I prefer BP or Amoco Premier. Back in the day (early '80s) I remember my father always going to SOHIO (which has now become BP) and fuelling up his Olds 98 with their Diesel Supreme, which BP has carried on with. I use Red Line Diesel Catalyst about every third tankful. If you prefer to use it more often, don't use the whole bottle at a fillup, just pour in a few ounces (notice how there are ounce increments on the bottle?). Using it full strength can actually do more harm than good.

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Regards,
Aaron

Thanks guys for the advice and lengthy response. I think I'm sold on it already and haven't even bought it yet. Might be getting my third diesel this week as the Caravan is on the chopping block....

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DAILY DRIVERS:
'84 300DT 298k (Aubrey's)
'99.5 Jetta TDI IV 251k (Julie's)
'97 Jetta TDI 127k (Amber's)
'97 Jetta TDI 186k (Matt's)
'96 Passat TDI 237k (Don's
'84 300D 211k Mint (Arne- Undergoing Greasecar Conversion)

SOLD:
'82 240D 229k (Matt's - Converted-300DT w/ 4 speed

I usually find the cheapest, Crown, East Cost, etc. Right now the local TEXACO station has 45 Cetane for a couple cents more that the cheap stuff. I still add acouple of oz. of DFC or similar additive every time.

Does anyone know what the typical cetane rating in Europe is?

I noticed at a Sunoco station they had a sign above the pump that mentioned Premium Diesel, but the pump itself was not marked premium in any way. My car did seem to run a bit better on the stuff. I still wonder if there really was premium diesel in the pump, because it was amongst the cheapest diesel for dozens of miles. The same pump advertised "winterized diesel" during the winter.
Anyway, my wife thinks I'm obsessive for adding DFC at every tankful. [sigh]
I really wish all diesel pumps carried cetane ratings!! Write your congressman!! [stepping off soapbox], Bob

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Bob Roe
Lehigh Valley PA USA
1973 Olds 88, 1972 MB 280SE, 1978 Datsun 280Z, 1971 Ford T-Bird, 1972 Olds 88, 1983 Nissan Sentra, 1985 Sentra, 1973 230.6, 1990 Acura Integra, 1991 Volvo 940GLE wagon, 1983 300SD, 1984 300SD, 1995 Subaru Legacy L wagon, 2002 Mountaineer, 1991 300TE wagon, 2008 Murano, 2007 R320CDI 4Matic 52K, some Hyundai, 2008 BMW 535xi wagon, all gone... currently
2007 Honda Odyssey Touring, 2014 E350 4matic

After giving this some thought, I have a feeling, outside significant differences in cetane ratings, the best fuel may be the newest fuel - i.e. go to a station that sells a lot of diesel - this, it seems to me, will help ensure the fuel has not been sitting in a tank collecting water for extended periods of time.

Many of the suburban stations where I live have diesel at "almost" competitive prices, but they have very little sales traffic - so, I go to a local station that is a favorite spot for delivery and dump trucks.

Just some thoughts.

George

Good point, George. The highest volume stations seem to have fuel that gives a nice "frothing" effect at the top of the filler neck. I agree that this type of fuel is usually very fresh. I don't think you can extrapolate cetane from the amount of "froth" but I think that it's a good indication of freshness. Also, it would stand to reason that the cheapest/best stations would sell the most fuel, so it won't sit around in their tanks very long. This is especially helpful around November/December in the colder climates, because it assures getting winterized fuel as early as possible.

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Bob Roe
Lehigh Valley PA USA
1973 Olds 88, 1972 MB 280SE, 1978 Datsun 280Z, 1971 Ford T-Bird, 1972 Olds 88, 1983 Nissan Sentra, 1985 Sentra, 1973 230.6, 1990 Acura Integra, 1991 Volvo 940GLE wagon, 1983 300SD, 1984 300SD, 1995 Subaru Legacy L wagon, 2002 Mountaineer, 1991 300TE wagon, 2008 Murano, 2007 R320CDI 4Matic 52K, some Hyundai, 2008 BMW 535xi wagon, all gone... currently
2007 Honda Odyssey Touring, 2014 E350 4matic

For those with the want or "need" to know, a good site I use for technical info about diesel fuel and much more: http://www.chevron.com/prodserv/bulletin/diesel/findex.html

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Dale Mitchell
'84 300SD
'96 6.5l diesel GMC Suburban

.....I used to run an Amoco station for about 5 years. We generally sold about 1000 gallons of the good diesel per day. On one warm February day, the phone started ringing off the hook about 10:30 a.m. Diesel trucks were going down fast and wanted to know if we were having problems with our fuel. I went outside and looked around for awhile until I noticed that the snowplow guy had knocked the air-vent pipe (vertical) off the top of the tank. Water (from snow melt) was pouring into the tank by the 10's of gallons. That was a very bad day and a very expensive day. And so I stick with Amoco but the kind without water....

__________________
DAILY DRIVERS:
'84 300DT 298k (Aubrey's)
'99.5 Jetta TDI IV 251k (Julie's)
'97 Jetta TDI 127k (Amber's)
'97 Jetta TDI 186k (Matt's)
'96 Passat TDI 237k (Don's
'84 300D 211k Mint (Arne- Undergoing Greasecar Conversion)

SOLD:
'82 240D 229k (Matt's - Converted-300DT w/ 4 speed

I live in Northern Illinois and work for a freight company. Our company trucks drive about 2 million miles each year combined. We do not use additives during summer. Winter we add a fuel suppliment for water, cetane, lubricity, wax formation, and algecide. If it's really cold -10F or below I'll tell the guys to add a gallon of regular unleaded gas to each tank. This stops wax formation in fuel filters. When wax forms in fuel filter, truck stops running. Murphy' Law says this will happen on the coldest night in the middle of no where. For my diesel car I purchase fuel where truckers go. This way I know that fuel hasn't been sitting collecting algae and becoming hydrosorbic. Not too many years ago EPA had diesel fuel reformulated to remove sulfer. Today's fuel can not have more than .5% sulfer. Off road equipment and farm equipment have the old high sulfer fuel. That is the fuel with power. It is also dyed red to show it's for off road use. And yes I've had State Police stop our trucks for routine safety checks and look inside fuel tanks. Off road fuel does not have road taxs in price.

Years back I participated in another, similar discussion about the best diesel fuel for M-Bs. The answer then, and now, is to use the fuel with the highest cetane rating available. I have always found this to be Amoco--originally at 50 cetane, now at 47. Most major U.S. brands are 40 cetane, even if not market on the pump. My 1977 240D seems to like it. Use no addatives. Have had excellent exoerience. The key is the discussion in this thread about Mercedes' need for higher grade diesel in europe.

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Douglas
1959 M-B 220S cabriolet

Donkey, I've never heard of pre 85 Redline. Are you talking about the Diesel Fuel Catalyst, the DFC? I was told (translation: read on the internet) that the 85+ and DFC was the same product. Not sure if this is true.

Those big nozzles can be a surprise. My first experience with a truck nozzle was in upstate NY, and I don't remember the nozzle being big. It was a W123 300D. I don't remember having the metal part inside the tank that stops the diesel nozzle from fitting really correctly. I DO remember that my tank took about 12 gallons in roughly 20 seconds, and showered me with diesel fuel.

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Bob Roe
Lehigh Valley PA USA
1973 Olds 88, 1972 MB 280SE, 1978 Datsun 280Z, 1971 Ford T-Bird, 1972 Olds 88, 1983 Nissan Sentra, 1985 Sentra, 1973 230.6, 1990 Acura Integra, 1991 Volvo 940GLE wagon, 1983 300SD, 1984 300SD, 1995 Subaru Legacy L wagon, 2002 Mountaineer, 1991 300TE wagon, 2008 Murano, 2007 R320CDI 4Matic 52K, some Hyundai, 2008 BMW 535xi wagon, all gone... currently
2007 Honda Odyssey Touring, 2014 E350 4matic

CORRECT! DFC and 85+ used to be two different formulations, but are now identical. The only reason for the two different labels, is the case stated by Donkey. People still believe what they want to, and trying to tell them otherwise is like wrestling a pig, so Redline decided (wisely) to just keep putting two different labels on the same product.

I have an '82, and use 85+ all the time!

Call Redline: http://www.redlineoil.com and ask them...

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Scott Longston
Northern California Wine Country...
"Turbos whistle, grapes wine..."

I use any Diesel fuel available in my 300SDs,300SDL,240D,220D,190D and have been for 30 years and I can't tell the difference in any of the fuels. I live in PA and I never had a problem with the fuel gelling in any of the cars, however, I have had this problem with my fuel oil because my tank is outside. Actually, I have had the cold weather problem with the fuel for only the last 2 years. It seems something has been changed in the fuel oil 2 years ago.

P E H