Has Anyone Tested Cetane Boosters?

[jtay2024]

I have an older diesel engine with HDi engine from Peugeot in it. One thing I am thinking of using is a Cetane booster from Amsoil. I can add 65ml per tank full to increase the cetane rating by around 7 points (Which is quite a hefty increase say from 45 to 52).

I have read a lot of scientific papers on cetane that highlight various real world gains from it such as improved NVH, lower soot emissions, and a slight increase in MPG and HP potentially.

The thing is however, I have not yet seen any YouTube real world tests such as dyno testing etc. There is a lot of for petrol additives, but not much about for cetane boosters.

Does anyone know of anything? Or have any real world examples of improvements from cetane boosters?

https://www.opieoils.co.uk/p-121340-amsoil-diesel-cetane-boost.aspx?VariantID=219467


Thanks!

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

IIRC 51 is the min cetane for diesel sold in the UK so I doubt you would benefit much. In addition the degree of increase in cetane depends upon the individual properties of the fuel in your tank. This variance in additive response makes real world testing virtually impossible.

Don't stations in the UK sell various grades of diesel?

In the US the min cetane is 40 but fuels test out around 45-47. The US doesn't sell grades of diesel like we do with petrol. It's just one pump and if there's a sticker on it it'll say "Min 40" or "40".

 

[jtay2024]

IIRC 51 is the min cetane for diesel sold in the UK so I doubt you would benefit much. In addition the degree of increase in cetane depends upon the individual properties of the fuel in your tank. This variance in additive response makes real world testing virtually impossible.

Don't stations in the UK sell various grades of diesel?

In the US the min cetane is 40 but fuels test out around 45-47. The US doesn't sell grades of diesel like we do with petrol. It's just one pump and if there's a sticker on it it'll say "Min 40" or "40".

Interesting stuff! The issue with "Premium" diesel in the UK is that no one actually advertises Cetane in the UK. For example, with petrol we have 95 (Standard) and then 98/99 is classed as "Premium"

Diesel however, doesn't have the min displayed on any of the fuels, even on "Premium" so for all we know it could be exactly the same cetane with some extra cleaners thrown in and charged at 13 pence a litre higher.

 

[wpod]

Give it a try. I have never noticed a difference in my tractor or when my wife had her F350 with the Powerstroke engine. I used a cleaner booster from Redline and Can't remember the name of the stuff I am using now to clean the injectors.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

Interesting stuff! The issue with "Premium" diesel in the UK is that no one actually advertises Cetane in the UK. For example, with petrol we have 95 (Standard) and then 98/99 is classed as "Premium"

Diesel however, doesn't have the min displayed on any of the fuels, even on "Premium" so for all we know it could be exactly the same cetane with some extra cleaners thrown in and charged at 13 pence a litre higher.

I see. Well then I would do a little research on the brand and see what you can find with regards to their "premium diesel" product as well as the min cetane allowed for sale in your country. I still think it's 51.

As I said in the US the min is 40 (45-47) so when I had my 335d I would supplement with a product which contained a booster in order to get closer to the recommended 51

 

[jtay2024]

I see. Well then I would do a little research on the brand and see what you can find with regards to their "premium diesel" product as well as the min cetane allowed for sale in your country. I still think it's 51.

I just did a very quick search. It says

"Cetane Number - 51"
"Cetane Index - 46"

I wonder if the Cetane Index is what the US uses for it's "Min" rating. That'd bring our UK diesel closer to the standards you guys have. A whole 10 points seems quite a difference otherwise. Specially considering most cars aren't particularly specially designed to run on low cetane fuels when sold to the US.

 

[kschachn]

A quick search shows several standard ASTM tests for both measured and calculated cetane value (ASTM D7668, D976, D4737, D8690 etc.). Those are the "real world" tests and unless someone has the proper equipment and methods of performing those procedures then no YouTuber is going to provide accurate results.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

I just did a very quick search. It says

"Cetane Number - 51"
"Cetane Index - 46"

I wonder if the Cetane Index is what the US uses for it's "Min" rating. That'd bring our UK diesel closer to the standards you guys have. A whole 10 points seems quite a difference otherwise. Specially considering most cars aren't particularly specially designed to run on low cetane fuels when sold to the US.

We use both but the cetane number at the federal level is 40. Some states mandate a higher number (ex, California 53, Texas* 48+). Diesel is taxed at a significantly higher rate than petrol so light duty diesel engines never took off like they did in the UK/Europe. This is one reason why the comparatively more expensive euro diesels were never really popular in the US. By the time the euros did sell them in the US the required emissions systems made them even more cost prohibitive.

*Some counties

 

[JHZR2]

Im not sure of any specific testing, such as a controlled condition SFC test or dyno run. In the US, thats the type of thing that SWRI used to do. Ive read that cetane improvers can be alcohols or other solvents. Ive not verified this as fact. It is also believed that the any number of cetane improver additives can decrease the thermal stability of the fuel, which can affect combustion performance and creation of soot and other compounds.

I had read of some testing of the Ford 6.0 powerstroke, where it was claimed that going from a cetane of 36 to 40 yielded 6% more power, and 40 to 46.5 yielded about 8%. Since these seem to have been limited tests, they should be taken with a grain of salt.

 

[V70tdi]

I used to add cetane booster in wintertime to get a better cold start when i used house heting oil in the car and when it got really cold i addad some kerosene to avoid jelly in tank. Never seen any other benefits than the cold start.

 

[andreigbs]

There was an older document from 2007, called "Diesel Fuel Lubricity Additives Study Results" and conducted by Arlen Spicer.

It might even be found here with a quick search. It's been useful in helping me select the additives I use.