Diesel additives for DPF/EGR longevity

[Bailes1992]

Hi
Fwiw, i always use a Diesel additive for use in my Mercedes OM642. In eight years of ownership i have had no issues with EGR or turbo vanes. I have no DPF.
Maybe i would have had no issues had i not used the additive, who knows?
The additive i use is as follows. Maybe someone could explain the ingredients please. Is this just a pretty standard additive recipe that is common to most products of this type?

https://www.millersoils.co.uk/products/diesel-power-ecomax/

https://www.millersoils.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/6204.pdf

Thank you.

I've used Millers on and off since I passed my test back in 2010. It's mainly 2-EHN for cetane boosting purposes with a mineral lubricant and detergents. I must admit, I prefer Archoil 6900D-Max but have no other reason other than I 'feel' it's a better product.

I'm starting a new job in a few weeks which means I'll no longer have a company fuel card and can go back to using BP Ultimate instead This makes me very happy.

 

[hpb]

FlyingTexan, may I suggest you check out Cost Effective Maintenance, they are an Aussie company specialising in fuel additives. Their website is very informative. I am in no way affiliated but use their products and have been happy with the results. There are US distributors I believe. Regarding DPF life, it varies based on use obviously, but my Mitsubishi Outlander is at 144,000km and no issues thus far - hope I don't jinx myself!

 

[Tikka]

I've used Millers on and off since I passed my test back in 2010. It's mainly 2-EHN for cetane boosting purposes with a mineral lubricant and detergents. I must admit, I prefer Archoil 6900D-Max but have no other reason other than I 'feel' it's a better product.

I'm starting a new job in a few weeks which means I'll no longer have a company fuel card and can go back to using BP Ultimate instead This makes me very happy.

Hi.
I wonder if there is any difference between the premium diesel sold by the big oil companies and the standard diesel when we have added our miller's or archoil products?
Do they just use the same chemicals we add but on an industrial scale?

 

[Bailes1992]

Hi.
I wonder if there is any difference between the premium diesel sold by the big oil companies and the standard diesel when we have added our miller's or archoil products?
Do they just use the same chemicals we add but on an industrial scale?

I can only talk of experience. I purchased a 2008 Mondeo 1.8TDCi in 2012 with 86k on the clock. I ran it on nothing but BP Ultimate for 3 years and 100k. Just before I sold it I sent the injectors off to a local diesel specialist for a refurb/spruce up and they returned them saying they were still in spec and no maintenance was required.

In 2015 after I sold the Mondeo I purchased a brand new Ford Focus 1.5TDCi. Again I ran it exclusively on BP Ultimate and Shell V-Power. I was working down in Bournemouth for the majority of the ownership of that car. Often making two round trips a week because I had college back in Bridgend on a Wednesday. After 2.5 years and 66k I shoved a borescope down the intake and found nothing other than a very light dusting of soot which could be scraped away easily with the camera on the end. During my ownership I averaged 66mpg out of that car, I certainly didn't mind paying for premium fuel getting 700-800miles out of a 50 litre tank.

I actually sold the Focus to make way for a company car in 2017, which turned out to be a 2016 Ford Focus 1.5TDCi. Although I handed the company car back in after a year because the tax I was paying on it was ridiculous. I kept my fuel card however, which is why I've been using supermarket diesel with Archoil 6900D-Max since. But I've bought a brand new car every year for the last 5 years so unable to make any long term judgements.

I'm currently daily driving a 2022 Dacia Duster Prestige 1.5DCi 4WD. It's a great car but I have an itch at the moment for a 3-5 year old BMW 330d which I may have to scratch.

 

[Foxtrot08]

Hi.
I wonder if there is any difference between the premium diesel sold by the big oil companies and the standard diesel when we have added our miller's or archoil products?
Do they just use the same chemicals we add but on an industrial scale?

There is no API / US standard for premium diesel fuel.

To answer your second question, yes. Bulk additives are essentially the same basic materials that are used in commercial/retail additives. They can be adjusted within EPA limits for on road use, to hit certain performance targets.

 

[RedVic]

ok but that doesn't answer my concerns of dpf and I think that's splitting hairs at this level.

Archoil is what you want to run, the AR6500 is your every fill up treatment, this will keep your injectors clean, the EGR clean and will help to keep the DEF chamber clean in the exhaust system when the system does a regen. Once every 5,000 miles you run AR6400-D in a tank of fuel that one is a heavy duty cleaner that will really clean out the DEF chamber during a regen.

I have run HotShot but feel the Archoil is better than HotShot. Diesel Kleen is another good diesel fuel additive that is recommended by Cummins. In my opinion I feel the Archoil is the best of the three. I used both the Archoil AR6500 and the AR6400-D in my 2019 Ram Ecodiesel.

 

[RooflessVW]

VW's and I'm sure other passenger diesels will do a passive regen at certain speed & load conditions more than likely highway travel. They raise the temp in the DPF enough that it does a slow burn of sorts I guess. Active regen is still the preferred method.

A passive regen is when average load and temperatures are high enough that the soot is burned off as it is collected. An active regen is when the car injects more fuel to purposely regen the DPF. My Touareg will usually do it every 250 miles or so.

I can force a regen with my scan tool but I only do it while driving on the hwy. IMO a stationary regen is a LOT of localized heat.

 

[Davejam]

Hi.
I wonder if there is any difference between the premium diesel sold by the big oil companies and the standard diesel when we have added our miller's or archoil products?
Do they just use the same chemicals we add but on an industrial scale?

Top Tier Diesel is a thing now, but very few brands have joined.
Beyond that there are EPA standards, so all diesel in an area should be fairly similar. The difference being additives added at the terminal.

https://www.toptiergas.com/diesel-brands/

 

[Foxtrot08]

Top Tier Diesel is a thing now, but very few brands have joined.
Beyond that there are EPA standards, so all diesel in an area should be fairly similar. The difference being additives added at the terminal.

https://www.toptiergas.com/diesel-brands/

Diesel varies extremely significantly region to region. It depends greatly on the refinery. Diesel also sees the most change as refineries start to coke up and need turn around.

“Top tier” is a marketing gimmick.

 

[Davejam]

Diesel varies extremely significantly region to region. It depends greatly on the refinery. Diesel also sees the most change as refineries start to coke up and need turn around.

“Top tier” is a marketing gimmick.

I think the consensus on this forum is that Top Tier is legitimate. But for gasoline.

 

[Foxtrot08]

I think the consensus on this forum is that Top Tier is legitimate. But for gasoline.

That can be thought all they want. When you deal with refineries and midstream directly, in large quantities… you learn a thing or two. So, that’s my opinion: It’s a marketing gimmick in 2023.

 

[MattPersman]

Yep from my work on lots of hot shot trucks fuel varies all over the country

Best thing is to just keep your fuel filters on schedule. Yea some of the diesel cleaners work pretty well.

I have used CRC diesel fuel therapy and Power Service grey bottle. Both ok by cummins testing

 

[jrmason]

yeah I could see it being every 24 hours. How do you perform a stationary desoot?

Alpha OBD. Gives you a lot of capabilities that were previously only accessible with witech. It is a high level tool at a very reasonable cost.

 

[jrmason]

I can force a regen with my scan tool but I only do it while driving on the hwy. IMO a stationary regen is a LOT of localized heat.

You can induce a forced regen while driving because that is the way VW set the parameters. Not all manufacturers are the same. Cummins calls it a stationary desoot because it can only be performed when..... stationary.

 

[Mitch51]

Usually, the higher the vehicule's average speed is, the hotter the DPF is, the less regen it has to do, the longer the DPF lasts.

 

[frankbee3]

Cetane improver such as 2EHN (2–Ethylhexyl nitrate) and detergents which keep the injector tips clean.
2EHN is the most common improver used commercially and only a few companies use it in retail store additive packages (ex Liqui Moly). There are cheaper improvers used in other retail additives like PowerService but, IMO, 2EHN is the gold standard.

Note: If your diesel is blended with some amount of biodiesel then a cetane improver will have less of a benefit because it'll already be in the upper 40's/low 50s.

When I had a diesel I bought from the company blow in bulk and used my own jar for dosing. Call them and see what they recommend.
https://www.amalgamatedinc.com/products/which-to-choose-1

Basically you want to encourage as complete combustion as possible so excess soot isn't being sent to the DPF and through the EGR. How that translates into additional miles driven prior to servicing I have no idea.

I use Amalgamated TDR additive for my 2003 Dodge Cummins pickup.
I have found Amalgamated as a diesel only additive company that responds directly to questions when asked.
I would be interested in better combustion to reduce the ash load that the DPF would have to deal with.
Good maintenance using proper recommended engine oil and change intervals combined with a good maintenance dose of diesel additive should give the best chance of long DPF life. Careful driving counts too.

There are EGR cleaning procedures on the Cummins 6.7 liter engines to avoid having to replace the EGR valve. I don’t have any experience cleaning EGR valves yet.

 

[dumkid]

the best thing you can do for a dpf is limit idling and city miles. you'll probably have to physically remove and clean the egr someday, but probably not before 150,000 miles.

my dad bought a 2007 sprinter van in 2019 with only 60,000 miles on it. it had been a shuttle bus in canada previously, and the dpf was clogged enough that you could only go 60 mph. idling at bus stops and cold canada weather weren't kind to that emissions system.

 

[MassWineGuy]

Schaffer’s and Liqui Moly make additives specifically designed to clean/maintain DPFs. Don’t know how well they do or don’t work, but they’re two solid companies.

 

[Toyota1971]

https://costeffective.com.au/product/ftc-decarbonizer/

 

[olesouthernboy]

Honestly not needed anymore especially if you aren't pulling a heavy load. Oil is far above what it once was and all turbos are watercooled now so possibility of coking the oil is non-existent.

I wish all turbos were water cooled….. The MB OM642 in the USA is oil cooled only, they are water cooled in Europe. I have one in a 2013 Mercedes GL350 and I cool it down when I come off of the interstate for 2-4 minutes.