Good info, Fritz! I don't believe in being the first to try something new on my truck. Opti-Lube and Archoil are it.

 

He tested against Diesel Kleen, one of the poorest performers of the 2007 lubricity test so he is picking the low hanging fruit. I'm sticking with my Opti-Lube Summer Plus as it is high in lubricity and cetane boosting. I think the reason for DK's popularity is that it available everywhere, not because it is the best.

 

In a 6.4 you really don't want any oil additives, just a good synthetic oil.

The fuel additives are the big thing here. IF YOU ARE DELETED running 2 stroke ASHLESS is considered acceptable. However, I know more than a few diesel techs that have experimented with it and have had injectors hang on them. 2 of them were during a race though sooooooo... You be the judge. Neither did much digging to find out the root cause, both had roughly 60k on short blocks and injectors.

The idea behind the 2stroke is to increase lubricity and thus reducing wear on your hpfp and injectors. It does work, however it can have other effects as well... It is known to leave slight deposits and with the nature of our injection system I still think its a no no. As for other additives such as power service. If you have always used it and use a small amount (the actual recommended amount) there is nothing to be concerned about with it. It doesn't provide much in the way of lubricity, but it does clean things out and keep it that way. It also helps the fuel burn more completely and increases cetane. This will ALL reduce regens. However, it does have a bad habit of dislodging deposits and those deposits can find their way into an injector. You are still much better off to use it especially during winter months.

There are a hand full of additives like Stanadyne, Ford Cetane/Lubricity forumla, and Archoil fuel additive that have a very good and proven track record with COMMON RAIL diesels. I say common rail for one reason... CR trucks benefit the most from fuel additives. The 3 I named above (there are others) have several things that others don't.

First: They lubricate and that is their primary function. It is also one of the most important.
Second:Anti Gel. Speaks for itself
Third: Demulsifier. This imho is the most important. It means it helps pull water from your fuel. Water is the single biggest killer of fuel systems on a CR motor. It is also one of the things very few people talk about when it comes to additives.
Fourth (And least important to me): Cetane. The Cetane rating in our country is lack luster not because its low but because no one really adheres to it. The reason I couldn't give a crap is because every additive on the market does something about it...

The three that I named along with DieselKleep PS WILL NOT hurt a cat/dpf equipped motor. Speak you bring up the oil additives and make them seem like they are fuel additives. You are right with what the oil additives do, but they don't affect your cat or dpf. Its the fuel additives, and they are completely different. If you put archoil fuel additive in your oil its going to cost you a motor... You put the oil additive in your fuel and it will probably cost you a fuel system.

 

I'm glad to see Archoil getting the credit I feel it deserves. Some folks dismiss it as snake oil and dismiss the benefits I get from it as pipe dreams.

 

It is good stuff, and it has good benefits. It is miles ahead of RevX and HotShots as an oil additive... It does great things for a 6.4 that is well maintained to begin with.

The problem with additives is people don't understand what they are doing with them. Archil and RevX are a great example. People use them to "fix" stiction on a 6.0... They don't "fix" anything. They are a bandaid to get you through another winter. Once an injector starts sticking its only a matter of time until its going to need replacement. If that same injector had one of the additives from day one, or better yet had good synthetic oil from day one with a 5k oci... It would never have been an issue.

Same with the 6.4... The issues with oil dilution are only an issue if you try and run a 10k or 7500mile oil change interval. In stock form these trucks really should be on a 3k oci and deleted it should be 5k. It isn't the oil, its the motor... The 6.0 sheers oil like no other, the 6.4 dilutes it like no other...


Fuel is a whollleeeee different subject. Doesn't matter if its Duramax, Cummins, or Powerstroke. They all have pretty much the same basic fuel system and they all suffer the same exact problems. Choosing the proper additive for your application is important. These trucks need better fuel than we have here in the US. Water is a HUGE problem and there aren't many fuel additives that demulsify, Archoil is one of them. It is also one of the best fuel additives on the market. Unfortunately its not easy to get your hands on in an affordable manner.

The Ford stuff is probably the best and most accessible, its also no more expensive than stanadyne.

 

Crazy and Fritz, thank you for sharing the knowledge. As a new diesel enthusiast, I really appreciate you taking the time to explain some of the details. Mainly coming from superbikes and import cars, I have always been against additives. I have always thought of them as a band-aid, and a way to mask a real problem. I am now finding that in the diesel world, because of the nature of the beast, the acceptable parameters are much wider. For example, if my race R6 is burning oil, there is a clear problem, and it is only a matter of (short) time before the problem needs to be addressed. In diesel world, rings not sealing close to 100% is acceptable (in our case the fuel getting into crankcase rather than oil into combustion cylinder). And I am coming to a conclusion that anything that can aid the results of this type of running condition is a good thing.

Right now, I am running non-synthetic oil with 3k mi oci. The truck mostly sits in the driveway, as I drive a DD gasser to work. I do very light towing, almost empty 16ft enclosed trailer, and an open trailer with some dirt bikes on it. I also use it to run side jobs, I have a contractors cap with some ladders on the rack. In the summer, the primary function, other than an occasional weekend drive, it will be used to pull my camper with race bikes and gear to and from the race track.

I have so far learned to use stock oil and fuel filters and to change them often, as well as draining the water separator every other fill-up - which so far, I have seen virtually no water come out.

Can you guys recommend an oil, and oil additive, a fuel additive, and maybe some steps I might have missed in this regard? I am running dpf-r and cat-r. I have around 130k on the truck. Runs good and I want to keep it that way. Archoil is definitely up there in price if I'm changing my oil every 3k...

 

I suggest you use Archoil's fuel additive AR6200 and not bother with the AR9100 oil additive.

 

Thanks Ski.


Any idea where Motorkote stacks up with these? I have some left from doing a manual transmission flush. I tried it in my dd 2.0T and can't say I noticed any difference

 

I hadn't heard of them until now. Most folks who tried AR6200 in new gassers didn't see much benefit, but when they tried it in their old classic, wowser! It's done wonders for the rough idle and tip in bog in my 2002 Subaru. My house back up generator suffered from insufficient run time and would only run smooth with partial choke. SeaFoam didn't help, but AR6200 got it running like new. Same for my chain saw and weed whacker.

 

Concerning cost on the AR6200, when compared to Stanadyne Lubricity which has a higher concentration than their Performance formula a fill up with AR6200 only costs $0.50 more.

 

The fuel additive is competitively priced. I was looking at the oil additive, which is 60$ and the whole thing is used per every oil change...

 

10-4 I don't know that when running a quality oil (dependent on truck usage, environment etc.) it would be required at every oil change. Maybe initial treatment at full concentration then 1/2 bottle every change.