# Best Diesel Fuel Station Poll



## Neutrinolad (Jun 23, 2009)

Please select your preferred diesel fuel station in the USA.


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## santo (Dec 23, 2009)

Would you mind changing it to specify US? It would be good to do a similar poll for Canada.


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## Neutrinolad (Jun 23, 2009)

santo said:


> Would you mind changing it to specify US? It would be good to do a similar poll for Canada.


Certainly. Done.


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## lalitkanteti (Nov 15, 2009)

I chose Shell only because they are cleaner than rest. They also have ULSD and claim its premium fuel. But after reading some earlier posts here I feel they dont have very good cetane rating. In MA, Citigo looks very shady and I dont see Chevorn or BP around. I see lot of Mobils but havent gone through their diesel specs yet. If there are any New England drivers on this board I would like to know what they prefer for their ds


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## d geek (Nov 26, 2008)

lalitkanteti said:


> I chose Shell only because they are *cleaner *than rest. *They also have ULSD and claim its premium fuel. But after reading some earlier posts here I feel they dont have very good cetane rating*. ...


what do you mean by cleaner?

ULSD will be the only diesel available for on-road use on Dec 1 of this year in the US (already the case in CA)- so most (all?) diesel stations in your area should have ULSD available.

premium diesel by definition is high cetane (47 and higher)


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## 62Lincoln (Sep 26, 2004)

FYI, Exxon and Mobil are the same company: ExxonMobil (never accuse an oil company of creativity).


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## lalitkanteti (Nov 15, 2009)

d geek said:


> what do you mean by cleaner?
> 
> ULSD will be the only diesel available for on-road use on Dec 1 of this year in the US (already the case in CA)- so most (all?) diesel stations in your area should have ULSD available.
> 
> premium diesel by definition is high cetane (47 and higher)


I meant shell pumps look well maintained in general. No diesel on handles.

I checked out 7 pumps around my town and 4 of them dont have ULSD sticker and person on counter has no idea what ULSD means. My colleagues at work who have diesel pick ups say its ULSD everywhere in New England still I dont want to take a chance.


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## d geek (Nov 26, 2008)

California went to all ULSD sometime in 2006. I know MA uses CARB regs too, but I'm not sure if that applies to ULSD.


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## Marine5302 (Sep 13, 2009)

joseph said:


> fyi, exxon and mobil are the same company: Exxonmobil (never accuse an oil company of creativity).


+1


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## lalitkanteti (Nov 15, 2009)

*Shell Station*

From my experience with 4 different Shell Stations around New England area:

1. No overspill
2. Nozzle fits perfectly. So no need to use filter. Sometimes they have 2 different nozzle on either side of pump. One that fits my d and another which probably fits trucks
3. Auto shut off works perfectly
4. Fast (similar to gas)
5. Surroundings are Clean
6. No diesel on nozzle handle
7. Out of 6 fillups I had till now, 4 times attendant came out to ask me is your vehicle diesel


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## tlak77 (Aug 5, 2009)

lalitkanteti said:


> .... 4 times attendant came out to ask me is your vehicle diesel


That's actually nice that someone still care about good service :thumbup:


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## Patrick (Dec 23, 2001)

Shell. 

V-Power diesel FTW!


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## AndrewZ (Feb 1, 2006)

Patrick said:


> Shell.
> 
> V-Power diesel FTW!


:thumbup::thumbup:


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## d geek (Nov 26, 2008)

Patrick said:


> Shell.
> 
> V-Power diesel FTW!


unfortunately not available to us over here


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## Patrick (Dec 23, 2001)

d geek said:


> unfortunately not available to us over here


And fortunately for you, you don't have to pay $6.00 a gallon for it.


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## Stugots (Jan 1, 2010)

Patrick said:


> And fortunately for you, you don't have to pay $6.00 a gallon for it.


I'd give at least 1 tank a go.


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## railroader (Apr 12, 2010)

Guys, can I inject a question here...is the Chevron ULSD rated at 47 cetane? The attendant has no idea.
I'm in CA, so all our diesel fuel is ULSD by law; just wondering how I can find the cetane numbers. I'd like 
to put in a tank of BP, but can't find a BP station near my location. Sounds like Shell is one of the best, from 
your postings above. Thanks again for any fuel info you might be able to provide. Happy compressions!

r-roader


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## TridentFrog (Apr 8, 2010)

Here you go railroader, don't say I never got you nuffin...

http://www.chevron.com/products/prodserv/fuels/diesel_west_region.aspx


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## railroader (Apr 12, 2010)

TridentFrog said:


> Here you go railroader, don't say I never got you nuffin...
> 
> http://www.chevron.com/products/prodserv/fuels/diesel_west_region.aspx


Thanks TF-- looks like the Chevron comes in at 40 cetane. I'm going to check Shell's site and see if they can provide any of the Number 47. Might as well put in the top stuff- if you can find it! Thanks again.


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## TridentFrog (Apr 8, 2010)

BAAAMMM SONNNN!

http://www.vectra-c.com/forum/uploader/pics/picsNov2007/Shell VPD.JPG

Couldn't find an official Shell page with this information like I did with Chevron. So I can't say that the numbers are 100% legit.


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## mavrik1943 (Nov 30, 2012)

*Frustrated over the diesel fuel situation!*

I have only owned my Diesel BMW (2012 X5 xDrive, 35d) for a few weeks. She was very quiet during the test drive and on the way home, a drive about 22 miles.

However I then noticed that the vehicle began to sound more and more like a diesel of old 
(300 miles). Then came the first experience in filling the tank at a local Shell station very near to my home. First, the nossle bearly fit in the fill for tank and the engine sounded even louder after another 100 mile. The pump was labeled correctly (ULSD) so I have a feeling that the cetane levels were really low. I would think that the real issue is, there is no requirement to post the cetane rating although the engine requires more.
The question remains, where can we buy quality diesel fuel that will end this debate??????

By the way, I did go back to the BMW dealer and ask the same question concerning cetane levels, no valid answer other than ULSD.

Mavrik1943


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## floydarogers (Oct 11, 2010)

Chevron is usually cheapest. But I also use Safeway, Cenex and Shell; whichever is cheapest and most convenient at the time.


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## d geek (Nov 26, 2008)

You can use additives to boost cetane. Power Service claims their Diesel Kleen product will boost your cetane by as many as 6 points. Its also a good idea to use an additive for increased lubricity and PS does that too.


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## Snipe656 (Oct 22, 2009)

I originally only used Shell because back then their stations here in town still said it was a premium diesel, their signs have all since changed though. I stopped using Shell after a few months because for some reason every Shell station I tried the pumps would pump PAINFULLY slow on the BMW even though worked perfectly on the Mercedes and Ford. Since then I have exclusively used Chevron but I think one time when we used the BMW on a road trip and had to fillup at so no name place. I typically always use Chevron anyway even before we got the BMW, big reason being my wife works for Chevron and for years with additives, so we have a very good idea of the quality of what we are buying.


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## d geek (Nov 26, 2008)

Snipe656 said:


> I originally only used Shell because back then their stations here in town still said it was a premium diesel, their signs have all since changed though. I stopped using Shell after a few months because for some reason every Shell station I tried the pumps would pump PAINFULLY slow on the BMW even though worked perfectly on the Mercedes and Ford. Since then I have exclusively used Chevron but I think one time when we used the BMW on a road trip and had to fillup at so no name place. I typically always use Chevron anyway even before we got the BMW, big reason being my wife works for Chevron and for years with additives, so we have a very good idea of the quality of what we are buying.


I filled up at a Chevron yesterday and they had an "up to 5% biodiesel" label on the pump.

Does your wife know how the Chevron diesel tests for HFRR wear scar?


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## Snipe656 (Oct 22, 2009)

d geek said:


> I filled up at a Chevron yesterday and they had an "up to 5% biodiesel" label on the pump.
> 
> Does your wife know how the Chevron diesel tests for HFRR wear scar?


All diesel pumps down here seem to have a similar biodiesel sticker. I will have to ask my wife but I doubt she will since been a number of years since directly dealt with the fuels.


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## xi2d (Oct 25, 2009)

Other: Rotten Robbie :thumbup:


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## d geek (Nov 26, 2008)

Snipe656 said:


> All diesel pumps down here seem to have a similar biodiesel sticker. I will have to ask my wife but I doubt she will since been a number of years since directly dealt with the fuels.


The Murphy/Walmart pumps went from the 5% to the 6-20% label a few months ago, but the last time I saw one (Boerne. TX) it had no label and the attendant told me that Murphy wasn't providing the biodiesel mix anymore.


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## dunderhi (Dec 10, 2006)

I use Highs Dairy Stores (Shell & Citgo) because they give me the best mpgs. Other Shell stations in my area don't do as well.


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## F32Fleet (Jul 14, 2010)

Texaco or Shell. Whichever is cheaper. I avoid Pilot due to the service charge for.credit.cards. 

Sent from my MB525 using Bimmer App


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## Thomv (Jan 27, 2012)

I really would like to see a quality report for each of the major players. I have been trying to research the issues and do not have the expertise to determine what is true and what is hype.

Is there a real difference between branded and non-branded fuels?


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## BB_cuda (Nov 8, 2011)

The way it was explained to me was as follows: Tank truck goes to local terminal to be filled up. Depending on what brand of station will dictate which and how much additives are put in along with the straight diesel. A driver explained to me that on a recent run he put in 90 gallons of additives to the straight diesel. Now, I'm unsure if the straight diesel already had the 5% biodiesel content or not. I recall he said that the diesel part was 900 gallons but 1) that sounds like way less than tanker truck holds and 2) 90 gallons of additive sounds like a lot for 900 gallons of base stock (9.09%=90/990).

Thomv, the short answer in the difference between branded and non branded is additives.


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## Snipe656 (Oct 22, 2009)

BB_cuda said:


> Thomv, the short answer in the difference between branded and non branded is additives.


This is definitely the case. People can decide for themselves if they think all that R&D that the big companies put into those additives make it worth going out of the way to then fill up their cars with.


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## Thomv (Jan 27, 2012)

So how does one determine what additives are added and what are their benefits? 

I cannot find any data about what additives are being used. In my area, Chevron is the major branded fuel source.

I am presently running my fuel tank dry of the unbranded fuel to refill with the Chevron fuel to see if I can tell any difference other than a higher price.


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## Snipe656 (Oct 22, 2009)

You very likely will not tell any difference. Sometimes people find a blend of fuel that their car is more happy with and results in some better fuel economy, at least one active user on here who could comment about that and their car. A lot of times the additives are there to try and help with long term reliability issues more than anything else. Most of the big fuel companies are not going to comment fully on what their fuels should do because then opens up a can of worms about being liable for their claims.

I switched from "unbranded" fuel to Chevron years ago in my truck. Not because the truck ran any better/different but because I had spent quite some time with a Chevron testing engineer and discovered just how much dirtier the fuel I had been getting combusted at. But to see any negative effects from that more dirty fuel would take a LOT of usage, probably in the upwards of 150k or so miles. Since at the time I planned to keep my truck at least 300k miles it just made more sense to have the added piece of mind but that is all it is because I can't ever know for certain if the switch helps me any or if the "unbranded" stuff ever would have resulted in an issue for me.

Just be careful trying to run the car near dry on fuel. That can introduce air into the system and can cause more heartache than you'd want to experience. If you want to test out different fuels then I say get down to normal fillup levels and fill it up then try a few tanks of that fuel to see if any difference you notice and are happy with.


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## Thomv (Jan 27, 2012)

I was not planning on running totally dry. Just down to a few gallons so the fill up would contain mostly the Chevron fuel. Thks for the comments.


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## ProRail (May 31, 2006)

How come no Costco? Good fuel for good price.


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## Snipe656 (Oct 22, 2009)

ProRail said:


> How come no Costco? Good fuel for good price.


I wonder what brand fuel Costco is selling or are they just selling fuel bought direct from the depot with nothing added to it? Not to say/imply their fuel is bad, never been to a Costco before so just wondering is all.


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## Thomv (Jan 27, 2012)

Our Costco does not carry diesel. Fred Meyers has been cheapest of the nonbranddd lines


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## floydarogers (Oct 11, 2010)

Snipe656 said:


> I wonder what brand fuel Costco is selling or are they just selling fuel bought direct from the depot with nothing added to it? Not to say/imply their fuel is bad, never been to a Costco before so just wondering is all.


As mentioned, Costco doesn't sell diesel AFAIK. FYI, I use Safeway (and Fred Meyer) for my 335d.

As far as Costco gasoline: http://www.costco.com/gasoline-clean-power.html We've used Costco gas in our BMWs for over 10 years.


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## Thomv (Jan 27, 2012)

I have run my own experiment. I am finding that running Chevron vs un-branded that I get about 2 mpg better with the Chevron. My motor also seems to run quieter. (my wife's observation and she did not realize I was changing fuels)


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