I am currently using Archoil fuel additive. Not the oil additive (yet).

I used to use Opti-Lube XPD in my previous 6.0 and then my 6.7 til I ran out.

I'm not experiencing better MPG with Archoil only. Not sure if it's winter fuel, cooler temps, heavier right foot or what.

Your thoughts?

Diesel Tech March 2016 Article - Archoil

 

Snake oil.

 

I didn't notice a difference in it vs. any other additive. I ran the $5 "free" bottle of it... I don't run it anymore. I just get Ford PM22 or PM23 or Power Service.

Additives working also depends on how good your fuel is to start with. If you are getting below 40 cetane and the additive brings you up 5 points you might notice a bigger difference than if your fuel is 50. This is in my opinion - I don't have the science to back it up. I have run 50 and I sure like it when I can find it. That doesn't happen around me though, only when traveling do I get lucky to find it. I seem to get a lot less diesel knock when I run it and the seat of the pants dyno says the truck is a little quicker too.

 

I don't use any additives, just premium quality diesel when I can find it - or just clear #2 and synthetic oil in the crankcase.

 

I don't use anything either. just plain old diesel. Use premium locally but burn truck stop fuel right along.

 

Archoil did nothing for me either. Not cheap. I went back to PM-22. Might try opti lube one of these days. My trusted diesel guy says additives are not needed in the 6.7l

 

I noticed a huge difference in cold temps. When started cold, it no longer sounds like a steel drum full of rocks rolling downhill.

 

How do you guys know what Cetane level you are buying? None of the pumps I have used have any type of rating like normal Gasoline does showing Octane etc.

I have been using PM22 now (4oz) every fillup for the past 3 months. I did not notice any mileage or power difference to speak of, but I do know that ever since I started running the PM22 my pipes are darker where they used to be clean, so I am a little worried about a cracked DPF or injector issue. I asked my service advisor about the darkened exhaust pipes(factory) and he said not an issue if my EGT's were normal? My Torqpro app shows EGT11-14 running at 480 to 550 normal highway driving and during regen EGT11 is about 800 and EGT12-14 is as high as 1140. Once regen is done they cool right back down to what they normally show.

 

locally I run 50 cetane.

 

I have not paid any attention to cetane rating as it really would not make any difference. Fuel supplies are regional now and just because Shell and BP advertise that their stuff is better, the basic fuel loaded into the tanker is the same stuff that Cenex, Pilot, Flying-J, et al get... I have my doubts that any of the majors dump in cetane booster into the trucks themselves.

 

Certain counties in Texas (mine included) falls under the Texas Low Emission Diesel (TxLED) program. It requires 48 minimum cetane.

So yes, I doubt I'll see a lot of power improvement with cetane boosters.

I'm more interested in better highway MPG since I'm doing more trips to my country place now than ever before.

Less regens would be good too.

 

I tried the Fuel treatment and didn't really notice anything BUT I always run the oil treatment in the winter months and I do swear by it, makes a huge difference in the 6.0, takes about 200 miles to work its way in

 

It actually allowed my truck to start this winter... Granted I still had some summer fuel in the tank. Would crank and die. Once I put more arctic PS additive in and cycled the key, it started... And that was even after I plugged it in overnight it wouldn't start in the morning until I did that.

In response to how can you tell what cetane you are getting. Unless the place puts a label on the pump, you probably can't. It isn't like gas where the law says that they have to.

 

I have my own take on additives...

When it comes to fuel, cetane boost and/or anti-gel is all that should ever go in the tank. And that should be done in moderation at best. Anti-gel for obvious reasons of course. Cetane will only be effective on certain levels of fuel quality. If fuel is good, cetane boost won't do anything. If fuel is really bad, cetane boost can't fix it (and there's really nothing out there that can fix bad fuel). If fuel is marginal, cetane boost may help a little.

As for oil additives... I'm absolutely against any and all of them. First, someone find 3rd party scientific studies that prove oil additives increase the life of your engine. None exist. The only "evidence" out there supporting any and all oil additives on the market are all 1) testimonials, and/or 2) so-called "studies" conducted by the very companies manufacturing the products. None of which are any sort of proof at all. The magazine article posted is nothing more than a testimonial. It proves nothing.

Second, oil additives have a long history of fraud. Decades of litigation have shown this.

Third, if an oil additive actually changes something with your engine, it means you have an engine problem, and that the oil additive changed the properties of the oil enough to mask the problem. If the engine oil properties change enough to mask an issue, what is happening to the protection the oil is supposed to be providing elsewhere? Sure, maybe that 6.0L experiencing injector stiction starts easier on a cold morning, but what about the rest of the time that motor is running? Could you be trading a feel-good moment for possible catastrophic failure later?

Or maybe I'm just getting old and grumpy.

 

I don't like oil additives either. Never liked that slick 50 stuff when it came out, which is when that litigation against them started.

Curtis - Not slamming and flaming you at all - just giving my own personal opinion and experience.

Since I have seen the benefit of some fuel additives for ME, I will use them. Especially the cold start, anti-gel ones... They also happen to say they add lubricity and cetane which won't hurt - maybe won't help if the fuel is good. If the fuel is horrible, you are correct there is nothing that is gonna help that out but new, good, fresh fuel.

There was one independent study on additives and it proved that some additives do "work" to increase lubricity and cetane. The real issue is that US spec diesel fuel is marginal at best in most places. Some places are blessed that the companies that provide the fuel raise the base stock up to 50 cetane.

I really need to find the article I remember about a car company bringing over European diesel fuel in order to test it's diesel vehicles in the US Market and they couldn't run our fuel in the Euro Spec car because it wasn't good enough. Granted, this was when we were running LSD and not ULSD Diesel....

If I had the $ I'd love to do another blind test of fuel and the most common additives out there with an independent lab... Maybe someone should start a go fundme for that?