ULSD...Reduced Sulfer=Reduced Lubricity

[Silverstreak 0]

I ran across this link which is to an article on dieselplace.com regarding the lack of lubricity supplied by ULSD and further provides the lubricity perfomance metrics on popular additives in America.

http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=177728

[lebikerboy 96]

So a 2% mix of biodiesel was number one. No wonder our smarties engine is so quiet with a 50% mix!

[MikeT 744]

The cdi was designed to run on ULSD; Europe has had under 50 PPM diesel since before this engine was designed.

[Fowvay 0]

This is only relevant if and only IF your diesel powered motor has a mechanical fuel distributor. These require the fuel to lubricate the mechanisms and keep the seals plump and happy. An ultra low sulfer diesel will not provide the necessary lubricity so you will need to run an additive or switch to bio-diesel to be able to keep driving. Examples of vehicles that fall into this category are older MB diesels such as the old 300Ds, Pre 1997 Volkswagen Diesels, Quite a number of merican' pick up trucks including some pretty modern ones and almost all semi trucks. Your CDi does not require an additive to use ULSD in fact it will only benefit you as it will help keep the EGR valve from clogging and keep your intake and exhaust manifold cleaner for much much longer. For the smart it is nothing but a win win situation... older cars it can be a very expensive lesson indeed.

Edited April 10, 2008 by Fowvay

[Gent 1]

Slightly Off Topic: I finally tried B20 Biodiesel, and it was immediately obvious that the car loved it. Purred like a kitten.Interesting thing was that the higher concentrations of BioDiesel are cheaper than the low concentrations now. B50 was much cheaper than B5.

Edited April 10, 2008 by Gent

[bilgladstone 13]

When used at concentrations between 5% and 50%, the Bio~ component of Biodiesel is road tax exempt. It makes sense then, that the higher the concentration of Bio~ in the admixture (up tp 50%), the more you are replacing Dino~, which is not exempt, and the resultant consumer cost should be cheaper!

Bil

[lebikerboy 96]

FWIW some of the oil companies i.e. Chevron add lubricity components to their ULSD diesel as they have recognized the problems some engines would have.

[Fred J 0]

Gent, to expand on bil's reply ..... The biodiesel component is exempt from 19 cents per litre BC Motor Fuel Tax. In addition the producer (West Coast Reduction) is not paying $100+ per barrel for base stock crude oil. A lot of their base is reclaimed cooking oils, rendering plant waste and other sources that would otherwise end in land fills and other disposal sites. A double win..... free or min. cost raw base stock and producung an environmentally friendly product.

Edited April 10, 2008 by Fred J

[Gent 1]

Good to know. I just wish I had tried it sooner! The price is good, and the car sounds great with it in the tank.

[bilgladstone 13]

Good to know. I just wish I had tried it sooner! The price is good, and the car sounds great with it in the tank.

... and less smoke!

[Gent 1]

lol, I rarely saw the smoke from inside - so it never bothered me!