Diesel 1 or 2? my first post

Hi All, great forum. I have a new 1996 Passat TDI. I love the 50 MPG and torque level of that motor!
what is the difference between Diesel #1 & #2?
thank you,
super bike mike

Welcome to the club!

D2 is the only one you want to put in your car.

Google can tell you about the boring details.

Bill

Well -

D2 is the normal, what you should use most of the year. D1 is a lighter fuel that is intended mostly for winter use, because it will gell at a lower temperature. D2 is usually treated to lower it's gell point or sometimes D1 and D2 are blended to lower the gell point. D1 also has less energy per unit volume than D2.

the other reason D2 is preferred over D1 is that it usually has more lubricity - it's better for the tolerances in your engine in various places.

Thank you both for your replies! Scoop, what kind of car do you have? what does NB mean? I LOVE having a manual tranny. I used to road race 400HP camaro's, and i have a 04 Cavalier 5 speed = 37mpg, (daughters car), and my Passat gets 52/48mpg.

So what i gather is this, Diesel #2 is Plain old Diesel fuel, used for Spring, Summer, Fall,
But Diesel #1 is Diesel 2 With ADDITIVES to prevent gelling in Cold weather. I just stopped at a truck stop that had both 1 & 2, and that is what the attendant told me.

D2 year round and use additive in the winter if the station doesn't already blend it.

Or additive year round if you want to swing it.

D1 is basically kerosene. you don't want to use that unless you live in the north pole. d2 is what you want, it's winterized so you don't really need to use additives. you can if it makes you fell better but it's doubtful it will actually make a difference. i used to live in northern MN

SSmike1 said:

.......
So what i gather is this, Diesel #2 is Plain old Diesel fuel, used for Spring, Summer, Fall,
But Diesel #1 is Diesel 2 With ADDITIVES to prevent gelling in Cold weather. I just stopped at a truck stop that had both 1 & 2, and that is what the attendant told me.

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Well, not really. D#2 can be additive added, but it's still #2 due to the fact that it's a certain viscosity or thicker than #1. It has more btu, so more energy content. As mentioned, #2 is often blended with #1 to prevent gelling in winter and in extreme cold some (myself included, on a few occasions) have run straight #1. Talking -30F extreme cold. Truck stops and some fuel stations will have both for letting the driver/operator choose their blend ratio or add as required for the area they intend to travel to or thru.
#1 is very similar to kerosene as opposed to traditional D2.

NB = New Beetle.

And no, D1 is NOT simply treated D2. They are different fractions of the refining process. It's also NOT TRUE that D1 is simply kerosene. All 3 are distinct products that overlap. Heating fuel oil is also in this family . However - it is NOT usually down to ULSD standards either. Back in the old days - you could use home heating oil as fuel for your Diesel vehicle - provided you didn't get caught with the red-dyed fuel in your tank (which can lead to big fines).

There are places where it gets REALLY cold that you can find both D1 and D2 ULSD - D1 has the advantage of being more inherently gell -resistant.

Up here where it gets cold there are also various grades of home heating oil/fuel. #2/#1 and kerosene. #2 oil for those who have their oil tank underground (not often any more) or inside where it's not really cold. #1 for the times of the year it's cold and the storage tanks are outdoors. Kerosene isn't the same as #1. It's almost never dyed, is usually only used for stoves and/or space heaters and is a lot more expensive than the other two heating oils.
In my area, off road and hiway fuel is the same other than the red dye. I asked a couple bulk dealers about that and they say that the state of Mn requires that the off road fuel they buy/use has to be the current bio blend (which supposedly went up to 20% for April thru Sept) so it makes it impossible for them to dispense different fuel to the general public or fuel used by state owned equipment or by contractors on state funded projects.

Dont use sythectic d2 till after its broke in.

SoTxBill said:

Dont use sythectic d2 till after its broke in.

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Down in your area they DO have synthetic diesel

Thank you for the explanation. I stopped at a Superior, WI truck stop, that has D#1 & D#2. The attendant explained that D#1 is only available in the Winter. Now I understand! THANKS!

It really helps having you all talk it out. I appreciate the advice.

scooperhsd said:

NB = New Beetle.

And no, D1 is NOT simply treated D2. They are different fractions of the refining process. It's also NOT TRUE that D1 is simply kerosene. All 3 are distinct products that overlap. Heating fuel oil is also in this family . However - it is NOT usually down to ULSD standards either. Back in the old days - you could use home heating oil as fuel for your Diesel vehicle - provided you didn't get caught with the red-dyed fuel in your tank (which can lead to big fines).

There are places where it gets REALLY cold that you can find both D1 and D2 ULSD - D1 has the advantage of being more inherently gell -resistant.

Click to expand...