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Fuel additive. Stanadyne vs everyone else

39K views 19 replies 17 participants last post by  Big Lar 
#1 ·
Okay fellow diesel owners, looking for input on what you use in your 6.7L and why. I did some research and came across Stanadyne performance formula and some say that is the best for a fuel additive, but it comes at a cost. Before today i didnt even know of it and it sure looks expensive (amazon has a 64oz jug of it for $39) I have always used Howes or Power Service silver/white jugs in my Ram and semi trucks. Not sure if there is much difference, but am wondering if anyone has done testing with the various fuel additives.
 
#3 ·
My 2011 diesel supplement indicates there is no need for any type of fuel additive per Cummins. I don't really use any fuel additives on a regular basis. I do use an anti-gel such as Power Service or Stanadyne during the cold weather. Diesel fuel is supposed to be winterized however you can not always count on that.

There have been occasions where I have used the warm weather fuel additive. I didn't see any noticeable gains in fuel mileage or performance issues, however I still continue to use additives as needed.

The ULSD that came about in 2007 from what I understand and is a drier type of diesel fuel without the lubricity properties as with Pre 2007 diesel fuels. I know most diesel fuels are in 40-42 cetane rating that we purchase from various vendors, with the minimum rating of 40 cetane that is required.

The only thing is to buy your diesel fuel from a vendor that sells a lot of diesel for quality.
 
#4 ·
There is an additive and oil section in this forum with many discussions on it. I don't use them never have other than anti-gel when it gets below -30 as I have no fuel heaters. 700,000+ on my 97 and 65,000+ on my 11 under severe conditions.
 
#5 ·
I don't use additives. I do not live in extreme cold either. I can see where if one does live in cold, additives would probably be a good idea. My propane supplier sells diesel fuel. Both on & off road. The fuel he sells is bio free, and is a premium fuel, with a cetane rating of 50. Truck really likes his fuel, too. I have noticed with using his bio free fuel, my fuel filters stay cleaner too. Having a secondary fuel filter system doesn't hurt either.
 
#7 ·
I have always used howes in one tank after every oil change...cheap insurance... peace of mind??... just sounds like a good idea.


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#8 ·
You didn't mention what you were wanting to achieve from using an additive. As for anti-gel purposes, I have used howes, power service (white bottle), and opti-lube winter blend. Never had a failure with any of those. I'm very skeptical of any claims of better mileage or power gains from any additive, but I did find this study pretty interesting.
Lubricity Additive Study Results - Diesel Place : Chevrolet and GMC Diesel Truck Forums
 
#11 ·
I would take that test with a grain of salt...... its 10yrs old. Id almost bet every one of those products have changed since then. I know some arent even in production any more.

Something else to consider about that study, and I think proves the point about selling as much product as possible...

The U.S. Standard, in 2007 at the time of this study anyway, was a HFFR rating of 520. While I know all diesel tested would not match this, that was the standard. BUT.... they did not use this number when calculating the HFFR ratings of the products tested. Instead, they used the rating for "untreated diesel fuel" of 636. Why? Because it takes more additive to get a rating of 636, down to their "recommended rating" of 460. Who buys untreated diesel fuel? If you start with that 636 rating, you have to use enough product to drop the score 176 points. Thats a lot. If you go by the "U.S. Standard" rating of 520, you only have to drop the score 60 points... thats a HUGE difference.

Right now I am running 13oz of 2SO (1:333.1) and 4oz of Howes Meaner Cleaner (1:1000.1) in a full 34gal tank..... or, 1/2oz per gallon of fuel. The 2SO is good for lowering the score 97 points, and the Howes Meaner Cleaner lowers it 50 points, for a total of 147 points. Subtract that from the U.S. Standard of 520, and that puts me at 373.... well BELOW the recommended rating of 460. Even if you use the untreated rating of 636..... subtract my 147 off that, and I am still at 489, which is excellent!

I tried running the amount of 2SO recommended in this chart..... which is 21oz/34gal tank. My truck smoked like a freight train with that much oil in the fuel. When I figured out how misleading the chart was, I cut the amount of oil added by 1/3, and made all the difference in the world :thumbup: That chart is VERY misleading, and recommending people run WAY more than they need to... for proper lubricity purposes anyway :confused013:
 
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#9 ·
B5... May be all you need. Id be all over it, but i cant get it in L.A County.
 
#12 ·
I use the warm weather version of the Stanadyne fuel supplement. The cheapest place I found was Thoroughbred Diesel.
Stanadyne Warm Weather Formula - Diesel Fuel Additive

Here is my anecdotal evidence.

1.) Injectors are noticeably quieter.
2.) Seems to start quicker.
3.) Possibly less soot on the emission components. When I used this in my old VW diesel the tailpipe smoke was considerably less than without. (less soot is a big deal for me and this truck still running stock emissions).
 
#13 ·
Does anyone have any recent test data on the lubricity of any additives? How about just the base fuel? It's been a long time since ULSD became the standard, and there's nothing stopping refiners from improving fuel quality through better refining methods, and the equipment running the fuel has also been upgraded to run on what is available.
 
#14 ·
I use stanadyne in every tank, the performance formula is all we have here. I also run Hot shots secret fuel cleaner and the engine treatment once a year. I would like to see more recent data like Rhinopkc is saying. Last results I saw Stanadyne was right around PS and some other common ones but that was back before 2010 I think.
 
#15 ·
#16 ·
I've tried Amsoil, Redline, Power Service, Amalgamated, LiquiMoly, Stanadyne, ATF/2CW3, and most recently Optilube. The ATF definitely cleaned things out, but out of all of them the one that is actually showing the most consistent improvements is the Optilube. Trucks runs quieter and mileage is up by at least .75-1.0mpg.
 
#17 ·
So that pretty much shows it's snake oil and a waste of money for any gains other than seasonal antigell. I put over 700,000 on my 97 and still going without additives and 65000 on my 11 so far. The 97 would be more lubricant reliant but has faired well. P-pump at 500,000 but original injectors.
 
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#18 ·
To clarify, all of the additives I tried made a difference in drivability and made the truck run smoother but the Optilube was the most noticeable and shows MPG improvement while most of them did not affect MPG.
 
#20 ·
I ran Stanadyne for about 5 years, couple years ago it was-26F here and I had no problems at all. Just to change it up and try something different I ran Hot Shots this winter and though it only got down to-14F I had no problems.
 
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