Valero diesel fuel?

fgbrault · May 12, 2009

I live in Connecticut. The lowest priced diesel fuel in my area is sold by a Valero station. I emailed the company and asked what the Cetane number is and received this reply.

"[FONT=&quot]They only run cetane index. 48.9 calculated cetane index and 45.5 cetane index by four variable equation."

This is a very decent Cetane Number and I plan to try their diesel. I'm just wondering if anyone has used Valero diesel and how you like it?

[/FONT]

diesel-dave · May 12, 2009

interesting, so do the 40 cetane stickers on the pump mean anything?

fgbrault · May 12, 2009

diesel-dave said:
interesting, so do the 40 cetane stickers on the pump mean anything?

I have not been to the station yet. It was the lowest priced diesel on the internet site I checked. I will drive out there tomorrow to see if the pump is marked 40. If it is, I will email them again and ask for an explanation. I will email them anyway based on the New York pump showing 40. Could you tell me the location of that Valero station?

scubasteve762 · May 12, 2009

my personal opinion on valero, based on one local station, and reviews of their fuel by friends with a variety of diesel engines is that their fuel is not good.
however this station is in a poor location and the fuel probably does not turn over fast.

buckeye96 · May 13, 2009

diesel-dave said:
interesting, so do the 40 cetane stickers on the pump mean anything?

At all gas stations this means its the minium cetane.

robbinsresort · May 13, 2009

Valero is headquartered in San Antonio, so we've got a lot of stations down here. Never had a problem with their fuel and they're normally competitively priced.

tclemmer · May 13, 2009

I have one about a mile from my house. Price is always competitive and I use it all the time. I have never had a problem.

Tom

ruking · May 13, 2009

fgbrault said:
I live in Connecticut. The lowest priced diesel fuel in my area is sold by a Valero station. I emailed the company and asked what the Cetane number is and received this reply.

"[FONT=&quot]They only run cetane index. 48.9 calculated cetane index and 45.5 cetane index by four variable equation."

This is a very decent Cetane Number and I plan to try their diesel. I'm just wondering if anyone has used Valero diesel and how you like it?

[/FONT]

In the west, the order is something like Chevron, Shell, Valero, ...others. I wind up normally buying on price. When the price is competitive higher up on the order list, I buy those. I have never had a problem with Valero, or others for that matter. Truthfully after 125,000 miles or app 275 fuelings, I can tell no difference in mpg based solely on branded tank fulls.

I do use Primrose 405C and just recently also Power Service (grey plastic bottle) which boosts cetane points, among a lot of other things. But again, I can discern no difference using/or not these products. On the same daily commute 03 TDI 48-52 mpg, 09 TDI 41-45 mpg. Full range 03 TDI 44-62 mpg, 09 TDI 39-45 mpg.

fgbrault · May 13, 2009

Thanks to each of you for your comments.

diesel-dave · May 13, 2009

fgbrault said:
I have not been to the station yet. It was the lowest priced diesel on the internet site I checked. I will drive out there tomorrow to see if the pump is marked 40. If it is, I will email them again and ask for an explanation. I will email them anyway based on the New York pump showing 40. Could you tell me the location of that Valero station?

im speaking of one in the central Virginia area sorry.

diesel-dave · May 13, 2009

ruking said:
In the west, the order is something like Chevron, Shell, Valero, ...others. I wind up normally buying on price. When the price is competitive higher up on the order, I buy those. I have never had a problem with Valero, or others for that matter. Truthfully after 125,000 miles or app 275 fuelings, I can tell no difference in mpg based solely on branded tank fulls.

I do use Primrose 405C and just recently also Power Service (grey plastic bottle) which boosts cetane points, among a lot of other things. But again, I can discern no difference using/or not these products. On the same daily commute 03 TDI 48-52 mpg, 09 TDI 41-45 mpg. Full range 03 TDI 44-62 mpg, 09 TDI 39-45 mpg.

wow thats some good MPG in your cars, how fast do you drive?

FlyTDI Guy · May 13, 2009

I've used Valero fuel w/no problems. Not my favorite place to fill up but it seems to perform OK. I use that station for 'get me to work for a few days until I can fill up' purposes all the time.

ruking · May 13, 2009

diesel-dave said:
wow thats some good MPG in your cars, how fast do you drive?

The daily commute is in on roads that are acknowledged to be the 2nd worst ( commute) roads in the nation . (LA, CA is rated #1) The commute is 54 miles R/T. Each 27 miles takes between a low of 40 mins to a high of 90 mins.

Normal fills (non commute ) are app 48-50 mpg. I have gone on longer distance touring @ 75 mph with bursts to 80-85 across 3 states and got 59 mpg.

Here is one; at altitudes from 6500 to 2000 ft, 6.25 hours travel time, 584 miles 12.1 gals = 48.26.

The 09 just recently did an app 2,300 miles R/T. Overall it posted 43.65 ? (posted in the April mpg thread) The GPS said I did not exceed 90 mph. Revs and speeds and conditions were literally all over the place. Three adults, half the time the A/C was on. The trunk was literally stuffed to the gills.

pgumprecht · May 13, 2009

fyi VW website now uses a map to show local diesel prices

scott_o · May 13, 2009

pgumprecht said:
fyi VW website now uses a map to show local diesel prices

This is where a link would be awesome. Of course, come to think about it, i wouldn't be surprised if it was unlink-able since the VW site is a piece of Flash junk.

Found it: [B]http://tdi.vw.com/diesel-tracker/[/B]

TDI X3 · May 13, 2009

pgumprecht said:
fyi VW website now uses a map to show local diesel prices

? couldn't find anything of the sort.

fgbrault · May 13, 2009

TDI X3 said:
? couldn't find anything of the sort.

Here is a link.

http://tdi.vw.com/diesel-tracker/

El Dobro · May 13, 2009

The diesel locator is close, but no cigar. It shows 5 of the 10 stations right around me that carry diesel.

fgbrault · May 14, 2009

El Dobro said:
The diesel tracker is close, but no cigar. It shows 5 of the 10 stations right around me that carry diesel.

I think the way the tracker works is that it shows only the stations with reported diesel prices. If someone has not reported a recent diesel price at a station it does not appear. I noticed that the Shell station where I currently buy my diesel sometimes is listed and sometimes it not. The price there is quite low, so it is not included because no-one reported the price to the site.

dieselyeti · May 14, 2009

Don't most of those tracker sites rely on users posting updates? I'm just glad to see diesel within .10 or less of RUG. I should have my new car by month's end thanks to Mr Farnham at Langhorne.

For the first time since '92 I am sans Yeti. <twitch> I'll be ok <twitch>

Highker · May 21, 2009

I understand that the ULSD has higher cetane ratings than the other diesel fuels. Would that hold true for the Valero too?

For example, earlier I looked up the Arco website which stated that their ULSD has a 57 cetane rating. That sounds pretty darned good considering earlier posts. I looked it up cuz a nearby station has it for $2.239 and the RUG is $2.499. I like that difference!!!

rcnaylor · May 22, 2009

I have one about a mile from my house. Price is always competitive and I use it all the time. I have never had a problem.

Same here. And I've run it in an '04 and '09. No problems.

boutmuet · Jun 1, 2009

ruking said:
In the west, the order is something like Chevron, Shell, Valero, ...others.

Don't mean to be pushy but do have any information on the basis of this claim? I do remember reading somewhere else on the forums that Chevron (or Texaco) has some of the best diesel in the west but so far these claims have been unsubstatiated. I also remember reading some of the worst diesel you could buy was Exxon/Mobil again I don't remember seeing any info.

ruking · Jun 1, 2009

boutmuet said:
Don't mean to be pushy but do have any information on the basis of this claim? I do remember reading somewhere else on the forums that Chevron (or Texaco) has some of the best diesel in the west but so far these claims have been unsubstatiated. I also remember reading some of the worst diesel you could buy was Exxon/Mobil again I don't remember seeing any info.

No, I do not take it that way at all. You mean have I seen the site for tests confirming 40-52 cetane? Battle of the cetanes, etc. NO !! If I did I would have posted it. As persnickity as CA is about fuel, CA has absolutely NO markings on D2 pumps !!! I have fueled in CA's extreme N/S/E/W. and normally in No CA.

Now CA ULSD D2 does meet the minimum cetane requirements as per law and you (I) can find that in any number of sites, references, etc. Now keep in mind the basic D2 (commodity) is fungible and so the only differences can be a simple as a 1 to 1 gal of additive differences for a full D2 loaded tanker truck.

TDIMOFO · Jun 2, 2009

fgbrault said:
I live in Connecticut. The lowest priced diesel fuel in my area is sold by a Valero station. I emailed the company and asked what the Cetane number is and received this reply.

"[FONT=&quot]They only run cetane index. 48.9 calculated cetane index and 45.5 cetane index by four variable equation."

This is a very decent Cetane Number and I plan to try their diesel. I'm just wondering if anyone has used Valero diesel and how you like it?

[/FONT]

Here in Southern California Valero Diesel is a fair amount more expensive.

Reciently At my last fill up I asked the station owner what the cetaine number of the fuel was. He did not know and it was not shown on the invoice (I saw it and the cetaine number was not shown). This is a Shell station and his prices are 10 to 20 cents better than all stations within miles. His volume is huge and they clain to refill the diesel tanks very often. Something like every other day (they have easy freeway access). He said that all shell diesel is the same and they do not sell any premium grade of diesel here.
Prices have gone UP way up BUT diesel prices are 10 to 20 cents below RUG.
Thank goodness.
TDIMOFO

Spdmini · Jun 2, 2009

Here on the West side of Arkansas Valeros are quite the norm. I rotate between them and a Shell station as they are competitive in price. My "favorite" Valero carries still carries 500ppm LSD. I'd rank the diesel from my experience as : Tie for 1. Shell/Valero 2. Exxon and in 99999th Pilot. The others fit somewhere inbetween.

rcnaylor · Jun 4, 2009

Spdmini said:
Here on the West side of Arkansas Valeros are quite the norm. I rotate between them and a Shell station as they are competitive in price. My "favorite" Valero carries still carries 500ppm LSD. I'd rank the diesel from my experience as : Tie for 1. Shell/Valero 2. Exxon and in 99999th Pilot. The others fit somewhere inbetween.

Are you using 500 ppm fuel in an 09?

funoutdoors121 · Jun 5, 2009

fgbrault said:
Here is a link.

http://tdi.vw.com/diesel-tracker/

That link was great, but seems to not be working anymore...
Hopefully it is just a temporary situation...
It helped me find diesel at cheaper than RUG prices in CT! ($2.49 a few days ago, in Norwalk, off Main St, it's probably higher now but can't get through on that site)

Sip'n Diesel · Jun 5, 2009

funoutdoors121 said:
That link was great, but seems to not be working anymore...
Hopefully it is just a temporary situation...
It helped me find diesel at cheaper than RUG prices in CT! ($2.49 a few days ago, in Norwalk, off Main St, it's probably higher now but can't get through on that site)

http://www.connecticutgasprices.com/

fgbrault · Jun 5, 2009

funoutdoors121 said:
That link was great, but seems to not be working anymore...
Hopefully it is just a temporary situation...
It helped me find diesel at cheaper than RUG prices in CT! ($2.49 a few days ago, in Norwalk, off Main St, it's probably higher now but can't get through on that site)

Here is a link for the Hartford area.

http://www.hartfordgasprices.com/index.aspx?fuel=D

Valero diesel fuel?

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