Tesco Diesel

macman

I always use M &S petrol. Because obviously, it's not just petrol, it's M&S petrol....

jimbo6977

Surely it's not beyond the wit of some journalistic organisation like (say) the BBC or Which? to purchase small amounts of fuel from various filling stations and have them tested to find out how they differ from the known, published standard?

Or are all the competent labs so in hock to the fuel companies that they wouldn't get involved?

Also, do the refiners/distributors not add some sort of trace-ability molecules to each batch in case of problems?

AdrianC

jimbo6977 wrote: »

Also, do the refiners/distributors not add some sort of trace-ability molecules to each batch in case of problems?

They'll be able to trace what batch was delivered to which filling station.

In the event of a problem arising from the fuel, just think how many vehicles would be affected, and how quickly. It'd be trivial to track the source down - which would probably turn out to be tank contamination or mis-delivery, rather than a problem with a batch.

reeac

Aylesbury_Duck wrote: »

Never had any problems with supermarket fuel, nor have I noticed any improvement in economy or performance from using so-called premium brands. I have a whole load of Redex I got incredibly cheaply a few months back so I stick some of that in every other fill. I can't qualify its effectiveness but I got it so cheaply I reason if it does any good at all it's a bargain and if it does nothing it's costing me less than 50p a tank to add anyway.

My EGR valve and the manifold it's mounted on need regularly de-sooting but I suspect that's more to do with the poor design (rough edges that collect and then attract soot more) than anything to do with fuel type or additives.

Are you sure that it's not the Redex that's causing the sooting up?

ToxicWomble

There was a piece on I think Fifth Gear a few years ago on this subject but with petrol.
The consensus was that for the majority of users,there is neglibable difference.
However, for high performance engines there was a noticeable change is performance.
In the real world, my diesel on a long run will get approx 10% better economy from premium diesel than with non premium. However, the additional cost offsets this.
Whether it’s real or imagined, I think the engine runs smoother and responds better as well.

AdrianC

ToxicWomble wrote: »

There was a piece on I think Fifth Gear a few years ago on this subject but with petrol.
The consensus was that for the majority of users,there is neglibable difference.
However, for high performance engines there was a noticeable change is performance.

That's the difference between 95RON Premium Unleaded and 97-99RON Super Unleaded, not between brands.

Most cars will see no benefit from the extra octane, only cars with a knock sensor and ignition or boost base maps that will take advantage of it.

In the real world, my diesel on a long run will get approx 10% better economy from premium diesel than with non premium. However, the additional cost offsets this.
Whether it’s real or imagined, I think the engine runs smoother and responds better as well.

"Premium diesel" is absolute marketing poppycock. There's no functional difference at all, just extra detergents to keep things clean long-term. There may be benefits in soot reduction from higher cetane levels, but with a DPF they're irrelevant in the short term and if a DPF-equipped diesel is being used properly.

Mercdriver

I won't use Tesco Diesel in my home town as they are usually the most expensive in the town. They still send someone out to check the local prices, but once other petrol stations put their prices to match Tesco's Tesco put it up a penny a litre. The cheapest are Gulf, Texaco and Applegreen.

aardvaak

Most of it normally comes from the same distributing depot

Clive_Woody

mrmmhf wrote: »

We were recently speaking to a friend who said that their mechanic advised them against using filling up their car with Tesco diesel because it's "dirty" and damages your engine in the long run.

Do they have a petrol car by any chance?

EdGasketTheSecond

mrmmhf wrote: »

The most convenient place for us to fill up our car is at Tesco, and we've been doing this for quite some time now. We were recently speaking to a friend who said that their mechanic advised them against using filling up their car with Tesco diesel because it's "dirty" and damages your engine in the long run.

Is there any truth to this?

Yes. Brother-in-law's jag was written off by using Tesco diesel over a long period. Everything contaminated requiring complete replacement of tank, pipes, pump and injectors; more than the car was worth (approx £2,000). Parts and fuel samples were sent away and the result that came back was, I think, silicon contamination from Tesco diesel accumulated over time.