[8weekly]

I am soupy! Fuel cards are a nonsense mate......

It's great to see such knowledge and certainty on the forum.

[Soupy]

I am soupy! Fuel cards are a nonsense mate......

I have been using fuel cards for some time. It saves me 5ppl.

[J.D]

Well knock yourself out then soupy....

[Soupy]

Will do.

[Spruce]

A mechanic told me fuel is getting made that cheap now its a lot worse for engines (diesel) he also said now and again when i fill up with diesel to add 1 cap full of engine oil to keep everything lubricated, does this sound right ?

If in doubt, don't, and you are in doubt.

This debate has been dragging on for years, some preferring to add non synthetic 2 stroke oil. With the old normally aspirated diesel engines you could run it on 'anything' and get away with it

But the 'new' common rail turbo diesels are different. I would be very concerned about adding anything to the tank. Additives can destroy catalytic convertors and cause all sorts of havoc with DPF filters. Whilst neither of these polution systems are tested at MOT, any issues with the DPF filter will set the warning light on and this is an MOT failure on a diesel.

My brother in law insisted on putting an additive into the tank of his 157 Alfa JTD and had no end of DPF filter problems. He learnt how to remove it and wash it out. At first he refused to listen and when he finally stopped the additive - no more dpf filter issues.
The problem with his Alfa was that when the DPF warning light came on, the ecu went into limp home mode.

My advice would be to use an decent fuel, Shell, PB, Esso and forget the cheap supermarket fuels. The latest Citroen Picasso Hdi has a fuel quality sensor and numerous owners complain that using Morrision's diesel activates the warning light. Filling up with a better quality fuel extingushes the light. The light doesn't come on using Asda diesel by the way.

[J.D]

Excellent post Spruce. Couldnt agree more.......

I was told (Pinch of salt) that supermarket fuels are fuels that sometimes have been confiscated by customs, then cleaned and sold to the likes of Sainsburys & Tesco. 

[H20cleaning]

Thanks spruce i was unsure it was true so would never try it until i was 100%

[p1w1]

Thanks spruce i was unsure it was true so would never try it until i was 100%

a customers who's house i clean worked for some fuel testing company years ago and reckons that the supermarket fuel is the worst thing you can put in your car/van especially diesel, if you use supermarket fuel he reckons you should do 50-50 with the top end diesel (the one with additives) or alternate with a full tank of supermarket stuff then next time use the premium stuff.

[J.D]

Aye I've heard similar p1w1.....

[PoleKing]

RAC man told me the same only last week.
DPF light on in my Audi.
One bottle of DPF cleaner and a full tank of BP's 'ultimate' diesel.
Light's off.
I never thought it made a difference but its definitely quicker now too.

[♠Winp®oClean♠]

Ahhh, the old DPF- a flawed technology from the very off!!

[dave0123]

This has been happening for years cars running lumpy on supermarket fuel etc. I only put the stuff in unless i really have to.

[andyM]

Ahhh, the old DPF- a flawed technology from the very off!!

Trouble is the manufacturers are fitting these DPF's to meet the Euro emission standards, so we as buyers just have to grudgingly accept it.
More stuff do go wrong further down the line, and expensive if it needs to be replaced. 

[Soupy]

I don't even think about the type of diesel I use. Td5s don't care.

[Spruce]

Ahhh, the old DPF- a flawed technology from the very off!!

Certainly it didn't get off the ground too well to start off with. TBF the manufacturers have got a bit better with the software program to activate it so there aren't as many problems with it as there was to begin with.

My van hasn't a DPF filter, but if I had, I could imagine I would be one of the ones with problems due to the low mileage I do.
The other issue with DPF filters is how the engine manufacturer decides they is going to create the burn to clear the filter when its needed.

VW have chosen the more expensive route of adding a diesel injector at the entrance to the DPF filter. When it is hot enough the ecu directs a spray of diesel into the DPF filter causing it to ignite and burn off the soot like a jet engine.

Most of the other manufacturers chose the cheaper route of directing the ecu to spray another squirt of diesel from the main injectors on the exhaust stroke sending raw diesel into the exhaust pipe. If the process starts and doesn't complete, the owner will find the unburnt diesel will sit in the cylinders, leak past the rings and contaminate the oil. The other issue is that the DPF filter is after the catalytic convertor so neat diesel going through that won't do it any good either.

Why they didn't just add another tank for Ad-Blue is beyond me. They could have added a couple of sensors - no Ad-blue in the tank and the car/van goes into limp home mode until it is filled up and another sensor to ensure that it is Ad-blue that added to the tank - sorted.

Over the years we have used both Supermarket and top brand fuels in both of the vans. We have noted that the fuel consumption is higher with cheap fuels and in most cases doesn't justify the cost per litre of saving. As I have said many times that I know what fuel is in the van when driving up Saltburn Bank with 1/2 a tank of water on board.

[PoleKing]

I've wondered about this AdBlue.
Can someone (Spruce or Andy I'd imagine  ) explain it please?

[jarvy]

My van has run on nothing but supermarket fuel from new, as does the wifes car. Had my van for 6 1/2 years, her car for four. Both run fine,no issues.
How many hundreds of thousands get supermarket fuel every day, and how many issues are amongst these?
Just my opinion though...

[♠Winp®oClean♠]

Yep, so a car with a DPF uses more fuel to burn off the particles. Not only that but the driver has no control over when the car will perform an active regeneration- meaning it usually happens at the most inconvenient of times!!

[Spruce]

I've wondered about this AdBlue.
Can someone (Spruce or Andy I'd imagine  ) explain it please?

The best explaination is this one;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AdBlue

A lot of the lorries up and down the motorway are successfully using this simple, cost effective technology to get their emissions right, so why the smaller vehicles don't use this same system is beyond me.

[Spruce]

My van has run on nothing but supermarket fuel from new, as does the wifes car. Had my van for 6 1/2 years, her car for four. Both run fine,no issues.
How many hundreds of thousands get supermarket fuel every day, and how many issues are anumptyst these?
Just my opinion though...

.. and I'm sure there won't be an issue. I usually alternate between Asda and Shell.

The important thing is to have a fuel free from contamination, so its important to always make sure your diesel fuel filter is changed regularily, usually with every service, no matter what fuel you choose.

The Hdi engine that is now the joint venture with PSA and Ford have to be built (detuned) to allow for a poorer quality of fuel than what we get in Europe. Some of the fuels that they get in Central Africa, India and South America are nowhere near the quality we get, often being mixed with other stuff to reduce that country's oil cost. (Ethanol in petrol is a good example.)