shell v diesel

[simonbx17]

evening, i just wandered has anyone tried Shell's V diesel is it any good or is it a gimmick i've tried bp ultimate but not noticed any real difference

whats the best diesel you've tried

cheers

[CitroXim]

whats the best diesel you've tried

Free diesel

Seriously, this V power Diesel makes me wonder if it is all hype. Diesel has a Cetane rating and is conmplementary to a Petrol Octane rating in that a Cetane rating is a measure of how willing a fuel is to go bang under heat and pressure, the exact opposite of petrol Octane ratings, which is a measure of a fuels resistance to go bang under such conditions.

Now, diesels are really not too fussy about Cetane ratings except that the higher the rating the slight easier it is to start the thing in the winter. generally, cetane ratings above 50 make little odds so if they boast iof a high Cetane rating, ignore it.

What I believe these special fuels do have is enhanced detergent additives which helps keep everything sparkly-clean and this can certainly help.

To us owners of old-school diesels, I really believe it's a waste of money as ours will run on tar if you could inject the stuff. People I know who run real up-to-date super-duper Carlos-Fandango TDCi DTi Whizz-bang super electronic cost-a-fortune-to-fix diesels reckon it makes a hell of a difference.

All I know is our local purveyor of the stuff don't sell much of it and when they need to shift it they suddenly run out of the ordinary cooking diesel Of course you don't realise this until you are up to the pump and then you have little choice From being caught like this I can tell, with hand on heart, that it made absolutely no difference in my 2.1TD.

[simonbx17]

thanks jim, i thought as much that would explain why bp ultimate there was no noticable difference, having said that years ago when i had my 19 rd estate i used find it smoked less on gulf diesel than on any other diesel but then they got took over by shell i think but then i used to use redex quite regularly so could have been that

i've heard alot about these latest diesels there alot more intolerant, my dad got a corolla verso 2.2 t4d jobby nice to drive but fill up with not so good batch of diesel and it lets you know not like our old'uns

cheers

p.s free diesel my could run on it allday long

[docchevron]

There is some added stuff in it to lube your pump aswell, but it just aint worth the extra kerching.
I use Forte Diesel conditioner a couple of times a year, and usually add a capful of Millers Diesel Sport Plus 4 stuff, which does a better job and works out much cheaper than V power DERV.

I'm not that keen on how they boost the octane in V Power petrol either frankley...

[MULLEY]

I've tried that fancy fuel in my tzd turbo, didnt notice anything, fuel economy seemed the same, perhaps a bit less smoke though, so might be worth putting a few litres in before an mot for the smoke test, but otherwise agree with what the others have said, save your money....

[simonbx17]

cheers guys i'll stick too filling up at tesco's

[CitroXim]

I'm not that keen on how they boost the octane in V Power petrol either frankley...

How do they do that then Doc? I've been trying to find out for a bit. I ask as I use it im my Activa, where it does seem to help with economy a bit and boy, does it need all the help it can get

On diesel lube, all diesel has to have a lubricity atdditive nowadays as the de-sulphuration process to make it into Ultra Low Sulphur Diesel effectivly strips it of any natural lubricity which was nicely provided by the sulphur content in days of old. A case of one step forward and two steps back. In the early days of ULSD, some older pumps seized (I guess Lucas mainly!) because of less than adequate lubricity in the stuff.

I quite agree on the use of a conditioner on occasion. Tesco do some good own-brand stuff when you can get it. Despite being branded Tesco it is made by Tetrosyl.

[docchevron]

Yeah, Activa's aren't the most economical of motors are they!!
And yet the same CT lump in a XM is quite frugal really...odd.

The crap that is thrown in the fuel to up it to 99 RON (or a claimed 99 RON) is rather similar to nail polish, and can cause some rather unpleasant varnishy type build ups in places that work better without varnishy build ups!

Although you cant win really since BP Ultishite is utter crap, and Tesco's 99 RON is even cruder than shells. But since it's cheap and is no worse than Costimax (oops, I meant V-Power, obviousley two entirely different things ) then I tend to use Tesco's, with the occasional additive thrown in to keep my valves where they should be.

[Terry]

Nice one Doc.

GRX and my old Disco run really sweet on Tesco/Morrison best. Bang in a little conditioner three/four times a year.

GRX went straight through the MOT without even and advisory with Tesco's finest and a little jollop to keep the smoke down. Gotta say, GRX getting through the test like that was more down to Ken and Phillip than jollop.

Much of this high priced fuel is designed just for higher performance engines, or the modern diesels. It seems a bit like that extra button on the car stereo. You never remember it's there, never use it and it adds fifty quid to the price of a radio player.

All seems like a very good reason for running an older car with an older style engine. Keep the shekels in your pocket, not the oil company's coffers.

Funny, my wife says I'm tight!!

[cavmad]

Yeah, Activa's aren't the most economical of motors are they!!
And yet the same CT lump in a XM is quite frugal really...odd.

The crap that is thrown in the fuel to up it to 99 RON (or a claimed 99 RON) is rather similar to nail polish, and can cause some rather unpleasant varnishy type build ups in places that work better without varnishy build ups!

Although you cant win really since BP Ultishite is utter crap, and Tesco's 99 RON is even cruder than shells. But since it's cheap and is no worse than Costimax (oops, I meant V-Power, obviousley two entirely different things ) then I tend to use Tesco's, with the occasional additive thrown in to keep my valves where they should be.

And can also be found in various stuff like thinners, pharmaceuticals and probably paint too. Nasty stuff. Very nasty stuff.

[Vanny]

man you lot are cynics!

V Power Diesel is EXCELLENT at sorting out an old mechanical diesel thats been doing naff all mileage for a long time, its almost like pure Redex dependant on the state of the engine. I used to drive on it very regularly (was the same price as regular diesel in a 20 mile radius) and found that for motorway cruising it would give better economy. I also stick it into the minibus as a preference (because i dont pay for the fuel in that) and it will go noticeably further (like 50miles).

Optimax was an excellent fuel, a few hours on track in a valver on full chat would instantly show if you had optimax or some other rubbish! Shame that V Power petrol is just naff rubbish and to be honest worse than regular shell on track.

As for super market fuel, they try to make so many cost cuts in all the wrong places. I have friends in high places and get a lot of sensitive data about petrol related issues (like that storage facility that blew up in the south, and the Morrisons fuel scandal more recently), and from that you could not pay me to put supermarket fuel into the valver.

[nstarmore]

I'm going to have to agree with Vanny on this one, I use it in the Xantia as all my journey's tend to be short and as a result the engine rarely gets fully up to temperature and have found it to be a lot better than 'normal' diesel, throttle responce is better, there is a lot less smoke and I've stopped using redex since and the engine seems smoother. It is expensive but I use it for peace of mind purposes.

[Philip Chidlow]

and from that you could not pay me to put supermarket fuel into the valver.

Does that mean the Tesco 99 octane stuff is not recommended?

I put Redex (or the Miller's equivalent) every now and then BTW.

[Vanny]

well i dont know about the tesco stuff to be honest, i know LOADS of people that rave about it (mostly racers) and rate it much higher than VPower for performance (if memory serve V-power only came out because tesco started doing 99ron fuel). But my personal experience of it is erm none i think.

BP Ultimate (diesel and petrol) i've seen no major difference between BP regular other than that of my bank balance!

I am a shell snob though and will only fill up in Shell (or sometimes Total) or a single Texaco garage by the university (because the indian family that run it are brilliant and super friendly).

[simonbx17]

cheers vanny i will try shell v diesel