Red ex Diesel Fuel additive

Stevieb

Member
Bought some of this snake oil in Aldi (2 for 4.99) and added it to a tank of non supermarket fuel. Took the car for a run and the engine appears to run smoother and is less noisy.
Same thing with my A4 PD 1.9.
And reading the Fifth gear test on a Corrado 1.8 it gave impressive dy no improvements . The video is on You tube with Jason Plato leading the tests.
So once I get my undershield fitted this Friday I'm hoping for a significant reduction in engine noise.
Only problem with Red ex you can only use it once in a while.
 
Not knocking any fuel additive, but there is always the chance of the placebo effect. Perhaps a cheaper or cleaner way of doing this is to fill up every so often with super diesel as this contains a blend of additives already there by the fuel companies. I am not saying any or all work, you pay your money and judge for yourself. Engine noise can be down to many different things including exhaust condition, oil grade, engine wear, tappet noise, engine temperature etc.
 
It works, just remember you can't clean something that is already clean. Though I pick up a bottle every time it's on offer, and with how good the MPG is on the A2 I run only V-Power so it might be a waste for me. At £2 it's hardly a big deal if it doesn't help much.
 
I use Redex diesel every few months and always just before MOT just in case of smoke test issues, not that I have ever had any issues but feel it's like an insurance against it - probably placebo effect. But I do buy cheap fuel so feel that it helps. After hearing my garage mechanic moan about cheap fuel I told him that I use Redex and he commended me for doing so saying that he wished more of customers used it, so that reassured me a bit that I was not wasting my money.
 
This contains the active ingredient for Cetane enhancement

HYDRA Fuel 2 EHN 2 Ethylhexyl Nitrate Cetane Enhancer Fuel Additive

A litre can be had delivered for around £13. At a dose of a ml per litre of Diesel (say 30ml per tankful) its going to last me a long time, something like 10,000 miles.
Last years MOT smoke test returned the lowest smoke result in the last five years of tests that I've had my car tested at the same MOT station. A fluke? We'll see, as I'm not intending to move the car on.

I would say the PD engine is less clattery as well.
 
This contains the active ingredient for Cetane enhancement

HYDRA Fuel 2 EHN 2 Ethylhexyl Nitrate Cetane Enhancer Fuel Additive

A litre can be had delivered for around £13. At a dose of a ml per litre of Diesel (say 30ml per tankful) its going to last me a long time, something like 10,000 miles.
Last years MOT smoke test returned the lowest smoke result in the last five years of tests that I've had my car tested at the same MOT station. A fluke? We'll see, as I'm not intending to move the car on.

I would say the PD engine is less clattery as well.
While EHN is pretty good, and incredibly cheap, you're missing the detergents and other bits. That is if redex even has such things.
 
So let's get this right.
A drop of EHN.
A drop of redex.
And a drop of two stroke oil.
I should have the cleanest best running Tdi in the forum.
 
So let's get this right.
A drop of EHN.
A drop of redex.
And a drop of two stroke oil.
I should have the cleanest best running Tdi in the forum.
Redex has EHN in it. Personally I'd not use the two stroke. Using 2 stroke in diesel is old school voodoo, might get away with it on these PDs but it's still not a good idea.
 
Define not a good idea

"The results of the study support a view that the practice of dosing diesel with 2-stroke oil is surprisingly ineffective in terms of lubricity and cetane improvements. Engine performance, fuel consumption and emissions were also unchanged; however the use of 2-stroke oil in diesel is potentially harmful to modern diesel injection equipment. Trace amounts of zinc, an element which is found in most 2-stroke oils, are well known to cause injector nozzle fouling and the study measured high levels of injector fouling when the test engine was running on diesel dosed with 2-stroke oil. While the oil industry may not mind the additional revenue from the sale of 2-stroke oil with each tank of diesel, this study demonstrated that it is not in the best interest of the user to do so."
 
You can get away with it on an A2 as there's no DPF and it uses an older more tolerant injector design. If you add 2 stroke to a DPF and common rail equipped car you'll seriously reduce it's life span, plus that of your injectors.
 
My Tdi 90 is definitely less clattery and having the new undershield fitted tomorrow.
But how can I continue with the Effect. Regular dosing or Shell V power ?
 
My Tdi 90 is definitely less clattery and having the new undershield fitted tomorrow.
But how can I continue with the Effect. Regular dosing or Shell V power ?
I'd personally go with the V-Power as their diesel in particular is a more reliably refined cleaner fuel, instead of whatever chip fat Asda filled the tanks with that week and a bottle of soap. From what I've seen VP has the lowest amount of junk/ash left over after combustion.

And please ignore the people who tell stories about "ooo I know a bloke wot works at the refinery and its all the same stuff even goes in the same truck". It isn't all the same, that's only true of some of the supermarkets that share a singular supplier.

The likes of Shell and BP have their own supply lines, base components, and additive packages. Even if they did come from the same refinery, the Coca-Cola factory in London makes coke zero and Fanta on the same production lines. Does that make coke and Fanta the same thing?

Regards,
Someone who spent far too long looking into where petrol/diesel comes from and what's in it.
 
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Any update thoughts on this?
Also is there a recommended additive when a Tdi is accidentality run at 20% petrol!
(not me but a friend with a Toyota.....he has an Audi also :) ..
Thanks.
 
Not going to consider 2 stroke oil.
anyone recommend any additive to help re lubricate seals etc?
Vpower best to use or just robbery
 
Hi All.
Anyone re my question re additive?
For quite a few seals you're best using Gummi-Pflege - trying to apply V-power to these is usually a bit messy. Can you be a bit more specific about what issue you are trying to resolve? That way we can direct you to the best source or thread of the most appropriate advice.
 
Like anything once it is damaged there is no magic potion to rejuvenation. Agree Gummi Pfledge for things like door and window seals. As for applying diesel well that is just a plain NO.

If you are looking for something to rejuvenate engine seals then the additive to use is called your wallet and replace them. Fuel additives are there to aid clean combustion and try to reduce by products but nothing can really stop the action of combustion. Regular servicing to the manufactures specs and time scales prolongs components but will still eventually fail. But fuel filters, air filters, oil filters, cabin filters, quality correct spec oil and brake and coolant changes ALL THE WAY TO GO.

Perhaps a while ago when supermarkets may have obtained their fuel from other sources it may have been to a lesser quality, but now all road tankers are filled at the same sources (normally) the base fuel is the same. The only differences are the additives added and blended in as the tankers are filled for each company. E5 and E10 petrol being a prime example of blending as it enters the tanker.
 
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