Diesel versus Premium Diesel

[IBoughtAPrado Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close IBoughtAPrado]

Hey there,

This topic has probably done the rounds a few times, so please forgive me.

Fuel for the 2.8l Prado engine has not been stipulated to need Premium Diesel therefore I'm guessing normal diesel would be fine. I did a little reaserch the other day and came up with info saying that basically premium diesel only benifits older diesel engines.

My question is, what diesel do you use in your Prado and does anyone have evidence that buying premuim is better? I'm guesing I won't wreck my engine if I use normal diesel but what effects can it have? Is there any difference that fuel can make considering my vehicle is a Kakadu, considering electronics etc?

A discusion from owners perspective on this could be good.

Thanks in advance.
Paul

[cuda Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close cuda]

Hey there,

This topic has probably done the rounds a few times, so please forgive me.

Fuel for the 2.8l Prado engine has not been stipulated to need Premium Diesel therefore I'm guessing normal diesel would be fine. I did a little reaserch the other day and came up with info saying that basically premium diesel only benifits older diesel engines.

My question is, what diesel do you use in your Prado and does anyone have evidence that buying premuim is better? I'm guesing I won't wreck my engine if I use normal diesel but what effects can it have? Is there any difference that fuel can make considering my vehicle is a Kakadu, considering electronics etc?

A discusion from owners perspective on this could be good.

Thanks in advance.
Paul

I use premium diesel. The only thing I can say is the normal diesel is a pain to fill as it foams a lot. I asked Toyota what they recommended and they said the premium was better for the DPF. Cant say if it makes any difference to fuel usage either.

Thanks
Doug

[Phs Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Phs]

I did some of my own monitoring with my CRD 79 series
The injectors were in average condition when I got it, had 3 replaced 1 of which was on the verge of being out of spec ( the correction was +2.9 )
They were loud and fairly annoying

Looking on the net for solutions I found T2 oil added to every tank as an additive would help lubricate and quiten injectors and it did quiten down a little

Later on I moved to high grade engine oil Mobil Delvec and it had a requirement for ultra low Sulfur fuel only
So I discontinued the Use of T2. Injector values held fairly steady with the use of T2 and with out.
Now My Local BP started offereing ULTIMATE DIESEL so I switched from Caltex Vortex to Ultimate and with in a month the injector values actually improved.
Overall the motor was the quietest it had ever been ( engine oil also played a roll )
Never really checked them much after that

So for me Ultimate diesel is worth it

Can't see a new fuel like the premiums being designed for older DI motors you would think they would have CRD motors as there target market

Overall the new wave of CRD motors has improved diesel quality as a whole you don't hear any where near as many blown motors from bad diesel stories anymore

[stanmiko Member Find all posts View Profile Close stanmiko]

I had quite a dilemna when it came to standard or Premium Diesel. My local Caltex only had standard diesel. My local BP only had standard diesel. The local Metro advertised that their diesel was Premium Diesel, however I have since found that it is merely an additive that the delivery tanker driver adds to the standard diesel when pumping into the station's tank upon delivery. Shell only had standard diesel.
15km away in one direction, I have a Caltex Woolworths, and a Caltex that stock Vortex Diesel, although it was at a premium of 10c per litre over the standard stuff I can get locally.
17km in the opposite direction I have a lonely BP that stocks Ultimate Diesel for 2c per litre more than the standard diesel locally.
Now... over the course of 4 weeks, my driving habits pretty much even out overall, so I tried an experiment between standard diesel from BP locally, Caltex Vortex Diesel from 15km away and BP Ultimate Diesel fro 17km away.
Results were interesting, but otherwise, I thought predicable in some ways.
Standard BP gave me an overall consumption of 10.8L per 100km average over two tanks (180L each)
Caltex Vortex Diesel was 10.4L per 100km ave over 2 tanks.
BP Ultimate Diesel gave me 9.9L per 100km ave over 2 tanks.
Now I though that the premium diesels would give me slightly better mileage, but I would never have guessed the difference between the Caltex Vortex and the BP Ultimate.
Additionally, I did notice that when using the BP Ultimate the engine appeared to run quieter?
Overall, I now ONLY use BP Ultimate that I have to drive 17km to get, but over the course of a tank full I will save $$$ based on better consumption figures.
Since then I had also changed to a 5W-30 fully synthetic engine oil and have noticed that my fuel consumption has decreased even further to 9.5L per 100km, with engine extremely smooth and very quiet.

[CamJam Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close CamJam]

I had quite a dilemna when it came to standard or Premium Diesel. My local Caltex only had standard diesel. My local BP only had standard diesel. The local Metro advertised that their diesel was Premium Diesel, however I have since found that it is merely an additive that the delivery tanker driver adds to the standard diesel when pumping into the station's tank upon delivery. Shell only had standard diesel.
15km away in one direction, I have a Caltex Woolworths, and a Caltex that stock Vortex Diesel, although it was at a premium of 10c per litre over the standard stuff I can get locally.
17km in the opposite direction I have a lonely BP that stocks Ultimate Diesel for 2c per litre more than the standard diesel locally.
Now... over the course of 4 weeks, my driving habits pretty much even out overall, so I tried an experiment between standard diesel from BP locally, Caltex Vortex Diesel from 15km away and BP Ultimate Diesel fro 17km away.
Results were interesting, but otherwise, I thought predicable in some ways.
Standard BP gave me an overall consumption of 10.8L per 100km average over two tanks (180L each)
Caltex Vortex Diesel was 10.4L per 100km ave over 2 tanks.
BP Ultimate Diesel gave me 9.9L per 100km ave over 2 tanks.
Now I though that the premium diesels would give me slightly better mileage, but I would never have guessed the difference between the Caltex Vortex and the BP Ultimate.
Additionally, I did notice that when using the BP Ultimate the engine appeared to run quieter?
Overall, I now ONLY use BP Ultimate that I have to drive 17km to get, but over the course of a tank full I will save $$$ based on better consumption figures.
Since then I had also changed to a 5W-30 fully synthetic engine oil and have noticed that my fuel consumption has decreased even further to 9.5L per 100km, with engine extremely smooth and very quiet.

I've also seen better mileage using BP fuel - petrol and diesel. Now with Caltex being bought out by BP shortly (woollies is selling) then it'd be interesting to know which mix they're going to use.

I am pretty sure all the fuel in Australia pretty much comes from the one refinery, but could be corrected on that. If that's the case, then it's simply the additives that'd be the difference.

[IBoughtAPrado Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close IBoughtAPrado]

Hey there,

Thanks for the replies so far. The problem is that the fuel companies label their products as ultimate, premium, special etc but do we know how ultimate, premium or special are they? The only difference I have noticed is that the fuel ecoomy stays the same or 'ish but the big difference is the foaming. Filled up on Seven Eleven special diesel the other day, lots of foam, go to the cheap place that uses Mobil, no special labels and lots of foam. I do agree that BP Ultimate does have the car running better.

I gues we will never know, unless there is someone in the know who can slip us some inside info

Anyway will leave it there,
Merry Christmas to any Orthodox people out there!

Paul

[Rusty62 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Rusty62]

We have used all the major brands in several hilux's, 120 series and a 100 series. Haven't been able to see a difference in economy in any and I keep good records for tax. Did notice that the Shell diesel was a bit quieter than Caltex and felt smoother.
In my old job a had dealings with a independent fuel supplier and noted they can use up to 5% bio and have no need to inform the consumer. After finding this out I have never used anything but Caltex or BP.

Rusty.

[Razorback81 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Razorback81]

it's all about the cetane rating ( like octane rating in petrol)
BP ultimate is supposed to be 52 or better
some of the Mogas stations are down to 48 with their cheap diesel

i used to run the Mogas from down the road as it was .20c/L cheaper, makes a difference when adding 170+ litres
but on the 4th tank my car was really going through the fuel (down to like 1100km towing the 6x4 or the boat or the camper trailer all the time)
i swapped to the BP ultimate and it has jumped up to 1350 to 1400 or better towing

the biggest hassle is the foaming of the fuel when filling ( this is one way to tell if they are selling the ultimate fuel in that pump as well )

just my 2c worth

[Riv39 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Riv39]

I only use BP ultimate as they have guaranteed cetane of 52+ as well as a warranty (3mths) on their fuel in the case of damage to your vehicle from dirty/contaminated fuel.

BP Ultimate appears to be pretty much everywhere now as well. I also try and use the same service station where I can.

[stanmiko Member Find all posts View Profile Close stanmiko]

I've also seen better mileage using BP fuel - petrol and diesel. Now with Caltex being bought out by BP shortly (woollies is selling) then it'd be interesting to know which mix they're going to use.

I am pretty sure all the fuel in Australia pretty much comes from the one refinery, but could be corrected on that. If that's the case, then it's simply the additives that'd be the difference.

Woolworths are selling off their petrol stations to (predominantly) BP. Some of the 'dual-branded' outlets (e.g. Woolworths Caltex) will be relabelled as Caltex only. Caltex petrol stations will remain as such and will continue to sell Caltex fuels.

BP is NOT buying out Caltex, only the majority of the Woolworths branded stations. Woolworths' agreement to sell Caltex sourced fuels will then cease and they will begin selling BP sourced fuels under the BP banner. Not great news for Caltex, as their volume of fuel sold will decrease, however great news for those of us who only use BP fuels.

*FYI - I work for a company that is contracted to Caltex (and Metro Petroleum) and perform Quality Audits on their sites.

[geo Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close geo]

Diesel Fuel Specs

I've tried to get some information on the specifications for diesel fuel from the various suppliers around the country. It's not an easy job to find anything of much use but so far the following might be of some interest.

BP Ultimate contains an unspecified "performance additive", has a Cetane index of 46 as a minimum but is typically 51.

Shell Diesel Extra contains a "unique high performance multi functional performance additive package", & has a typical cetane index of 49.

Mobil doesn't have a lot of information available, just states that the Cetane Index is a minimum of 46.

Haven't been able to find out anything for Caltex as yet or for any of the smaller distributors such as Puma, Freedom etc.

A bit of variation but not sure how much difference it would make by using any of the "major brand" fuels.

[blackve Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close blackve]

I've tried to get some information on the specifications for diesel fuel from the various suppliers around the country. It's not an easy job to find anything of much use but so far the following might be of some interest.

BP Ultimate contains an unspecified "performance additive", has a Cetane index of 46 as a minimum but is typically 51.

Shell Diesel Extra contains a "unique high performance multi functional performance additive package", & has a typical cetane index of 49.

Mobil doesn't have a lot of information available, just states that the Cetane Index is a minimum of 46.

Haven't been able to find out anything for Caltex as yet or for any of the smaller distributors such as Puma, Freedom etc.

A bit of variation but not sure how much difference it would make by using any of the "major brand" fuels.

In Adelaide I believe all our fuel comes in by tanker from Singapore, so all used the same base fuel just add there bit at the end.

Just used Caltex vortex in ours and no issues.

[OzDriver Member Find all posts View Profile Close OzDriver]

I normally use BP Ultimate but had to fill with Shell recently. Performance and economy seem about the same. (2.8 Auto)

[wanted Member Find all posts View Profile Close wanted]

I normally use BP Ultimate but had to fill with Shell recently. Performance and economy seem about the same. (2.8 Auto)

You will not see much difference with one refill I think. It might need a few refills from the same brand to notice any difference.

[nanbar Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close nanbar]

I have only ever used BP Ultimate until the last fill where I had to use Shell because I couldnt get to a BP. I noticed that at one big BP near home, it foams like hell and I had to fill real slow whereas at my regular one, no foaming. They recently installed a hi flow bowser and I have no problem with it either. The guy at my regular BP servo reckons if it foams, it ain't BP Ultimate (even if they claim it is). My used of BP stems from my LPG 80 series days where my installer told me to only use BP LPG which I did religiously without every having a problem and I have extended my loyalty to BP with D4D Prado just because I am a creature of habit (and if it aint broke dont fix it).