Is all Diesel fuel the same?

[stinkbelly]

With the exception of agricultural diesel, is all other diesel fuel the same?

This is my first diesel and I have been buying it at a local Racetrac gas station. It is the largest station around with 24 pumps, (only 8 are diesel). Should I buy it from Texaco, a truck stop, or Walmart, or is this ok?

[jason m]

Originally Posted by stinkbelly

With the exception of agricultural diesel, is all other diesel fuel the same?

This is my first diesel and I have been buying it at a local Racetrac gas station. It is the largest station around with 24 pumps, (only 8 are diesel). Should I buy it from Texaco, a truck stop, or Walmart, or is this ok?

Quality will change depeding on location, but for the most part you only have two major differences. #1 and #2 diesel or winter and summer mix. Winter mix (#1) is better suited to cold weather as it will not gel except in extremly low temps. You will notice slightly better mileage on summer blend (#2) but only slightly. If you go to a truck stop to get fuel the cetane will likely be lower and mileage will drop as a result but the fuel will be fresher than smaller stations. If filling up at a truck stop buy a bottle of cetane booster and it will bring youre mileage up about 10% from my experience.

[lightflyer1]

Most diesel comes from the same distributor no matter what station it goes to. There are some exceptions though. Just try and buy from a station that has a high turnover rate in their fuel sales.

[CGK]

Diesel fuel is basically the same formulation no matter where you purchase it. The differences are in additives that are used in different regions of the country.
You need to be aware of the cetane (like octane only for diesel).
The higher the cetane, the cleaner the fuel will burn and it will provide better fuel efficiency as well. I recommend using an additive such as Power Service or any other diesel additive, that will help raise the cetane and increase the lubricity of the fuel as well. I use Power Service every fill up and have never had a problem in my '04 NB TDI that just turned 182,000 miles.
Every 10K miles, drain the fuel filter to eliminate any water accumulation and as mentioned above, buy your fuel where you know there is a good turnover and not from a place that has fuel sitting in tanks for long periods of time. Follow the normal maintenance schedule for your TDI and it should give you many miles of trouble free driving

[Lew]

"Power Service" at Wal Mart is 6.97 a bottle. I have been using it since 05 in the wife's beetle.
I add a little each fill up. The white bottle is for extremely cold weather, and the gray bottle is for milder climates. It does a number of things like keeping your injectors clean, etc. You can use either bottle no matter what climate you live in. You will not go wrong using it.

[DZLBUG]

Originally Posted by CGK

Diesel fuel is basically the same formulation no matter where you purchase it. The differences are in additives that are used in different regions of the country.
You need to be aware of the cetane (like octane only for diesel).
The higher the cetane, the cleaner the fuel will burn and it will provide better fuel efficiency as well. I recommend using an additive such as Power Service or any other diesel additive, that will help raise the cetane and increase the lubricity of the fuel as well. I use Power Service every fill up and have never had a problem in my '04 NB TDI that just turned 182,000 miles.
Every 10K miles, drain the fuel filter to eliminate any water accumulation and as mentioned above, buy your fuel where you know there is a good turnover and not from a place that has fuel sitting in tanks for long periods of time. Follow the normal maintenance schedule for your TDI and it should give you many miles of trouble free driving

^werd^

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