Fuel Additives vs Premium Diesel

[superhans88]

I appreciate both of these subjects have been discussed in great depth before, however is there any consensus on which is more effective?

I generally use premium diesel, more as an insurance policy against clogged injectors etc rather than for any performance benefit. The price differential of £5-£10 per tank got me wondering if it would be better spent on additive products instead? I have no experience of using these and have generally regarded them all as being akin to snake oil.. can anyone prove me wrong?

[bungz]

Best thing for diesels really is regular servicing, I would put the cash towards thatand run on supermarket fuel

Fresh oil, oil filter and fuel filter will do far more than redex etc will do for your car.

[anonymous-user]

how would normal diesel clog the injectors?

My car is at 170k and I have run it on cheap diesel for the last 30k and no clogged injectors. I know premium diesel is better, but diesels engines are pretty robust over petrol engines.

[superhans88]

I give it an oil change every 6 months which works out about 10k miles, fuel filter is also changed every 20/30k or so.

It's the 1.6 TDCI (PSA) engine which has a reputation for turbo & injector failure, although mine is running nicely at 140k

[mgv8]

All fuel now has additives so all you can get is a bigger bang for your buck but even the only if your car will make use of it.

[anonymous-user]

A guy at work swears that the premium stuff makes him get more mpg, runs quieter, keeps the engine going longer. I am not sure but it probably like bottled water over tap water.

[xjay1337]

I notice no real difference on the occasion I run normal diesel.

I run premium diesel just because I have tuned my car quite a lot and figure any benefit in improved lubrication of my HPFP running at 1900bar would be beneficial.
I've never suffered injector failure or clogged injectors in any my previous diesels.


I think either run an additive (Millers diesel or Diesel Rhino) OR premium fuel.

Don't run both.

[Centurion07]

Stick a smidge of 2-stroke mineral oil in the tank every now and then.

[Kinky]

In the XF, I get c. 2 MPG more on the Shell V Power diesel than I do over the regular diesel.

[xjay1337]

Koan said:

Not on all diesels. PD injectors in VAG vehicles hate the stuff.

No they don't lol.

[Evanivitch]

I've run my 1.9TDi PD with Miller's Ecomax and Diesel Rhino in the past.

Seemed to improve low-rev torque, and range on the tank. Miller's more effective than Rhino.

Both are a cocktail of chemicals, but the brave souls on TDI Club just drop pure cetane booster.

[meehaja]

2.0PD VW engine (BKD) re-mapped to 180ish, normal fuel runs a bit lumpy at idle/ when cold and occasional "blips" at cruising speed. No issues yet using Vmax. For £5 extra per tank, I've gone Vmax and stopped buying sweets/food at the petrol station.

[buggalugs]

Kinky said:

In the XF, I get c. 2 MPG more on the Shell V Power diesel than I do over the regular diesel.

About the same in my c220, 2-3 mpg, I log everything in fuelly. I'd need to be seeing about 5mpg to cover 100% the cost difference but if it gives other less measurable benefits too then sod it for a couple of quid a month.

Edited by buggalugs on Sunday 1st January 09:42

[SteveSteveson]

superhans88 said:

I give it an oil change every 6 months which works out about 10k miles, fuel filter is also changed every 20/30k or so.

It's the 1.6 TDCI (PSA) engine which has a reputation for turbo & injector failure, although mine is running nicely at 140k

I'd put good money on that being down to the 20k pa than the servicing. Best thing you can do for a diesel car is to make sure it gets warm and use it.

[rigster2]

Guys, you've probably heard all this before but there is nothing wrong with the basic fuels available in the uk.

Correct engine care and maintenance will be of far more benefit than any slight improvement from fuel.

I run a fuel Terminal for a living.

Cheers, and Happy New Year to all ph

[Evanivitch]

rigster2 said:

Guys, you've probably heard all this before but there is nothing wrong with the basic fuels available in the uk.

Correct engine care and maintenance will be of far more benefit than any slight improvement from fuel.

I run a fuel Terminal for a living.

Cheers, and Happy New Year to all ph

No one here is saying there's anything wrong with it, it's all manufactured and sold to the same UK/EU standards. But there's nothing to say it can't be improved.

When combined with proper maintenance and running (I too do 20k pa with 6 monthly oil change) it can be, in my opinion, an additional improvement on engine performance (I.e. MPG. I make no claims to power changes).

[rigster2]

The OP stated that he uses premium fuel to avoid clogged injectors, implying that standard fuel may give him problems.

This is not the case.

If additised fuel really must be used, the double dosed BP can provide a good cetane boost.

[BIRMA]

I've been using Hydra Fuels Cetane Booster and Injector Cleaner in my V10 twin turbo diesel Phaeton and in my re-mapped Renault Traffic van.
I used to buy V-Power diesel all the time in my Phaeton and fill my Traffic with V-Power every fourth fill, my thinking being as supermarket fuel was cheaper for my van I'd just use V-Power to clean it every fourth fill.
So just over a year ago I bought the Hydra Fuels additives and apart from the frig of syringing in the two fluids in before every fill it has worked out slightly cheaper overall than V-Power but I'm using the additives in the van all the time and buying supermarket fuel all of the time.
I am convinced that both vehicles run sweater on the additives and both seem to have very low emissions on the MOT test.

Edited by BIRMA on Monday 2nd January 17:07

[rs990]

A few years back when I was running my 320d I would occasionally use Millers, I definitely ran a little smoother and was a fraction more responsive, and it was obvious when the effect had worn off. I can't say I checked to see if the fuel economy was any better.

Having said that, my father felt his car ('05 Merc C220 CDI) ran worse with the Millers additive.

[scherzkeks]

The Spruce goose said:

A guy at work swears that the premium stuff makes him get more mpg, runs quieter, keeps the engine going longer. I am not sure but it probably like bottled water over tap water.

Several respectable publications (including ADAC) did tests of premium diesel here in Germany. All of the big-name versions gave added horsepower and increased mileage.