Oil Additives - Any Good?

Spilchy · 12-17-03, 08:07

Anyone use an oil additive like Slick 50 or ProLong or any other additive?

I have a 96 Civic with only 30,000 miles on it (just had a major tune up). It's my mint condition grocery getter whose oil I change every 3 months regardless of miles.

It only goes maybe 5 miles a day.

However, I am going to be driving it 37 miles a day (75% highway). It has never had this sustained "wear and tear" on it. I am dropping it off tomorrow for a new timing belt (it's been 8 years), alignment and brake check.

Will an additive help any? If so, which one? Do you recommend the engine flush treatment plus an additive? Or the engine flush plus a synthetic? If I use a synthetic can I go back to conventional?

I need to keep this car a long time and want to treat it as best as possible.

Also (it's a wimpy DX model) I have been putting Premium gas in it. From the reading I have doen here, it sounds like I am doing more harm. Is this true? I have used the same Shell Premium gas for years - I do not differ. Honds recoomends like 86 octane but I don't do that. The extra $1 per fill up doesn't bother me.

I'm sure there is a lot of debate on the subject so I'm ready for the differing opinions.

Thanks for your help!

geekysteve · 12-17-03, 08:21

I'd probably save my money on the ProLong and Slick50. I've seen a few case studies that show that the oil filter traps the "PTFE" after the first pass, so you basically line your filter with Teflon...

I've also torn down motors (back in my engine building days) that had been treated with and without those products, and never saw any noticable improvement from the additives.

That said, I've recently started using Fuel Power and Lube Control in my vehicles. I started after noticing that my oil analysis were showing higher than desired levels of fuel insoluables. The good news: the oil analysis have improved and my gas mileage has greatly improved (over 2mpg in the Tahoe and nearly 4mpg in the GTI). The bad news: both are only available from a distributor via the internet...cost is $25 per gallon (each), but a gallon goes a long way...I add 3oz of Fuel Power to 20 gallons of fuel in the Tahoe and 2oz to the GTI. I use 4oz of Lube Control in the Tahoe every 2k miles, and 4oz in the GTI per oil change.

I might also try adding some Moly to my oil because the Mobil 1 is indicating that additional Moly might be beneficial. I'll know after an oil analysis or two.

My suggestion: try the Fuel Power (at least). It should give you a few more MPG, which is always helpful during longer commutes. The Lube Control is just an additive package that helps extend oil change intervals a bit by providing a little additional cleaning properties to the oil. I've spent $50 in worse ways, and so far it seems to be working pretty well.

(Shipping, BTW, was like $10 for UPS Ground...came in about 4 days)

hehateme · 12-17-03, 08:22

best site I know about additives etc.

http://theoildrop.server101.com/cgi/...DaysPrune=1000

F1Crazy · 12-17-03, 09:00

Definitely stay away from oil additives, fuel additives are ok but don't go crazy about it, do not flush the engine.

37 miles/day means that your car will finally start to live a little

. If you want to ensure long life of your engine the best you can do is to keep it clean. Wear is not a problem in modern engines, sludge and varnish deposits are. After only 30K miles with regular oil changes every 3K miles your engine doesn't need a flush but if you're truly worried about it being nice and clean then do a search on above mentioned site for AutoRX.

If you wanna spend some money then try synthetic oil. Actually you can probably extend your oil change intervals to at least 7,500 miles with good synthetic, this will offset the additional cost. You can go back and forth with dino and synthetic and do not listen to people telling you that your engine will leak because of synthetic oil, it will only leak if you have a problem with some seals. Some ester based oils will actually extend the life of the seals and help to keep the engine clean.

...and one more thing, what oil are you using right now?

Spilchy · 12-18-03, 07:29

Thanks fellas!

I get my oil changed with the normal Penzoil conventional oil every 3 months.

I got my fuel system cleaned at the 30K mile tuneupat Honda with a new fuel filter.

I may consider adding the the Chevron fuel additive at each oil change.

From what I have been hearing, I should stay away from the engine flush.

The car was my grandmother's for the first few years and she putted around town and never really serviced it. You should have seen how terrible the interior / exterior was

and she was on bare metal with her brakes and cracked, mismatched tires. She gave me the car for free. I detailed the heck out of it and spent $$$ on new brakes, tires, major tuneup and today it is getting anew timing belt and alignment. The car is immaculate and in my loving posession for the duration!

I plan on purchasing a new Corvette when the new model comes out (2005?) and will have her as my garage queen and stick with the Honda until I pay off the Vette. This way I'll have one car payment and 2 cars! This is the master plan!!!!!!!!!

Sci-Fi · 12-18-03, 08:58

Quote:

Originally posted by Spilchy
Anyone use an oil additive like Slick 50 or ProLong or any other additive?

Here's what the FTC thinks about oil additives:

Slick 50
"According to the FTC, these claims and others falsely represented that auto engines generally have little or no protection from wear without Slick 50. It is uncommon, however, for engines to experience premature failure caused by wear, whether they are treated with Slick 50 or not. Finally, the FTC alleges that Slick 50 neither coats engine parts with a layer of PTFE nor meets military specifications for motor oil additives."

Prolong

Duralube
"Dura Lube contains chlorinated paraffin, a chlorinated compound"

Zmax: "the three different zMax products- an engine additive, a fuel line additive and a transmission additive- are nothing more than tinted mineral oil."

The list goes on and on. Chrysler issued a TSB, #09-003-01, back in May 2001: "This Bulletin Reinforces a Requirement to Cease the current practice of using supplemental Oil Additive Treatments." Believe I read an article awhile back that showed the oil passages were being clogged by an oil additive contributing to engine failure and another study that showed increased wear from some oil additives. Use at your own risk.

Fuel additives are generally ok, but you need to make sure you read the label or you may find 02 sensors going bad and decreasing the life of your catalytic muffler.

tom p. · 12-18-03, 01:28

Quote:

Originally posted by Spilchy

I have a 96 Civic with only 30,000 miles on it (just had a major tune up). It's my mint condition grocery getter whose oil I change every 3 months regardless of miles.

It only goes maybe 5 miles a day.

However, I am going to be driving it 37 miles a day (75% highway). It has never had this sustained "wear and tear" on it. I am dropping it off tomorrow for a new timing belt (it's been 8 years), alignment and brake check.

Mr. Spilchy, scrap the oil additive idea. Assuming you are doing timely oil changes, you should NOT require additives as modern oils contain the essentials already.

Also, I will be so bold as to suggest your thought process on "sustained wear and tear" may be 180 degrees out of phase. It's the short trips (5 miles/day) that are the hardest possible miles you can put on a car as none of the fluids, the exhaust, the engine, the engine oil, trans fluid, etc. never warm up. The car should be much "happier" with a 37 mile/day routine as it will always get up to full operating temp and burn off condensation. I suspect the car will run better right away.

hondaguy2582 · 12-18-03, 01:45

I suggest changing your own oil if possible. It will save you almost a 1/3 of what you pay, and youll know you did the job right. Also, I would vote for using a synthetic oil if the vehicle has under 70,000 miles. mobil 1 5w30 or if you can get it, amsoil 5w30. Both these oils are excellent for protection, and you can extend your drain intervals at up to 10000(an oil analysis is recommended, but you can at least go 7500 with a synthetic). As for the gas ?, I own a honda myself, and it calls for 86 octane or higher, and I just use regular 87 unleaded from either bp/amoco or mobil gas stations. Hope this helps.

skipperw · 12-18-03, 02:26

GeekySteve, where is the website for Fuel Power and Lube Control?

Dale DeSteno · 12-18-03, 02:35

Quote:

Originally posted by Spilchy

Will an additive help any? If so, which one? Do you recommend the engine flush treatment plus an additive? Or the engine flush plus a synthetic? If I use a synthetic can I go back to conventional?

man, once you go to synthetic, you will NEVER look back! Amsoil, Mobil 1....

bretfraz · 12-18-03, 05:19

Quote:

Originally posted by Horseman2475
GeekySteve, where is the website for Fuel Power and Lube Control?

http://www.lubecontrol.com/

Spilchy · 12-18-03, 06:54

Quote:

Originally posted by tom p.
Mr. Spilchy, scrap the oil additive idea. Assuming you are doing timely oil changes, you should NOT require additives as modern oils contain the essentials already.

Also, I will be so bold as to suggest your thought process on "sustained wear and tear" may be 180 degrees out of phase. It's the short trips (5 miles/day) that are the hardest possible miles you can put on a car as none of the fluids, the exhaust, the engine, the engine oil, trans fluid, etc. never warm up. The car should be much "happier" with a 37 mile/day routine as it will always get up to full operating temp and burn off condensation. I suspect the car will run better right away.

Hence "wear and tear" in "quotes."

I couldn't agree with you more about the stop and go driving. It's just that getting that sewing machine Civic DX up to speed on the highway is like my grandma getting jiggy with it on Soul Train. It just feels like "wear and tear" when the engine is screaming at 70 mph.