Good question.
sgoldste01 said:
Surely you can understand the confusion here. Earlier in this thread (or maybe a completely different thread; I've read so many I'm getting them confused) is a Bosch PowerPoint presentation stating, flat out, that lubricity is the most important factor in fuel system wear. We also read that diesel here in the US doesn't have as much lubricity as in Europe. Granted, that presentation was created several years ago (2003?). But it seems to me that, if anything, the move to ULSD here in the US probably made matters worse, not better with regard to lubricity.
Further analysis of what Bosch seemed to imply and their position on lubricity can be interpreted as concern for FUTURE diesel tech needing better lubricity due to looming stricter pollution standards in Europe. See this
thread.
It is arguable whether they also just wanted to avoid the extra cost of making a more durable fuel pump for North American diesel. See the quote from
here.
And you have to wonder about TornadoRed's claim that his fuel pump lasted over 300,000 miles because he used additives, but when the evidence for lubricity is looked at (what scant evidence there is available - the aftermarket additive makers are silent here usually) tests show the brands he used DECREASE the lubricity!
Believe me, I would like to be able to just drive up to any diesel pump (preferably the one with the best price in town), fill up my tank, and go without giving it a second thought. But with the factors stated in the first paragraph of this reply, I'm not sure if that would be a safe idea in the long term.
The stations near where I live that carry diesel are BJs, Sunoco, Hess, and Kwik Fill, listed in order from best to worst price. I don't know that any of them are graded as "Premium Diesel", and I don't know if the quality from any of these stations/brands is superior to another.
So my temptation is to buy my diesel from BJs, then add Stanadyne Lubricity to each tank regardless of season.
Or do you have a better suggestion?
There are skeptics and there are believers on this forum. Trouble is, there is little to prove one way or the other. One side trusts the aftermarket claims (and they can be extensive - see the newbie posts above) and the other side may or may not trust anyone, but if they do, they trust the engineers that designed the engines and work for the manufacturers. The manufacturers have the most to lose if their engines fail, even at high mileage. Whenever I ask the question of whether fleet managers of diesel trucks routinely add aftermarket additives, there is silence on these web pages. The answer, of course, is that they don't. Mixing an unknown combo with one that was tailor made by the fuel supplier has unknown results and is more likely to harm than help, many feel.
I personally don't use aftermarket additives but buy mostly brand name fuel which seems to have the best chance of having the right amount of proper additive put in before it reaches the pump.
The chance of my fuel pump failing from lack of proper lubricity may increase, but the cost of fuel additives, the risk of adverse side effects, and the trouble it takes to fuss with it does not seem to be worth it to me. Its sort of like insurance or extended warranties. Most people would say buy them if it makes you feel better. Trouble is, an extended warranty may also make you less apt to care for your item properly! I don't put additives in, so I might just be more careful with the car in other ways. So far, 173,000 miles and counting.
I would bet that the cost of the one fuel pump in the millions of miles it would take to see one extra one fail (surely you don't believe that putting in additives will make the pumps last forever; see "number needed to treat" in the medical literature), vs the cost and fuss of putting in additive is much less. The interest that would have been saved or accrued if I used the money to pay off other things or put in the bank would also count. Wish me luck!
TM
