Diesel - Normal Or Premium

So - in yours you say you use ordinary fuel which I assume is standard diesel. Do you ever use premium?

I am asking as my new to me T6 Exec is 8 months old with nearly 9k on the clock and was used by Bentley, I assume to ferry prospective customers around. I just want to make sure everything is in perfect condition and ensure the DPF is clear after a few fast runs I have planned on motorways here and in France next month.

Do you consider premium fuel is worth the extra cost for 8-10k per annum

I tend to use shell fuel by choice if I can get it & sometimes give mine a fill of V-power now and again if I think it’s had a long spell without a decent run but don’t know if it’s really necessary.

Personally I think that a good quality standard diesel is fine but the premium stuff won’t hurt, as to being worth the cost?
 
But before the additives are added it isn't EN590, its Diesel fuel to a lesser spec and EN590 isn't a fuel, its a specification with minimum and sometimes maximum limits for each specified area, an example would be the cetane number that has to be a minimum of 51 but your van would be much happier at 54 - 55.

It's a bit like saying a van is a van and they are all the same regardless of who makes them, as we know there are good vans and not so good vans with even the good ones being bad sometimes.

HGV Diesel engines are completely different matter as this is my specialist subject, with larger displacements they are much lower revving and spend a much larger percentage of their time at a very high duty cycle, the same rules do not really apply although they do to a certain extent as some of the benefits of Premium will be there although these wouldn't justify the extra cost.

As to bio, you should only go for what is approved for your engine and nothing else, interestingly EN590 is already a B7 fuel and has been for around 2 years now so you wont be able to get B5 for a road vehicle anymore.

Interestingly diesel fuel has a shelf life these days and is a also now classified as a flammable liquid, both a result of the introduction of Bio which basically partially turns to water & has lowered the flash point of Diesel below the flammable liquid trigger point. There are still tanks with WW2 fuel on some military bases and that fuel is still in good condition and very useable - modern diesel wouldn't be, even after 5 years.

What we should or shouldn't use in our vans isn't a debate really as we can put anything we want in our own vans, just don't complain if you buy cheap and then have problems.

So reading between the lines, you agree. My specialist subject was a range of 3.3 to 19 litre diesel engines used in HGV, marine, industrial, military, power gen and rail applications. I won't mention the name of the company however you will know exactly who it is if HGV diesel engines are your chosen subject.
 
Well. I have just filled up for the 1st time in my T6 Exec with Esso premium.

It will he interesting to see how she runs
 
So reading between the lines, you agree. My specialist subject was a range of 3.3 to 19 litre diesel engines used in HGV, marine, industrial, military, power gen and rail applications. I won't mention the name of the company however you will know exactly who it is if HGV diesel engines are your chosen subject.

I wouldn’t exactly say I agree, however let’s say we are close enough to end the debate.

I’m self employed now and amongst other things do post mortems on Diesel engines that have caused incident, mainly working for operator, insurer or manufacturer but my background is with a truck and Diesel engine manufacturer that has a range from light commercial to very large 2 stroke engines in shipping (you’ll know who) although my involvement was with high speed diesels up to around 1,200hp and commercial vehicles rather than the big stuff
 
Normal, but every now and then the posh stuff, and every now and then Millers additive.

But.....on the last service of my wife’s Diesel Touran, the garage pointed out metal bits in the fuel filter. The mechanic, who I’ve used and trusted for years, said it’s cheap fuel. It eats away at the fuel pump due to the lack of additives. So....though I’m a tight arse Yorkshire man , I’ll give the old girl a treat every now and then.
 
I wouldn’t exactly say I agree, however let’s say we are close enough to end the debate.

I’m self employed now and amongst other things do post mortems on Diesel engines that have caused incident, mainly working for operator, insurer or manufacturer but my background is with a truck and Diesel engine manufacturer that has a range from light commercial to very large 2 stroke engines in shipping (you’ll know who) although my involvement was with high speed diesels up to around 1,200hp and commercial vehicles rather than the big stuff
I know the company reasonably well and had one of the strangest business meetings of my career in Munich supporting their transfer of production and defect/failure support of a very famous British truck manufacturer.
 
I know the company reasonably well and had one of the strangest business meetings of my career in Munich supporting their transfer of production and defect/failure support of a very famous British truck manufacturer.
I may well have been at the same meeting as the after sales organisation of the English patient (as they called it) was within my remit.
 
Normal, but every now and then the posh stuff, and every now and then Millers additive.

But.....on the last service of my wife’s Diesel Touran, the garage pointed out metal bits in the fuel filter. The mechanic, who I’ve used and trusted for years, said it’s cheap fuel. It eats away at the fuel pump due to the lack of additives. So....though I’m a tight arse Yorkshire man , I’ll give the old girl a treat every now and then.

And the proof of that being true in real Life would be zero.. If it eats away why would it be bits.. It would be so minute you wouldn't see it. Calling total bollocks on that one.
 
It was always my understanding that supermarket fuels come from the fuel terminals owned by the big fuel companies ie. shell and BP etc. (From wherever the buyers get the best price) and the reason super market fuels are cheap is because they are loss leaders, as obviously the main source of income is the other stuff they sell.
 
Does anyone know what the premium fuel additives are ? Ideally i'd like to know what i'm paying extra for.
 
I understand the additives help with stopping deposits forming on the injector nozzles. So the spray pattern of the fuel stays optimised for the most efficient and clean combustion.

But with modern diesel injection systems delivering fuel at upwards of 30,000psi, how on earth does a deposit have a snowballs chance in hell of forming in those tiny little nozzle holes in the first place:confused:.
 
It was always my understanding that supermarket fuels come from the fuel terminals owned by the big fuel companies ie. shell and BP etc. (From wherever the buyers get the best price) and the reason super market fuels are cheap is because they are loss leaders, as obviously the main source of income is the other stuff they sell.

Most of the fuel in an area comes from the same terminal, if you could get close you would see BP, Shell, Texaco, Tesco and most of the rest filling under the same gantry.

The base fuel is the same, the difference is the additive pack make up as the big brands have their own ideas about what they want whilst the rest just want EN590 road diesel.

It could be true that the supermarkets sell fuel as a loss leader but if this is true they wouldn’t pay a penny more than they could get away with, as always you get what you pay for.
 
I found this, listing the benefits of Shell V Max diesel, although the disclaimers tempered my excitement a little-

  1. New compared to previous Shell V-Power formulations. Boosted compared to Shell's regular diesel fuel for cleaning functionality. Helps to clean key fuel system components such as fuel injectors from the build up of performance robbing deposits. Actual effects and benefits may vary according to vehicle type, vehicle condition and driving style. No guarantees provided. See Shell DYNAFLEX Technology for more information.
  2. Helps to restore engine condition by helping to remove performance robbing deposits from key fuel system components such as intake valves and/or fuel injectors. Actual benefits may vary.
    No guarantees provided.
  3. Boosted compared to Shell’s regular fuel. Designed to help clean and protect key fuel system components such as intake valves and/or fuel injectors from the build-up of performance robbing
  4. deposits. Actual effects and benefits may vary according to vehicle type, vehicle condition and driving style. No guarantees provided.
  5. Boosted compared to Shell’s regular fuel. Actual benefits may vary. No guarantees provided.
I was looking for a COSHH safety data sheet (without sucess) which, in theory should show what additives are added.
 
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