ULSD impact on fuel economy

According to this site:

http://fleetowner.com/news/ata_ulsd_053006/

"ULSD is expected to result in a fuel economy loss of up to 1%"

Is this reasonably accurate?

Could be more than that for our rides. A lot of TDI members using CARB diesel have lost a coupla mpg.

I'm gonna run the Delvac1 out until ULSD is fully on board, then I'll switch to Elf to regain the expected drop in fuel economy.

Either the Evolution CRV 0w-30, or the FullTech 0w-30 should help.

And this may not affect us at all. The new 2007 Cat engines with their double turbos are less fuel efficent than the old ones. My neighbor brought a new one last fall and ordered the old style engine for that very reason. The new one was only rated to get 3 miles per gallon, where his gets about 6 mpg. Think it is the same with Detroit and Cummins.

You can get your answer from Ernie in the Monthly MPG contests... when he drives from SLC to California, he burns Philipps Conoco LSD, when he drives from Fresno, CA to SLC, he burns Valero ULSD. I don't think he is seeing any major losses, certainly not anything measurable compared to all the other variables like head winds and tailwinds and elevation changes.

The ULSD we get here in California is rated at 53 cetane or better.

Fuel economy will go up for the 2007 model year cars! ULSD allows the elimination of EGR, more advanced timing due to the NOx traps!

Current cars will more than likely not see any change other than lower engine noise and longer oil drain intervals which should offset all negative impacts to fuel economy in terms of cost.

DB

From what I have read, this is accurate. 1% though is a minimal loss though. Certainly worth it given the items drivbiwire has pointed out and hopefully this will also help with or eliminate intake clogging.

Minimum cetane?

Audi5000TDI said:

You can get your answer from Ernie in the Monthly MPG contests... when he drives from SLC to California, he burns Philipps Conoco LSD, when he drives from Fresno, CA to SLC, he burns Valero ULSD. I don't think he is seeing any major losses, certainly not anything measurable compared to all the other variables like head winds and tailwinds and elevation changes.

The ULSD we get here in California is rated at 53 cetane or better.

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Will there be a nationwide minimum cetane rating with ULSD?

We are not ULSD yet, but its all ULSD going into the tanks now. For the first time ever they have the LSD (500 or less) signs on the pumps.

Fuel mileage is improving, I attriubte that to the crappy 1,000 ppm sulfur fule we had up here (special Alaska exemption). The good stuff is burning a whole lot better.

No difference in stop and go traffic (rush hour stuff and hitting lights), but better at all other times.

I work for a large diesel mfg (not CAT and not Detroit :^).... the loss of MPG attributable to ULSD we're seeing is about .75% on average

There may be up to 2% loss attributable to aftertreatment for '07. This is in the HeavyDuty market segment. (11-15L)

tikal said:

Will there be a nationwide minimum cetane rating with ULSD?

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I don't think so.

i just filled up with freshly delivered ULSD and noticed car started to run a little better and it seemed to have more power? will watch my mileage and see if its better, I was told that the p/d engines will work better with the ULSD from my contact at emmisions lab. i am also going to clean off my egr valve and watch soot build up as it goes along, will report findings later.

ulsd fuel

i fill my beetle 2000 tdi up last week with bp 500 ppm diesel fuel on the pump's.i read on the forum that ulsd didnt smell as bad as the 500 ppm diesel fuel so ever time i could i stood at the back of my car to see if i could smell the diesel.now in the past when standing near the rear of my car it had a strong diesel smell but sent's filling up last week with bp i have not smelled the diesel fuel like i have in the past.i don't know maybe the wind was blowing the other way or something i don't know but this is strange never been like this before.well i top off again today with bp.

ulsd

will ulsd fuel clean your fuel system like biodiesel will ?

tdijerry said:

will ulsd fuel clean your fuel system like biodiesel will ?

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No.
However;; it will negate the need for future cleaning under normal operating conditions.

In the perfect America we would run ULSDF plus 2% biodiesel. IMHO

When I switched to ULSD 10 years ago(in the UK)my MPG increased, as ULSD cleaner burning.
ULSD will not clean your fuel system like BD.