South African fuel quality?

[Landy-Lee83]

Hi guys,

So for some months now there has been a battle in my head about swapping out my 300Tdi engine in my Defender and dropping in a BMW M57 engine.

when i make big decisions in like the normal way i work out the pros and cons it buy talking myself in and out of the idea to end up with a answer or solutions.

The question i now have is what is the general Diesel quality like in South Africa?

I know my 300Tdi will run on any kinda Diesel even a mix of some sort but also remember that the M57 is not that new of a engine and the varian i will befitting is a 2000 year with a very hi quality Diesel filter system.

The sort story for why i want to do this swap is my 300Tdi is lacking power when going up long steep climbs on roads and for me i do not like the idea of tuning the hell out of a engine as this then reduces the life of engine and gearbox components.

So what are your experiences with fuel in South Africa?????

 

[Alanymarce]

Never noticed an issue, although this was most recently with a 1997 LC80.

 

[nickburt]

I used to think my 300 was sluggish and lacking in torque, so I spent some time setting the fuel pump timing and lift up correctly and it was like driving a different vehicle. Getting these two right, before anything else is essential. I was going to fit a boost pin and ring, but don't see the point now!!!!
It was the usual TDi issue with hills - it just slowed down, the moment it got a sniff of a hill.
I've also fitted a hydrid turbo and full width intercooler.
Now, it'll just keep going, even fully loaded, it doesn't take much more throttle to keep it going on long motorway hills, whereas before, I'd be putting it in 4th before the hill and sometimes ending up in 3rd part way up, revving the heck out of it to keep it going.

The difference is like night and day and is a breeze to drive, the torque at lower revs is quite surprising. On our trip to Greece last year, it averaged 26mpg weighing in at a round 3T on a wide mixture of motorways, main roads, back roads and mountain tracks and passes. Vary rarely have to drop below 3rd gear now.

 

[El-Dracho]

Get in touch with Christoff, @Get Out GO He could give you first hand information of the current fuel situation in South Africa and the countries around.

 

[Get Out GO]

Diesel quality in Southern Africa is generally okay aside for some rural areas. I have picked up bad diesel in SA, Namibia, Mozambique etc. If you are going to be traveling to remote areas (hopefully you are ;) ) then I would recommend changing fuel filter more regularly than the normal service intervals and maybe look at a diesel pre-filter (donaldson / racor in SA) and carry spares filters.