Confused about various diesel additives

[Don87]

I used Power Service white bottle for quite a few years without any issues, but I found a 'study' (?) online someplace (that I cant find right now) that said Howes was a better (not the best though) anti-gel.. I will keep looking and see if I can find that study..

PS and Howes are the most readily available around here..

brian

I didn't see the study you spoke of, I went here:


Howes Lubricator

And here: Diesel Fuel Additives :: Stanadyne, Racor, Power Service, Lucas and Delphi

I just compared the numbers.

And I watched the video here: Diesel Fuel Additive | Gasoline Fuel Additive | Marine Fuel Additive

But couldn't find actual numbers.

 

[ModMech]

Here is a great report done on Diesel Addatives, very in depth.

Lubricity Additive Study Discussion - Diesel Place

Lubricity does not enter into the discussion for a modern diesel, many people like to sell stuff that is claimed to increase lubricity, but ask yourself WHY?

Which OEM recomends adding addative to the fuel to enhance lubricity? NONE! The only component affected by lubricity is the injection pump and no one even talks about pump wear, nearly all the talk is about injectors and starting/smoke etc. CLEAN fuel is far more important to injector wear than fuel lubricity because there is absolutely no side loading of an injector, unlike a cylinder piston. Yet no one is selling better fuel filtration, much less suggesting it.

BOSCH holds the patents on almost every diesel fuel system in existance, less the HEUI (current) and Sleeve Metering, PT and DD "rack type" systems that are no longer produced. All BOSCH fuel systems are field tested and validated to operate correctly on commercially available fuel sources. In the EU that has been <100ppm sulfur fuel for almost 30 years!

The only diesel injectors that are sensative to lubricity are the Cummins PT and DD rack injectors. All modern HEUI injectors have been tested on ULSD and no issues have been identified. All others are BOSCH designs (regardless of the actual manufacturer) and not affected by ULSD.

I'm just saying that if you are using an addative for ANYTHING other than a CPP depressor (anti-gel), or an algeside, you are wasting your money. If your concern IS IP wear, keep your fuel system CLEAN and DO NOT use any product with an alcohol in it!

 

[Willl]

http://www.bosch-kraftfahrzeugtechn...kus_1/FIEM_Common_Position_Statement_2009.pdf

 

[Diamondpilot]

Lubricity does not enter into the discussion for a modern diesel, many people like to sell stuff that is claimed to increase lubricity, but ask yourself WHY?

Which OEM recomends adding addative to the fuel to enhance lubricity? NONE! The only component affected by lubricity is the injection pump and no one even talks about pump wear, nearly all the talk is about injectors and starting/smoke etc. CLEAN fuel is far more important to injector wear than fuel lubricity because there is absolutely no side loading of an injector, unlike a cylinder piston. Yet no one is selling better fuel filtration, much less suggesting it.

BOSCH holds the patents on almost every diesel fuel system in existance, less the HEUI (current) and Sleeve Metering, PT and DD "rack type" systems that are no longer produced. All BOSCH fuel systems are field tested and validated to operate correctly on commercially available fuel sources. In the EU that has been <100ppm sulfur fuel for almost 30 years!

The only diesel injectors that are sensative to lubricity are the Cummins PT and DD rack injectors. All modern HEUI injectors have been tested on ULSD and no issues have been identified. All others are BOSCH designs (regardless of the actual manufacturer) and not affected by ULSD.

I'm just saying that if you are using an addative for ANYTHING other than a CPP depressor (anti-gel), or an algeside, you are wasting your money. If your concern IS IP wear, keep your fuel system CLEAN and DO NOT use any product with an alcohol in it!

Very well said. Only reason I run the stuff in my tractors is for fungal and gelling reasons, nothing else. I have had 4 diesel trucks and only run a dash of it in the tank when the temps get below 0 deg, other than that they just get what the station has.

Chris

 

[Skyco]

Lubricity does not enter into the discussion for a modern diesel, many people like to sell stuff that is claimed to increase lubricity, but ask yourself WHY?

The Spicer study on fuel lubricity additives commented on this. There is a standard for it and the off the shelf fuel they tested did NOT meet the standard. The fuel manufacturers shoot for 520 micron wear scar, the injection manufacturers like to see 460 and the test fuel read 632. That is WHY many of us use a lubricity additive.

 

[Lt CHEG]

As I said in a previous post, the only reason that I run Motorcraft PM22 cetane booster in my truck is because Ford says to do so. All the pumps in this area indicate a cetane rating of 40. Ford's instruction manual recommends usings PM 22 if the cetane rating is less than 45. With the cost of any work on these engines as high as it is I will be doing everything that Ford recommends as well as keeping receipts for all fuel ups as well as for all bottles of PM22 that I use. I will also be keeping the UPC codes on all the oil, fuel and air filters that I use on this truck and will be using nothing but Motorcraft. I won't be using any more or less than what is recommended by Ford, but I'll be darned if I'm going to get stuck with a $3500 repair bill or worse because Ford declined to warranty a repair to my truck because I didn't do something that I was supposed to do. In this case I will be following the manufacturer's maintenance and service routines religiously.

 

[jcmseven]

I am not too bright. I use PS gray in warm months and white in winter months in my Duramax; which is pretty simple to do. I do not measure it; just pour some in, Julia Child style. I do not do it in every tank. I drive a very similar route to and from work and I THINK I can say I get a little better mileage when running an additive, but I doubt it would have a very high confidence interval. My GMC owners manual says that GM does not support the use of fuel additives, but also does not condemn it. I have been fortunate enough to have had immaculate fuel filters upon changing, which means I must to this point be doing OK on where I get fuel (in part). The question I have is: do I need to continue running an additive or is it a waste of money?? Unfortunately, this is one of those things that is self-fulfilling only if someone has a problem, so is the general wisdom to continue to use these products?? If so, is the consensus that PS is as good as any, or should I be looking at another brand here?? I know that everyone has an opinion, but is there a brand or two that stand out?? From the comments thus far, it does not seem so.

John M

 

[mcd176]

I found this on the internet from Mobil Fuels, Some on here have said that lubricity does not matter in a modern diesel, while this may be true in the new engines that require ONLY ULSD, by the sounds of this statement from Mobil I feel that they are saying it does matter.

Q: I have heard that removing the sulfur from diesel can cause problems in older engines. Is ULSD
going to harm the engine in my pre-2007 diesel vehicle?
A: Some of the sulfur compounds naturally occurring in diesel fuel provide some wear protection and
lubricity. To compensate for the sulfur removal in ULSD, Mobil branded diesel fuel is treated with
additives to improve lubricity. Customers can be confident in choosing Mobil because their branded
ULSD fuel meets ASTM D 975 diesel fuel specifications, which include standards for lubricity, cetane
number and other performance characteristics.