And always buy your DO at high volume retail outlets. Win/win here, lowest cost is biggest turnover. I also avoid above ground tanks. Larger swings in DeltaT promote condensation. Not to close the door on this issue, to each his own of course, lubricity improvement aside I think you will find Cetane# as the key to improved performance with additives. Higher cetane should quiet down the 12v and 24v engines a bit by advancing and lenghtening the ignition angle. Better fuel economy and performance with lower exh temperatures (less heat going out the pipe, more put to work). The new CR engines use multiple injection events to improve igntion but they should also benefit from higher cetane. Stanadyne PF is a noted cetane improver. Note the higher cetane rating of biodiesel at end of this Wiki piece:
DefinitionCetane number or CN is a measure of a fuel's ignition delay, the time period between the start of injection and the first identifiable pressure increase during combustion of the fuel. In a particular diesel engine, higher cetane fuels will have shorter ignition delay periods than lower cetane fuels. Cetane numbers are only used for the relatively light distillate diesel oils. For heavy (residual) fuel oil two other scales are used CCAI and CII. In short, the higher the Cetane number the more easily the fuel will combust in a compression setting (such as a diesel engine).
[edit] Typical valuesGenerally, diesel engines operate well with a CN from 40 to 55. Fuels with higher cetane number have shorter ignition delays, providing more time for the fuel combustion process to be completed. Hence, higher speed diesel engines operate more effectively with higher cetane number fuels.
In Europe, diesel cetane numbers were set at a minimum of 38 in 1994 and 40 in 2000. The current standard for diesel sold in European Union, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland is set in EN 590, with a minimum cetane index of 46 and a minimum cetane number of 51. Premium diesel fuel can have a cetane number as high as 60. [2]
In North America, most states adopt ASTM D975 as their diesel fuel standard and the minimum cetane number is set at 40, with typical values in the 42-45 range. Premium diesels may or may not have higher cetane, depending on the supplier. Premium diesel often use additives to improve CN and lubricity, detergents to clean the fuel injectors and minimize carbon deposits, water dispersants, and other additives depending on geographical and seasonal needs.
[edit] AdditivesAlkyl nitrates (principally 2-ethyl hexyl nitrate [1]) and di-tert-butyl peroxide are used as additives to raise the cetane number.
[edit] Alternative fuelsBiodiesel from vegetable oil sources have been recorded as having a cetane number range of 46 to 52, and animal-fat based biodiesels cetane numbers range from 56 to 60. [3]Dimethyl ether is a potential diesel fuel as it has a high cetane rating (55) and can be produced as a biofuel. [4]