What, if any, friction reducing additives have you tried, and what kind of results have you noticed, if any?

I think I've tried most of them, lol--Slick50, Duralube, ProLong, Zmax, etc. I could probably make my own commercial without any oil in my engine!

Ok, first of all, I'm not affiliated in anyway with any of these products, nor am I affiliated with Ashland Oil(the maker of Valvoline MaxLife, from my other topic post). But if we find something that works for US, it should be fine to share that info, right?

To tell the truth, I've noticed very little changes in my car's performance or mileage from using these products. BUT, two of the products I've already mentioned have each produced NOTICEABLE, but different, results: ProLong and Zmax.

Zmax showed immediate positive results! I could really feel my car respond greatly with it. Mileage increased and so did throttle response. It sounded sooooo smooth! I hate it's price tag, though.

But Prolong noticeably reduced the performance of my engine!!! I have no idea how they made that commercial where the cars were running in the desert without oil, which, by the way, was made about 10 miles from where I live. Believe me, it's HOT here, lol! Daytime temps in this area are about 110 in the summer. So probably on the track, temps were in excess of 120.

Anyway, I'd love to hear what everyone's tried and what kind of luck they've had.

 

Ive been reading alot about oil and the additives thereof. From most experts I have gotten a resounding dont do it. Basicially engine oil companies add the appropriate additives that are needed and by introducing an additive you may be unstabilizing the perfect balance that the oil companies have managed to formulate in their oils. This balance is done on a molecular level in the oil and specific additives in measured amounts is what keeps the oil stable at different operating conditions. Here is some good reading about different oils and the additives that they introduce into their oils.

Here

Just so you know this article is mainly to explain and to be well informed about motor oil lubricants. The data within the article is quite outdated since oil companies as of late have raised their standards on their oil formulas but the technical reading will still apply. To get up to date formula data you would need to contact the oil company as they will freely offer this data. You can also search the net as I have found up to date data on specific engine oils wether it be mineral or synthetic. Sure you may have noticed a difference with an additive but at what cost to your valuable engine components over time.

 

Sticking to a regular maintenance schedule is the best thing to do, no matter what. Conventional will keep your engine running as cleanly and great as synthetic as long as you never neglect changing it regularly.

And since I've been using Valvoline MaxLife, I don't worry about any of the additives anymore. That stuff is GREAT!

But as to whether or not they hurt the engine, I have only mine to go by. It's got 233,000 miles on it, and it still kicks @$$ like new. So I'd say I'm past the "long term" of affects they might cause, lol.

I personally don't think they produce much affect at all, either good or bad. But that's why I wanted to see what others thought about it.

 

I dont believe in engine additives and not to say they have a beneficial or ill affect. The point is would you want to take a chance in disrupting the balance of your engine oil from doing its intended job? Thats exactly why every measured additive that the oil company introduces is there for and is what the oil company has invested to produce the best formula for your engine. I have had much success with Valvoline as well and use their synthetic formula. I have also used Mobil 1. Thats enough of my ranting id like to see more opinions.

 

Visit the sticky above about snake oil.

 

Personally I'd like to see an engine run as smoothly without oil as they do on commercials by the likes of Castrol, Duralube and Prolong. Many years ago my uncle brought a Dodge to me to tune and he said it had recently been tuned and was cursing his mechanic. The first thing I did was check his oil, yup, Just as I thought 3 1/2 qts. low on oil. He owed his mechanic an appology.
Recently I was approached by a technician at work about the way his service truck was running stalling, knocking running rough, overheating yep again in a 6 qt. system 4 qts. low. These engines did not run poorly just because of the lack of lubrication.
Oil has 4 other functions: Cleaning, It washes parts and keeps particulates in suspension so your filter can trap them.
Seals It seals the small porous areas in cylinder walls for compression efficiency.
A corrosion inhibitor to control rust.
Coolant Last it provides 40% of your cooling for your pistons, rods, cam and crankshaft. My son used to come home with his truck completely out of coolant the engine was cooled by the oil running through an aftermarket oil cooler. I tend to believe the engine was saved by that oil cooler. (I did raise hell about this one)
Oh, what about the much needed hydraulic operation of your lifters.
If you think you need an additive maybe you need a better oil to begin with (sorry Richard STP ain't worth it nor needed). Consider what you're paying for an oil change if you use any additive and you realize you can afford to upgrade. At 15.00-30.00 some of these additives have cost, even Amsoil is inexpensive.
IMHO Amsoil is my preference but Mobil 1 is OK too. My Z had 175,000 miles on Mobil 1 then I switched to Amsoil.
Kind of long winded, Sorry guys

 

Two addemndums I must make:

1) Slick 50 has received FAA approval. If you know what it took, you know it works. How well is another story.

2) API rating is now at IIRC SL not SG. I've seen that list so many times it's getting funny. Almost as bad as the oil filter and air filter tests. Motor oil now has a ton of stuff in it including friction modifiers- something any bike with a wet clutch avoids like a hungry Mike Tyson! The list is OLD I don't even know if you can buy any of them now. They aslo contain:

Antioxidants
Dispersants
Antiwear agents
Antifoamants
Anti corrosion
Lubricity additives
Metal Detergents
Viscosity modifiers
Pour point depressants
Seal swell agents
Metal deactivators
Corrosion Inhibitors
Extreme pressure additives

Some oils have ben tested after a run up of 200º-300º and their viscosity has sh*t the bed.

Sooo... run syn, best filter and if you want and additive at your own discretion.

Don't get me going on oil change intervals...

EDIT: http://api-ep.api.org/filelibrary/ACF2AD.pdf

good stuff^^^^

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Red Devil
[B]Two addemndums I must make:

1) Slick 50 has received FAA approval. If you know what it took, you know it works. How well is another story.

Working for a major airline as a Lead Mechanic I understand the use of the FAA's approval as a selling point but that still doesn't sell me on it. I would probably believe the FAA gave approval based on no proven detrimental effects and also the fact that they know there are some DIY pilots who would try it anyway. If you read the following article in it's entirety you will see that Avco Lycoming a major aircraft engine manufacturer says "additives are pretty worthless". I tried it once in a car I owned and saw no benefit other than the 20.00 lighter wallet I was carrying. Here's an article on the subject of PTFE additives http://www.vtr.org/maintain/oil-additives.html . Looks kind of funny to me the possibility that your filter is picking up all that PTFE you just poured in. I've also heard that the only real benefit is the high quality base oil used as a carrier for Slick 50.

 

moving to general tech, has nothing to do with TPI

 

Gee, thanks, Ed. It's pretty much a dead horse here.

The FAA is about 30 years behind the rest of the world. And, there's a big difference between "doesn't harm" and "helps".

A few years ago, the Department of Defense banned Slick 50 from being used in their vehicles.

Prolong is a chlorinated paraffin - go ahead and put waxy chlorine in your engine if you like. Guess what happens with heat over time.

The stuff about "conventional oil will protect as well as synthetic if you change it regularly" - that's like saying, "Bias ply tires are as good as radials, as long as you buy new ones regularly."

I'm not sure if this thread should be allowed to live. It's pretty hard to get objective data from "what have you tried" sampling. Which means it really isn't "tech", technically...

 

My favorite friction reducer is silicone. My second favorite is polyalphaolefin.

 

well vader i never heard of that fancy polyprostuff. i use regular old oil. however i do but a lot of stock in some dumbass on the net telling me they can "feel" a big differance in the type(s) of lubricants in their engine.
i hate these best oil threads any more. if someone wants to know about oil try some and send it off for testing.