There are many diesel fuel additive companies in North America supplying numerous different additive products formulated for diesel powered equipment. Each of these vendors claim their specific products are the best available to upgrade diesel fuel for the fuel producer, fuel supplier and final fuel consumer. However, actual testing has often proven to be just the opposite.

When the fuel additive supplier does his job correctly and the winter diesel fuel additive is properly compounded with the ‘right’ chemistries in the correct amounts AND the diesel fuel is accurately treated, operational issues can be eliminated. This is a must for the new common rail fuel injection engines.

Nearly all of the diesel fuels produced by today’s refineries for sale into the marketplace “do” meet the required ASTM D-975(1) Specification for diesel fuels. Unfortunately, the current diesel fuel specification has various short-comings relating to older engines as well as today’s newer technology common rail fuel injection engines.

Much has been published during the past decade about air quality concerns and harmful atmospheric emissions discharged by current diesel engines equipped with DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter) technology and older diesel engines without such systems.

For many years (and still today), the diesel engine manufacturers have advised their equipment buyers to avoid using diesel fuel additives of any kind. This position is expected given the fact that the engine manufacturers warrant the new equipment and its viability for extended periods of time after the purchase.

The term "Premium" as it relates to a diesel fuel has been used and abused for many years. Accordingly, before the question of the value of a "Premium Diesel Fuel" can be answered, we must first determine precisely what is meant by "Premium Diesel Fuel" and what is actually delivered to the engine when a truly "Premium Diesel Fuel" is used.