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Premium diesel? Additives? Neither?

Neil P

Neil P

pfm Member
I'm keen to know whether any reliable research has been done on the benefits of premium diesel/additives. I'm interested in fuel economy and lifespan of the engine, rather than performance.
 
It also says do it occasionally to clean the engine. Supermarket fuels are said to lack cleaning additives though whether this is an urban myth, I’ve no idea. My BIL had to scrap a diesel A5, the garage put the injector issues down to supermarket fuel.
 
clivem2 said:
It also says do it occasionally to clean the engine. Supermarket fuels are said to lack cleaning additives though whether this is an urban myth, I’ve no idea. My BIL had to scrap a diesel A5, the garage put the injector issues down to supermarket fuel.
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Thanks. I did once use a cleaning additive on the recommendation of the garage. Will do some more research!
 
Been using premium petrol for many years , gives me much more performance andi dont mind paying for it . 1.4 feels like a 1.6 and faster and drives better when ac on
 
I used it in my remapped 2.2D Jag X-Type. Woooph... Made quite a difference to mpg too.

I think Honest John used to say that it should be used all the time to get the benefit of the cleaning component.
 
Seems to have more benefits in petrol over diesel in my experience. I think the "Super" petrol is higher octane so more power, whereas the diesel stuff just has additives.*

I do treat our diesel to a can of Forte occasionally. The Shell premium diesel is way more expensive so makes quite a difference on a tank.

*That is not Gospel as I don't really know.
 
I buy diesel Redex when Aldi has it on offer . After the erg valve going, fortunately just within guarantee, I'm hoping it makes a difference.
 
Might want to take a look at this. It's an industry standard test to test the efficacy of premium diesel fuel. The substantiating documents underpinning reputable premium fuels claims will refer to this test and how well they performed in it.
 
Ten years ago I was talking to a lorry driver who delivered fuel to petrol stations. It all comes from the same large storage tank, irrespective of the brand of petrol station it's delivered to. If there is some kind of brand specific additive it's added automatically when the lorry is filled up.

The cars manual should say what fuel to use. It's a bit like having a car designed for 95 octane (talking petrol now) and thinking it will be faster on 98...
 
re the first question: There's one of our number here who is an engine design engineer, he would know. Edit - I think Rana is a fuel engineer, and RJohan is ex Volvo engineering.
Cav said:
Why would any mainstream manufactured engine require after market fuel additives?
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It might be the difference between an engine that performs adequately for 100,000 miles, as per the manufacturers spec, before needing replacement of things like fuel injectors, emissions gear, etc. and the same engine going 150k miles before needing the same. Most people don't get to 100k miles, so they wouldn't care. I would, my car's on 188k without significant attention, though the EGR valve is getting dicky. I don't have any control sample, obviously, but my car was owned from new by a friend who did 160k miles in 10 years and was religious over servicing and using fuel additive. The last MoT showed emissions below the lower detection limit, which at 170k miles I consider remarkable. Proof it's not, but it's an anecdote worth recounting.
 
stevec67 said:
There's one of our number here who is an engine design engineer, he would know.

It might be the difference between an engine that performs adequately for 100,000 miles, as per the manufacturers spec, before needing replacement of things like fuel injectors, emissions gear, etc. and the same engine going 150k miles before needing the same. Most people don't get to 100k miles, so they wouldn't care. I would, my car's on 188k without significant attention, though the EGR valve is getting dicky. I don't have any control sample, obviously, but my car was owned from new by a friend who did 160k miles in 10 years and was religious over servicing and using fuel additive. The last MoT showed emissions below the lower detection limit, which at 170k miles I consider remarkable. Proof it's not, but it's an anecdote worth recounting.
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Thank you - this is exactly what I poorly explained in my OP. I run a 2014 diesel, and being on a tight budget the longer the car can last for the better. What additives were used by the previous owner? Do you also use additives?
 
Neil P said:
Thank you - this is exactly what I poorly explained in my OP. I run a 2014 diesel, and being on a tight budget the longer the car can last for the better. What additives were used by the previous owner? Do you also use additives?
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I think Redex. I use the stuff every few tankfuls, usually what I can get on special offer, Aldi do 2x Redex for £4 or £5.
 
I use normal petrol and never think of additives of any sort.
When driving, I go for maximum economy.

Accelerating slowly, reading the road to anticipate and keeping my maximum speed to 55 mph
on single carriageways and 65 mph on motorways.

My little Skoda can do 60+ mpg easily.
I don’t think Audi drivers like me, though.
 
Martyn Miles said:
I use normal petrol and never think of additives of any sort.
When driving, I go for maximum economy.

Accelerating slowly, reading the road to anticipate and keeping my maximum speed to 55 mph
on single carriageways and 65 mph on motorways.
Click to expand...

That’s great but an Italian tune up once in a while is a good thing to do IMHO.
 
Neil P said:
Thank you - this is exactly what I poorly explained in my OP. I run a 2014 diesel, and being on a tight budget the longer the car can last for the better. What additives were used by the previous owner? Do you also use additives?
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Do you have a Costco card? Their diesel has the premium additives as standard, and costs around 10p/litre less than most supermarket offerings.
 
Martyn Miles said:
I use normal petrol and never think of additives of any sort.
When driving, I go for maximum economy.

Accelerating slowly, reading the road to anticipate and keeping my maximum speed to 55 mph
on single carriageways and 65 mph on motorways.

My little Skoda can do 60+ mpg easily.
I don’t think Audi drivers like me, though.
Click to expand...

I've always wondered about the optimum speed for fuel economy - I imagine it needs to be calculated for every make/model, rather than one size fits all.
 
stevec67 said:
I think Redex. I use the stuff every few tankfuls, usually what I can get on special offer, Aldi do 2x Redex for £4 or £5.
Click to expand...

Thanks, assuming that is the 250ml bottles that works out about £8-10 a litre of redex. I'll keep my eye out for offers.

What's the method for adding redex - add to a 1/4 tank than run car until fuel has nearly run out?
 
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