Is anyone using cataclean?

[cristina McLean]

What about "Catclean Super Nitro plus bonus edition", it removes 95% of emmisions . What companies say, and what they do can be completely different things. Be wary of putting something in your engine based on what it says it on the tin

Thank you everyone for your comments and advice. I will ignore Cataclean or any other product which claims to do the impossible! Good regular maintenance, (probably) Super diesel, responsible driving. That's the way to do it!

 

[GrannyJen]

Hello, GrannyJen,

I am not clear about what you mean with your comment, i.e "additives v supermarket crap". However, as a very happy, but environmentally concerned Cali owner, I would personally enjoy to see a "veritable thunderstorm" of mails on the subject of cleaner emissions in diesel engines.

A tongue in cheek comment aimed at no one in particular ...... different subjects arouse confrontational passions in this forum out of all proportion to the normally "benign" original post One of those issues that has aroused intense passions in the past has been "premium fuels" V "supermarket basic"....

Frankly if there was a magic potion that could clean engines, dramatically improve emissions and give abnormal longevity to the mechanical components then the inventor would be richer than Bill gates and every manufacturer would be insisting their engines are treated with it.

From my own personal POV, keeping the vehicle used and not left idle for long periods of time, being scrupulous about oil changes, following all of the manufacturers recommendations for routine maintenance is really what matters to me. Alfie is my pride and joy. Keeping him running in the best possible condition is both a passion and a practical need.

 

[Mike Maguire]

A tongue in cheek comment aimed at no one in particular ...... different subjects arouse confrontational passions in this forum out of all proportion to the normally "benign" original post One of those issues that has aroused intense passions in the past has been "premium fuels" V "supermarket basic"....

Frankly if there was a magic potion that could clean engines, dramatically improve emissions and give abnormal longevity to the mechanical components then the inventor would be richer than Bill gates and every manufacturer would be insisting their engines are treated with it.

From my own personal POV, keeping the vehicle used and not left idle for long periods of time, being scrupulous about oil changes, following all of the manufacturers recommendations for routine maintenance is really what matters to me. Alfie is my pride and joy. Keeping him running in the best possible condition is both a passion and a practical need.

Think the idea of off the shelf dpf filter cleaners has limited application.
What they do apparently Is lower the temperature at which regen can take place and so are meant to bring regents on more often and earlier in the driving m/regen cycle.

Having recently
Bought an elderly but low mileage 08 reg 174 5 cylinder dsg Cali I had hoped to Have the engine slightly remapped. However on starting this process the report coming back was that the dpf was partially clogged and implementing the remap
Would add to its problems and even early demise.
So I withdrew the Cali from the remap programme and instead have run a couple of tankfuls with the dpf cleaner added. Ran both tankfuls with a mix of higher speed/revs and general running around and shortly intend to get back to the re-mapper to have another shot at remapping & will see what the programme shows.

So not looking for this fuel additive itself to improve the combustion process (raising the cetane number) but rather to improve the regen process to avoid dpf blockage which itself increases fuel consumption. Asking about dpf replacement costs using a genuine VW oem filter runs at in excess of £1600! So well worth my at least trying out some dpf filter cleaning product to see if it has had any effect. For general combustion effectiveness I use the millers additive.

Will report back when & if I have another go at remapping!

 

[bvddobb]

NO engine manufacturer has a system dependant on a Fuel Additive.
I think this tells you that such a system does not work.

Some nuance is needed here. Additives are not all without merit, @WelshGas. No manufacturer designs a motor to be dependent on fuel additives, true (well... there used to be lead in petrol for a reason, once, remember...?). But things change over time.

E.g. when our 2.5 TDI was designed, over 10 years ago, diesel was a completely different diesel from nowadays. These days lots of biodiesel is added, sometimes to up to 10%. And our motor design happens to not like biodiesel. (There is even a sticker on the inside of our tank flap: NO BIODIESEL!) Biodiesel is bad for our type of motor, it is known to clog up the DPF and EGR more rapidly, it can lead to algae in your tank, clogging up the diesel pump, etc. So we try to avoid biodiesel (like with the Ultimate fuel, as described above). But it is not always possible. Therefore our dealer adds a little bottle of Forte every now and then when the engine is serviced to help keep the engine 'clean'.

Our engine was not designed to be dependent on the likes of Forte, no. But the changing fuel world has made it not such a bad idea to use it, in our case. A modern motor, designed for biodiesel use, may be a different story.

 

[WelshGas]

Some nuance is needed here. Additives are not all without merit, @WelshGas. No manufacturer designs a motor to be dependent on fuel additives, true (well... there used to be lead in petrol for a reason, once, remember...?). But things change over time.

E.g. when our 2.5 TDI was designed, over 10 years ago, diesel was a completely different diesel from nowadays. These days lots of biodiesel is added, sometimes to up to 10%. And our motor design happens to not like biodiesel. (There is even a sticker on the inside of our tank flap: NO BIODIESEL!) Biodiesel is bad for our type of motor, it is known to clog up the DPF and EGR more rapidly, it can lead to algae in your tank, clogging up the diesel pump, etc. So we try to avoid biodiesel (like with the Ultimate fuel, as described above). But it is not always possible. Therefore our dealer adds a little bottle of Forte every now and then when the engine is serviced to help keep the engine 'clean'.

Our engine was not designed to be dependent on the likes of Forte, no. But the changing fuel world has made it not such a bad idea to use it, in our case. A modern motor, designed for biodiesel use, may be a different story.

Cleaning agents are fine but none of the main brands make such claims as a 60% reduction in Emissions as this one does.

 

[TH Performance]

We do this slightly differently, we check the vehicle on our dyno first where we can measure how full the dpf is. They we use our Tec4 DPF cleaning machine, this plugs into the actual dpf through one of the sensor plug holes, it applies a cleaning solution. The process is in two parts and takes about an hour to complete the cycle. We then re-test the vehicle on our dyno after to make sure it's worked and to measure how full the fpd is again. We do this as a preventative measure, especially so for vehicles that do lots of stop starting. Note - the machine is plugged into the dpf, not intake system which we don't like doing, we don't like the idea of forcing crud around the engine

 

[Skewif]

We do this slightly differently, we check the vehicle on our dyno first where we can measure how full the dpf is. They we use our Tec4 DPF cleaning machine, this plugs into the actual dpf through one of the sensor plug holes, it applies a cleaning solution. The process is in two parts and takes about an hour to complete the cycle. We then re-test the vehicle on our dyno after to make sure it's worked and to measure how full the fpd is again. We do this as a preventative measure, especially so for vehicles that do lots of stop starting. Note - the machine is plugged into the dpf, not intake system which we don't like doing, we don't like the idea of forcing crud around the engine

Please how effective is your cleaning process?

 

[TH Performance]

Please how effective is your cleaning process?

It will vary from vehicle to vehicle however this is very effective, and we provide the proof afterwards

 

[Borris]

"Cataclean"? I just use to use the jet washer on our moggies...........at least up until the accident.