50ppm diesel

[Solo Man]

Been running my 2003 E39 530d on 50ppm diesel since i got it about 7000km ago. Now i read that the low sulpher in the 50ppm diesel does not lubricate as well as the 500ppm diesel. Since mine is a 2002/10 build date, could it become a problem if i continue with 50ppm diesel without adding and additive/extra lubricant? What if i fill up with 500ppm every third tank? Will that be sufficient or am i paranoid about the low lubricant diesel and should i stick to using only 50ppm??? Any diesel gurus out there with an answer???

 

[Tumo]

You can add a bit of 2 stroke oil every third tank or if you want to use only 50ppm and you are concerned about it. the newer diesels are designed to run on 50ppm, the older ones, like yours will benefit from a bit of lubricant every once in a while.

Or your other suggestion to mix it up is also an option. There are guys here that only use 50ppm and have not encountered any problems not adding any lubricant so far, for the long term I would think it is best to take some care.

 

[msm]

Also, maybe consider an oil change between your normal service intervals.

 

[applehero]

Is there nothing in the owners manual about the recommended level of sulfur in the diesel?

 

[Threetwoeight]

Your car does not have a injector pump.
Common rail.
Use only 50ppm.
no additives, lubes or cleaners.

 

[P1000]

Your car does not have a injector pump.
Common rail.
Use only 50ppm.
no additives, lubes or cleaners.

But it does have a Very expensive high pressure fuel pump and very expensive injectors. Mine has done 270kkm with 500ppm most of the time, as advised by BMW mechanic...

 

[Hellas]

Your car does not have a injector pump.
Common rail.
Use only 50ppm.
no additives, lubes or cleaners.

But it does have a Very expensive high pressure fuel pump and very expensive injectors. Mine has done 270kkm with 500ppm most of the time, as advised by BMW mechanic...

Since 50ppm is 50c more expensive than 500ppm, I suddenly lost the urge to 'keep it clean'...

 

[1two5guy]

Hmm, BMW techie told us for the X5, Sasol ultra low sulpher Diesel only, well that an V power Diesel.

 

[Hellas]

Newer generation diesels (read 2010 and up) are forced to use ONLY 50ppm. My father had to borrow my ride to go to Nam, Botswana and Zim since his 2010 Sorento are only allowed 50ppm and none of those countries have a steady supply of 50ppm (if they have it at all)

 

[BMW M]

Dont think on the older engines it would really make that big a diffrence if you run a good full synthetic oil. With the 500ppm you will definately shorten the life of your cats a bit. My Diesel performs better ob the 50ppm more power and better consumption, so thats what I 'roll' with. :thumb:

 

[Tumie]

I drive a BMW 530d E39, 2002 Model. When I bought it a year ago, it had done around 195000 Ks and Ive been putting in only 50ppm diesel on it. At 230000Ks, 2 of my injectors failed and I had to recon all 6, cause buying them would have cost me a shit load. Right now, at 252000Ks, my diesel pumps have failed and Im trying to buy them. Ofcoarse, BMW wants R9k for both of them. LOL!!

So I don't know if these failures are related to the diesel I'm using or its just old age.

If anyone has any solid ideas, please share.

 

[MikeR]

Hmm, BMW techie told us for the X5, Sasol ultra low sulpher Diesel only, well that an V power Diesel.

:thumbsup:
50 is enough to lube...dont worry.
Tumie u just had bad luck.

 

[Philip Foglar]

Our bakkie lives on Sasol 50ppm diesel. Not being a more modern common rail design I could most likely safely run it on 500ppm diesel, but I want to avoid the chance of condensation producing sulphuric acid, especially from town driving and short distances. Another reason for using 2 stroke oil with 50ppm diesel is because it is known that some filling stations "thin" out their 50ppm stock with paraffin which makes the fuel very abrasive. So diesel pump and injectors will suffer! So to protect against this and to increase the lubricating properties of the sulphur in diesel, a small amount of high quality non-synthetic 2 stroke oil can be added per tank or every other tank. Varies from 200 ml per 60 litres diesel more or less. Reason for non-synthetic 2 stroke as opposed to synthetic 2 stroke oil is that you want it to burn easily during the combustion process along with the diesel, otherwise it would just cause more problems if not burning easily...

I would say investigate this and also a device called a UDF filter...

 

[Beast_Power]

Stay with 50ppm,if you can get lower even better. The higher sulphur content in 500ppm stuffs up your injectors, and diesel pump over time. If you are running higher 500ppm diesel, I would suggest you shorten your service intervals. Make sure you plan your long range travelling so that you can fill up at a shell or Sasol Station, when filling at a dodgy service station you stand a chance of getting marine diesel that has paraffin added, just one tank can shorten your diesel components lives exponentially.

On the oil, I would stay with the BMW recommended oil.

As for the Diesel pumps, it is possible that the first owner(s) were not diligent enough, or just did not care where or what diesel they used.

 

[Ralf*]

interesting opinions here, I have a 2001 530d and for the last 4 years only run on 50ppm diesel, car has 230k on the clock, and hassle free driving for the last 4 years

 

[spawn616]

vpower and nf diesel octane booster every once a month

 

[netercol]

The higher sulphur content in 500ppm stuffs up your injectors, and diesel pump over time

what do you base this assumption on? this topic has been done so many times now.

"The move to lower sulfur content is expected to allow the application of newer emissions control technologies that should substantially lower emissions of particulate matter from diesel engines. This change occurred first in the European Union and is now happening in North America. New emissions standards, dependent on the cleaner fuel, have been in effect for automobiles in the United States since model year 2007."

thus the lower sulpur content is emmision related, not wear related.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra-low-sulfur_diesel

"High levels of sulfur in diesel are harmful for the environment because they prevent the use of catalytic diesel particulate filters to control diesel particulate emissions, as well as more advanced technologies, such as nitrogen oxide (NOx) adsorbers (still under development), to reduce emissions. Moreover, sulfur in the fuel is oxidized during combustion, producing sulfur dioxide and sulfur trioxide, that in presence of water rapidly convert to sulfuric acid, one of the chemical processes that results in acid rain. However, the process for lowering sulfur also reduces the lubricity of the fuel, meaning that additives must be put into the fuel to help lubricate engines. Biodiesel and biodiesel/petrodiesel blends, with their higher lubricity levels, are increasingly being utilized as an alternative."

thus 50ppm diesel has to have additives added again to increase its lubricating properties..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diesel_fuel

pay your money and make an informed choice..

 

[Beast_Power]

@Netercol Just a few points to ponder on.

1. High sulphur fuel will create sulphuric acid .. What do you think it does to the life of the engine ?
i. Sulphur in fuel will create an acidic condition in the oil, Acidic oil=bearing damage

2. The higher the sulphur content the lower the quality of the fuel. High Sulphur fuel will cause more wear on a diesel engine and its components.

3. Have you seen the difference between a opened 50ppm engine and a 500ppm engine, what I did note is that the 500ppm diesel engine had much higher carbon deposits on certain items in the engine.

4. When the Americans talk of low sulphur content it is 15ppm, much lower than our 50ppm which is considered as a high sulphur content in the States and Europe.

As For lubrication on low Sulphur diesel.

V-Power Diesel is Shell's version of an enhanced diesel fuel, similar, say to BPs 'Ultimate Diesel'. Like BP Ultimate Diesel, Shell V-Power Diesel is designed for modern compression-ignition diesel engines, to facilitate enhanced engine performance along with increased engine protection, for more consistent operation and engine longevity.
V-Power Diesel is a blend of regular petroleum-based diesel and synthetic diesel, created using gas to liquids (GTL), along with some extra additives designed to clean the injection system and improve injection pump and injector lubricity.
One characteristic of V-Power diesel is that it is a lot clearer and odourless than normal diesel, mainly due to the synthetic GTL component.
The fuel is slightly less dense than regular diesel so, per volume, the unit energy is actually lower than regular diesel. This is offset, as the fuel tends to ignite more readily (and thus has a higher cetane rating) than regular diesel, and a side benefit of this is that it tends to produce less soot during combustion.
Anecdotal evidence shows that its performance varies depending on how an engine is set up. In most cases, it will make a rough-sounding engine run noticeably smoother, and can also alter the performance characteristics; typically some low-end torque is lost, but performance in the middle of the rev range and above is increased. In some engines however, particularly well-tuned common rail turbodiesels, very little effect can be seen or felt.