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Fuel quality


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Good afternoon everyone. This is my topic first post on here so sorry if I get it a little wrong.

Tomorrow (01/03/2015) I collect my new Defender 90 xs and have been wondering about the different fuels around e.g. Tesco, esso, bp, shell etc. my question is, does anyone rate a particular fuel over another for keeping the engine clean and having good performance?

Many thanks,

Matt

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Any fuel sold by a proper retailer [meaning Tesco/Sainsburys/ASDA/BP/Esso/Jet/Texaco/Shell/Morrisons] will comply with EU-wide norms, and so be just fine for your engine.

The only time I've ever had fuel-quality issues was a decade or so back when running a couple of TD5 Discos in Northern Ireland; one of the drivers picked up a batch of fuel which - when analysed - turned out to be 'Red Diesel' from the Irish Republic that had been stripped of the red dye [a process that involves some truly nasty alkalis and filtering through media that leaves the fuel laden with micro-abrasive particles] and smuggled across the Border.

That particular incident cost us a new set of injectors per vehicle. Coupled with the VoR downtime, something like £5000. per vehicle.

Don't buy unauthenticated 'cheap' fuel.

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Well....using Tesco fuel my 200tdi is slightly smoky and clattery. After reading some comments on here I tried BP Ultimate diesel and as I pulled out of the garage with a full tank of the stuff I could feel the increased 'go' and flooring it I had acceleration I'd not had before, plus less smoke and a noticeably quieter running too. YMMV but it made a difference to my vehicle, on one fill-up.

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Tanuki is right in his comments. I worked for a refinery and made/blended fuels. Each refinery (aprox. 6 companies in the uk) works to set standards (recipes) depending on the intended market. To the basic recipe, additives will be added again depending on intended market, country or marketing ploy. Water is present in all fuels and slowly drops out to be drained off before transfer. Water will also drop out in forecourt tanks but by now very little. If forecourts let water collect then at some stage it could be pumped into your tank. Especially after a fuel delivery which stirs it up again. The majority of fuel is pumped around the country in underground pipe lines to fuel depots. It’s not unusual for one company to supplier another company and vice versa. So your fuel 'could' have been produced by any of the refineries but always to a specific spec. Supermarkets buy bulk at discounted price and it’s reflected at their pumps, but will not contain for example “BP super additive” or slightly different spec of fuel.

Here in Ireland, as Tanuki found out, laundering diesel or stretching petrol is a growing problem and guaranteed to damage your motor. Stay away from them.

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Brand is irrelevant on the basic diesel, so look at price. Premium fuels are a bit more complex. For a Tdi, I don't find any discernible difference in performance or economy, but on my wife's TDCI, I find the BP Ultimate diesel to be smoother and quieter while improving performance a little and economy significantly. I find the cost per mile is a little less with the expensive fuel on the TDCI than with the cheap diesel, such is the improvement in mpg. More importantly, I know I'm not causing accelerated wear or deposit formation with the Ultimate on the later engine's more sophisticated, expensive and delicate injection system. So, I always fill the newer vehicle with Ultimate, while using it once in every three refills on the Tdi.

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