Premium Diesel?

5208 Views 9 Replies 8 Participants Last post by DslGate, Aug 23, 2016

kmfinley93

Discussion Starter · Aug 22, 2016

I've been a diesel head for a number of years, although always trucks.

I noticed up here in Wisconsin that the Kwik Trip stations carry something called "Premium Diesel" with a four cent premium price. I filled up and on the same fifty mile stretch of road at the same time I broke the record of 47.5mpg and bumped it to 52.4mpg. Seems like about a realistic 10-15% increase (conservative because I knew I was testing it). For the entire tank, the rest being city and driven by my girlfriend who does not give a crap about my fuel economy games as long as she doesn't have to pay too much, her average tank economy went from the 37.5 she ALWAYS ends up with up to 41.2. Part of me is buying in to this...

This is an age old argument in the gasoline world and I've pretty much decided that the newer vehicles are designed to run a certain type of fuel, and going up or down in octane can only hurt. In older vehicles, such as my trusty 2wd Chevy 350 pickup trucks, I've gotten the exact same return in mileage for what i've paid extra, so it's a wash and I would always run a tank of premium through every 2-3 tanks.

Sooooooo.... what do you guys think? is the cruze diesel designed for a certain cetane rating? Will a higher cetane content hurt the vehicle? Is less soot generated by a more efficient fuel? Will I regen less often with this fuel?

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diesel

· #2 · Aug 22, 2016

I think you are going to be the guinea pig for the most part here. I don't think too many people have experimented with it. I would be curious to know the longer term observations.

by the way, is all your diesel yellow? I drove through WI on a trip once and was freaked out when I refueled because I saw yellow foam.

http://www.cruzetalk.com/forum/64-gen1-diesel-general-discussion/83561-wisconsin-yellow-diesel.html

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kmfinley93

Discussion Starter · #3 · Aug 22, 2016

I haven't actually looked at the color, but I do agree with that other thread that in Ohio it is green and I know that Michigan has a bluish tint

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pandrad61

· #4 · Aug 22, 2016

Here in florida ive never seen "premium diesel". For 4 cents more i wouldn't mind trying

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revjpeterson

· #5 · Aug 22, 2016

When I was in Iowa, it was great for Diesel selection. Premium Diesel was quite prevalent, and it did seem to yield an increase in efficiency and power, with one exception--that it wasn't a bio-blend premium. The bio-blend (B2-B5) premium fuels typically turned out to be a wash with straight #2 diesel, as I imagine the gains from the premium fuel were negated by the presence of the bio-diesel. If the premium was a #2 with higher cetane values and/or additives, then it showed slight, but detectable, improvement in both efficiency and performance. The trouble with premium diesels is that there is no regulation as to what "premium" means, so it could me better refining, seasonal additives, or it could just be that they just put B2 in the tank and call it "premium" because of the claims that the solvent properties of the bio-diesel will clean out your fuel system.

As to color, it seems to vary. Certain states' blend requirements seem to result in characteristic colors in that state, while in other states the color varies from station to station. In Iowa, I saw fuel that ranged from clear to blue to green to amber to a fairly pronounced yellow, with no perceptible pattern as to why. I haven't visited enough stations here in Michigan to detect any color characteristics yet. I know the diesel at the Meijer station I usually use tends toward pale green.

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diesel

· #6 · Aug 22, 2016

I just remembered, I once put "premium diesel" into a 1979 Mercedes 300D I had years ago. It was harder to start when it was cold, but it had significantly more power.

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Cruz15

· #7 · Aug 22, 2016

Raising Cetane gives better power and less soot.

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Tomko

· #8 · Aug 23, 2016

I use Shell V-Power diesel.

http://www.cruzetalk.com/forum/64-gen1-diesel-general-discussion/46257-shell-v-power-diesel.html

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money_man

· #9 · Aug 23, 2016

We have shell v power diesel. Sometimes I'll try it here and there and I never notice a difference. However I've been told Canadian diesel is a better quality than the stuff you guys have.

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DslGate

· #10 · Aug 23, 2016

kmfinley93 said:
I've been a diesel head for a number of years, although always trucks.

I noticed up here in Wisconsin that the Kwik Trip stations carry something called "Premium Diesel" with a four cent premium price. I filled up and on the same fifty mile stretch of road at the same time I broke the record of 47.5mpg and bumped it to 52.4mpg. Seems like about a realistic 10-15% increase (conservative because I knew I was testing it). For the entire tank, the rest being city and driven by my girlfriend who does not give a crap about my fuel economy games as long as she doesn't have to pay too much, her average tank economy went from the 37.5 she ALWAYS ends up with up to 41.2. Part of me is buying in to this...

This is an age old argument in the gasoline world and I've pretty much decided that the newer vehicles are designed to run a certain type of fuel, and going up or down in octane can only hurt. In older vehicles, such as my trusty 2wd Chevy 350 pickup trucks, I've gotten the exact same return in mileage for what i've paid extra, so it's a wash and I would always run a tank of premium through every 2-3 tanks.

Sooooooo.... what do you guys think? is the cruze diesel designed for a certain cetane rating? Will a higher cetane content hurt the vehicle? Is less soot generated by a more efficient fuel? Will I regen less often with this fuel?

The closest I can get to Ptemium diesel in IL is non-bio at Phillips 66 in Volo, IL. Everyone else in the Chicagoland area is sporting bio, typically B20 . I will have to take a quick drive North of the Cheddar curtain and try some Kwik Trip.

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