U.S. Diesel bad quality?

[fullsizeBlazer]

Hey guys,

there's something I've wanted to ask you for a long time: what's going on with diesel fuel in the states? I'm a member of many different forums and constantly have to read weird stuff about diesel & diesel related topics. Why are there so many guys that are putting some additives in their fuel? There also are rumors about "Germans who put some misterious additives in their volkswagen tdis" and what the heck is ultra low sulfur diesel? Sulfurous diesel is a thing of the past, has been banned decades ago.
I've driven several Mercedes Diesel cars, Nissan Diesel trucks, Volkswagen Vans, Golfs and Jettas/Passats and my 6.2 Chevy Blazer without any issues concerning the fuel.
My new 140HP Volkswagen 4 Motion 1.9 Diesel already has about 160k miles , gets 38 MPG and there are no problems even during long runs @ 140 mph.
The Volkswagen 1.9 Tdi is everywhere, nobody is putting some additives in it. Engines just last and last, cold starts are no problems either. A friend of mine has about 250000 Miles on his heavy VW Passat Variant (150 HP version) no problems with the engine. My dad owned a Mercedes with a 2l Turbodiesel, drove 320k Miles, no problems (unfortunately salty winter roads killed the good old Benz a few years ago);)

:confused: are there so few diesels in the US?

Greetings

flo

[npauli]

I think there's a couple things that have come up in the last few years that make some of us worry more about fuel quality:

1) Fancier fuel systems that are less tolerant of fuel quality issues
2) ULSD (circa 2007). I understand that lubricity can be a concern with ULSD as an unintended consequence of how they bring the sulfur levels down.
3) Biodiesel blends. This has been subsidized like crazy (at least till this year) and has been also used to improve lubricity. Bio has been accused of problems related and a couple other things.

[fullsizeBlazer]

... can it be that there also are many older gas stations that may have older fuel tanks/ dirt in them?

[93GMCSierra]

... can it be that there also are many older gas stations that may have older fuel tanks/ dirt in them?

very good point, and diesels in the states have just become really popular thus fewer gallons pumped out of those older tanks crap could have built up in them.

[fullsizeBlazer]

can it also be that the 6.2/6.5 have their bad or not-so-good :rolleyes: reputation in the U.S. because a 6.2/6.5 truck was the first diesel many people drove back in the day they started to offer these engines?

In Germany/Europe the 6.2/6.5 are quite popular due to the fuel economy you get from these engines.

Fuel always has been expensive here and people are used to Diesels. The 6.2 is quite a simple engine & it is an easy fix so there are many of them still on the road.

People over here really like U.S. pickups (especially Cummins Rams). Back in the 80s the 6.2 was an affordable way to drive a nice pickup truck without spending your last Dollar (or whatever currency) for fuel.

Emission & environment regulations are very tough but bigger SUVs and pickups are (at least partly) cheaper to drive because the taxation system judges these vehicles as trucks. For a 6.2 or 6.5 equipped car you would have to pay (no kidding) $3400 a year taxes due to the big displacement & emissions.

BTW: there are no older gas stations over here. Due to environmental rules there are only super clean new stations with new tanks. You hardly have to change a fuel filter on your vehicle.

And another fact: :D a lot of 6.2/6.5 and transmissions were killed on the Autobahn because people drove them like European cars & without speed limit. (They also killed a lot of smallblocks and wondered about the low mileage) ... it is not a good idea to drive a fullsize Chevy for 4 hours on the Autobahn with the pedal down @ 100/110MPH. :D:D