I have a question about additives. Once you start using them are you locked in on using them forever or can a person use additives on a tank by tank basis.

I would not say you are "locked in", but rather you will grow accustom to the increased performance. The vehicle will still run, but not as smooth.

I use Howes lubricator at every tank for two reasons 1) It helps to make up for the lack of lubricy in the low sulfur diesel fuel these days and 2) It acts as an anti gel where I live its quite normal to see cold snaps of -40 C and a regular temp of -25 C to - 15 C all the time.

Buying any power adding products for me I have to ensure that they do not mess with the warm up routines or high idle settings.

Absolute

It is one of the best ideas.

This is just my 2 cents worth, check your owners manual and it says DO NOT USE ADDITIVES, I even called 3 differant dealers in my area and they say do not use addtives in this motor, I choose not to but it kinda makes me wonder people using this additive and that additive, running all these computer hop up programs and then the next you know there posting, somethings wrong with my motor. hummmmm.

My Dealer Suggested using Stanadyne

This is just my 2 cents worth, check your owners manual and it says DO NOT USE ADDITIVES, I even called 3 differant dealers in my area and they say do not use addtives in this motor, I choose not to but it kinda makes me wonder people using this additive and that additive, running all these computer hop up programs and then the next you know there posting, somethings wrong with my motor. hummmmm. I agree that GM's position is no additives or an Emulsifier if you do...

However, I think that the majority of failures that occur are on stock trucks. I have seen wayy more trucks fail stock then I have seen fail modded. Yes, its risky, but not an issue IMO... Getting Bosch to build decent injectors is more of an issue then Joe Blow running a juice box on his dmax with a rod out the side of it.

Don't you mean GM recommends only DEmulsifiers?

Chevrolet dealer here in N. Fl recomends using Stanadyne in every 2nd or 3rd load of fuel. Big GM up in the sky recommends no additives what-so-ever. Think I'll stick with GM. The thing has 100,000 mile warranty so the risk is theirs and the vehicle will belong to someone else before the warranty expires.

There was a GM bulletin posted here that stated while additives are not required, using an additive without alcohol was okay and does not affect the warranty. Stanadyne and Racor were mentioned specifically in the bulletin.

Living in California, my truck gets a steady diet of low sulphur fuel. I've been running Stanadyne since the first tank to insure the injectors are getting sufficient lubrication. The truck also makes trips to the Sierra so dropping the pour point of the diesel 40 degrees doesn't hurt either.

i had injector problems at 750 miles. i have been using additive since then and now with 4500 miles now i have not had a problem. my dealer recomended it.

I was useing power service, didn't notice any difference, just recently Im trying Conklin's Diesel Plus, the annoying tick is alot less noticable and according to my DIC my mpg's went up .5 to 1. I think Im the only one using Conklins, by the way..no alcohol in it.

The reason I started this thread is because I bought a case of stanadyne before my truck came in. I read so many posts that the diesel here in the U.S. is sub par. I have 1500 miles on the truck and no trouble yet but winter is coming and as a first time diesel owner I am trying to be prepared for what might come up. The book says no additives but if you do use any use stanadyne. Now that is a real commitment. Why not stand up and say use or not. Anyhow I put 6 oz in the last fill just to see if I notice any difference. Will post after next refuel.

I'm not an advocate of diesel fuel additives but, I've been using Power Service year round diesel fuel additive. It's cheap insurance for a bad tank of fuel. If there are other benefits it will be a plus.

my truck had about 7k miles on it when it started the knock, stumble and smoke deal with the injectors. took it to the dealer, they reflashed it and couldnt get it to stop. all 8 injectors were good still as well.......truck now has almost 14k miles on it and havnt had 1 issue so far. my first tank i doubled up and put in 14oz........every tank there after i put in 8 oz. there was a 2 week period ( 3 tanks) that i didnt use the additive and i could tell a big difference...just my .02

stanadyne power additive is what i put in it.

Even worse than that, one mechanic at the dealer, dodge guy actually, (I was talking to the GM diesel mechanic and the dodge guy was standing there spouting off crap) said that additives would "make the pilot injection run too hot and burn the pistons and injectors and void the warranty." I played dumb and asked him why he thought that and he told me that GM made the pilot injection so the injectors wouldn't have to spray alll the fuel at once so they wouldn't get too hot and melt them and the pistons. He also said the aluminum heads couldn't take that either. I couldn't help smirking at them, but I held myself back and didn't slap the hell out of him for being a dumbass.:D Still it makes me wonder if I have a problem if I want to take my truck there.

nar,

That next to last line just killed me. ):h But it's so true.