Skip to content

BG Products, Inc.

FIND A DISTRIBUTOR
DASHBOARD

BG Has A Head Start With Upcoming Diesel Fuel Standards

BG Products knows that forecasting is vital to snare a share of the market.
That’s why it has developed award-winning products and tools to meet the challenge posed by the decline of lubricity in diesel fuel coming as early as January when many refineries will start producing ultra low-sulfur fuel to meet EPA requirements to reduce pollution by 95 percent. It requires a 97 percent reduction in sulfur content.

As another story in this issue shows, Motor magazine has tapped BG’s VW Diesel Air Intake and Exhaust Cleaning System‚ PN 9250‚ as a Top 20 Tool for 2005. The honor comes on top of last year’s winning entry, BG Diesel VIA‚ PN 9700-500.

Proven solutions

“Our diesel products have a proven success with these problems. Even though they are just now being recognized, our cures have been in place,” says Mike Belluomo, technical services manager.

With such additives as BG DFC Plus HP2, PN PD14, BG 245 Premium Diesel Fuel System Cleaner, PN 245, and BG DFC Plus HP2 with Cetane Improver, PN 248, “We had a solution before there was a problem,” Mike says. “All of our diesel products have been broad-based or multi-component. BG has always had lubricity additives that have been accepted in the industry.”

When hearing the word “diesel,” many people say, “Pew. They stink and they rattle.” But anyone who has spent any time with the new diesels in the past decade knows the newly engineered engines have eased most of the complaints.

Newer diesel engines for cars and trucks are quieter, more robust and they don’t stink. Roughly 50–60 percent of vehicles in Europe are diesel where automotive manufacturers have put time and money into diesel research.
If fuel prices continue to rise, Mike foresees the figure reaching 30–35 percent in the U.S. in the next few years. “Diesel is almost a guarantee domestically. Manufacturers are getting a handle on making them a saleable alternative.”

Efficient diesels

National Oil and Lube News magazine says that a major obstacle to bringing diesels to the U.S. is the out-dated notion that diesels are inefficient technology. But in fact, the new engines have 80 percent lower particulate emissions, 70 percent lower nitrogen-oxides emissions, 50 percent more power and 30 percent more torque than diesels of just 10 years ago.
The lower lubricity of newly formulated diesel fuel will especially impact Volkswagen. More than 60 percent of its car sales are diesels. Its TDI engines depend on the sulfur to lubricate the fuel pump and injectors. With the low lubricity fuel, these engines will need a fuel conditioner.

The newer CDI (Common-Rail Direct Injection) diesel engines such as the E320 CDI Mercedes-Benz introduced this year has full electronic injection, something considered technically impossible a few years ago. Fuel is injected at 23,000 PSI directly through the solenoid injector valves. The engine then relies on the heat of the highly compressed intake air to ignite the fuel. The E320 engine is cleaner, quieter and more powerful than mechanically injected diesels. Mercedes believes that when ultra low-sulfur diesel becomes available, the CDI engine will meet emission standards in all 50 states. You can learn more about the E320 engine at www.mbusa.com and www.motor1.com.

Mileage forecast

There is the possibility that the new fuel may not deliver the same fuel economy. Light & Medium Truck magazine warns that fuel economy could be a mixed bag, with some engines getting better mileage, some as much as five percent less, and many staying about the same.
BG looked into the future of diesel lubricity and other diesel issues and created products to handle them. “We try to throw a net over all possible problems,” Mike says.

Find a local BG Distributor today and become a BG shop!

Find A Distributor