Is posh diesel worth it?

[Jane And Rog]

Since the debacle with Denby needing new injectors, DPF and two EGRs I’ve been using posh diesel and adding cleaner when I can’t find that.

Filling up the other day in the UK I did the mental arithmetic and posh diesel costs about £14 extra over a full tank. RedX diesel additive costs £3 for the same tank £6 if you double up.

Is posh diesel from a big refinery actually that much better - or at all than the tiny extra hassle of a bottle of cleaner?

 

[Gellyneck]

Since the debacle with Denby needing new injectors, DPF and two EGRs I’ve been using posh diesel and adding cleaner when I can’t find that.

Filling up the other day in the UK I did the mental arithmetic and posh diesel costs about £14 extra over a full tank. RedX diesel additive costs £3 for the same tank £6 if you double up.

Is posh diesel from a big refinery actually that much better - or at all than the tiny extra hassle of a bottle of cleaner?

Never bought a litre of posh diesel or Redex for either 12 year old car or 11 year motorhome. Nigh on always supermarket fuel.

 

[Barriesimpson]

Since the debacle with Denby needing new injectors, DPF and two EGRs I’ve been using posh diesel and adding cleaner when I can’t find that.

Filling up the other day in the UK I did the mental arithmetic and posh diesel costs about £14 extra over a full tank. RedX diesel additive costs £3 for the same tank £6 if you double up.

Is posh diesel from a big refinery actually that much better - or at all than the tiny extra hassle of a bottle of cleaner?

I find that 'posh diesel' albeit more expensive, gives better mpg so it cancels out the extra cost. Also, it has cleaners incorporated so you don't need to add any.

 

[Mzracer]

Since the debacle with Denby needing new injectors, DPF and two EGRs I’ve been using posh diesel and adding cleaner when I can’t find that.

Filling up the other day in the UK I did the mental arithmetic and posh diesel costs about £14 extra over a full tank. RedX diesel additive costs £3 for the same tank £6 if you double up.

Is posh diesel from a big refinery actually that much better - or at all than the tiny extra hassle of a bottle of cleaner?

I doubt it makes a jot of difference, I have run diesels now for over a half million miles and don't get problems using cheap diesel, I would run Red if I could !!

 

[Brianmor]

I fill up with it once in a while to help , but I've got a WEX Esso fuel card which gives me 6p a litre discount

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[pappajohn]

Diesel is Diesel.
The only difference is the additives which boost cetane and clean the engine.
Supermarkets add the minimum quantity whereas expensive stuff has more additives

 

[Jev88]

Pappajohn has nailed it.

Huge storage tankers at depot and relevant additives added for different brands.

 

[Guigsy]

I didn't think it made a difference. I always filled up with the cheapest supermarket stuff I could get.

I was duped into getting a tank of the 'ooh-la-la' Shell stuff. Reset my trip counters.... and got 2mpg more than usual by the next garage stop. Maybe I just had a lot of lucky tailwind? Same again the next tank full. And I lost the improvement after a couple of tanks on the normal plebby stuff. Then it came back when I refilled with Shell v-power again. And I think the engine sound a bit less clattery on the posh stuff too.

Still not enough of an improvement to make economic sense though.

 

[Tombola]

I doubt it makes a jot of difference, I have run diesels now for over a half million miles and don't get problems using cheap diesel, I would run Red if I could !!

You wouldnt have need3d any of the gear soon anyway Mz when you go ev..

 

[Jane And Rog]

yeah, I’m not sold on the MPG advantage. I just want to avoid having to spend another £7k on Fiat parts when the DPF clogs up.
The strong recommendation when discussing that was “posh diesel or additive” both here and on the Fiat forums.

My hunch is additive is better and cheaper.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Mzracer]

You wouldnt have need3d any of the gear soon anyway Mz when you go ev..

Blimey Tombola you are jumping ahead of the game there !!

The Golf (2006) has to die before an EV comes on our drive, and I have to say that it is resolutely holding out. People talk about cam belt changes, that little Golf does not even get oil changes 165,000 on the clock.

 

[KASPAR]

Premium diseasel at Costco is cheaper than supermarket plain around here (17ppl last fill) the difference equates to a 1 litre bottle of Bombay Sapphire gin per tank full. We plan our UK journeys on passing Costco to fill, sad as that sounds.

eg before going to Van Bitz we filled in Reading, on way home from Uphill Marina, brimmed at Avonmouth. Next planned trip away will fill at Coventry on way home. Trip after that Leicester on way home.

 

[gus-lopez]

I have garages around me here in Lorca where posh is one cent dearer than normal .I put in 80 litres the other day as a treat-There is also a Repsol garage not far away where the posh & normal are the same price? Always makes me wonder who puts the normal in under those circs?

posh diesel costs about £14 extra over a full tank.

for me works out 80cents

I would run Red if I could !!

why do you not? common rail is the main problem I've done it in the past even here with the old Bosch pump it would run anything even rapeseed, sunflower etc. About 5 years back I Used to bump in to an old boy who bought a new merc 300D in 1998. he was collecting red in 25 litre containers & told me that the car had never seen a fuel nozzle in its filler inlet

 

[Just smiffy]

yeah, I’m not sold on the MPG advantage. I just want to avoid having to spend another £7k on Fiat parts when the DPF clogs up.
The strong recommendation when discussing that was “posh diesel or additive” both here and on the Fiat forums.

My hunch is additive is better and cheaper.

Lots of vans running on cheep diesel with over 200k on them and egr and dpf fine, mine has 140k and runs just fine on supermarket stuff….

 

[TrudeandDall]

Pappajohn has nailed it.

Huge storage tankers at depot and relevant additives added for different brands.

I worked for BP for most of my working days, at one point as a storage terminal shift manager. The ultimate diesel grades got double the additives when compared to standard grades, and supermarkets (mostly) got what they paid for = cheap diesel - no additives.
The additives were very expensive to buy in from Europe, so they must have done some good.
I fill my van with the cheapest I can find from a major brand = a good level of additive without paying over the top and not running on basic brews..........

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Mzracer]

why do you not?

One is getting it and two is getting caught, although I think the later is unlikely.

 

[John Barrett]

The DPF in my Merc E Class clogged up last year: the car was sluggish and the gears were being held much longer than normal. I was advised to go for a half hour burn up on the motorway, but as I'd just come back from a four hour motorway trip I didn't bother! I took it to the local MB specialist and they declogged it for me for £250: a great deal less than a new one! It's been going like a race horse ever since...

 

[yorkiebar]

Premium diseasel at Costco is cheaper than supermarket plain around here (17ppl last fill) the difference equates to a 1 litre bottle of Bombay Sapphire gin per tank full. We plan our UK journeys on passing Costco to fill, sad as that sounds.

eg before going to Van Bitz we filled in Reading, on way home from Uphill Marina, brimmed at Avonmouth. Next planned trip away will fill at Coventry on way home. Trip after that Leicester on way home.

Yes, we always check our route to see if there's a Costco fuel station en-route. Premium diesel at lower price than the lowest regular we can find elsewhere. Reading seems particularly cheap !

 

[TheAleMan]

I worked for BP for most of my working days, at one point as a storage terminal shift manager. The ultimate diesel grades got double the additives when compared to standard grades, and supermarkets (mostly) got what they paid for = cheap diesel - no additives.
The additives were very expensive to buy in from Europe, so they must have done some good.
I fill my van with the cheapest I can find from a major brand = a good level of additive without paying over the top and not running on basic brews..........

That has just reiterated what I was told recently. Thanks.

 

[pappajohn]

I have garages around me here in Lorca where posh is one cent dearer than normal .I put in 80 litres the other day as a treat-There is also a Repsol garage not far away where the posh & normal are the same price? Always makes me wonder who puts the normal in under those circs?

for me works out 80cents

why do you not? common rail is the main problem I've done it in the past even here with the old Bosch pump it would run anything even rapeseed, sunflower etc. About 5 years back I Used to bump in to an old boy who bought a new merc 300D in 1998. he was collecting red in 25 litre containers & told me that the car had never seen a fuel nozzle in its filler inlet

Maybe different laws over there.
Here, red is for agriculture machines and small boats.
Get caught with red in your tank you're looking for a new vehicle AND a mortgage to pay the fine.
Red is exactly the same as road diesel with a red dye.
The dye is indelible so once it's been in the tank its red for life.....even if later filled with regular diesel.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Tombola]

I worked for BP for most of my working days, at one point as a storage terminal shift manager. The ultimate diesel grades got double the additives when compared to standard grades, and supermarkets (mostly) got what they paid for = cheap diesel - no additives.
The additives were very expensive to buy in from Europe, so they must have done some good.
I fill my van with the cheapest I can find from a major brand = a good level of additive without paying over the top and not running on basic brews..........

not really related to additives, BUT.....A fella I knew ages back was in bulk fuel sales for Gulf a good while back in the day, told me, you get esso if you are near and esso refinery even if you are a BP garage, and BP if you are near a BP refinery delivered to an esso garage and vice versa, is that right TrudeandDall

 

[PlacidoD]

I give both car and van a treat of BP Ultimate once a year.

Currently the van has a bottle of Wynn's Formula Gold additive in with the Sainsbury's diesel following some black smoke problems on my last trip abroad. When it stops raining (Will it ever?!!) I will take the van for a weekend away and put some of that "supercharged" diesel through the engine.

Interesting comment about there being three basic types:
Supermarket
Branded ordinary
Branded super (like BP Ultimate)

I shall have to look around and compare relative Supermarket and Branded Ordinary prices.
My inclination is perhaps to stick with Sainsbury's and the cheapest bottle of additive I can find on each fill of the van.

 

[Bern8]

Premium diseasel at Costco is cheaper than supermarket plain around here (17ppl last fill) the difference equates to a 1 litre bottle of Bombay Sapphire gin per tank full. We plan our UK journeys on passing Costco to fill, sad as that sounds.

eg before going to Van Bitz we filled in Reading, on way home from Uphill Marina, brimmed at Avonmouth. Next planned trip away will fill at Coventry on way home. Trip after that Leicester on way home.

We went to Cornwall earlier in the year and filled with Costco diesel before we set off. Filled up at Costco Bristol, did our run around Cornwall & Devon and filled up at Bristol on our way back. We have had injector problems in our Ford engine .

 

[enark]

Always use costco diesel, which is better than supermarket stuff and cheaper.

Morrisons diesel is reputedly not good for EGR fitted vehicles?

If your planning a visit to Coventry Costco, avoid the weekends, they queue for miles!

Red diesel, could be either, but has a dye to indicate no tax paid. I use in tractors as not road use…

 

[TrudeandDall]

not really related to additives, BUT.....A fella I knew ages back was in bulk fuel sales for Gulf a good while back in the day, told me, you get esso if you are near and esso refinery even if you are a BP garage, and BP if you are near a BP refinery delivered to an esso garage and vice versa, is that right TrudeandDall

Sort of right Tombola.
Either from a local ( to the tanker) refinery or from a bulk fuel distribution terminal that is supplied from a particular companies refinery. The fuel may even of come into the UK from a refinery in a different country.
But - it is additive related, as every companies base fuels all have to meet the same UK standard and it's only when the particular
companies additives are added that the fuel becomes that companies branded fuel.
So, for example, when an Esso road tanker loads at the Ineos refinery (formally BP) in Grangemouth, it gets Ineos base product mixed with Esso specific additives, making it Esso fuel when it reaches an Esso filling station. Same proces for Shell or BP or any other major brand when they load at another fuel companies terminal/refinery.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Rogerwyn]

The problem with some diesel is the bio content it can vary from 5%-20% (30% France) the bio part of the diesel contains a lot of water, the reputable suppliers will only have the low bio content, water going through the fuel system theoreticaly should be stopped by the filter but some will always get through and when the engine is not at full temp will cause carbon to build up in the exhaust system affecting the DPF and EGR valve.

 

[the1andonly]

Lots of vans running on cheep diesel with over 200k on them and egr and dpf fine, mine has 140k and runs just fine on supermarket stuff….

Yes most of them euro5 or less. Trouble comes with euro 6 and need to keep injectors clean. The twin EGR motor that Jane And Rog have is unfortunately a special case with the ability to deposit more sh1t than is preffered so the idea is to keep it moving and converted to CO2 H20 and out of the exhaust or soot trapped in DPF. Regular cleaning of injectors is also suggested due to their propensity to burn their tips. As is usual with Ducato low mileage is more of a problem than interstellar miles, though 180,000miles is a popular milage for issues with blocked /cracked DPFs. The use of variable Bio fuels will increase aggravation as does diesel bug ( a known variable in LPEGR cooler syndrome).

 

[Raul]

My last fill up was done at costco with super diesel, at £1.30 usually ppl keep away from the super fuel, so I drive up and fill. All are in the queue for the cheap stuff.

 

[Bramidan]

So come on, should I put the expensive in or say one in three times?
Just a definitive answer please, I can’t cope with all the explanations and science.
My brain hurts.

 

[pappajohn]

No

So come on, should I put the expensive in or say one in three times?
Just a definitive answer please, I can’t cope with all the explanations and science.
My brain hurts.

No, waste of money unless you shoved a high performance engine in.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}