Premium Fuel Cetane

Taggs

Active member
Joined
Nov 28, 2004
TDI
Jetta, 2001, Blue
I live in Pa and am interested in the cetane in both Shell and Gulf premium diesel. Thanks, Dave
 

wjdell

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 17, 2006
Location
Central Florida
TDI
06 Jetta TDI DSG PKG 1 17" VV Campy White/Beige
do a test - see which one works best for you. 3 tanks shell 3 tanks Gulf keep stats and then let us know
 

dieseldorf

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 11, 2000
Location
MA
TDI
ex- 1996 wagon, ex-2000 Jetta
GULF offers a premium diesel fuel called DIESELECT.

Ask the station owner what they're selling (if they're advertising the premium fuel).
 

quadboss74

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 18, 2004
Location
Chesapeake, VA
TDI
2003 Golf GLS, reflex silver
:confused: why can't these stinking "gas" stations just mark the pump???:confused:
why does everything have to be difficult!:eek:
 

daBooj

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 8, 2005
Location
Chapel Hill, NC
TDI
Jetta GLS, 2004, could only find silver
if you ask the man/lady at the register you find the answer to your question, quadboss74.

Ask them if the diesel is premium diesel, the response is 90% of the time (in my findings), "Diesel is diesel."

I get that answer word for word, and my slight response isn't enough to persuade them otherwise. And I ask at places advertising PREMIUM diesel.
 

40X40

Experienced
Joined
Feb 12, 2006
Location
Kansas City area, MO
TDI
2013 Passat SEL Premium
I asked at my local SHELL station. They never heard of cetane. They are
not overly familiar with soap either. They gave me a ULSD handout, but
had not bothered to read it themselves. I am looking for a cleaner place,
wish me luck!!

Bill
 

wny_pat

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 7, 2004
Location
Western New York State
TDI
2002 Jetta TDI
40X40 said:
I asked at my local SHELL station. They never heard of cetane. They are not overly familiar with soap either. They gave me a ULSD handout, but had not bothered to read it themselves. I am looking for a cleaner place,
wish me luck!!
Bill, I love that!! And you said it so well.
 

wjdell

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 17, 2006
Location
Central Florida
TDI
06 Jetta TDI DSG PKG 1 17" VV Campy White/Beige
Its hard for them to give us a CETANE number as shipment to shipment vary. Shell like all others gets their fuel and it has a rating. Nothing less than 36 is accepted, it is then additised, and I guess meets the min of 40 and then sent to the retailers. My data source was Palmdale Oil co. It was 40 to 45 on average and I hear that 43 to 48 is now the norm to be expected. I can tell you that I did not add CETANE boost to my last shipment of ULSD and within 3 tanks my engine got louder. I ordered to bottles of Amsoil CETANE boost, I wish I had a DB meter that was sensative enough to show the difference.
 

mrGutWrench

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Joined
Aug 29, 2002
Location
Carrboro, NC
TDI
'03 Jetta Wagon, 5-speed, 563K Miles (July '23)
quadboss74 said:
:confused: why can't these stinking "gas" stations just mark the pump???:confused:
why does everything have to be difficult!:eek:
__. And it's perfectly OK under the "legal" definition of PREMIUM DIESEL to sell fuel that's not a d@mned bit higher in cetane than the other rotgut that everyone else sells. (Yeah, it should have other good attributes but it's OK for the cetane to be ordinary.)
'
 

b4black

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 18, 2004
Location
IL
TDI
1998 Jetta blue
mrGutWrench said:
__. And it's perfectly OK under the "legal" definition of PREMIUM DIESEL to sell fuel that's not a d@mned bit higher in cetane than the other rotgut that everyone else sells. (Yeah, it should have other good attributes but it's OK for the cetane to be ordinary.)
'
I don't think there is a "legal" defination of Premium Diesel in most states. The few that follow the National Council of Weights and Measures have a 47 minimum.
 

TomatoPie

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 13, 2005
Location
West Chester, PA
TDI
Passat 2005 Gray
My diesel experience, just 26k so far, matches my conventional fuel experience, which is probably around 750k miles: it runs the same on any name brand fuel. Fuel additives do nothing that can be substantiated. Automakers design vehicles to run on standard fuel without additives. I get about the same mileage and performance (philly region) on Citgo, Sunoco, Exxon, BP, whatever I buy. I stopped adding stuff because it did not make a whit of difference.

Owning and driving a diesel need not be too complicated.
 

lglamb

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 18, 2006
I've got a buddy that drives a tanker.

Most of the stuff is coming from the same set of
distributor terminals regardless of what sign is
on the station. Some of the more respected
stations may be a little more selective.
 

Bob_Fout

Oil Wanker
Joined
Sep 5, 2004
Location
Indiana
TDI
2003 Jetta - Alaska Green (sold) / 2015 GTI 2.0T
TomatoPie said:
My diesel experience, just 26k so far, matches my conventional fuel experience, which is probably around 750k miles: it runs the same on any name brand fuel. Fuel additives do nothing that can be substantiated. Automakers design vehicles to run on standard fuel without additives. I get about the same mileage and performance (philly region) on Citgo, Sunoco, Exxon, BP, whatever I buy. I stopped adding stuff because it did not make a whit of difference.

Owning and driving a diesel need not be too complicated.
Yup, the 40 to 45 cetane fuel here in the US is up the 49 or 51 cetane fuel our engines were designed for... :rolleyes:

I'd say cetane boost year round and anti-gel when it's cold are the two most important functions an additive can provide.
 

TomatoPie

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 13, 2005
Location
West Chester, PA
TDI
Passat 2005 Gray
Bob_Fout said:
Yup, the 40 to 45 cetane fuel here in the US is up the 49 or 51 cetane fuel our engines were designed for... :rolleyes:

I'd say cetane boost year round and anti-gel when it's cold are the two most important functions an additive can provide.
I do use an antigel in the winter, but I probably don't need that either.

I've used the Cetane Boost. It did no harm, but it did no good, either. Not more power, or better mileage, or quieter, or better tasting. IT was quite helpful to the retailer and the manufacturer of the product, though.
 

wjdell

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 17, 2006
Location
Central Florida
TDI
06 Jetta TDI DSG PKG 1 17" VV Campy White/Beige
How do we know the fuel is 49 to 51. Have you ever read what it takes to actually test CETANE, and the basic test is not accurate. The data I found on the net was identical to what my fuel supplier told me - 40 to 45 is now 43 to 48 on average. If you can boost 3 numbers min on a 7 number dose, that is 46 to 51, no more than 50 to 55.
 
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