Which diesel fuel to use, Q&A.

[mebius9]

Sorry mate,
It's just a simple question which could've been answered with one simple answer.
Didn't mean any harm.

Still swerving off topic.

[Greg Roles]

Caltex Vortex is as good in my opinion if BP not available. Both are premium, higher cetane, with added cleaners.

[jazd]

I emailed BP today about BP Ultimate Diesel - here's their response.

Hi,
The planned release for BP Ultimate in NSW and VIC is mid to late 2012.
At this stage that is the only information I have available.

Kind regards,


Elena Zito

[dazag]

According to the BP website, there is BP Ultimate diesel at a servo in Bathurst, maybe a glitch. I should give the servo a call to confirm - not that I'll be driving out there just to buy a tank of fuel ha ha ha.

Greg - Where did you find the Cetane info on Vortex Diesel?? I've looked through Tech data sheets, MSDS sheets etc and can't find anything about the Cetane rating being bumped up. I also read on a 4x4 forum that a member had contacted Caltex and they said the only difference between their normal diesel and Vortex is the cleaning & anti-foam agent p they have exactly the same Cetane rating.

Here is the info I've found on the diesel fuels by the way of manufacturers Tech Data sheets on offer, although what some manufactures quote on line and what the data sheets say are typically different.
The Cetane ratings quote here are the Minimum levels as stated in the tech data sheets etc, and told to expect it to be higher in most typical cases:

BP:
Normal diesel - 48 Cetane
Ultimate - 52 cetane, ( sale pitch from BP was saying typically expect 54 to as high as 60 )

Caltex:
Normal - 46 Cetane ( But Caltex rep quoted me up around 51 - 52 - can you trust a sales rep?? )
Vortex - 46 Cetane ( as above )

Shell:
Normal - 49 Cetane ( but typically as high as 53 )

Mobil :
Couldn't find any cetane rating for Mobil diesel fuels, I'm sure the info is out there somewhere........

So take from that what you will. I'm so bloody confused by it all as it seems to be a hit & miss really, depending on when & where you buy diesel from.
I did note that when i ran 2 tanks of BP Ultimate diesel in the Ocy RS ( when i was in Adelaide for Xmas) that it did NOT improve fuel economy, but the throttle response was improved - less turbo lag as well. If I could get it here in Newcastle it's what I would be running. I dont notice any difference when running Vortex diesel, fuel economy or response. But I should recheck my cals since i've been running vortex the past couple of tank fills