Hotshot Secret EDT and Diesel Extreme
Cetane: Digging around over the years I learned that the diesel we have in North America has room for improvement, when compared to much of the world. When I started this post I was focusing on
Cetane numbers however, some info has led me to believe lubricity may be a concern as well, depending on where you get your diesel and time of year. Some states in the USA are better, like California. Many markets in the world spec Cetane numbers higher then we typically have in North America. In Canada the minimum is 40 Cetane. I’ll post a few links to some discussions on different forums for anyone wanting to jump down the rabbit hole. Also keep in mind with the links and this info it’s only as accurate as the date it was done.
Lubricity: In Canada there is a federal mandate that 2% of the fuel needs to be from renewable sources. And I believe it's a bit higher in BC. Biodiesel would be the inference, which means lubricity should not be the concern it once was. However
this 2018 report from
INFINEU states: “
Canadian Renewable Fuels Regulations require fuel producers and importers to have an average renewable fuel content of at least 2% based on the volume of diesel fuel and heating distillate oil that they produce or import into Canada. However, biodiesel is not blended during the deep winter months so, as expected, none of the 13 samples collected contained FAME” So unless additive packs in the fuel address lubricity through the winter, wear is back on my radar. Wear is measured with the
HFRR test. Apparently anything under 400 is excellent lubricity. Digging into the report above, 13 different fuels were tested in Canada, with an average score for HFRR of 457 and cetane of 44. Check out other places in the world. Yes, our fuel has room for improvement. It would be nice if our Cetane was over 50 and HFRR under 400. More details on each of the 13 samples from Canada are further into the report if you are interested. No brands listed. Would love to see a similar report on summer fuel, as I would think the 2% biodiesel should change the HFFR test.
Diesel Fuel Brands: I have noticed difference’s with diesel fuel in the older diesels. Shell V-Power was going in the tanks a decade or so ago. And Husky at one point. I was filling up at the local COOP for a number of years in the recent past and the 13BT and 1HD-T were smoky. Even with a variety of additives. FYI I had new tips put on the 13BT injectors in the last couple years and the pump timed. The injectors/pump on the 1HD-T were baselined when it was swapped in a number of years ago. Heard good things about PetroCan so switched to that. Did not eliminate the smoke, but it was better. On the 2003 Dodge, which is common rail and computer controlled, I have never noticed much smoke from the tailpipe, and continue to fill it at the local COOP. Seems formulations change over time so keeping an eye on it is good. As stated above…this info is only as good as today.
I have tried a number of additives, having used 2 stroke oil, Power Services, Howes,
DSG 4+, etc. I’ve never run
Stanadyne though have read good things about it. I just wish it was more concentrated. While I think I have noticed some differences, I can’t say I’ve noticed any huge difference with what I have tried in the past. Last year a few folk joined me in test flying
XP3 fuel additive, with no one reporting any difference. That brings me to HotShot. I had heard about HotShot but never investigated it. I watch Project Farm on Youtube on occasion. He did an
episode about diesel antigel and one of the test subjects was HotShot Winter Antigel. It did really well. (Stanadyne did well too). So I read up a bit and then ordered up some Extreme, EDT and one bottle of Diesel Winter Anti-Gel; The last one listed I have not used yet.
My additive of choice these last number of years has been DSG 4+ in all diesels. The Dodge at idle had sounded just a bit off to my ears for a while. Enough so that I was registering it and listening/feeling for driving changes. It was driving fine. When the HotShot Extreme came in I dosed the tank in the Dodge. Don’t recall when it happened, but during that tank what I was hearing at idle was gone. Throttle response was improved. I did a treatment with the Extreme in all vehicles and when those tanks were done switched to HotShot EDT (finishing the last of my DSG 4+ through the Dodge). Smoke was reduced to my eye. I’ve been chasing load up at idle with the 13BT for years (more on that later) and while it was not gone it was reduced. Fuel mileage via
Fuelly looks to have increased slightly as well, but there may be more to that, which I will cover in another post
So, my reason for running a diesel fuel additive these days is verified for me from recent reading while putting this together; 1st for Cetane increase and 2nd for lubricity, especially in the winter months. For me it’s easiest to find an additive that does both and add it year round.
What is ya'lls experience and have any test results or different recommendations for a diesel fuel additive?
I should add in this post that I have seen and used
Diesel Purge as a single dose cleaner, with excellent results. This is one of those products which, while not injection pump or injector rebuild in a can...does work well. If your diesel has a return line to the fuel tank, best to run direct from the can for the supply and return loop so it's 100% strength as opposed to a single pass then into the tank to get diluted.
As always, DYODD.
hth’s
gb
Old study on
diesel additives
Discussion on fuels in Canada TDI Club. There is some good reading about fuels, oils and additives if you want to search in the TDI forums.
And some Mud threads
forum.ih8mud.com
forum.ih8mud.com
