplish that with Meijer. Does that mean Meijer is worse? I don't know, but I get better mpg's and a slightly quieter car with the other two fuels.

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Thanks for the heads up. I'll be looking into those.