Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum - EcoModder.com - View Single Post - 11% FE improvement with diesel fuel additive

Night_Sailor · 09-11-2013, 12:08 AM

I have a 2001 Silverado K3500 D/A dually. In my first 107,000 miles, my best ever fuel economy was 15.9 mpg. I achieved this twice on cool days on smooth open highways. 15 mpg was typical, and 13 mpg on winter blends.

I'm rebuilding an old aluminum framed/skinned pickup camper, and my goal is to be able to carry another 3500 lbs and keep my fuel economy up above 15 mpg.

I've done a lot of research and learned a few things:

1) That bigger exhaust systems don't do much unless you are at high throttle settings. I don't plan to tow 15,000 lbs or strain my Duramax if I don't have to. These seem like a waste of money.
2) I also researched air filters and found that free flowing air cleaners help, but also let in a lot of dirt, while the factory air filters do a tremendously better job keeping dirt out of these motors. I'll keep my stock air filter
3) That synthetic lubricants don't have a significant effect either, although I intend to try that.
4) I did find research that fuel additives do improve fuel economy. The best reported was bio-diesel blends. I plan to try that as soon as I can find a good source for this. Next best is a product called Opti-Lube XPD. This is a cetane booster and lubricant. From what I gather the new low sulfer diesel fuel does not have adequate lubricants in it and over the next few years, bio diesel blends will be common. In the mean time I started using Opti-Lube XPD and saw an immediate jump in fuel economy to 17.75 mpg on mostly highway at 62-65 mph, with some city. I was impressed. Tires were stock sizes and non aggressive tread patterns.

I next cut back my speed on the parkway and saw a further improvement. Even using air conditioning, at 55mph, I saw my new best record, 18.82 mpg on 51.4 gallons. I think 19 mpg might be achievable if I keep my speed at 50 mph.

All these were measured with full tanks driven to the warning lights or a bit beyond--53 gallon tanks with typical fills at 47-52 gallons. In the past my typical range was 700-750 miles, 650 in the winter. Now I'm routinely getting 900 miles on a tank, and once 969 miles! (32 miles past the low fuel warning light) I plan to try their oil additive next.

Last trip at 65-70mph yielded 16.81 mpg. I can honestly report a gain of between 6% and 11% improvement due to the additive alone; the rest I attribute entirely to slower driving.

My motor is turning the same rpm/s with less work/fuel needed to maintain these speeds, and it runs much quieter for this reason.

I hope some of you other diesel guys will give this product a try and report your results.

09-11-2013, 12:08 AM	#1 (permalink)
Night_Sailor EcoModding Lurker Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Easton, Connecticut Posts: 11 Thanks: 2 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	11% FE improvement with diesel fuel additive I have a 2001 Silverado K3500 D/A dually. In my first 107,000 miles, my best ever fuel economy was 15.9 mpg. I achieved this twice on cool days on smooth open highways. 15 mpg was typical, and 13 mpg on winter blends. I'm rebuilding an old aluminum framed/skinned pickup camper, and my goal is to be able to carry another 3500 lbs and keep my fuel economy up above 15 mpg. I've done a lot of research and learned a few things: 1) That bigger exhaust systems don't do much unless you are at high throttle settings. I don't plan to tow 15,000 lbs or strain my Duramax if I don't have to. These seem like a waste of money. 2) I also researched air filters and found that free flowing air cleaners help, but also let in a lot of dirt, while the factory air filters do a tremendously better job keeping dirt out of these motors. I'll keep my stock air filter 3) That synthetic lubricants don't have a significant effect either, although I intend to try that. 4) I did find research that fuel additives do improve fuel economy. The best reported was bio-diesel blends. I plan to try that as soon as I can find a good source for this. Next best is a product called Opti-Lube XPD. This is a cetane booster and lubricant. From what I gather the new low sulfer diesel fuel does not have adequate lubricants in it and over the next few years, bio diesel blends will be common. In the mean time I started using Opti-Lube XPD and saw an immediate jump in fuel economy to 17.75 mpg on mostly highway at 62-65 mph, with some city. I was impressed. Tires were stock sizes and non aggressive tread patterns. I next cut back my speed on the parkway and saw a further improvement. Even using air conditioning, at 55mph, I saw my new best record, 18.82 mpg on 51.4 gallons. I think 19 mpg might be achievable if I keep my speed at 50 mph. All these were measured with full tanks driven to the warning lights or a bit beyond--53 gallon tanks with typical fills at 47-52 gallons. In the past my typical range was 700-750 miles, 650 in the winter. Now I'm routinely getting 900 miles on a tank, and once 969 miles! (32 miles past the low fuel warning light) I plan to try their oil additive next. Last trip at 65-70mph yielded 16.81 mpg. I can honestly report a gain of between 6% and 11% improvement due to the additive alone; the rest I attribute entirely to slower driving. My motor is turning the same rpm/s with less work/fuel needed to maintain these speeds, and it runs much quieter for this reason. I hope some of you other diesel guys will give this product a try and report your results.