Texaco are selling this down the road from me so I put thirty quid in. Could be in my mind but I thought in my 12j 110 n/a diesel I was going bit faster and not chucking out so much crap on acceleration or up hills. Miles per gallon seemed the same though its 10p a litre more expensive. Managed 25 miles per five pounds worth. My engine oil has gone black and thick now so I've topped up a bit more as it was low and banged another thirty quid of Techron in. Any one got any views?
It could be working or it could have just had a subliminal effect on you, to make you think that your engine is actually running better than it is, or that it isn't as bad as you had originally thought. Try a tank of standard diesel, use it up and then fill up with this stuff again and see if you can notice the difference. That'll surely tell you whether or not it is actually working or whether or not it's "just" a mental thing
. Technically speaking though, if their marketing is correct, the more expensive fuel (similar to BP ultimate etc.) should have a higher cetane rating (more energy / burn per measure) and no doubt some other plethora of chemicals that enhance performance and clean your fuel injection system out. I'd expect the engine to run ever so slightly hotter (maybe or maybe not evident through your temperature gauge) and there should be less soot. I once filled up the 1.6 petrol mk2 golf that I had (in my two months of anti-land rover madness) with the more expensive Shell petrol and proceeded to work the engine the whole 220 miles home from Ipswich. I noticed no difference. I also performed the same test with my 90 (when it still had the 12J engine), splashing out on the more expensive Shell diesel and noticed no difference in power, economy or emissions, but it was perhaps a little better at starting first thing.
One thing I do religiously with my 200tdi now that it's got a new injection pump and refurbed injectors installed, is give it a swig of this stuff every time I fill up my tank to the brim -
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MILLERS-DIESE...CarParts_SM&hash=item5d266a2b61#ht_1977wt_907. I don't chuck the whole bottle in, I just follow their instructions and mix one part per 50 litre tank full. I reckon it is doing some good. You can certainly smell it burning off, even in such small measures and I'd expect that it mixes in nicely to bring the standard diesel up to the same kind of quality as the more expensive diesels you can buy. It works out a whole lot cheaper too and Millers are renowned for good quality oils and additives. The occasional diesel purge, running the engine off neat injector cleaner will work wonders too if your injection system isn't too far shot.
Back to forecourt diesel. Personally, I find that Morrisons diesel is exceptional. It's a blend of something like 95% DERV and 5% bio-ethanol and I've never noticed any lack of power on long or short runs. I don't have much to say about Esso or BP diesel. I've used it regularly and not thought 'wow, my Land Rover is shifting'. Shell diesel on the other hand is comparable / on-par with Morrisons diesel but my local Shell garage has been having problems with water contamination. Generally speaking, the advantages of these more expensive, higher octane, fuel injection cleaning diesels will be much more noticeable in a high pressure common rail diesel than an older Land Rover diesel.
The best thing you could do for your 12J, would be to give it 40 litres of DERV and 10 litres of cheap 10w40 or 15w40 mineral / semi-synthetic engine oil from Asda or wherever. Your injection pump will love it and you might notice the engine runs perkier and a little quieter.
-Tom
