# Premium Diesel Map



## AzNMpower32 (Oct 23, 2005)

I typed and inserted this small leaflet into my dad's X5 Owner's manual in the page about fuel/filling up. It's a lease- who knows. Maybe the next person will see the insert, should they flip open the owner's manual to the fuel page. Passing on the knowledge I guess. Feel free to use.

It's funny. This conversation happens every so often:

Dad: _This diesel is much louder than a gasoline engine. Too loud._
Me: _That's because you put crap quality diesel in it._
Dad: _I can't find any of that premium diesel_ or _No one sells that premium diesel._
Me: _There are many BP stations near your house that carry it. It's not more expensive than diesel you'd buy at any other place._

:banghead:

Edit: Heard back from Virginia Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services this morning. Here's what she said (it's essentially the same as what Snipe656 said above):



> The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Office of Weights and Measures, has adopted NIST Handbook 130 as part of its regulations. NIST handbook 130 is the guide that Virginia uses for "Uniform Laws and Regulation in the Areas of Legal Metrology and Engine Fuel Quality,"
> 
> I have attached this handbook for your review.
> 
> ...


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## AzNMpower32 (Oct 23, 2005)

Has anyone seen premium diesel _anywhere _in NC? I've passed by many BP stations and none of them carry Premier Diesel. Also, Southern States does not sell fuel in this state, so there goes another reliable source of 45+ diesel fuel.


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## TopDog5450 (Feb 11, 2011)

d geek said:


> Interesting. Have you ever seen a Chevron pump marked as "premium diesel"?


No, I have never seen a Chevron (or any other brand's) pump marked as "premium diesel." The term is a marketing gimmick.


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## AzNMpower32 (Oct 23, 2005)

*BP Premier Diesel not sold in NC.*

I got confirmation from a BP official on the phone today:

Premium diesel is *not* available in the North Carolina market.

He mentioned a lot of requests from the Raleigh area about the Premier diesel and unfortunately that's just not sold here. Quite a pity, considering the relatively large number of diesel European cars here that would benefit.


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## d geek (Nov 26, 2008)

After reading about some Murphy Oil stations carrying 5% biodiesel I decided to check my local walmart station (on Bandera Rd here in SA) and sure enough, the label says up to 5% biodiesel or biomass. If you are in a county that must use TxLed, and have Murphy oil stations in your area, then there is a good chance that you have true premium diesel available to you :thumbup:


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## cssnms (Jan 24, 2011)

What makes biodiesel "premium?"


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## Snipe656 (Oct 22, 2009)

cssnms said:


> What makes biodiesel "premium?"


I know that it will have a higher cetane rating but not sure how much it ends up being at a B5 blend or any of the blends for that matter.


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## floydarogers (Oct 11, 2010)

cssnms said:


> What makes biodiesel "premium?"


Pure biodiesel has a higher cetane: "The cetane number of biodiesel is generally observed to be quite high. Data presented below will show values varying between 45 and 67. In the United States, No. 2 diesel fuel usually has a cetane number between 40 and 45."

http://www.biodiesel.org/resources/reportsdatabase/reports/gen/19960901_gen-187.pdf


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## cssnms (Jan 24, 2011)

Interesting


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## cssnms (Jan 24, 2011)

How do the lubricity properties of biodiesel compare?


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## Snipe656 (Oct 22, 2009)

cssnms said:


> How do the lubricity properties of biodiesel compare?


I have always heard it is better but never sought out a comparisons study on it. You of course also end up with the downsides to the stuff as well such as oil contamination but at B5 it probably is not really an issue to worry on.


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## d geek (Nov 26, 2008)

TxLED is 48 cetane minimum

Here is a link to a lubricity study of biodiesel (lubricity is greatly improved at 1% and pretty even from 2%-100%:
http://biodiesel.org/pdf_files/fuelfactsheets/Lubricity.PDF


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## Snipe656 (Oct 22, 2009)

I have not read up on TxLED in over a year but from what I remember it does not mean you will be getting biodiesel but does mean you are getting a better quality fuel, correct?


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## d geek (Nov 26, 2008)

TxLED: http://www.tceq.texas.gov/airquality/mobilesource/cleandiesel.html#Docs

Basically is a "cleaner" diesel that has a 48 cetane min. There are alternative formulations that will also pass the reg, and theoretically the cetane can be lower, but from what I understand if the fuel is brewed to meet the TxLED criteria then the result is a high cetane fuel.

It does not mandate any biodiesel content.


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## cssnms (Jan 24, 2011)

I guess what I was not clear on is, since there are different grades of biodiesel just as there are different grades of D2 not all biodiesel has a high cetane rating. The cetane calc by biodiesel grade is broken down as follows.

cetane = (Bx/100)*55 + (1-Bx/100)*40

For the different blends:
B2: 40.3
B5: 40.75
B10: 41.5
B20: 43
B33: 44.95
B50: 47.5
B67: 50.05


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## c230mike (Oct 28, 2005)

AzNMpower32 said:


> I got confirmation from a BP official on the phone today:
> 
> Premium diesel is *not* available in the North Carolina market.
> 
> He mentioned a lot of requests from the Raleigh area about the Premier diesel and unfortunately that's just not sold here. Quite a pity, considering the relatively large number of diesel European cars here that would benefit.


FYI. Just visited Topsail Island NC a month ago. The BP in Surf City sell BP Premium Diesel.


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## Kanuck (Feb 18, 2003)

I note that your map description says it is for USA only. Should you ever venture north into the Dominion of Canada, you can get V-Power diesel at certain Shell stations. See here for link to locations.

I've asked Shell for more details on exactly what this is beyond "cetane improver" but have yet to hear from them.


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## d geek (Nov 26, 2008)

Canadian fuel already meets the more stringent European lubricity standard. I remember reading that Shell V-power has 50+ cetane


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## AzNMpower32 (Oct 23, 2005)

c230mike said:


> FYI. Just visited Topsail Island NC a month ago. The BP in Surf City sell BP Premium Diesel.


How can you be sure of this, considering NC does not require the cetane to be posted?


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## hotrod2448 (Jun 2, 2007)

This is great and pretty much confirms my suspicion there are no premium diesel stations (at least that have been put on the map) near me. I wonder if I would be able /cost effective to order a 50 gallon drum of it and just fill the car at home?


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## DennisCooper! (Jan 29, 2011)

Hi hotrod2448

Just double check your home insurance policy etc, as I'm pretty sure there's going to be some sort of exclusion in keeping more than X amount of fuel for a private car at home. Keeping a petrol can sized amount is probably ok, but big 50 gallon drums I think will invalidate your policy. If anything was to occur, they'd most likely not pay out. If you perhaps could show the fuel was kept as safely as possible, and had certificates to prove safe install of any requirements to keep that amount, then perhaps your insurance would allow/cover.

Always best to be careful in situations like this...

Cheers, Dennis!


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## hotrod2448 (Jun 2, 2007)

DennisCooper! said:


> Hi hotrod2448
> 
> Just double check your home insurance policy etc, as I'm pretty sure there's going to be some sort of exclusion in keeping more than X amount of fuel for a private car at home. Keeping a petrol can sized amount is probably ok, but big 50 gallon drums I think will invalidate your policy. If anything was to occur, they'd most likely not pay out. If you perhaps could show the fuel was kept as safely as possible, and had certificates to prove safe install of any requirements to keep that amount, then perhaps your insurance would allow/cover.
> 
> ...


I'd probably store it at my family's race car shop, more because of space issues than insurance purposes but, thanks for looking out. It's only a few miles down the road and diesel would be one of the less flammable liquids in there.

I going to look into this a bit. I know we've had 50 gallon drums of race fuel delivered before I don't see how this is much different.


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## d geek (Nov 26, 2008)

I would not recommend fussing with having your own fuel shipped to you. Storage issues can really complicate things. If there is a subsequent problem caused by the fuel, then you're truly on your own. Clean, water free diesel is the most important thing.

You can bring up cetane level and increase lubricity with additives. Just use a name brand, high volume station and a proven additive like Power Service and all will be well.


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## hotrod2448 (Jun 2, 2007)

d geek said:


> I would not recommend fussing with having your own fuel shipped to you. Storage issues can really complicate things. If there is a subsequent problem caused by the fuel, then you're truly on your own. Clean, water free diesel is the most important thing.
> 
> You can bring up cetane level and increase lubricity with additives. Just use a name brand, high volume station and a proven additive like Power Service and all will be well.


Using additives could actually open up a can of worms if something should go wrong as the manual and filler cap both say "No additives" if something were to go wrong and BMW decided to test your fuel you may have inadvertently screwed yourself using additives.

Besides I'd trust a barrel of fuel stored in my garage/shop a lot more than some tank in the ground.


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## d geek (Nov 26, 2008)

It would be impossible for them to detect an additive like Power Service. Why? Because it shares many of the same chemicals used by the fuel distributors before the fuel arrives at the retail pump. All diesel has additives applied at the distribution terminal rack- at a minimum for lubricity.

Be careful with bulk storage of diesel- look out for bacteria contamination and free water.


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## Kanuck (Feb 18, 2003)

d geek said:


> Canadian fuel already meets the more stringent European lubricity standard. I remember reading that Shell V-power has 50+ cetane


From Shell Technical Information Centre:

_"By comparison to Shell Regular Diesel, Shell V-Power Diesel offers a better cleansing power because it contains more DCA (Deposit Control Additive, sometime called Detergent). Shell V-Power Diesel unique additive technology also includes a cetane improver which helps offer quicker ignition and better cold-weather starting. The cetane level of Shell V-Power Diesel will vary depending on a number of factors such as season and sources, but it will always meet and exceed the CGSB standard of 40. Typical levels in Canada are in the 40 to 50 range and the cetane improver we add in Shell V-Power Diesel will raise that by approximately one to two numbers."_


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## c230mike (Oct 28, 2005)

AzNMpower32 said:


> How can you be sure of this, considering NC does not require the cetane to be posted?


Just going on the label on the pump "BP Premium Diesel". Sorry didn't take a sample for cetaine analysis.


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## grapes87 (Feb 22, 2011)

Once I stopped at a BP because a) I needed fuel, and b) they had a decent price.

The sign on the road stated "Premium Diesel," yet when I got to the pump the cetane sticker said 40! I went inside and the clerk admited that it wasn't premium diesel. I wasn't happy.


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