Cetane Boosters

Troubled1

Member
Joined
Nov 1, 2019
Location
Madera, Pa
TDI
2013 Passat TDI
Hello all. Thank you for having me. Didn't see a thread pertaining to cetane boosters. I have a 2013 Passat. The fuel here in Pa is pretty much all 40 cetane. Cant find it any higher close enough to be worth travelling for. Curious what guys are using to bump up the cetane rating that actually works. I run Marvel Mystery oil and Lucas injector lube every 2 or 3 tanks to help keep it cleaned out. Just would like to see how much bumping up the cetane would help.
 
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andreigbs

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 27, 2004
Location
Walworth Co., Wisconsin
TDI
N/A
Welcome!

You should look more in the Fuels & Lubricants subsection for these topics.

I prefer PowerService myself, or Howe's. Or I just go by my local Shell station for their "good" branded D2.

As long as it's fresh fuel from a reputable place, you're most likely good to go.

Drive more, worry less :)
 

Lightflyer1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Sep 13, 2005
Location
Round Rock, Texas
TDI
2015 Beetle tdi dsg
Most fuel is marked 40 cetane as that is the minimum allowed. It is usually much higher than that to keep them legal. Go look at the Infineum fuel reports linked to here on this sight and see what testing has shown. It isn't absolute but does give some idea. You have no need really to run any of those things. Good fuel from a reputable place that gets good turnover is all you need. Using 53 cetane fuel will be little difference than using 45 cetane fuel. There are plenty of additives you can use for cetane bumps any search should show them. Powerservice, Optilube and such are the common ones.
 

jettawreck

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 2, 2004
Location
Northern Minnesota-55744
TDI
2001 Jetta and 2003 Jetta
Although just having older ALH engines TDIs, I've never found any improvement using cetane boosters/additives. Long since given up on any of the sort other than "winter" formula Power Service as a preventative measure to keep water contamination under control, whether needed or not (who knows when you don't have problems). I've always recorded and tracked all my tanks of fuel so if there had been any advantage it would have been obvious.
 

Mongler98

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Location
COLORADO (SE of Denver)
TDI
98 Jetta TDI AHU 1.9L (944 TDI swap in progress) I moved so now i got nothing but an AHU in a garage on a pallet.
fine, its not literally snake oil, but its mostly marketing crap. you cant solve a mechanical issue with a chemical solution.

only thing its worth for is gelling prevention but there are cheaper and better products out there for that.
 

Matt-98AHU

Loose Nut Behind the Wheel Vendor
Joined
Apr 23, 2006
Location
Gresham, OR
TDI
2001 Golf TDI, 2005 Passat wagon, 2004 Touareg V10.
I buy fuel additives more for their cleaning properties, lubricity and safeguarding against potential water contamination in the fuel than I really worry about an immediate boost in performance or cetane.

I will say, I have owned a number of TDIs that were previously neglected have their performance improve noticeably over the course of a couple tanks of fuel with a good additive like one of Stanadyne's, Howe's or even Hot Shot's, and also driving the thing hard. The combination of extended drives under high loads with a good cleaning additive does absolutely restore performance that has slowly been lost over time thanks to coking up of the tiny holes in injectors.

The cleaning properties combined with the improvement in lubricity will not only restore performance with regular use but also help your fuel system (injection pump or high pressure fuel pump and injectors in particular) simply last longer while also performing better.

I can't tell you how many cars I've personally owned that had slightly rough, smokey starts and just overall didn't run as good as it should, and have it turned around by using a good additive and driving the car hard as often as I could.
 

Lightflyer1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Sep 13, 2005
Location
Round Rock, Texas
TDI
2015 Beetle tdi dsg
Cetane boosters do nothing for gelling protection. They are a combustion enhancer only. There are other additives that handle gelling and others that handle water and others yet still that handle cleaning (detergents). Cetane is a legitimate additive but seeing an improvement after a certain point is hard to do. The cars run fine on current pump fuel. If you were buying rock gut fuel in some unregulated country you may notice a huge improvement. Here though generally not needed. The marketing end of things is just like anything else. They make claims that can not be backed up for the most part, as to the benefit or the need for use. I have been driving diesels since 2005. I have never found water in any of the vehicles I have owned. Some with over 400k miles with not a drop of additives used with no issues. I have tried most of the main stream additives and haven't noticed any difference in running. The one thing I will always advocate for though is cold weather use. If you are seeing really cold temps I would use one. Other than that I see no need with current pump fuel from a known distributor and high turnover. You can use one if you wish too though and many do. If you have a neglected car then some use may also be called for as Matt-98-AHU stated. Although some hard driving alone may also cure your ills.
 

iamatt

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2006
Location
Rosharon, Texas
TDI
2014 Jetta 6 Speed manual
On my f250 I would dump half a canister of water,sand,crap from the separator. 6mm Allen to change it. Don't know why I remember that.

I have not seen water in the fuel filter housing on the TDI though. Make me wonder though but never had a problem.

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Iowa TDI

Active member
Joined
Dec 5, 2017
Location
IOWA
TDI
2000 NB 247K
I use Optilube products in the winter for both my 2000 beetle tdi (247k) and my 2006 F250 6.0 diesel(225k) and have never had any sort of gelling issues living in Iowa. I agree with the advice given on the cetane additive also.
 

Lightflyer1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Sep 13, 2005
Location
Round Rock, Texas
TDI
2015 Beetle tdi dsg
On my f250 I would dump half a canister of water,sand,crap from the separator. 6mm Allen to change it. Don't know why I remember that.

I have not seen water in the fuel filter housing on the TDI though. Make me wonder though but never had a problem.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk
Sounds like you need a new fuel source. No excuse for that kind of crud being in there. I have never ever seen anything like that in my TDI's or diesel Excursions or diesel F series trucks.
 

BamaB4S

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 28, 2011
Location
AL
TDI
1996 Passat
fine, its not literally snake oil, but its mostly marketing crap. you cant solve a mechanical issue with a chemical solution.

only thing its worth for is gelling prevention but "there are cheaper and better products out there for that".
Naming them might be helpful.
 
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BamaB4S

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 28, 2011
Location
AL
TDI
1996 Passat
nothing but Howe's for this southern US B4 - 236k miles and still rattling along
 
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Zak99b5

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 30, 2021
Location
Albany NY
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI
I have found Howe's helps with faster starting time in cold weather.
I noticed this today when I went to start the car in the morning. I used an ounce per gallon to prevent any gelling as it's going to be below 0*F the next couple days.
 
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BamaB4S

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 28, 2011
Location
AL
TDI
1996 Passat
Good practice.
You can also fill fuel filter with Howe's during replacement of filter. B4 starts right up without priming.
 
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