In the US I wonder if there is a difference in marine (off road) diesel and the fuel they used for the study, which it seems was done for road vehicles.
Being outside the US and primarily using Venezuelan diesel, it would be interesting to know what the sulfur levels are and if an additive would be suggested?
I've always added about 6% Marvel Mystery oil to an oil change, though I've read that it really is of no value.

 

I think it's going to be hard to get feedback on personal experiences that are much more than intuition. No way to know if the witchcraft is really working, other than a biocide.

I wish USA Fuel Service's Desl-shok was in the study. It's a biocide and water suspender, but also claims to add lubricity. It's what I currently use, but just can't say how to know if it really does the other stuff. I had used the Diesel Kleen in the past and was surprised to see it didnt' perform very well. I mostly used it for cetane boost.

 

I think it's going to be hard to get feedback on personal experiences that are much more than intuition. No way to know if the witchcraft is really working, other than a biocide.

Possible, but I could also hear "additive X plugged my filters with demulsified crap, so beware" or "additive Y eliminated soot around my exhaust" or "additive Z made my engine quieter."

I agree that feedback is unlikely to be scientifically obtained, but I'm still interested in hearing it.

 

Valvtect sells a marine diesel fuel that has marine specific additives, but there are currently no dealers in Maryland. My local fuel dock told me that they used to carry it, but the local distributor either went out of business or stopped carrying it (can't remember which). Regardless, nobody in Maryland, Delaware, or Pennsylvania has Valvtect.

The local fuel dock told me they have essentially the same #2 diesel that you get for cars (except it has the red dye).

I sometimes fill from jerry cans, which I fill at roadside diesel stations.

Of course, it's possible that distributors already put lubricity additives into their fuels. But newer engines are also designed for ULSD so may not needs as much lubricity as an older diesel that was designed to run on the old sulfur containing stuff.

 

Pretty sure we've been using low sulphur blends here in California about a decade without any problems, local fuel dock has Valvatech and my mechanic with 30 years experience recommends adding Standyne cetane booster. When one of the cattleboats was using biodiesel everyone teased him about his exhaust making them hungry because it smelled like popcorn.
Last time I checked the marina fuel dock does add the valvatech, not the fuel distributor, and I was made to understand that was SOP. They sell 2000 gallons a week to just one customer and the fuel dock gets deliveries weekly so don't know why they don't have something better than lugging 5 gallon Valvatech cans around.

 

FWIW, I have ordered some Opti-Lube XPD (#2 on the list). In addition to lubricity additive, it also boosts cetane a bit, which might be a good thing for fuel that sat over the winter. It also claims to do something to demulsify the water, so I'll have to keep an eye on my Racor separator.

If I notice anything that appears to go beyond placebo effect, I will post here.

 

I had the same concerns on operating my Perkins 4108 on the ULSD fuels. 21 years later and about 5000 hours I haven't experienced any engine issues. Have also fueled up in 20 or so different countries where the diesel may have more sulphur in it. Will begin to run Indonesian diesel fuel soon which has the lowest spec for any diesel anywhere. The baja filter will come out again. I just did a maintenance treatment on the Indo fuel I put in jugs last week. I expect I'll be cleaning my tanks later this year...

Not sure I'd bother with any extra additives.

 

I've been adding Stanadyne lubricity formula to every fill up for several years now. I use it in both the sailboat (1988 Volvo w/5000 + hrs) and our fishing boat (07 Volvo D6). I started using it after talking to a mechanic that services the water taxis
here in the San Juan islands. He told me that before using Stanadyne they would have to rebuild the injectors every 1500 hrs, using the Stanadyne extended that to 3000+ hrs (they put 6000 hrs/year on the engines). Both Volvo and Yanmar engines. I trust this mechanic and there is no reason not to believe it (he doesn't sell Stanadyne). Cheap insurance and the increase in Cetane helps cold starting.