Is your diesel engine suffering from poor fuel economy, excess smoke, or hard starts in cold weather? Today’s poor-quality diesel fuels at the pump don’t always meet the standard specifications for diesel fuel. This can result in a variety of issues such as poor lubricity, low cetane numbers, and carbon deposits. Adding a high-quality diesel fuel additive such as XDP’s Diesel Power Plus when you fill the tank can help resolve many of these common diesel-related issues and save you money in the long run.
Let’s discuss why you should run diesel fuel additives and the benefits of running a fuel additive year-round.
Lubricates the Fuel Injection System
Ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel is an essential requirement of the newer emissions regulations. Unfortunately, one of the results of the hydrodesulfurization (HDS) process is that diesel fuel loses its inherent lubricity. A certain amount of fuel lubricity is essential to help prevent wear and failure to engine components. If the fuel’s lubricity is too low, improper lubrication will shorten the service life of fuel injectors and high-pressure pumps. XDP’s Diesel Power Plus helps to resolve this issue by coating internal parts of the fuel system to allow better fuel flow and less friction.
Cleans the Fuel System / Injectors
Diesel Power Plus incorporates a specially formulated detergent to help soften and remove hard deposit build-up. Decarbonization also helps repair common driveability issues such as engine hesitation, hard starts, and rough idling. Removing the excess carbon will help to restore your diesel’s performance and improve fuel efficiency.
Cetane Increase
Diesel engines generally operate with a cetane number (CN) ranging from 40 to 55. Diesel fuel in North America typically only has a CN rating of 40-45. This cetane number is oftentimes lower than diesel fuels from other regions of the world. Most states adopted ASTM D975 as their diesel fuel standard and the minimum cetane number is ONLY set at 40. Today’s diesel engines run at optimum efficiency with a cetane value of 48+. Boosting the cetane number can result in an increase in horsepower, reducing emissions, faster start-ups, and smoother idling/acceleration.
Reduces Exhaust Smoke & Improves Fuel Economy
The cetane number is a measure of combustion efficiency. The higher the cetane number the better potential for every drop of fuel to burn and produce power. The more efficiently the fuel burns in the combustion chamber, the less possibility to produce smoke. This also results in fewer byproducts of combustion that the exhaust after-treatment system must manage. The larger the percentage of fuel that burns, the better power output and fuel mileage you can expect to achieve.
Disperses Water
Water in the diesel fuel damages injectors, scores pintles, creates gum and varnish, interferes with fuel combustion, and harbors microbes and fungi. XDP’s Diesel Power Plus contains the most effective combination of ingredients to absorb water from fuel. The unique solution prevents damage, wear, and premature fuel pump failure. Anti-oxidants and corrosion inhibitors are also added to help prevent rust from forming.
Prevents Formation of Algae & Bacteria
Ultra-low-sulfur diesel (ULSD) fuels attract more water and are less resistant to microbes than the higher sulfur diesel fuels that were offered prior to 2006. Storage of diesel fuel for longer periods of time also makes it more susceptible to contamination by microorganisms like bacteria and fungus.
Controls Icing & Freeze-Up
The diesel fuel in your tank will start to gel and freeze up when exposed to very low temperatures. This can cause fuel filters to get plugged up with ice and wax. Worst-case scenario the waxy diesel can do significant damage to your engine. Diesel fuel additives are the ideal solution to these cold-weather issues. If you live in a cold climate make sure to switch over to a winter-specific formula such as XDP Polar-D Winter Formula Diesel Fuel Additive when the temps are below freezing.
Cheap Insurance
A single 16oz bottle of XDP Diesel Power Plus treats 500 gallons of fuel. That comes out to less than $.02 cents a gallon! Adding a fuel additive every time you fill the tank is cheap insurance to help protect your diesel engine from premature wear and costly repair bills.
