Neurot
Vendor
EDIT - 9/9/08 - New thread following test at http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=224644
I'll be taking delivery of a 2009 Jetta TDI (manual transmission, base model) and plan to use B100 from the very beginning. I have a biodiesel business (selling it, not making it), and feel that the next 12 months are going to make or break the B100 retail market. With the 2008 Fords and Dodges having some spotty issues when using high blends (check engine lights causing recurring EGR burn), the 2009+ VW platform is going to be a major indicator of where we go from here. Should we have major problems (even a lot of people with an occasional CEL would be major), the overall market may drift off into B5-B20, with the big oil companies taking over distribution and rolling in the low blends with regular diesel. While that would be a good thing from the perspective of getting it into consumers, it would signal a very disappointing demise to an exciting business model for environmental entrepreneurs and community-scale coops around the country. If the VW's have real issues, B100 could go the way of vegetable oil - a niche product for an educated crowd. There will be a fixed number of vehicles that could run on it, with those eventually breaking down or wrecked over the years to come.
Because of the importance of this year's models, I feel that we must put our money where our mouth is, and get a new Jetta running on B100 right away. I've already told my dealer what I intend to do, and plan to document either success or failure as methodically as possible outside of a laboratory environment. I'll keep fuel mileage logs, send off oil samples, and am open to suggestion for other things that may be reasonably accomplished by a non-mechanic.
I'm also especially interested in thoughts for how to break the engine in - should I wait until after the break-in period to use B100 for any specific reason, or jump right in?
As always, I'm interested in input from the community at large, with on request. However, if you "read something somewhere that something doesn't work because of some interaction with something else" or other vague hearsay, please back it up with a link or other solid information. The alternative fuels forum on here seems to attract a lot of speculation that is passed on as fact.
Thanks in advance for any input you may have on this process. I hope I'm not the only one out there ready to get their 2009 TDI and fuel it with B100!
For more information about warranty support for B100 customers, please read this fantastic letter from the Oregon Auto Dealers Association - http://www.nwbiofuels.org/LiteratureRetrieve.aspx?ID=22764.
Jason Burroughs
DieselGreen Fuels, Austin TX
http://www.dieselgreenfuels.com
512-247-FUEL
I'll be taking delivery of a 2009 Jetta TDI (manual transmission, base model) and plan to use B100 from the very beginning. I have a biodiesel business (selling it, not making it), and feel that the next 12 months are going to make or break the B100 retail market. With the 2008 Fords and Dodges having some spotty issues when using high blends (check engine lights causing recurring EGR burn), the 2009+ VW platform is going to be a major indicator of where we go from here. Should we have major problems (even a lot of people with an occasional CEL would be major), the overall market may drift off into B5-B20, with the big oil companies taking over distribution and rolling in the low blends with regular diesel. While that would be a good thing from the perspective of getting it into consumers, it would signal a very disappointing demise to an exciting business model for environmental entrepreneurs and community-scale coops around the country. If the VW's have real issues, B100 could go the way of vegetable oil - a niche product for an educated crowd. There will be a fixed number of vehicles that could run on it, with those eventually breaking down or wrecked over the years to come.
Because of the importance of this year's models, I feel that we must put our money where our mouth is, and get a new Jetta running on B100 right away. I've already told my dealer what I intend to do, and plan to document either success or failure as methodically as possible outside of a laboratory environment. I'll keep fuel mileage logs, send off oil samples, and am open to suggestion for other things that may be reasonably accomplished by a non-mechanic.
I'm also especially interested in thoughts for how to break the engine in - should I wait until after the break-in period to use B100 for any specific reason, or jump right in?
As always, I'm interested in input from the community at large, with on request. However, if you "read something somewhere that something doesn't work because of some interaction with something else" or other vague hearsay, please back it up with a link or other solid information. The alternative fuels forum on here seems to attract a lot of speculation that is passed on as fact.
Thanks in advance for any input you may have on this process. I hope I'm not the only one out there ready to get their 2009 TDI and fuel it with B100!
For more information about warranty support for B100 customers, please read this fantastic letter from the Oregon Auto Dealers Association - http://www.nwbiofuels.org/LiteratureRetrieve.aspx?ID=22764.
Jason Burroughs
DieselGreen Fuels, Austin TX
http://www.dieselgreenfuels.com
512-247-FUEL
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