khaug

Here in Michigan, stations are still selling the old "low" sulfur diesel fuel.

Has anyone in the USA on the forum tried a tank of the new ULSD yet? Any change in diesel clatter, smoke, mpg or anything else?

Regards.

carpersn

Haven't tried it yet-but i have noticed that most (80%, i'd say) of the stations where I fill up have already placed ULSD stickers on the diesel pumps. Of course, 15 days until they have to be, so i would hope that even though your stations are not labeled that, that maybe they are starting to put it in the tanks.

My dad's ML320CDI has been built, and he's hoping for delivery around the first few days after the 15th of October.

I continue to harass the dealer for an update as to when i can actually spec out my GL diesel-they continue to claim no knowledge of when.

uberwgn

Karl, ULSD has been available in some area of the country for several months now. There have been ample reports of leaks. I've filled twice so far with ULSD. WOT smoking seems to have been eliminated with my 2nd filling this past weekend. Not much else to report. Fuel economy on 1st tank was very good. I cannot explain that.

Many people are likely buying ULSD right now even though the correct labels have not been attached to the pumps. It takes several turns of the tank to purge the old LSD. Oct 15th is D(iesel)-Day.

JRGD4L

Just my opinion, but I have noticed over the last month that the car seems to be slightly quieter at idle. Also the diesel smell seems to be mostly gone. I notice this because I usually let the car warm up for a couple of minutes in the garage while getting my stuff together to leave. MPG has been the same. I believe our CDI's will run better with the ULSD. No worries here.

khaug

Thanks, all. I was hoping to see a reduction in diesel combustion "clatter" (higher cetane rating of USLD) and reduced smoke. Sounds like I may get my wish.

Now, if only our corner Shell station gets USLD soon. And I suppose we should all hope they got the lubricity problem fixed right!

Best regards.

ClayJ

"The switch-over to new ultra-clean diesel fuel is going smoothly and supplies should be readily available at retail pumps when the rules take effect on Sunday".
- Guy Caruso, head of the US Energy Information Administration

DslBnz

Guess what?

Here in NH, I've yet to see ONE, just ONE, pump labeled with the ULSD sticker. Every diesel pump, except for the biodiesel B5 blend station in Newmarket, serves only LSD.

Its October 12th. The Bluetec debuts at the local MB dealership in a few days. Hmmm...

lkchris

Somebody itching to sue somebody is convinced ULSD has ruined the injectors on his Sprinter. Yahoo! Sprinter forum.

Alan Smithee

I think people forget that ULSD is only new to the US...any issues with it running in CDIs and older diesel models would have been uncovered years ago in Europe.

LNL

I took a pass on the BlueTec I had ordered when it arrived as none of the stations around me (in St. Louis) had ULSD labeled pumps and fuel availability is very uncertain. Perhaps ULSD will be readily available by Spring.

Lou

carpersn

There is no way all your stations are avoiding an EPA mandate-i would bet you anything they all have ULSD and are simply not labeled. It's not an option at this point.

khaug

Proper labelling is part of the requirement for ULSD.

I did a quick survey of stations in my area last week. Of five diesel-selling service stations around me, only one had the ULSD label on its diesel pump. The rest had LSD labels, except a Sunoco station which had no label at all!

I'd guess my current tank of fuel (purchased c. 10/22) is ULSD, altho the pump (Shell) still carried the LSD label. My CDI now smokes much less on heavy acceleration and is slightly quieter at idle. Alas, it appears mpg has taken a noticable hit, like 10-15%, but this is just an initial impression. We'll see after a couple of tanks. And I suppose it could be somewhat the result of the transition to the winter fuel blend, which happens about this time of year.

Green E-300 DT

According to ARCO/BP, you should not see any significant reduction in average fuel economy.

See: http://www.bp.com/genericarticle.do?...018205#7062396

I alternated between ECD-1 (ULSD) fuel and regular C A R B fuel and never could
record any differences in fuel economy in both the TDI and the E-300 DT.

Back when it first became available here in Kallifornia, Arco had some results from
the Ralphs' grocery chain fleet, and it was reported then that
there was a 2 % lost (only) in average fleet fuel economy.

Whether or not they were trying to paint a rosey picture is not known.

cyclerider

It IS an option at this point in 49 of the 50 states.

California is the only state that requires ALL highway diesel sales to be ULSD at this time. All other states allow the retailer to choose whether to offer ULSD. They will not be forced to stop selling the old 500 ppm fuel until 12-01-2010.

Proper labeling is required for ALL diesel and kerosene fuels, not just ULSD. The exception, of course, is California where no labels are required at all, since the only diesel fuel sold in California is 15 ppm ULSD, whether for onroad or offroad use.

LNL

Selling mislabeled fuel is illegal. The '07 BluTec will not run on 500 ppm stuff, only ULSD. Filling from a 500 ppm pump and hoping for that ULSD was actually ebing pumped would be pretty risky. If you guessed wrong, MB wouldn't honor the warranty if use of the wrong fuel caused problems.

No available fuel = no BlueTec for me.

Lou

BB_45B

I have only seen ulsd in 3 out of 10 (diesel) stations that I have checked.

az911s

Picked up our E320 Bluetec last week but I had scouted stations for a month before it arrived - and got pretty nervous with LSD everywhere. Nobody labelled anything with ULSD until the weekend of the 15th. Now nearly everyone is labelled with ULSD. Maybe we're just lucky in Arizona. Good luck to the rest of you out there.

Green E-300 DT

Congrats on your excellent purchase. Yours' is the first I heard about.
It's good to know that the new 2007 CDIs are starting to trickle in.

Which of the four AZ dealers got your business? Not meaning to pry, but did that dealer cut you a good deal?

We'll be moving to Yavapai County just as soon as we sell our home here in Kallifornia.

NO diesels here unless you want to drive a Cummins, Powerjoke, or Duramax.

Tell me those trucks don't pollute more than any CDI or TDI.