Here is the story of how we built genuinely premium products from the ground up, and why we believed it was possible to deliver more value than what was already on the market.
When I started out in the additive industry, I didn't have a particular axe to grind with the market. I simply had an awareness that it was possible to provide something better for customers and deliver more value than what was currently available. I didn't know initially what was in these products. It was only after careful research, testing, and learning about what these companies were actually putting in their formulations that it became clear just how much room there was for improvement.
What we found, after running FTIR spectroscopy and titration tests on some of the most popular diesel additives in the UK, was that many of them were primarily 2-Ethylhexyl Nitrate (2-EHN) diluted in solvent, combined with a basic mono-acid lubricant and very little detergent. The titration test for detergent strength on one of the most well-known products registered just 2. For context, a proper maintenance-strength cleaning product should register at least 10. The cleaning and lubrication claims on the label simply weren't being supported by the chemistry inside the bottle.
That's not to say these products don't work at all. The cetane boost does make engines feel more responsive, and customers notice that. But there is a difference between a product that delivers one discernible benefit and one that delivers comprehensive fuel conditioning. The cetane improvement is something drivers can feel immediately. But lubricity, fuel system cleaning, and carbon removal are benefits that are not always discernible to the customer, even though they matter enormously for long-term engine health. Some products on the market focus heavily on what customers can feel, such as cetane improvement, while underdelivering on benefits that are harder to notice day-to-day.
Once I understood this, it became clear that the market could be improved upon. Not because everything out there was terrible, but because there was a genuine opportunity to deliver significantly more value.
The Early Days: Private Label and Its Limitations
In the very early days, we trialled using a private label blender to manufacture the product for us. The idea was a customised arrangement where we would specify what functions we wanted and they would blend it. On paper, it seemed like the sensible route because it meant we could still create a premium product.
But we were always disappointed with the overall results. The formulations never quite delivered what we were looking for. The component quality varied. The performance wasn't consistent enough. And we had limited control over what was actually going into the bottle.
So we went down the path of formulating ourselves from the ground up, working directly with raw components and developing our own proprietary mixtures. It was a harder road, but it gave us full control over quality and performance. It also allowed us to stand out from the many private-label products already flooding the market.
Where It Started: Learning from Our Own Mistakes
The story doesn't actually begin with AR6900-D MAX. It begins earlier than that.
In the early days of Archoil, we followed the industry standard approach. We had AR6400-D as a fuel system cleaner, AR6500 as a dedicated DPF cleaner, and AR6600 as a turbo cleaner. Three separate products, three separate bottles, three separate price tags. Segment the problem, sell a product for each segment, just like the rest of the market at the time.
But it didn't sit right with me. The more I thought about it, the more I realised we weren't offering optimum value to the customer. A car with a dirty DPF will likely have dirty injectors as well. These systems are all connected. Selling three separate bottles to address what is fundamentally the same underlying issue felt like we were prioritising product count over genuine value.
We didn't want to go down the same path as other manufacturers. So we made a decision that went against the grain of the industry: consolidate everything into a single product. That decision became AR6400-D MAX.
If you understand the diesel fuel and combustion system as a connected whole, then you understand that a properly formulated cleaner delivered through the fuel should be capable of addressing all of these areas in a single treatment.
That was the philosophy behind AR6400-D MAX. One product. One tank. Professional-grade cleaning across the entire system. Rather than selling separate bottles with separate marketing claims, we engineered a single high-strength formulation that could safely and effectively clean injectors, remove combustion chamber deposits, address turbo contamination, and assist with DPF regeneration, all from one dose in the fuel tank.
It was about adding genuine value to the single-tank cleaner category by consolidating everything into a single product that actually did the job properly.
AR6400-D MAX proved that the approach worked. Customers reported restored performance, smoother running, reduced emissions, and successful MOT passes after treatment. It demonstrated that you could deliver comprehensive cleaning without the fragmented, multi-product approach the rest of the industry relied on. And it confirmed something important: customers appreciated the honesty of a single, properly formulated product over a confusing lineup of overlapping treatments.
Building the Daily Conditioner: Archoil AR6900-D MAX
AR6400-D MAX solved the cleaning problem. But cleaning is reactive. You use it when deposits have already formed. The next question was obvious: what about prevention? What about a product you use with every fill-up that stops the problems from developing in the first place?
That question led to AR6900-D MAX. And the goal was even more ambitious than the cleaner. We wanted to create a concentrated, multi-functional fuel conditioner that delivered genuine value across every function that matters: cetane, cleaning, lubrication, and combustion quality, using only high-end, proven components that were extensively tested for efficacy and safety. And critically, we wanted to deliver it at the same price point as the competitor products that were offering a fraction of the value. This wasn't about creating an expensive niche product. It was about offering exceptional value in the regular-use fuel conditioner category.
It sounds simple. It wasn't, and getting there required a lot of hard work and countless formulation changes. Components that looked promising on paper failed in real-world testing. Lubricants that performed well in isolation were degraded by 2-EHN. Detergent packages that cleaned well interfered with combustion quality. Combustion catalysts that worked at one treat rate failed at another.
Every function had to work in harmony with every other function, in a single concentrated formulation, and most importantly, with no solvent fillers. That is significantly harder than it sounds. You cannot simply combine multiple chemical components in a bottle and expect them to work together. The interactions between components matter enormously, and getting the balance right took time.
The result was AR6900-D MAX. A product built on a pure, undiluted 2-EHN base with zero solvent fillers. A proper ester-based lubricant that works when combined with a cetane improver in low-lubricity fuels, unlike the cheap fatty monoacids that most competitors still use. A detergent package delivering the correct "keep clean" dosage for both older and modern common-rail injection systems. And a fuel-borne combustion catalyst to improve combustion quality and assist with passive DPF regeneration.
Importantly, these products don't just focus on what customers can feel. Yes, the cetane improver delivers noticeable improvements in throttle response and smoothness in engines that respond well to higher cetane. But the cleaning, lubrication, and combustion catalysts are working continuously in the background, protecting and maintaining the fuel system and emissions systems even when the driver isn't consciously aware of it. That is the difference between a product designed to impress on the first tank and one designed to protect over the long term.
All of this in a concentrated formulation at 1ml per litre, and at the same price point as products delivering a fraction of the chemistry. That was always the goal: exceptional value, not exceptional pricing.
A Note on Lubricity in Modern UK and European Fuels
It is worth addressing lubricity specifically, because the picture has changed significantly in recent years.
In the USA, fuel system lubricity remains a critical concern because American diesel still has very poor lubricity as standard. Over there, a quality lubricant additive is genuinely essential for protecting high-pressure fuel systems.
In the UK and Europe, the situation is different. Modern diesel fuels now have significantly better base lubricity than they did over a decade ago, when we first formulated AR6900-D. Some fuels are already achieving HFRR results as low as 200 microns without any additive treatment. This improvement has come from the introduction of Gas-to-Liquid (GTL) components, Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO), and other biofuel components blended into modern diesel.
This means that the ester lubricant in our products, while still a quality component that provides genuine protection, is not the most critical function for UK and European drivers as it once was. Even modern ester lubricants may offer only limited additional improvement when the base fuel already has very good inherent wear reduction as per the HFRR. The lubricant remains important as an insurance policy and for fuels that haven't benefited from these newer components, but it is honest to acknowledge that cetane, cleaning, and combustion quality are where the most significant value is delivered for most UK and European customers today.
The Super Premium: Oilsyn Diesel Power DNA
AR6900-D MAX proved the concept. It demonstrated that we could deliver genuine multi-functional chemistry at a competitive price and that customers would notice the difference. But it also raised a question: what would happen if we removed cost entirely as a constraint?
That question became Oilsyn Diesel Power DNA.
The remit was similar to the Archoil project: a concentrated, multi-functional fuel conditioner for regular use, but with one critical difference: use the absolute best components available, regardless of cost, and incorporate additional carbon removal technology that AR6900-D MAX didn't include.
If AR6900-D MAX is Premium, Diesel Power DNA is Super Premium.
The cleaning technology is where it gets truly interesting. The CarbonCode detergent package doesn't just keep injectors clean. It is fortified with Polyether-amine (PEA). PEA is the undisputed king of combustion chamber cleaning. It survives the extreme temperatures where other detergents burn off. When combined with an active fuel-borne catalyst, carbon is neutralised before it has a chance to deposit in combustion or post-combustion areas, such as EGR, Turbo, DPF, and CAT. This is continuous carbon removal technology built into a daily-use fuel conditioner.
Blended into a cetane improver and lubricity base, the amount of value packed into a single bottle of Diesel Power DNA is substantial. A standard 50ml (to 50 litres of fuel) maintenance dose can contain more active detergent performance than many single-bottle treatments that retail for over £10.
What Customers Actually Report
Beyond the chemistry, what matters is what happens in the real world. And one of the most consistent pieces of feedback we receive from customers using both AR6900-D MAX and Diesel Power DNA concerns DPF regeneration.
Customers regularly report that their DPF regeneration cycles become significantly less frequent after switching to these products. Some drivers who previously experienced regeneration every few hundred miles now find it occurring only once every thousand miles or more. The DPF light that used to appear with frustrating regularity now comes on less often.
The reason is twofold: the combustion catalyst (fuel-borne catalyst) actively lowers the soot ignition temperature within the DPF, assisting passive regeneration during normal driving. Simultaneously, the improved combustion quality means less carbon and particulate matter is reaching the DPF in the first place.
The DPF isn't working as hard because it doesn't need to. Less soot goes in, and what does go in burns off more easily. That is the difference between a product that just boosts cetane and one that genuinely conditions the entire fuel and combustion system.
A revised version of Diesel Power DNA is due out later in 2026 with improved friction reduction and Oilsyn's new DPF Guard catalyst technology. Initial testing has shown significantly reduced active DPF regenerations, with some vehicles not needing to actively regenerate at all.
When They Don't Work
Occasionally, these products don't "work." Sure, the detergent is still cleaning, the DPF is regenerating less, and the lubricant is protecting, but the engine is not responding to the higher cetane or combustion catalyst.
This is as frustrating for me as it is for the user, and there are two main reasons. Either the cetane of the current fuel is already optimised for the engine, which is more common when using Super Diesel, or the engine's sensors are detecting the gains through various control calculations and intentionally adjusting the fuelling to erase them.
This led to the development of Oilsyn Hybrogen, now Hybrogen V2. It was designed for engines that don't respond well to cetane, or for users seeking maximum fuel economy over performance. It is an ashless combustion modifier with an advanced friction modifier that maximises combustion efficiency whilst reducing upper engine friction.
The Petrol Equivalents
This philosophy wasn't limited to diesel. The same approach was applied to petrol products.
Archoil AR6900-P MAX is the petrol equivalent of AR6900-D MAX. It delivers a concentrated blend of advanced detergents, upper cylinder lubricant, and combustion improvers designed to maintain a clean fuel system and improve combustion quality in both port-injected and GDI engines.
Oilsyn Petrol Power DNA takes it further, mirroring the diesel product's "no expense spared" philosophy. It contains a high-strength injector detergent package engineered for both port and GDI injectors, combined with Polyether-amine for ongoing combustion chamber carbon removal, and includes a highly effective friction modifier to reduce upper cylinder wear and improve efficiency.
However, I want to be honest about one limitation. Neither product can practically deliver additional octane. If your engine requires or responds to higher-octane fuel, the 97 or 99 RON that many turbocharged and high-compression engines are mapped for, you still need to buy that fuel from the pump. Most petrol fuel conditioners don't increase the octane number. We tested a well-known UK branded product used at 1:1,000 with a claim of up to 2 RON per 50ml per 50 litres treatment. When we sent it off for a D2699 octane test, it came back at zero increase, not even 0.1 RON. Furthermore, most single-bottle octane boosters deliver a negligible 1 to 2 point RON increase, which is nowhere near enough to bridge the gap from 95 to 99.
For engines that require high octane, buy the higher-octane fuel. Only use an additive if you require additional cleaning and upper cylinder lubrication. For engines running happily on 95 RON, the additive approach works perfectly. Buy the cheapest standard petrol and treat it.
The Bottom Line
This journey, from an awareness that the market could be improved, through the private label trials, the separate product lineup, the consolidation into AR6400-D MAX, the development of AR6900-D MAX as a daily conditioner, and finally to Diesel Power DNA pushing the chemistry to its limit, took years of research, experimentation, and formulation work. It wasn't a straight line. It was trial and error, failed prototypes, and countless reformulations.
But the result is a range of products that deliver exceptional value in a concentrated formulation at the same price point as competitors that offer diluted solvents and basic chemistry. That was always the goal. Not to charge more for better chemistry, but to deliver more for the same money.
Just make sure you know what you are putting in your vehicle, and understand the difference between a product that genuinely conditions your fuel and one that focuses only on what you can feel while underdelivering on everything else.