After hearing a lot of stories and reading a lot (and a lot of rubbish) on car forums, we decided to find out for ourselves what running a car, especially a tuned car, would be like on Bio Diesel. Therefore Angel Tuning have recently been testing their highly tuned Alfa 156 2.4 JTD on various mixture ratio’s of “White Diesel” and “Bio Diesel” after a visit to Bob and Dick Bio Fuels.


What is F.A.M.E Bio Diesel?
F.A.M.E. is the smart name of used cooking oils - Fatty Acid Methyl Esters that will now be know for the rest of this article as FBD.

How is FBD Processed?
This is more straightforward than you may think. Firstly the waste oil is brought in large vats then run off into smaller more manageable quantities. It is then heated and agitated and a sample taken to find the PH level. This PH level then indicates how much Sodium Methoxide is required to clean it.

The Sodium Methoxide mix is then added and the whole mixture is agitated again for a few hours. It is then left to settle and the resulting debris is then drawn off.

Finally the mix is then misted with water which will then sink taking any remaining particles with it. The mixture is then redrawn into fresh barrels and off ready for use.

Sounds Good – How Much Is It? For straight Bio Diesel the price is currently circa 78p / litre. For a 75/25 mix of Bio and White Diesels, the price is 80p / litre.

Can I Use It In My Car?
Pre 1992 Vehicles
Basically the answer is no. All pre ’92 cars have rubber hoses in the fuel lines which is not compatible with Bio Diesel

Post 1992 Vehicles
Yes, most definently!

Common Rail Diesels and VW PD Engines
The only issue is with cold starting during the winter. It is suggested that during the colder months, the 75/25 mix is used and to allow the glow plugs to do their job, sometimes two or three times before starting

Do I Need To Change Anything
No, the only thing you must be prepared for is to change the fuel filter after the first 1,500 miles as FBD will clean the system thoroughly

How Do I Get FBD?
This is the tricky part. It is not widely or easily available currently although we are trying to put together a network of suppliers. During our testing we used Richard and Bob of DB Biofuels in Bidford Upon Avon, who can be contacted via Sales@dbbiofuels.co.uk or mobile phone (Richard 07976 710 206 / Bob 07768 081653)

Further Information
Channel 4 have an excellent feature on Bio Fuels on their website http://www.channel4.com/4car/buying-guide/faq/biofuels/biofuels.html

Please note that their advice on whether it can be used on your car is to do with the warranty rather than whether it will work or cause any damage

Finally, we are not promoting the use of FBD, nor are we working with or promoting BD Biofuels, however our thanks do got them for their time and trouble in talking to us and giving us the information we asked for.

Angel Tuning Test

50/50 Bio/White diesel.
The first thing we noticed was that it fired first time as usual. Good start!

After 50 miles with tank really agitated we assumed we were running on an even mixture so started to open the car up and go for it. The power delivery was as it was before, but one thing we started to find was that it pulled smoother at the top of the range, 3,800rpm upwards and that the power kept delivering way past 4.500rpm up to 5.000. We also noticed that while there was no difference lower down, say 0-60, the vehicle was much faster on a longer straight, by some 5-10 mph.

The other thing we started to notice was the cars behind… there was virtually NO smoke. Now previously this car used to smoke, especially if it was bogged down in the gears, but not now. We even had a car purposefully follow it to get a look from behind and the result was amazing. We knew the Bio cleaned the system but this was excellent.

Fuel economy did suffer on the test through, however that was only by 20 miles to the tank on estimate and as we were really putting the car through its paces, it was not surprising.

The only thing of note against this mix was on a cold wet morning (it is June after all!) the car took a fraction of a second longer to start than it usually does and I mean a fraction of a second!

90/10 Bio / White diesel
After the roaring success of the first test we ran the car right down and refilled with Bio.

The results were pretty much as before with even better pull higher up the rev range.

Conclusion
At 78p per litre, no smoke and smoother pull we will continue to use this when we can. Availability is an issue and we have had to revert to white diesel on occasion and we have really noticed the difference

Useful link: EN Fules