London Low Emission Zone - Feasiblility Study

I know we asre not supposed to use red Diesel in normal road cars but me and my friends want to know how is it different from normal pump diesel (Ultra Low sulpher Diesel) apart from the red dye in red diesel?
Can it cause any harm to engine or tank?
Can you see anything red coming in smoke out of exhaust?
How can you detect while buying a second hand car whether it has used red diesel or not?
How do authorities find out whether the car in front is using normal diesel or red diesel?
Thanks..
Hi folks,
In this discussion, "locutpants" has replied that red diesel causes problems with injectors and can even ruin them as it does not have any additives. Do you agree?
Also thanks for your brilliant replies. I know much more about red diesel now. Would wait a bit more to select the best answer..

The authorities can detect very small amounts of red diesel in a fuel tank, so even if the vehicle had red Diesel put in quite some time ago it can still be detected. The fines you risk for using it will certainly wipe out any savings you make buying it.. I agree with the answers which say it is used in Agricultural machinery, but it is also commonly used on boats both on canals and in marine envioroments. It does contain the same additives as normal road diesel, just with the red dye added. Your best bet if you want to save money is to use converted vegetable oil, and make sure you pay the duty. You will still save 20-30p per litre.

I always thought the Americans shyed away from diesel and even their big trucks ran on unleaded? With fuel prices ever increasing has diesel power caught on in the US? If so what cars are you driving over there?
Diesel in england is more expensive than Unleaded but then we are not really Europe! Bugger looks like i wont be able to get a diesel rental when i’m doing my west coast tour in april
The big trucks most definitely run on Diesel, fyi.

Diesel cars are still rare in the US. VW, BMW, and Mercedes are the only manufacturers even selling diesel passenger cars in the US right now (I think the jeep Grand Cherokee has discontinued it’s diesel and Ford, Dodge, Chevy all sell diesel trucks, but that’s another story).

The VW TDIs are by far the most common diesel passenger cars in the US, but they are still few and far between. I absolutely love mine.

I am under the impression that cars of this age are not emission tested. It is just a visual test.

The only emission test applicable to Diesel engines is the measuring of exhaust smoke density. The test involves accelerating the engine several times to its maximum unloaded speed. Note: it is of the utmost importance that the engine timing belt is in good condition before the test is carried out.
The limits for Diesel engine exhaust smoke, introduced in September 1995 are:
Vehicles first used before 1st August 1979: Exempt from metered smoke testing, but must not emit "dense blue or clearly visible black smoke for a period of more than 5 seconds at idle" or "dense blue or clearly visible black smoke during acceleration which would obscure the view of other road users".
Non-turbocharged vehicles first used after 1st August 1979: 2.5m-1
Turbocharged vehicles first used after 1st August 1979: 3.0m-1

Excessive smoke can be caused by a dirty air cleaner element. Otherwise, professional advice may be needed to find the cause.

The price of diesel is about 23 percent greater than that of gasoline right now. The Jetta Diesel got about 25 percent more mileage than the gasoline Jetta. Looks like it is not worth getting a diesel Jetta even if VW brings it back.

DIESEL is more cost effective over the LONG run

Little Brother had a diesel Mercedes back in 1980 (a 1975 with 250,000 miles). Back then diesel was cheaper than gas, he got better mileage… he was spending almost 50% less on maintenance per year than I was spending on a ‘75 VW Dasher.

Looking for a reliable diesel car for use with biodiesel.

Currently, some late 70’s early 80’s models of those manufacturer’s can be found with diesel engines. They are rare and difficult to find. I see more older Nissans that are diesel than other brands.

Honda is planning to release a clean diesel in the US I believe in 2009.

A mate of mine says that on her driving lessons she was in a manual diesel car and when she reversed it, it moved by its self, like an automatic car without having to give it any gas, even when reversing up hill!
I’ve only ever driven petrol cars…Has my mate gone mad? Is it true diesels do this, an if so, is it all of them?

no its not true. the fact is the diesil has a stronger reaction in the engine makig it more difficult to stall. this means you can just get the clutch right and it will move with out and pressure on the gas pedal. you can do it with a petrol as well but it moves very slowely

I know that the mileage is better but I’ve heard with the manufacturing of the battery it doesn’t turn out to be any better. I haven’t been able to find any concrete statistics or anything though, does anybody know of any websites, or have some information?

Thanks so much!

The battery manufacturing issues are a myth. The nickel for the batteries comes from the Inco plant in Sudbury, Canada, which had environmental problems long before the Prius even existed, and the plant now has a much smaller environmental impact.
http://www.autobloggreen.com/2007/03/08/hummer-vs-prius-redux-this-time-to-hummer-i-dont-think-so/

Studies have also shown than 80-90% of a car’s lifetime energy use comes during operation (while it’s being driven), so basically the more fuel efficient a car is, the lower its environmental impact. The construction of the car is a very small factor (5-10% of lifetime energy use). So yes, hybrids are more environmentally conscious because they have a smaller environmental impact than gas or diesel cars.
http://www.pacinst.org/topics/integrity_of_science/case_studies/hummer_vs_prius.pdf

I’m looking for 5-10 yr old cars and truck that run on diesel that hold their value. I found a 05 Mercedes e320 CDI that is worth 250% of original value and a VW Jetta that is 164% original value. My husband asked me to do this search so I’m not sure what he is planning but he asked me to find out so here i am finding out, thank you for you help.

I’m not 100% sure on the diesel cars since I’ve never looked into them but as far as trucks go…Chevy’s seem to hold there value the best then it’s Ford then Dodge. Though you can’t go wrong with either one of the 3.

I am making a PSA for school and I wanted to direct viewers to talk to someone or go to a website. Thanks!

http://taxes.about.com/b/2008/10/11/tax-credit-for-2009-diesel-cars.htm

This site gives you the only cars that are eligible for a tax credit, based on diesel engines. There are two different types of credits being issued. Make sure you highlight the one regarding diesel engines, and NOT the one that is regarding Hybrid engines. They are two different animals altogether. I think only Mercedes and VW’s are capable of getting tax credits. And that makes sense because they are the only two USA sold automakers that provide a diesel car.

Good Luck in your Report!!

Tim

Does anyone use biodiesel here and how efficient is it?
In UK they sell it at all petrol stations, it is about 50p a litre vrs 125p for normal diesel.
I might be getting confused with LPG, does anyone know anyting about this?

It’s not necessarily half the price. If you get biodiesel at a gas station that carries it, the biodiesel costs about the same as petroleum gas/diesel. However, there are other cheaper options like getting waste vegetable oil (potentially for free from restaurants) and using it as fuel.

http://greenhome.huddler.com/wiki/eco-friendly-cars-for-the-cheapskate

Biodiesel is approximately as energy efficient as petroleum diesel in that you get roughly the same miles per gallon.

Basically the catch is that you have to have a diesel car, you have to find a source of biodiesel, and if you’re going to use waste vegetable oil, you need to make a conversion to your car (see link above).