Which Diesel Fuel?

eligibleli

Member
Joined
Aug 21, 2012
Location
Torrance, CA
TDI
2013 VW Golf 4Dr
I live in Los Angeles within the Southbay area and the primary diesel provider are Shell and Chevron... with occasional places like Valero etc...

I know there's always this debate about gasoline and which brand is better...Shell Vs. Arco Vs. Chevron Vs. 76 etc...

Is there a difference in Diesel fuel on the place where you get it?
 

WutGas?

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 28, 2012
Location
Oklahoma City
TDI
The Last Real Jetta Sedan
Everyone has their preferences. I would use them all, and see what does the best for your car (leaving out Shell). The bad part is, just because it was "better" fuel for your car one day, doesn't mean you are getting the same fuel the next time.

I guess I would go with what Jason said. For me, I go with what is convenient, and has a relatively high turnover.
 

Cycleman

Member
Joined
Oct 11, 2012
Location
Hudson Valley, NY
TDI
2013 Jetta SportWagen
Everyone has their preferences. I would use them all, and see what does the best for your car (leaving out Shell). The bad part is, just because it was "better" fuel for your car one day, doesn't mean you are getting the same fuel the next time.
Why "leaving out Shell"?

Is there a reason not to buy from them?

And if there is a reason, might that vary in different places in the US?
 

WutGas?

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 28, 2012
Location
Oklahoma City
TDI
The Last Real Jetta Sedan
Just seems to be more HPFP failures with folks using Shell. It could very well be just because there are probably more Shell stations than any other, but I just prefer not to use them just in case. It may have to do with the fact that they aren't all that convenient to me either and tend to be a bit more expensive than some of the stations I prefer.
 

Whitecloud1

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 13, 2002
Location
Wisconsin
TDI
02 Mk4 w/ 250K+ . 2013 Passat SEL 45K+
Try all of them, keep track of which one runs best, and use that one. Shell was actually one of the better ones for me.

It seemed a little smokeyer(if that's a word), but it had better mileage.
 

DubFamily

Veteran Member
Joined
May 30, 2012
Location
Swan Point, MD
TDI
2014 BMW 328D xDrive
There is nothing wrong with Shell over any other Diesel station. There were numerous failures with Shell fuel early on, mainly in the southeast, but that is primarily attributed to the fact that there are more Shell stations than any other.

It has already been shown time and time again by the knowledgeable veterans on this site that all Diesel in this country comes from the same primary Depots, and the only differences from brand to brand are the additive packages they use.

I've been running exclusively Shell Diesel in my car since new (30 tanks). I also use 4 oz of Optilube XPD in every single tank ((since the 4th; first 4 tanks I used Stanadyne Performance); but my car still runs great and gets excellent mileage considering how I drive it. ;)
 

romad

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 27, 2011
Location
Prescott, AZ
TDI
2005 Jetta GLS Wagon "Cranberry"
There is nothing wrong with Shell over any other Diesel station. There were numerous failures with Shell fuel early on, mainly in the southeast, but that is primarily attributed to the fact that there are more Shell stations than any other.

It has already been shown time and time again by the knowledgeable veterans on this site that all Diesel in this country comes from the same primary Depots, and the only differences from brand to brand are the additive packages they use.

I've been running exclusively Shell Diesel in my car since new (30 tanks). I also use 4 oz of Optilube XPD in every single tank ((since the 4th; first 4 tanks I used Stanadyne Performance); but my car still runs great and gets excellent mileage considering how I drive it. ;)
Except in the CPR where we have a special formulation called "CARB Diesel". One thing I noticed on my recent trip to TDI Fest, my car put out a ton of black smoke when I was using non-CARB diesel. At my smog test yesterday, there was almost none during the 3 "snap tests"
 

Newtsy

Member
Joined
Oct 17, 2012
Location
Stockertown, Pa
TDI
2012 Jetta TDI & 2012 Golf TDI
No, just save your receipts and use a station that is relatively busy.

How does one determine "relatively busy" when trying to find a "reliable" fuel station? I guess what I'm trying to ask is how can you tell if the station is "busy"? And if you see cars their all the time does that necessarily mean the diesel is being circulated more?

I'm not trying to contest your statement, I'm truly intrigued in the methodology used in figuring out how I can determine which station doesn't have "stale" fuel.

Oh, I'm new to the "club". I just purchased a brand new 2012 Golf TDI last week. It's my very first diesel vehicle ever and I'm LOVING it so far. Getting ready for my first fill-up soon and am eagerly scouring the club forums for some sound advice.

Thanks for any additional help you can give!

~N
 

Jump62

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 11, 2002
Location
Crofton, Maryland
TDI
2003 Jetta GlS,2006 NB (Crew Chief),2009 JSW
How does one determine "relatively busy" when trying to find a "reliable" fuel station? I guess what I'm trying to ask is how can you tell if the station is "busy"? And if you see cars their all the time does that necessarily mean the diesel is being circulated more?

I'm not trying to contest your statement, I'm truly intrigued in the methodology used in figuring out how I can determine which station doesn't have "stale" fuel.

Oh, I'm new to the "club". I just purchased a brand new 2012 Golf TDI last week. It's my very first diesel vehicle ever and I'm LOVING it so far. Getting ready for my first fill-up soon and am eagerly scouring the club forums for some sound advice.

Thanks for any additional help you can give!

~N
Lets say that when you find local stations that you like/trust the next type of situation is during long distance travel, like Washington DC to Las vegas in 3 1/2 days ( refueled twice a day). The things to look for are the same in each case, so I'm looking for high turn over of fuel like a Simi's or dump trucks refueling at 100 gals at a pop. So is there a big truck only area? A Good Sign. Or are there lots of 3/4ton pick-ups and work vans using mixed Islands? Again larger than TDI refills, a Good Sign. Is the place busy? A bad sign would be a no-name station in Monkeys Eyebrow Kentucky ( a real place BTW ) with a single diesel pump that hasn't seen any action in a month. A Bad Sign. Beat up pump Islands that haven't seen much maint, what is above ground might be how the underground is maintaned. A Bad Sign. Use your eyes this isn't rocket science, more fuel used is turnover, big trucks use more fuel than us. Find a local to you GTG and ask local TDI Heads.
enjoy the car, read read read,
Hope this helps
Paul
aka Jump62
 
Last edited:

asolo

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 23, 2009
Location
AZ
TDI
2013 Passat TDI SEL Premium
When you're on-the-road away from home, you're going to be filling up with whatever's available where you pull in. The people there are not going to provide you with an analysis of whatever product they're pumping. They'll tell you "diesel #2" and that will be about it. If you're really so very concerned about the particulars of what that may be, you're going to be totally out of luck.

If this is a serious issue for you, I suggest you would likely be better off with a gas-powered vehicle. Except that, once you get into it -- like you are with diesel -- you'll find the variability among the products is pretty much just as annoying.
 

adimex

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 19, 2012
Location
East Lyme, CT
TDI
2010 TDI Cup 6MT (sold), 2014 JETTA TDI 6MT (recalled), 2014 JSW TDI 6MT & 2015 JETTA TDI DSG
Had issues with shell and texaco. I have very good luck with chevron. The station I use have a truck bay and does see decent amount of truck traffic.

I usually get around 45 mpg highway with chevron fuel. I could barely pass 40 mpg with texaco and shell fuel.
 
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