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Engine Specific Info and Questions => IDI Engine => Topic started by: Cheesetoast on July 21, 2007, 09:06:59 pm

Title: Shell ultra diesel vs regular
Post by: Cheesetoast on July 21, 2007, 09:06:59 pm: the new shell station here has ultra diesel and regular, it's abot a 3 cent difference, is it worth it?
Title: Shell ultra diesel vs regular
Post by: jtanguay on July 21, 2007, 10:09:57 pm: imo i get better performance and economy using gold diesel + power service diesel fuel conditioner.
Title: Shell ultra diesel vs regular
Post by: Cheesetoast on July 22, 2007, 01:34:25 am: i find the problem with the cetane booster and conditioner is that it smells sooo bad, and hard to get that smell off your hands, i don't really want to carry that stuff in my car, the smell leaks right through zip lock bags.
Title: Shell ultra diesel vs regular
Post by: burn_your_money on July 22, 2007, 06:51:48 am: Yeah my car stinks from power service, that's because I cut my back seat out though.

I don't notice a difference with the ultra diesel
Title: Shell ultra diesel vs regular
Post by: mvptrukin on July 23, 2007, 10:49:14 am: I haven't seeen Ultra diesel in the states is the cetane # higher than regular diesel?
Title: Shell ultra diesel vs regular
Post by: jtanguay on July 23, 2007, 03:38:15 pm: i leave power service in my garage... plus i have a pump handle for it to further decrease the smell.
Title: cetane boost
Post by: bigblockchev on July 23, 2007, 05:53:31 pm: I know that Biodiesel has a cetane rating or around 50 while #2 diesel is 40-45 for ULSD. It also has excellent lubricity characteristics. I understand that in Europe diesel is mandated to contain 5% Bio to replace the sulphur for lubricity. Think of how bad your engine sounds when it gets some gasoline accidentally mixed in, this is due to the low cetane rating of gasoline. I think that in the bad old days when diesel contained sulphur and other impurities our engines lasted much longer. Think of it as using a lubricant for fuel (diesel) as opposed to a solvent (gasoline). I am given to understand that ULSD is a "dry" fuel with little or no lubrication properties. We will see how this affects the lifespan of our engines. I have been using BD for the last couple of years. Cheers Dan
Title: Shell ultra diesel vs regular
Post by: Black Smokin' Diesel on July 23, 2007, 06:12:20 pm: ULSD has stuff added in it to increase lubricity, I wouldn't worry about that.
Title: Shell ultra diesel vs regular
Post by: jtanguay on July 23, 2007, 06:35:00 pm: apparently it isn't the sulphur that lubricates, but the process of removing sulphur removes the lubricity of the raw diesel fuel.

sulphur might help certain areas, but IMO, i would believe sulphur to be a good way to 'gunk' up things like filters, injectors, etc.
Title: Shell ultra diesel vs regular
Post by: bigblockchev on July 23, 2007, 07:48:19 pm: JT you are right the sulphur is not the lubricant in reg diesel. The other compounds which are removed when the sulphur is,do the lubricating. I am interested to see how the lifespan of our injection systems is affected by using ULSD. I have heard complaints from various people regarding their injection pumps already. It remains to be seen whether this is caused by the fuel or some design factor in the injection system. I have misgivings about the newer technologies using extremely high pressures. I know that this is where technology is headed but I am not sure about the durability of the systems. Cheers Dan
Title: Shell ultra diesel vs regular
Post by: Black Smokin' Diesel on July 23, 2007, 09:09:46 pm: Quote from: "bigblockchev"
I have heard complaints from various people regarding their injection pumps already.

There have been complaints but all of them (the one I heard anyway) were about leaks on the injection pump. I've yet to hear anything related to accelerated pump wear or premature failure due to the supposedly reduce lubricity.