Redline: I'm a believer!

[bilgladstone 13]

Some of you probably know that I have given many diesel additives a fair trial, but Rob E. from Ontario recently wrote me glowing review of Redline's Diesel Catalyst and 85Plus!, telling me how it gave him a definite cetane kick in the pants. I'm not sure what the difference is between the two products, because their marketing sheets says they "both contain the same chemistry".

So I stopped by Lordco at the beginning of the week and got the only one they had on the shelf, the 85Plus! and tipped about 1/3 of the small bottle in a full tank.

I took a 150km highway drive yesterday and all I can say is.... YEEHAW! Rob was so right: I was able to cruise up Drought Hill in Peachland, at 100km/h in 6th gear with no trouble whatsoever. I had never been able to do this before, even with my remap, shorty racing intake and custom sports exhaust.

Yep. I'm a believer.

Drought Hill, Peachland, BC

Bil .... but I still miss my biodiesel Edited May 21, 2011 by bilgladstone

[lebikerboy 96]

I'm still willing to fill you up...

[bilgladstone 13]

Thanks Rick! I'm busy moving for the next several weeks, but once I get sorted, I am definitely ready for a trip down your way!

[smartzuuk 167]

I'm going to hunt down a bottle and try it on...Effect on fuel economy will be interesting.Got the lettering off the Canada1, but need to do a rear mount of a front steelie with a 145 mm conti and an Eiback spacer.... Then order moon discs.

[bilgladstone 13]

At Lordco Kelowna, the small bottle (12oz - about 350ml) was $9.04 plus eco-fee and taxes.

As with Eddy's "smart65" remap, any additional power you can safely eek out of the engine will result in improved fuel economy if you drive for economy. It means you can be more light-footed on the go-pedal and also need to down-shift less frequently so you can drive more smoothly - you know: the old "egg on the pedal" technique.

The Redline additive, if used in a "maintenance" dose (24ml per tank), as opposed to the "power" dose I used (100ml per tank), will also keep injectors clean, lubricate rings and seals, reduce smoke, and give overall burn-efficiency. Not to mention reducing GHG emissions.

25mm spacers on the rear will give you almost exactly the offset you need for the skinny rims. However, since the rubber is so skinny too, I reckon you could go with 30s - maybe even 35s? - and still not protrude into the air stream any more than regular 175s.

B

[Squeeakers 0]

Hey Bil,Did Rob E say where in Ontario he picked it up? I've been playing with additives too, makes all the difference in the world and I have no remap or other performance goodies.

[bilgladstone 13]

He didn't say, but try entering your post code in the dealer-finder: http://www.redlineoil.com/dealers.aspx

[cassini75 0]

im Rob E. lol anyways i was actually looking for Amsoil because i was looking for a higher cn # in additives. it boasted 3-7cn value boost. I was in Port huron MI and decided to stop in at a O'reilly autoparts store and they have a bunch of diesel addictives. This one was similar and synthetic and gave it a shot mixing it more so to give around a +14cn value boost. Was great noticed right away no more smoke on morning startup and the power these lil things really need to have.haven't been able to give a actual economy increase because i have a shot wheel bearing

Edited May 21, 2011 by cassini75

[Squeeakers 0]

Thanks Bil and Rob!

[smart65 28]

I entered my postal code on the website and found a dealer within 2 km of my house.

The catalogue description is:

ADDITIVE Diesel Fuel Catalyst (12oz)

Product #: 08352270102

Your Price: $6.74

Is this the one?

[bilgladstone 13]

I used the one called Redline "85Plus!" but their descriptions say that the 85 and the catalyst both contain "the same chemistry" so I'm guessing they are more or less interchangeable.Bil

[cassini75 0]

I used the catalyst one and like allot

[fordnut71 1]

only 3 dealers in the toronto area. 1 is 5 min from my work but they are opened like bankers hours.

[smartlover4evr 0]

I can't wait to try this out. St. John's has so many hills, I'm hoping I'll see a difference around town. There's also a retailer close by, so I'm picking some up tomorrow.

[Francesco 71]

While everybody (including me) keeps saying that it's practically a necessity to use a good fuel additive in Canada to combat the effects of our lower-quality fuels, keep in mind that Daimler (Mercedes-Benz/smart) don't approve of the use of any additives available on the Canadian retail market. There have been warranty claims denied because of the use of fuel additives.

If you know anybody with a commercial garage or at a dealership, see if you can get Würth Diesel Additive or Tunap 183, the only fuel additives approved by Daimler. Seek out the best fuel available, with the highest cetane rating. In the east, that's Suncor (Sunoco Gold or Petro Canada) and possibly Husky (depending on which terminal the local Husky uses). From experience, i can say you should avoid Shell V-Power. I used it for almost two years before finding a reliable local source of Suncor, and the difference was night-and-day. More power, easier starting, less smoke and measurably better fuel economy.

[bilgladstone 13]

While everybody (including me) keeps saying that it's practically a necessity to use a good fuel additive in Canada to combat the effects of our lower-quality fuels,

Yep! The engine was designed to run on 50+ fuel (I read 51cn is standard in Germany) and I don't think you can get much more than 40cn at the pump in this country.

According to a Pembina Institute paper, increasing the cetane by 10-12cn results in a 5% decrease in NOx at the tailpipe too. Not to mention particulates and other bad emissions.

To get the optimal Mercedes engineered-in performance from your cdi engine here in Canada, you have to add a fuel enhancer. It's as simple as that. I believe that MB only certifying two brands of additive is a typical industry "sweetheart deal" that reflects reciprocal financial arrangements rather than science.

I'll stick with this Redline that I can get off the store shelf rather than having to special-source products purely for the benefit of the corporations.

IMHO/AFAIK/YMMV

Bil

[MikeT 744]

Co-op on Vancouver Island has 47-49 pump cetane. Esso too.

[bilgladstone 13]

Co-op on Vancouver Island has 47-49 pump cetane. Esso too.

Sweet... you can use less additive to reach the engine's optimal spec.

[Francesco 71]

Suncor is listed at 47-50 as well. Shell V-Power is 40.

[lebikerboy 96]

As I burn United Petroleum bio-diesel B50 and they mix Cascadia bio-diesel (animal-fat based biodiesels cetane numbers range from 56 to 60) with Esso regular diesel (47-49 cetane) the following assumptions are realistic:worst case is 51 and best case is 55. Not too bad...

[cassini75 0]

stollen from the tdiclub***Cetane levels by fuel company. To ensure accuracy if you have a level to add to the list please forward an email from a corporate office to me, and I will add it to the list. Please bear in mind that the current minimum from refiners in North America is 40. Depending on the quality of the oil used as well as refining processes you'll find 40-42 from refiners in the US and Canada. Anything above that has to do with specific companies additive packages. When companies give a minimum value then it will be listed as a single number. When a company gives a range of numbers bear in mind that more often than not you'll probably find the lower number rather than the higher number. If 40 is listed then it generally means that fuel is bought as is from the refiner--if someone messes up and doesn't put in enough additive at the refinery then that can cause major problems for your fuel system. It's recommended therefore that if you get the inexpensive fuel with low cetane you use a cetane booster (PowerService, Lubromoly Cetane booster or Stanadyne are all great choices), or run a little biodiesel in the tank. NOTE: If you have a 2009 Common rail diesel or later do not run additives in the tank! If something higher than 42 is listed then the retailer adds their own additive package in addition to the standard refinery additive package. Generally speaking as long as 49 or higher is listed you do not need to worry about adding any additives yourself.BP (Amoco branded), 51; Countrymark fuels Diesel-R, 50Chevron, 49; or 51 with Techron D labels in select marketsConocoPhillips through the 76 stations (California) 47-53PetroCanada, 47-51BP (Powerblend 47, otherwise 40-42)Shell, 46; Sinclair, 46; Sunoco Gold, 45 (often +1-5) Sunoco regular is usually 40.Exxon/Mobile, 43-46Holiday Stations, 40-43HESS, 40-42, can be up to 45.Husky, 40 + diesel Max additives raise another 1-3 from there (41-45 max)Love's: 40Pilot: 40Valero: 40Sheetz: 40Flying J, 40

[Francesco 71]

Every Exxon/Mobil, Chevron, BP and Amoco station I've seen in the States only say "Min. 40 CN" on the pumps, and I can tell you that unlike US gasoline, I've had my worst mileage and performance on the tanks I've filled at US stations... by far. I doubt any of them are over 40 CN, and at the stations I went to they most likely get little diesel turnover so it's old and cruddy. Also, Shell themselves have said V-Power is 40-42, so where is the "46" on that list from?

[Francesco 71]

The ONE thing that irritates me about all diesel additives? No single-shot device on the bottle. They all say something like "355 mL enough to treat 100 Gallons/380 L". Well, crap that means I need to measure out about 20 mL when I fill up! How come I can easily do that with Sta-bil when I store my mower for the winter, but not every week when I fill my car?

[gordo.bernard 1]

...I have taken the stabil labels off and added my cetane booster to the cleaned bottle. Works great.

[Francesco 71]

LOL That's *exactly* what I've resorted to doing! :up: