What are you paying for Diesel?

Since we don't have our own forum, a new thread for you compression heads.

Gas prices still seem to be dropping, amazingly so. Today I saw Regular for around $2.29/gal. Premium was around $2.49 and Super was $2.59. Diesel, which had been about $0.10/gal more than regular, was now $2.59, same as super.

Now I know that should'nt be right, as we all know diesel is always cheaper to produce than gasoline, excluding taxes.

So what are you d's paying out there?

Gas prices are increasing in my neck of the woods. You will feel gratified that you aren't paying what we are. I just filled up one car with Chevron Premium at $3.359/gallon. A Vallero station down the street had ULSD at $3.199/gallon....

$2.79 for the oily stuff here.

It depends what state I'm in.
Gas and diesel are cheaper in Tennessee than in North Carolina. I filled up at a Shell station in Tennessee this morning for $2.449. Tonight I am in North Carolina and the Exxon across the street from my hotel has diesel for $2.59 and regular gas is $2.49.
Fuel prices are almost always lower in South Carolina than North Carolina as well.

Wow, Munich's Oktoberfest closing day was fun !

Where was I? Oh, yeh!

Another great thread, Flyingman!


I started researching diesel fuel prices because of the proverbial debate about fuel savings comparisons, so I use this website: http://gasprices.mapquest.com/

We will probably not arrange our trek from SC to the west coast based on fuel prices, but it will be interesting to see how divergent it is.

Of course, if we only have to fill five times , it won't be difficult to be selective.

Got to love that fuel mileage !!!!

I wonder if I should grab a marble and do that relay thing, too!

$2.65/gallon here ... slightly less than premium petrol, which is $2.69. I'm only *looking* at diesel prices at the moment ... still have a few weeks to wait (patiently) until my new d arrives.

$2.99/gal which is still cheaper than a gallon of regular at $3.15/gal

Originally Posted by dakarm

$2.99/gal which is still cheaper than a gallon of regular at $3.15/gal

This is an example of how a monopoly can f**k you. dakarm is located maybe 50 miles from where I am and as a result can get diesel (and gas for that matter)~$0.20/gallon cheaper. If the price differential were greater, it would be worth the savings to drive to Danville to fill up....

I'm getting it for about 2.70-2.83 here in Los Angeles. It's a good 20 to 30 cent saving over regular unleaded. Then again, these diesel prices aren't the average for LA, since I use Gas Buddy. Diesel is, however, consistently cheaper than regular unleaded for the moment.

Here in the South West UK I'm currently buying diesel at $6.50 per gallon (1.08 GBP per litre). My on board computer tells me I'm averaging 37.1 mpg which eases the pain a little.

At current exchange rates, $5.80 USD/gallon.

But then again, 98E is around $7.50 USD/gallon.

Originally Posted by TJG

Here in the South West UK I'm currently buying diesel at $6.50 per gallon (1.08 GBP per litre). My on board computer tells me I'm averaging 37.1 mpg which eases the pain a little.

Imperial or US gallons?

In Toronto Diesel is currently going for CAN$0.859/Litre or in US Gallon US$3.06/Gallon.
Regular Gas is now higher than Diesel @ CAN$0.939/Litre(US$3.35/US Gallon).
Premium gas is even higher @ CAN$1.071/Litre(US$3.82/US Gallon).

Cheers

it changes. Sometimes its less than regular and right now its a little cheaper than midgrade. But then somtimes it spikes above premium. It varies A LOT

I have a 335d on order. The car was in the paint shop yesterday and today is the end of production. I have the car delivered at the Performance Delivery Center in SC.

Anyway, my question is: How can you tell the diesel is ULSD? Is there a sticker on the pump.

Thanks

LM in Atlanta

Originally Posted by Patrick

Imperial or US gallons?

US Gallons - I used a litre/Gallon conversion rate of 0.26417 and a GBP/USD conversion rate of 1.59.

Any how you work it, I'm being ripped off.

NC has very high fuel taxes. Diesel here ranges from about $2.49 to $2.69. We try to fill up (gas or diesel) in SC when possible and save about 20 cents/gallon. We drove from the Keys to NC last week, and the highest diesel prices we saw were in Flyingman's area in south FL.

Originally Posted by TJG

US Gallons - I used a litre/Gallon conversion rate of 0.26417 and a GBP/USD conversion rate of 1.59.

Any how you work it, I'm being ripped off.

Well, true.

Not only do we have high fuel costs here, but I have to pay an annual diesel tax: 450 Euros.

Originally Posted by montr

I have a 335d on order. The car was in the paint shop yesterday and today is the end of production. I have the car delivered at the Performance Delivery Center in SC.

Anyway, my question is: How can you tell the diesel is ULSD? Is there a sticker on the pump.

Thanks

LM in Atlanta

congrats on your purchase!

Pumps have been "required" to be labeled with the fuel they dispense for over 3 years now. you will still find unlabeled pumps in spite of this . You will also have diesel-heads tell you that all the diesel is ULSD regardless of labeling. This does not jive with the EPA program that requires all on-road diesel to be ULSD by Dec 2010. You can get more ULSD info here:
http://www.clean-diesel.org/index.htm

I suggest that you play it safe and fill only from pumps that are labeled as dispensing ULSD.

lotsa fuel pricing info available here:
http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/oog/info/gdu/gasdiesel.asp

I can't stress this enough: There is a huge variance in diesel fuel quality in N America. The best thing to do is to find a local source of high quality diesel in your area and only use that in your 335d/X5d. If this means driving out of your way to fuel up, then so be it. pogopop77 has posted a listing of premium diesel stations on this forum. hopefully he will check in here.

Most cases the only way to determine your diesel quality is to talk to the distributor your local station uses. Here are the two factors I believe most important for a high performance diesel engine.
Cetane of minimum 47. The diesel I have access to is minimum 50 cetane.
HFRR wear scar of 460 micron maximum. The ASTM spec for US diesel has a maximum wear scar of 520 microns. So you may need to use an additive to meet the tighter spec. I use 3-5% biodiesel to ensure this.

So I have a question. The diesel around here is diesel #2. Is there a #1 somewhere? Why is it considered Diesel #2?

Originally Posted by BMW_GAL

So I have a question. The diesel around here is diesel #2. Is there a #1 somewhere? Why is it considered Diesel #2?

D1 is basically kerosene.

Originally Posted by NCe61

NC has very high fuel taxes. Diesel here ranges from about $2.49 to $2.69. We try to fill up (gas or diesel) in SC when possible and save about 20 cents/gallon. We drove from the Keys to NC last week, and the highest diesel prices we saw were in Flyingman's area in south FL.

I'm always looking around at fuel prices, and it is amazing how much it can vary in a very short distance. Usually, the closer you are to the interstate, the higher it is, with a few exceptions. The nicer the neighborhood (like where I live) the higher it is. That is why I go over to the other side of the tracks to buy fuel.

I can save about 10-15cents/gal just by looking around the neighborhood during my regular commute. But i generally always buy from the same station which is consitently competitive, not always the cheapest. I'm old school, and if I ever get a bad batch of fuel I know I will be complaining to the right place.

As I recall, the main difference in Diesel #2 and #1 is that #1 is for winter time as it has a lower cloud point (waxing). Something i really don't have to worry about in So Fla!

It is amazing how much our friends across the pond are paying. Just for shiz and grins I'm gonna look up some fuel prices in Venezuela. I recall paying like 8 cents/gal not too long ago.

Originally Posted by BMW_GAL

So I have a question. The diesel around here is diesel #2. Is there a #1 somewhere? Why is it considered Diesel #2?

There is a specification for what constitutes 'Diesel #2'. It gets into things like cloud point, ignition point, cetane rating and the like. Diesel #2 versus Diesel #1 is somewhat analogous to Regular unleaded (87 octane) versus Premium unleaded (91 octane) gasoline. They are fuels for a particular type of engine and each have distinguishing characteristics. Diesel #1 is generally used during winter months due the lower temperature at which it solidifies.

Originally Posted by d geek

D1 is basically kerosene.

D1 is definitely not Kerosene. Close to it, but not the same. Here is one site that I found that gives some explanation of D1 versus D2 and Kerosene: http://dodgeram.org/tech/dsl/FAQ/diesel_fuel.htm Go about 1/2 down the page in the Q&A section. Jet A is Kerosene that has been certified to a particular engineering specification. See http://www.csgnetwork.com/jetfuel.html for more information. If you are in a cold area with a load of Diesel #2 in your tank, you can add Kerosene to make the fuel resistant to solidification until you can fill with winterized Diesel (Diesel #2 that has had Diesel #1 blended with it).