DPF and fuel additives

[IAmTheWalrus]

Hi,

So I've purchased a new volvo s80 2.4 D5 and it was a bit of a rush purchase because I needed a car quickly. However I only do 12 mile trips to work and back, should I add fuel additives claiming to help clear the dpf every now and then? I did read on halfords website people say it cleared their dpf light, I don't know if my volvo has a dpf light yet or if they were on about a code. I did have very good experience with cleaners keeping the cat converter light off the bmw I had. I used lucas upper cylinder lubricant, I still have some, could I use that in the volvo? Anyway thanks in advance.

[Moos3h]

As far as I understand it (and my qualifications extend to having ‘the internet’) Almost all DPF additives are designed to trigger a regen earlier…doing 12 miles a day is going to absolutely knacker a modern diesel. Additives are unlikely to do little to help this I’m afraid.

Best thing for it would be a weekly journey of a decent length - is that not possible?

[IAmTheWalrus]

OK well this has got me concerned, can I ? clarify what's your idea of a decent run and that work is 12 miles away so it's 24 over two trips.

Also does the car have on board diagnostics to show the state of the dpf or emissions? How does one know when it is going bad?

[Chrishum]

For a DPF regen to occur the car needs to be at its full operating temperature, generally on a motorway, it won’t regen just because you’re on the motorway only when it needs it.

If you’re only ever driving 12 miles then you’ve bought the wrong car. If you’re doing that commute plus other driving every week or two things should be absolutely fine.

The car decides and the amber light on the dash is a warning you need to head to somewhere the ECU will begin the process not a reason to use additives or panic by rushing to the garage.

I ran an S60 with the same engine and did a lot of short local driving mixed with 30-50 mile trips once every couple of weeks and had no issues.

Edited by Chrishum on Monday 22 November 08:26

[IAmTheWalrus]

If I get a warning light then do I just have to go for a 30 mile trip then?

I'm still going to look out for additives, prevention better than cure...

Edited by IAmTheWalrus on Monday 22 November 12:31

[Blert]

I use, and have used for a number of years, products from Archoil, purchased via powerenhancer on the Web.
They have various diesel and petrol additives engine cleaners etc. Some people call them snake oil products, others like me are happy to use them. It's a personal choice!
BTW I am not affiliated or employed by either of those companies!

[IAmTheWalrus]

Blert said:

I use, and have used for a number of years, products from Archoil, purchased via powerenhancer on the Web.
They have various diesel and petrol additives engine cleaners etc. Some people call them snake oil products, others like me are happy to use them. It's a personal choice!
BTW I am not affiliated or employed by either of those companies!

I think the people who call them snake oil either have no experience of using them or have unreasonable expectations from them. Do you do short journeys then?

[Blert]

I do a mix, but predominantly short 10 mile with the odd run on the motorway..

[Ranger 6]

I do a number of short journeys <20 miles then every few weeks a long one 100+ miles

Never had the emissions light on any of the diesels I've had - also use Forte cleaners once a year and Millers treatment every three tanks or so.

[Robotron70]

My wife has a 3.5 year old Q5, it’s diesel, it’s done about 9,000 miles and it’s never had any dpf issues at all, touches wood.

My van is coming up for 4 years old, also diesel, it’s done 30,000 miles and never had a dpf issue or even a warning.

The common denominator is that we both use the same Texaco just up the road, good quality fuel causing us less issues than cheap supermarket diesel without additives or just lucky?

On my van I was using Miller’s Eco Max additives, but now using this one which has the same/similar ingredients -

https://www.amazon.co.uk/HYDRA-Maximus-Diesel-Boos...

The Q5 is a lease so only gets basic routine servicing.

[IAmTheWalrus]

I'll look into those products. Do you think the lucas upper cylinder treatment would be any good? I only ask because I have quite a bit left.

[Chrishum]

IAmTheWalrus said:

If I get a warning light then do I just have to go for a 30 mile trip then?

I'm still going to look out for additives, prevention better than cure...

Edited by IAmTheWalrus on Monday 22 November 12:31

Yes in theory. There are also ways to make the ECU trigger a regen using OBD tools for most cars.

However I’d favour a decent trip every 1000 miles or so just to be on the safe side over adding anything to your fuel. The D5 takes a while to warm up and while it’s a fab engine you’ll be doing it few favours by not getting it up to full temperature regularly

[IAmTheWalrus]

Chrishum said:

Yes in theory. There are also ways to make the ECU trigger a regen using OBD tools for most cars.

However I’d favour a decent trip every 1000 miles or so just to be on the safe side over adding anything to your fuel. The D5 takes a while to warm up and while it’s a fab engine you’ll be doing it few favours by not getting it up to full temperature regularly

Yes well I have noticed its not warming up as quickly as I'd appreciate, in the winter months. I didn't want a diesel but have been looking for another car for ages and having to put up with moronic salesmen not coming down on ludicrous prices, one chap wanted £5500 for a Lexus IS250 with 115000 miles on the clock - I explained politely it was not remotely worth that and gave him several links to places on the net with cars like that description for £3000 - £3500 however he wasn't having any of it, I eventually ran out of patience and my old car had serious issues so ended up buying this Volvo as a forced decision.Its a lovely car to drive, though it sounds odd, should it really sound like I am blowing air through my pursed lips? The boot opened itself I think, although I might have accidentally hit the button on the remote. My BMW had the same issue, it would sometimes open up the boot all by itself and amusingly lock it too. I hadn't bother replacing the module that controls these locks at it costs hundreds.

[IAmTheWalrus]

Chrishum said:

Yes in theory. There are also ways to make the ECU trigger a regen using OBD tools for most cars.

However I’d favour a decent trip every 1000 miles or so just to be on the safe side over adding anything to your fuel. The D5 takes a while to warm up and while it’s a fab engine you’ll be doing it few favours by not getting it up to full temperature regularly

What actually happens during a regen? How does it happen?

[Grayedout]

IAmTheWalrus said:

What actually happens during a regen? How does it happen?

Depending on the car it either changes the injection routine or could even use an extra injector in the exhaust to put excess fuel down the exhaust and raise it's temperature to around 600degC which then burns off the soot particles that have been trapped in the DPF.

It needs to reman at this temperature for 15-20 mins to completely regen the DPF, hence the requirement for consistent high speed running

[mickyh7]

Grayedout said:

Depending on the car it either changes the injection routine or could even use an extra injector in the exhaust to put excess fuel down the exhaust and raise it's temperature to around 600degC which then burns off the soot particles that have been trapped in the DPF.

It needs to reman at this temperature for 15-20 mins to completely regen the DPF, hence the requirement for consistent high speed running

My car regens at around 2000 rpm when on the motorway, at approximately 70mph.
Where does this high-speed running come from?
I hear about it all of the time???

[Robotron70]

My VW will regen around town, it does vary from brand to brand.

[Chrishum]

From memory the D5 regens when you’re at a steady Mway speed, 70-80mph. It’s not based on engine speeds as much as operating temperature and steady speed.

You can notice it happen if you’re watching the MPG readout and it suddenly gets more thirsty for a few minutes while on a steady throttle.

[gman88667733]

My V60 D4 does mostly lower speed driving, with the odd longer trips in between and I have no idea when it regens. I'm 4k miles and 5 months into it, so I'd have thought it would have put the light on if it hadn't done a regen by now.
I try not to think about it and just keep the revs up!

Saying that, I almost always use Shell V-Power diesel and I've just ordered some Hydra Maximus additive that helps clear injectors and DPF's, or at least claims to. It has good reviews and I thought that in the Winter with the car not always getting hot enough, it might help a bit.

I think the best thing is to make an effort to give it a good blast every couple of weeks to clear out all the cobwebs..!

Edited by gman88667733 on Friday 26th November 08:34

[IAmTheWalrus]

So we don't know it's doing the regeneration except for the behaviour of the revs then?

I'm under the impression that we just need to add fuel cleaner every few tanks and that would be enough, like with my experience with keeping the cat clean in the bmw, is this right to think?