To the all powerful forum I pose this question - How do I know what the cetane rating of a diesel fuel is? I look at the pumps and I do not see it listed like on gasoline pumps. Also, what the hell is a good number to look for anyway? 50? 100? Does grade denomination "diesel 1" or "diesel 2" have anything to do with it? Please advise. Ignorance is uncomfortable.

Thanks!

The only way to find the cetane rating is to call the refiner. The minimum is 40 in the USA but I have heard that most average around 42. Amoco makes a grade around 47 if you can find it. The cetane value does make a difference in noise and vibration. Fuel economy is theoretically unaffected. MPG is more driven by the density of the diesel. Note that in the winter time the fuel generally has fewer BTUs per gallon meaning that mileage will decrease.

There is a lot of info in the fuels and lube section of www.tdiclub.com . Try searching in that forum.

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Tom Savage
Vienna, WV
1984 300D Euro
1995 S320

Hey, there's a Gulf Station near me that sells a diesel called "Dieselect" near me that has 45 Cetane! Yeah, the guy even says its the best fuel in town. I guess with some DFC, its the diesel equiv to Cam2! Well, maybe not!

For some of you who never heard of Gulf, think of the Porsche Short-tale 917s Steve McQueen drove in "Le Mans." If its good enough for the Tao of Steve, its good enough for me!

I envy all you guys out there who have choices when it comes to your diesel. Around here (Westchester, NY), there's a Hess station with 42 No.2 diesel for $1.65 and an Exxon station with 40Cetane diesel. In Connecticut 20 min. away (near Drawde), there is a mobil station with 40Cetane diesel also for $1.65. I'd love to get my hands on some of the higher rated diesel oil. For now, I'll just have to suck it up.

Alex

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1983 300D (parked for four years)
2012 VW Sportwagen TDI Manual
2001 Miata SE
1962 Chevrolet Corvair Rampside

Alex, go to NJ! Their taxes are way lower on diesel fuel than PA or NY or CT. Personally I seek out high volume, cheap(er) diesel.

Dieselect in Bethlehem PA dropped from 1.599 to 1.459 a few weeks back. Honeslty I don't notice a big difference, but I use lots of Redline DFC and lately the Powerservice additives. Plain old diesel is about 1.35-1.40 in eastern PA.

However, in Bloomsbury NJ (I-78 exit 7) (and somewhere in CT, 1-95 exit 40?)the Pilot truck stop is 1.299, and in Phillipsburg NJ there are several Hess (42 cetane also), Citgo, and US Gas for 1.219-1.239. My SD runs noticably smokier on the Citgo, so I stopped using it, preferring to spend an extra 8 cents for the Pilot stuff that big trucks line up for, and gives a good head of froth in the filler neck.

Cetane ratings are few and far between. A couple Hess stations say they have 42, but they used to say 45. In VA there is some Amoco premium diesel that had 47's on the tanks. Trial and error to find decent fuel, then I stick with stuff that works.

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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

i can actually notice a differance on how my car runs based on which local station i fill up at. If i go to this one coastal, i almost always have to wait in line to get diesel, but the car always runs better after it's filled up! if i go to the local hess the car doesn't seem to have as much power and doesn't run as good. Just goes to show what real fresh diesel can do for ya!
R