just like the title reads iv been reading tons and tons of forums, i live in buffalo ny in the winter it gets in the single digits to the negatives and the summer can be 90s to the low 100s. iv read great results with opti lube xpd and stanadyne. i just picked up a gallon of opti lube xpd but now i hear it has alcohol in it which is no bueno for the 6.7. the truck is a 2017 6.7. im just trying to prevent the cp4 from taking a crap and cauisng me problems down the road, water in diesel around here is not uncommon i try to stick with stations that have high volume traffic to cut down on bad diesel.

 

I would not put XPD in my truck because of the higher alcohol content. Ford specifically warns owners to stay away from high alcohol content additives. Here's a copy and paste from a Ford Owner's Manual Diesel Supplement:

DIESEL FUEL ADDITIVES
It should not be necessary to add any aftermarket additives to your fuel tank if you use a properly formulated diesel fuel. Aftermarket additives can damage the injector system or engine. Use Motorcraft® cetane booster or an equivalent cetane booster additive if you suspect fuel has low cetane. Use Motorcraft® anti-gel & performance improver or an equivalent additive if there is fuel gelling. Do not use alcohol based additives to improve cetane quality, to prevent fuel gelling or any other use. The use of alcohol additives may result in damage to the fuel injectors/system. refer to the Technical specifications section in the Capacities and Specifications chapter for more information. Repairs to correct the effects of using an aftermarket product that does not meet Ford specifications in your fuel may not be covered by your warranty.

A small amount of water in diesel is naturally present. The water separator does the job well under normal conditions. Slightly higher water content will trigger the water in fuel warning and you'll have to change the water separator when that happens. Draining it is not sufficient enough because the filter is saturated by the time you get the warning. Stop immediately if you ever get that warning and don't do anything until the fuel filter is changed.

Additives will NOT get rid of water. Certain additives can either emulsify or demulsify water. I'm not a fan of either, and I'll explain.

- Emulsifiers will pass water through the water separator and into the fuel system. This will cause rust issues and eventual fuel system failure. Stay away!
- Demulsifiers attempt to separate water from the fuel. Problem here is they are only effective to a point and really do not increase the efficiency of the factory water separator. Many have been sold on the marketing of demulsifiers, but there's actually no 3rd party evidence that they do any good at all.

In short, use PM22 or something equivalent if you must use additives. Bad fuel cannot be fixed by a magic bottle. Stick with filling up at high volume stations if you suspect problem fuel in your area. Hope this helps.

 

 

Their summer formula is fine, it doesn't have the alcohol content that the XPD has.

 

 

 

Think of that link as marketing instead of science.

The flyer says no manufacturer recommends an emulsifier, this is true. But they also fail to mention that no manufacturer recommends a demulsifier too.

They mention corrosion inhibitors. Proper fuel and proper maintenance of fuel and water separators doesn't introduce corrosion in the first place. And no corrosion inhibitor can offset bad diesel fuel and/or poor maintenance.

Last, their statements regarding alcohol is broad based and extremely vague. In very very very small amounts, Ethylhexanol acts as a lubricity enhancer for lower sulfur fuels that may lack in lubricity additives or come just short of minimum lubricity standards. However, most fuel additives already contain other products that enhance lubricity and are far more effective than Ethylhexanol. By small amounts, I mean dosages of less than 5% by weight. Ideally it's around 1% or less, which is what the Ford PM22 contains. The issue is diminishing returns as the concentration of Ethylhexanol increases. When there's too much present in the fuel, it has the opposite effect. Basically it begins acting as a solvent and removes the protective lubrication barrier between moving parts.... particularly the HPFP. In the case of the Opti-Lube XPD, you're adding far higher concentrations of Ethylhexanol. This can serve as an elevated risk factor for increased HPFP wear, due to a reduction in lubricity at higher dosing levels. Opti-Lube XPD's SDS shows concentrations of Ethylhexanol at 16% - 24.25% by weight.

Ford specifically states to use PM22 "or similar". Similar meaning it must have a similar chemical makeup of PM22. Opti-Lube XPD is not similar in chemical makeup. Opti-Lube Summer is chemically similar to Ford PM22.

Try not to worry too much about the HPFP. Proper maintenance and filling at known fueling stations is best practice. Use additives when you suspect lower cetane fuel, but the reality is additives shouldn't be necessary unless there's fuel gelling issues. Again, there is no product in a bottle that can fix bad fuel and/or poor maintenance.

 

Opti-Lube Summer Plus is far more cost effective than XPD, especially since anti-gel is not normally needed. I live in Vermont and got a 6-pack of OL Winter 3 years ago. I still have 2 bottles left. If you read the news letter article on alcohol, you will see that OL does not use one of the diesel harmful alcohols. 49,000 miles on my 2015 and Opti-Lube Summer Plus since my first fill up.

 

Hello
I used Enerburn and started using Opti-lube summer blend about 5 tanks ago. I've noticed that my exhaust tips have a much different soot on it since I started using it. Prior to using it, I'd get a very slight amount of soot (actually just Exhaust) that could easily be cleaned with a rag. Since using the option-lube the exhaust has developed a "crusty" soot that almost took steel wool to get off. Any thoughts on this? I'm getting concerned. Jane Gates of Enerburn has told me she was going to look into this, as it doesn't sound right.
My truck is a 2012 with the 6.7 and runs like a top. no issues at all. 140k miles.

 

In my 52,000 miles I've never run without OL Summer Plus and just noticed soot in the tailpipe. After I started using Enerburn, I noticed less soot but a reddish coating instead. Neither concerned me.

 

Well it's not so much the soot that bothered me. It's the type of soot. Very crusty. Took a lot of elbow grease a a little fine sandpaper to get it off. Before the Opti lube all I would get is slight exhaust black. Couldn't even call it soot. Just weird that it started after the opti-lube. Jane suggested I stop using it for the next 4 tankfuls and just use the Enerburn, and then check it again.

 

What treat rate are you using for the Summer Plus? It says to use 1-2 oz per 20 gallons of diesel. I found it very easy to over treat until I started using a bottle from another product that provided measured doses. One ounce per 20 gallons should give you about 3 cetane boost.

 

I use around 3 oz per 20 gallons of Summer+. I ordered the gallon jug with the pump and graduated plastic bottles. If I remember correctly each pump is about an ounce.

 

You might check on that. My jug says 1-2 oz per 20 gallons of fuel. No harm, but you are using it up 50% faster than needed.

 

I usually am at around 22 gallons per fill up and tend to aim on the high side of the 1-2 ounces so 3 oz You're right though, I should probably scale back a little and make the stuff last longer.