Biodiesel MPG improvement in my Pete 379... SHOCKING

Diesels dont have a "timing" to advance / retarded. Short of tearing the injector pump off the engine.

 

I try to steer away from the "bio-mass" bio-diesel and rather stick to the "soy bio" bio-diesel. Who knows what's in that "bio-mass". Most pumps (that I've seen in my area) have stickers on them detailing what the "bio" consists of.

Lately, there's been a 30+ cent/gal spread between bio-diesel and 100% diesel. Kind of a no-brainer.

 

What Lenny is saying is that that fuel with a higher cetane rating ignites faster, which has the same result as advancing the ignition timing. Diesel engines have had variable injection timing for a long time, including mechanically-injected engines. Modern diesels don't have injection pumps at all, they have unit injectors.

 

I run a VW golf on b100 (100% biod diesel, not a blend)

First off, anti gell fuel additives wont help when using b100 since they only work on regular diesel. I drive on b70 (70% bio, 30% diesel) down to 10F. The temps will depend on the oil the biodiesel was made from. If going colder then 10F, I would not recommend using any bio diesel. I have had my car stall and not restart do to icy fuel in the filter. This was only when the outside temp was 0F and I was running b50.

As for power, My old golf tops out at 85mph on diesel and get over 100 mph on bio. (on a track of course) Bio Diesel theoretically has less power. It does however lubricate much better then normal diesel wich mean your engion needs less power to overcome it's own resistance. So even though the "bang" is slightly less, you need less "bang" to get the same output because the engine runs smoother.

In my experience I get 40 highway (I drive fast) on normal diesel and over 50 mpg with B100. At most service stations the max you can probably get is b20, but b20 is much better then strait diesel.

A few things to consider:
Using as low as b5 will lubricate your engine much better and will significantly extend the life of your engine.

Depending in the location of particulate filter injectors you may have crankcase dilution problems. This is caused on trucks that inject fuel during the exhaust cycle of the engine. If a separate injector in the tail pipe is used you should be ok.

Bio flash point may be to high to burn off particulate in filter. You may occasionally need to use normal diesel to clean your particulate filter.

You may go through a few fuel filters pretty quick after starting to use bio diesel. Bio diesel does a really good job of cleaning your fuel system, so all the junk left behind form years of diesel use will be cleaned out all at once, thus clogging your filters. Expect a shortened fuel filter life during this break in period.

Bio Diesel (even as low as b5) eats rubber. If you have rubber fuel lines on an older truck they will be eventually worn through. (took 200,000 miles on my golf, for the one rubber line that was not replaced)

 

Forgot to mention, it cleans your injectors to which should help out with MPG/Power. Many of you getting much better millage may be seeing the gains after a bio diesel cleaning and not necessarily the gains of fuel actually burning.

 

Biodeisel is a great alternative fuel or fuel additive

It would be great if more producers started looking at the Green algae production for the oil & ethanol to make it rather than Soy or corn and the like.

Its never good when food crops compete directly with fuel