BP vs Gull Biodiesel

[Sith]

Here are my findings after 1 month of using "GULL PETROLIUM BIODIESEL"

before running Gull fuels I ran B.P Diesels
I run 235x85x16 Goodyear MTR
I have a 300tdi with R380 in a 1991 Range Rover

My fuel tank holds 65 lts
My average km prior to Gull fuels was 550-565 km
I have never missed a fuel filter change on both the motor and the AC DELCO in the rear

Gull Biodiesel ...
My average km per tank 520-530km
My fuel filters clogged up twice ....both the AC DELCO and the motor filter

Observed whilst driving was ....less black smoke , noticeable loss of laden torque , constant stuttering when taking my foot off the accelorator or gearing down .

Went down to the last 7 lts yesterday , dropped the last out of the bottom of the tak , replace both filters again , dropped the BP Diesel in via jerry can .....what do you know ....no stuttering , more torque , and a bit more black smoke ...

[loanrangie]

Why is your fuel tank so small ? rangie's had 81 ltr tanks at smallest ?

[Sith]

Sorry mate can't answer that one , from empty it only fills 65 lts ....

[Michael2]

I've heard that after you run Bio-D you should change your fuel filters. Bio-D dissolves gunk in your tank and lines and clogs the filters. After a couple of tanks you won't need to change the filters any more frequently than you do with Dino-D.

Maybe your stuttering problems were a fuel delivery issue due to clogging filters.

A friend with a 3.0L Patrol is keen to run Bio-D and told me he'll be changing filters after 1 or 2 tanks.

Personally, I'd like to see it a lot cheaper before going from BP, but I'd give it a go for the right price. Another mate with a TD5 D2 reckons he got more power and economy the couple of times he ran Bio-D in the past.

[EchiDna]

hey sith, did you monitor the $/km? how does that work out?
(excluding the fuel filters) - same as Michael2, I've heard you will clean out the sh!te in your motor over a few tanks then it should run just as clean as dino...hence the filter blockages.

did you 're-tune' when you changed fuels?

[Sith]

No i didn't retune , wouldn't know how to .
The difference in price is as follows

BP $1.27 a lt
GBD $1.24 a lt

[EchiDna]

so on the BP, it was $1.27*65/550 = $0.15/km
and the GBD, $1.24*65/520 = $0.155/km

hmm...
no economic benefit then...unless of course you make your own

[lenleggo]

Hi all, thanks for all the good advice on here.

I have a 96 TDi Disco. Have rebuilt pretty much everything in it including a new head with valves etc. One thing I did do really right was put in a Hyclone. I dont get any better fuel consumption but the old Landy gets away from the lights like a real car and not a door stop,, I'm guessing easy 20% more power possibly more. Driving a mates TDi without the Hyclone is a terrible step down in power.

Have run a few tank fulls of 80% used fish and chip oil, runs ok but had to replace the filters. I use Nulon injector cleaner every few tanks to keep the black smoke down.

I decided to give the Gull Bio Deisel a run and report the following.

No change in power
No Change in consumption 840km per 80 litres
A big saving on fuel BP 1.29 to $1.34 Gull 1.18
A warm feeling in my heart for helping save the planet.

I was thinking the last few days how sweet and smooth Landy is running on the Bio Deisel, substantially lower revs give smooth acceleration. The black smoke puff on starting is much less obvious. I also conciously refilled at Gull rather than use pure deisel.

Do you guys think it may be the Hyclone??

Thanks again Len.

[F4Phantom]

are you sure the hiclone is making more power? you rebuilt your engine? Can you take it out and do some sort of anecdotal test to see if the hiclone actually does make a difference?

[lenleggo]

Hi,

Sorry am not prepared to pull the Hyclone out, the test drive of my mates TDi was the test I did to compare power. He was stunned at how much faster mine was when we swapped cars, and we did do the drag from the lights after we had finished jaw boning and mine was literally streets ahead.

I understand thats fairly empirical and there are lots of other variables like quality of the motors, tuning, valve settings & of course fuel, but the result was unambiguous.

It was in my mind to have the motor dyno-tested when I went to upgrade the intercooler to a higher pressure higher volume one that my then mechanic (Guest & Puddey) told me about, unfortunately the business is no more, so if anyone has advice on the intercooler and a mechanic to fit it please let me know.

Cheers