Diesel additives to clean injectors. Snake oil?

[Refueler]

If you buy the posh brands of fuel for your car, there are additives included.
Some motorcyclists will tell you that the extra-££ BP fuel helps clean the injectors or whatever of a bike that's been idle for a few months.

Posh brands !!! I like it ....

Pity that there is little difference in fact .. yes they may add one or two add's - but basically with gasoline today - there is no real true gasoline anymore .. its all blended ... distributed to the brand names ... not all their gasoline comes from their own refinerys - because of the volumes required.

Ever wonder who supplies Tesco and other S/markets ?? You think that Tesco produce own gasoline / diesel ??

 

[Refueler]

A diesel generator is run at optimum power, so it'll stay clean. The cars that are mentioned are the ones that pootle around town, clogging up both injectors and DPF, and it's the same with yachts, the engines often aren't worked hard enough to blow out the cobwebs.

How much of Wynns and other products' effect is placebo and how much genuine, I don't know, but the first thing I'd do with an unhappy marine diesel, providing it's got good oil pressure and cooling, would be to give it a good blast at close to full throttle for a several minutes.

My old Snapdragon 24 had a 28 HP engine - way too big for her, so it almost never worked hard enough and would get smoky over a period of months, so I'd get it nicely warmed up and give it a blast up the harbour. I'd lay a smokescreen worthy of a destroyer on the Murmansk run at first, but that would soon diminish and things were back to normal.

Imagine 43HP in my Sunrider 25 ... same scenario.

When I do the 'thrash' - I have to make sure no-one else around ... the wake she creates at 9kts from a bulbous bilge keel hull is huge !!

 

[Momac]

If you buy the posh brands of fuel for your car, there are additives included.
Some motorcyclists will tell you that the extra-££ BP fuel helps clean the injectors or whatever of a bike that's been idle for a few months.

I tried the posh petrol in my Merc and it made no difference.
But the lawnmower and my ancient 3hp Evinrude love it.

 

[Hunterlees]

One aspect that no-one I've asked in my business can answer - whether clean-up additives go OK with DPF .. I asked because last thing I want is to clog up a DPF - and then have to pay exorbitant fee to get it changed .... JLR in Riga are not cheap !
Its bad enough doing cats on my Volvo !!

This mechanic on you tube has great success on numerous vehicles clearing out DPF’s, using a cleaning fluid introduced in situ…

 

[KevinV]

I really don't understand the issue with dpf's - if you're clogging it there's either something wrong with your car, or more likely you have the wrong car for your usage.

Get the fuel system checked out, or buy a petrol or an EV.

 

[Stemar]

or an EV

Sacrilege! !

 

[Alicatt]

With the reduced speeds on the motorways of Holland coming back from the boat at Ijmuden the DPF light usually comes on by the time I get to the Belgian border, a good hard run soon clears it, this is a recent thing I have noticed and the car has done almost 200k km

 

[KevinV]

With the reduced speeds on the motorways of Holland coming back from the boat at Ijmuden the DPF light usually comes on by the time I get to the Belgian border, a good hard run soon clears it, this is a recent thing I have noticed and the car has done almost 200k km

I'd wondered about how the lower speed limit there would affect diesels - they're really not suitable for use there anymore (which may well be intentional)

 

[Alicatt]

I'd wondered about how the lower speed limit there would affect diesels - they're really not suitable for use there anymore (which may well be intentional)

100km/h during the day and 120/130km/h during the night. At 100km/h my car is doing about 7.8l/100km to 8.2l/100km (36mpg to 34mpg) not too bad for a twin turbo 3.6l V8 diseasel in a SUV

 

[Refueler]

100km/h during the day and 120/130km/h during the night. At 100km/h my car is doing about 7.8l/100km to 8.2l/100km (36mpg to 34mpg) not too bad for a twin turbo 3.6l V8 diseasel in a SUV

4.4L TDV8 twin turbo .. 3 ton brick of a Range Rover ... average 7.5Lt / 100km at ~100km/hr. when set on cruise.

The 4.4 is more economical than the 3.6, partly because of the 8spd box instead of the 6spd.

Just mentioning ..

 

[Alicatt]

4.4L TDV8 twin turbo .. 3 ton brick of a Range Rover ... average 7.5Lt / 100km at ~100km/hr. when set on cruise.

The 4.4 is more economical than the 3.6, partly because of the 8spd box instead of the 6spd.

Just mentioning ..

The full fat Range Rover 4.4 is very nice, a friend in Scotland had a few after having the 3.6 version and the 4.4 was a lot better

 

[penberth3]

This mechanic on you tube has great success on numerous vehicles clearing out DPF’s, using a cleaning fluid introduced in situ…

Hmm, it's the internet. Is this mechanic getting free supplies of Snake Oil, or other favours, in return for his recommendations?

 

[Refueler]

The full fat Range Rover 4.4 is very nice, a friend in Scotland had a few after having the 3.6 version and the 4.4 was a lot better

I have the L322 Vogue SE 2012 facelift ..... the 8spd box really makes it ... and what I find amazing - is the F1 sound when you put foot down .. and the TORQUE !
I have a Volvo XC70 tuned to T5 as well .. and I swear that RR is quicker .. I know the RR is more economical as well ! Apart from servicing !!

 

[Refueler]

Hmm, it's the internet. Is this mechanic getting free supplies of Snake Oil, or other favours, in return for his recommendations?

The Boost - all it needed was a good clean !

DPF - unless its absolutely clogged - its easy to clear by driving ...

LR and RR's - you drive at 2000 rpm for up to 20mins ... (I do it by using the paddle shift to maintain a low gear so no need to exceed speed limit) ..... when the DPF warning goes from display ... its been cleared and reset.
If it doesn't do this after 2 or 3 attempts - then its JLR service to clean and reset. I cannot be certain - but I believe they use a solvent cleaner and may be similar to what he used via compressor ..

When it first happened to me - I was "OH NO !! Here we go JLR service ..... " then I read up on it and cure was so simple ... and cost nothing except the few minutes driving ...

 

[rotrax]

I tried the posh petrol in my Merc and it made no difference.
But the lawnmower and my ancient 3hp Evinrude love it.

When I was racing, during the 'off' weekends the lawn was often cut, with a-now antique-Suffolk Colt motor mower.

The next door neighbour said to my wife one day " Cor-it smells just like the Speedway!

And it did! The left over two stroke fuel, mixed at 20:1 ratio with Castrol or Newtons "R" castor racing oil was used in the mower.

 

[Refueler]

When I was racing, during the 'off' weekends the lawn was often cut, with a-now antique-Suffolk Colt motor mower.

The next door neighbour said to my wife one day " Cor-it smells just like the Speedway!

And it did! The left over two stroke fuel, mixed at 20:1 ratio with Castrol or Newtons "R" castor racing oil was used in the mower.

My Class 1 Go-Kart used to get a dose of Methanol .... aroma !!

 

[jon and michie]

Posh brands !!! I like it ....

Pity that there is little difference in fact .. yes they may add one or two add's - but basically with gasoline today - there is no real true gasoline anymore .. its all blended ... distributed to the brand names ... not all their gasoline comes from their own refinerys - because of the volumes required.

Ever wonder who supplies Tesco and other S/markets ?? You think that Tesco produce own gasoline / diesel ??

absolutely correct - I used to work at a refinery where they bunkered the fuel off on to tankers - they came from Asda, Tesco, Sainsburys, BP, Texaco etc etc.

 

[Stemar]

I know that my entirely unscientific sample of one Hyundai doesn't know the difference between Asda fuel and BP, but I am curious about whether it would notice the difference between plain vanilla diesel and the premium stuff with snake oil "active technology", whatever TF that is.

 

[The Q]

I tried the posh petrol in my Merc and it made no difference.
But the lawnmower and my ancient 3hp Evinrude love it.

A modern engine is covered in sensors and adjusts itself according to how well the fuel works. Your non sensored putt-putts, just perform to the best of their inability on whatever they are given.

 

[Refueler]

I know that my entirely unscientific sample of one Hyundai doesn't know the difference between Asda fuel and BP, but I am curious about whether it would notice the difference between plain vanilla diesel and the premium stuff with snake oil "active technology", whatever TF that is.

The problem here is that unlike gasoline - diesel or Gasoil to give its proper name - is not supplied in such defined different 'tane' levels .... Gasoline in Octane ... 91 .. 93 .. 95 ... 97 etc. Gasoil is basically between 43 and 47 Cetane.
The country you are in can create a difference ... USA for example is often supplying in the 40 to 45 range ... while EU / UK is in the higher 45 - 47 range. Gasoil does not create such a significant change in engine performance as change of gasoline octane does. Which means basically that Gasoil through the pump has to only meet the 'range' of cetane ..

Lets take a shipment ... I would be supervising a load of say 60,000MT of Gasoil ... the additives injected during the loading would depend on 2 factors ;

1. The pre load test results of the cargo
2. The required test results for the receiver.

Someone mention errors in standards ... think it was on the T&E wire thread ... Gasoil as through EU has an error in standards that took ages to get through to dim-witted EU ... its in the distillation curve ... no gasoil can ever meet it without causing other test results to be in error ... so it basically got ignored .. but back to 'premium' ....

Having blended literally millions of tons of Gasoline and Gasoil for various international markets incl UK, EU, USQA and Africa .. I have not encountered any 'premium' additive ... it must be something that end supplier may be adding at truck loading gantrys ... similar to old days when guys were pouring in the Mileage Ingredient to Shell gasoline years ago ...