I'm curious what brand of diesel fuel people like the most for their MB diesels? Any extra information, such as grade (premium or #2, etc.), cetane rating, location, price, pump area cleanliness, self or full serve, would be enlightening.

I've been buying Citgo at a full-serve in Phillipsburg NJ for $1.359. I had been using Hess, 42 cetane, but the Citgo seems to give more power and less noise.

My car couldn't be happier, except for the full-serve part. I don't like other people opening my tank, but that's just me...

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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

ive been going to coastal, tis only 1.47 a gallon there(that is REALLY cheap for Fl right now) i'd never heard of cetane etc before, only octane? whats the differance and how do you tell?
R

Lots of pumps don't tell you. Around here only Hess posts their cetane rating, and not everywhere. It used to be 45, now they've dropped it to 42. Higher is better, and I've seen Amoco premium diesel posted at 47 in northern Virginia.

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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

what does it do? higher mpg? better acceleration? less smoke? does a 300SD have a min. required cetane level? thanks
R

My favorite brand is Amoco Premier. Paying 1.69 for it right now. My cars don't need it in the summer but in the winter they start and run tons better.

__________________
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

Cheap

For those of you who don't get out much, fuel brands change all over the U.S and Canada. So the brand of fuel I use (Chevron or UnoCal 76) might mean very little to someone in the midwest or on the east coast. We don't have Citgo, Hess, Amoco, Coastal, Gulf, Getty, Sunoco, Husky or any of a number of other regional brands here where I live. I use the Chevron brand currently because the local station is very clean (brand new), the fuel is $1.659 a gallon, and the fuel is good quality. Despite that, I add about 1/4 bottle of Redline 85+ at every fill up...

Here's a link to an article on Diesel Fuels and cetane ratings.:

http://reality.sgi.com/rogerb/Diesel/Diesel.html

Here's a link to a couple of sites that give average prices for diesel fuel by state or region.:

http://layover.truckmiles.com/fuelprices.htm

http://www.procert.com/dfuel.htm

Mercedes Benz diesel engines are engineered to run on fuels having a higher cetane rating than is generally available here in The States, so buy the best fuel you can find, and add Redline Diesel Fuel Catalyst or 85+, or another diesel fuel additive with cetane improvers in it like those sold by Stanadyne or AmsOil.

PartsShop And FastLane carry the Redline products right here, but for more information on them, and what they do, go to:

http://www.redlineoil.com

__________________

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

truck stop that always has ALOT of big rig traffic in and out of it. Also, I add the recommended amount of Stanadyne at each tank full.
Jim
'85 300D
'95 E320
'97 CRV

Scott Longston, I've never seen any published figure for a minimum cetane rating for MB diesels.

I realize that oil company brands are largely regional. By asking for peoples' brand preference, I was hoping to get enough responses to be helpful for people in all geographical areas. Nice diesel links btw.

__________________
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

I like to fill up at the Golden Gate Petroleum station in Oakland near the Alameda Park Street bridge. Their presence is limited to the bay area. The engine seems to run smoothly on their fuel, their prices are very good, and they get a reasonable amount of truck traffic. 2/3 of the pumps are diesel. It's too bad I can't use the large nozzles!

I tried Arco fuel near Moss Landing and, despite the low price, was NOT pleased with the way the engine ran. Nobody seems to know the cetane rating but I would guess it is rock bottom.

OFFROAD


just kidding

Neither have I, maybe there is, maybe there isn't a minimum cetane rating that's been published. I just know what I've been told by diesel injection systems manufacturers and by Mercedes that higher cetane is required for MB diesels.

So the fact is that the Mercedes passenger car engines are manufactured to european fuel specifications first, then modified to be EPA compliant prior to being imported. The inherent design is for these engines to burn higher cetane rated fuels than are generally available in North America. That requires us to use the highest cetane rated fuel available along with additives to boost the cetane rating in order to achieve optimum performance.

My comment about regionality wasn't meant to be a slight against your intentions, just an explanation for those who may not be aware of the differences in service stations, and fuel distributors across North America.

See:

What is the BEST GASOLNE to use in your MB?

__________________

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

This thread has brought up some very enlightening other threads. You've plugged me into a mother lode of good information.

One downside: my SD has become addicted to Redline DFC, much like many of us are addicted to this website...

__________________
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

....I keep hearing you guys talk about Redline. Has anyone used the winterized stuff in a cold climate comparable to Michigan? I've never used additives but you guys are sounding convincing. Also, what is the benefit in the summer?

__________________
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

My understanding is that all diesel fuel sold in the northeast after the end of November or so is the winterized #1. Honestly, I had no problems last winter starting my SD, although I think the lowest temperature we experienced was only around 10 deg F. Many days I fired it up without plugging in the block heater. Just waited for the glowplug light to go out, and start it right up. This is at temps in the teens. This winter I ran 10W30 oil (Agway Super Diesel, basically a CH4 rated farm equipment brand). This did seem to speed cold cranking and starting. Last winter using 15W40 I had to crank for about 20 sec at 8 deg F before she kicked over.

The Redline stuff claims to improve cetane, lubricity, and reduce smoking and "nailing". My car seems to notice it more when I run out, in that it runs slower and smokier. That's why I say my SD is "addicted" to the stuff. And using double the recommended amount, I did notice more of a benefit than using the recommended 1 oz/10 gal concentration.

Summer benefits are basically "all of the above". If you want to "hot-rod" around in your diesel, it seems to help, and there are enough knowledgeable people out there that swear by it. It's not snake oil, because I myself notice a decrease in smoke. It is one of the slipperiest liquids sold at Pep Boys; they stack the bottles on absorbent material because they "weep" their contents. I guess it's part of the mystique of MB dieseling.

__________________
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