Lubricity Additive Study

Well, your statement is mostly true when it comes to the normal big name truckstop chains. But there are plenty of locations that sell regular diesel with no bio in it, even in states that are really big on promoting bio. I live in Iowa, which has been on bio fuels since the late 70's. Even now, I can list 3 locations (with truck access) in the next town near me that a person can get regular diesel if they don't want bio. But all the truckstop chains are carrying bio blends now.

I really have no problem with bio. I have been using it in my '06 ISX since I bought the truck. Only problem I have ever had was a load of regular diesel I got at the Walcott T/A a few years ago that iced up when the temps really dropped into the toilet. Never had a load of bio gel. 800,000 miles and original injectors, fuel pump, fuel lines, etc. So it must not be causing any problem. Fuel system nice and clean, but then, bio does have the characteristic of cleaning out any deposits in the fuel system.

And I use a Davco.

 

I am getting into a partnership with a buddy who drives trucks. We will now own 3 newwer trucks. My end is the books and the online setup. So I have been researching fuel additives, pumps and so on. Seems that if I can use an additive that keeps the fuel system healthy and clean BUT also adds MPG, I am in a win-win situation.

So in my reading, I found this forum and this post. Thanks for all the good info. I found Optilube in a Group buy on the TDI Club cheap. They even do free shipping on 5 gallon pails. http://dieselfuellube.com/order2.html

I guess its time to invest? a mgp or two over the life of a truck is serious money.

 

If there was an additive that actually delivered 1 full mpg on a class 8 truck, it would be in all the heavy equipment rags and and no one would be able to keep it is stock. I am a big fan of trying things that look promising, but I have yet to be convinced that any fuel additive greatly improves fuel mileage on a class 8 truck. Maybe a 1-2 mpg improvement in a small diesel in a car or SUV, but a heavy commercial truck? Hardly. 1-2 mpg in a vehicle that already is getting almost 40 mpg is not much. Extrapolate that to a heavy truck and that is about a .2% improvement or maybe one tenth mpg increase on a good day, if you are lucky.

There are many good products that keep the fuel system clean and operating at peak performance, and that can be a plus. The Optilube you mention will still NOT improve the lubrication qualities over a basic 2% bio diesel. Bio beats every other things out there, hands down, when it comes to lubricity. And the nice thing.... it costs no more than regular diesel at the pump. And bio does have a cleaning effect on the fuel system internals. Gelling in winter can be a major challenge, as can the risk or algae formulation. That is easy to overcome. I have been using bio for over 6 years in the upper midwest without a gel issue or algae. I use a good anti-gel in the winter if there is no #1 diesel to blend, and I also put in a dose of FPPF Killem biocide once a month. Very cheap to do so.

 

I see Bio Diesel gets a lot of flack in this forum.
I have done some research and this is my somewhat informed opinion.
Poorly produced Bio Diesel is pretty bad , mainly because it often does not have the glycerine byproduct properly removed.
It is however superior in a number of aspects when produced properly.
The cleaning action being one of them.
The serious side effect of this cleaning action when introduced to an old fuel system is that it erodes the thin varnish like build up.
This under the ultra high pressures found in modern injection systems can have a devastating sand blast effect on sensitive parts.
It can therefore even with good bio diesel be risky to switch if you have an old truck that could have "varnish " build up.

 

True, with old equipment there is a real "cleaning out" that will occur. And if the fuel lines are getting bad, then bio will help them get worse. Bio does require a good system to start with. Usually, the worse someone experiences is a few frequent fuel filter changes until the system cleans out and settles down. As for high pressure injection being a problem. Haven't seen that. My Jeep Liberty Diesel, for instance, has common rail injection that has somewhere around 18,000 psi at the tips. New Holland, the tractor company, is approving 100% bio in its engine, even with common rail. And Cummins has approved 20% with all of it's engine line. Each OEM is different.

But it is paramount that one gets a good bio. It is hard to tell just by looks, but I have indeed found that if the fuel has a brownish/brackish look to it, you are going to have some filter problems. A good biodiesel has a rich golden color to it. I doubt, it you were to ask the fuel location personnel about the bio, they could tell you that it meets ASTM standards. It is regionally good or bad also. I do know, that in Iowa, Pilot has just negotiated their bio contracts with a processing plant that is located 8 miles from me. They make a quality fuel. Loves, in Iowa, is using them also.

 

I credit this to a value of ZERO.

If you look at the ratios they told the lab to mix at, they are HALF of what is recommended for treatments except for the companies own product. Regardless of product.

so what would you expect? The numbers are invalid at that point.

 

But I do not have access to Bio..... So.... I do not feel like rolling the dice or asking our drivers to. Seems that Optilube is the best choice. If we get Bio, its not needed, if we don't, we have it. Sound logical?

 

All the additives were added at the exact ratios called for. Period. I did engines all my life and any time someone tells me about the latest greatest aditive I remember the products like Prolong. All them fancy, automotive Icons promoting a product that was 100% mineral oil and red dye. 100% BS
in all my years I never had a customer come in and tell me he used an additive when his fuel system failed, that proves he did not believe the BS promotional, and he wanted someone else to pay for his #### up. We all know that no trucker would ever lie about what they did.
Just because the fuel pump says it does not use BIO fuel, does not mean it does not have at least 2% bio they use the bio as a cetain booster.
I sent in a lot of fuel samples never, got anything close to a proper answer, even if it had Gas in the fuel.
Just a thought!

 

Go do the math on the additives and then take a look at the manufacturer's recommendations.

I looked at the Lucas because that is what I use. The ratio that they give, 479:1 would allow one gallon to 480 gallons of fuel.

that is NOT the ratio that is recommended by lucas. When I started to compare the others, they did the same thing to those additives.

The ONLY ratio that I found at the manufacturer's recommended ratio was the product owners OWN product.


THAT makes the test invalid right there. They rigged the ratios incorrectly. Even if they did keep the name of the product.....

 

So how do you protect yourself from human error...

http://fox8.com/2013/03/14/drivers-to-be-reimbursed-after-fuel-mix-up/?hpt=us_bn9

That was diesel in a gas pump. But what about gas in a diesel pump. I still feel Optilube is one of the few answers out there to help keep my pump safe from human error.