NJCRD wrote:
I've been using regular Howes Diesel treatment for several years now and just recently picked up a bottle of the Meaner Power cleaner after reading that it did really well in the independent testing by some diesel forum. Someone posted a link to it awhile back.
I know the Opti Lube was first place as far as diesel aditives go. The Howes was somewhere in the top 10 as far as value and performance gained. When I scrolled down the list and saw Lucas do nothing for added lubrication or benefit I stopped buying and went to Howes.
I've been happy with it. Have never found the Opti Lube sold anywhere around me so until I do, I'll stick with Howes.
Repost of the lubrication study, for those who haven't seen it:
http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/showth ... p?t=177728Keep in mind that an HFRR score of 520 microns is considered acceptable and an HFRR score of 460 microns is the equivalent of LSD. Also NOTE (people miss this a lot) that this study was conducted with
untreated ULSD. Most fuel companies (Shell, Chevron, BP, etc.) will add a package of additives to their fuel that will lower the HFRR score from around 636 to some undetermined number. Therefore, something like PowerService, which falls just outside the 520 mark in this study, is probably enough to meet the minimum requirements if you are buying quality fuel... and even that quality fuel
may meet the minimum requirements if it is given a sufficient additive package. I do not know what additives are used by what companies, or which companies have the better fuels as far as lubricity goes.
Personally, I'm experimenting with PS-Silver at the moment to see if there is any noticeable mpg improvement. Many Cummins owners seem to report a bonus of 1-2mpg. For me, I trust that PS+quality fuel is more than sufficient for lubrication purposes. Howes was just being PS, so I would bet that it is sufficient as well.
That being said, I'm considering keeping a few gallons of biodiesel in the garage to maybe add to my tank after every fill up. It can't hurt, the only problem is that I bike to campus (I'm a grad student at ASU) and so I do not drive on a regular basis... Sometimes I go more than a month without filling up and I'm concerned about growing nasty microbes in biodiesel that is being stored for that duration, or longer. I've tried running B20-100, but the former is very inconvenient to obtain (one hour of my time, at two gas stations) and the latter impacts my mpg too much (about 3mpg net loss, plus the station is 45 minutes out of my way). Would biodiesel go bad after a month or so of storage?
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