The worst additives I know of so far are the: Duralube and Slick-50..."useless"

[Guest tony78_280z]

Before anyone rags me, yes I did use the search. I used terms "slick 50", "slick-50", and "oil additives". I also tried just "slick" but that came up with lots of nonsense.

 

SO this guy here (http://www.centuryperformance.com/engineoil.asp) says

The most USELESS products are the additives. The worst additives I know of so far are the: Duralube and Slick-50..."useless", and in fact can be hazardous to your engine.

I got this friend who put a slick-50 type additive into his 4 cylinder motor (pontiac something) and the rattling and pinging in his motor went away. I myself have always been a fan of Duralube, and put it in my ol l28 engine and tranny. The motor allways had some blow by on no 6, and I used some extra lube to try to minimize damage. My ol' Z mechanic in StL (before dropping the v8 into it) recomended Prolong in the motor and the tranny. Which I did use for a little while.

 

So what is the opinion of others about these products? Can anyone back up opinions yay or nay with some facts?

[Sumo]

We used to buy Slick 50 before it got bought out by Quaker State i think and became main stream, it was a lot thicker before being bought out. We used it in our 78 Trans Am with 200K and on an 81 Buick Century which was used as a beater car. About a year after putting Slick 50 i was changing oil on the Buick and was wondering why only 3/4 of a quart came out, I knew my brother used it the night before and he drives like a nut. I asked him if the oil light ever came on or heard any knocking or weird noises and he said no. So i was like ???? maybe Slick protected it enough to where i could put in fresh oil. Two years later sold the car and heard it blew a motor half way thru Blithe California, so who knows. As far as Dura lube i think we used the tranny formula on the Trans Am because the guy at the Auto Zone couldn't find the price for it and said "here....go....free" and we were like ...ok..., all we wanted was a price check. Lo and behold the tranny had stopped slipping. Do i believe in them? ....well it didn't hurt.

[JMortensen]

BG makes some good additives. I've used their MOA and MGC, and I worked at a shop where we used to do their power steering and trans flush. I used the MGC basically for LSD additive for a long time. Works well, but then I found SWEPCO 201, which doesn't require additive and doesn't break down so fast. A BG rep originally came into the shop I was working at and did the bearing test (I'm guessing you've all seen it) and my boss who was 275 lbs was HANGING off the end of a breaker bar trying to stop the motor and couldn't. It was pretty impressive.

 

I still have some reservations about additives in general since I like to follow the "if it sounds too good to be true" rule, but I can vouch from personal experience for the BG stuff. I tried Prolong on a dying motor and noticed no difference whatsoever.

 

The only other one I can say yea or nea on is Restore engine treatment. My buddy used it on a seriously weak VW diesel and in 5 minutes the thing was running like a champ. Ran that way for several years, then I lost track of the car, not sure if they even have it anymore. Not exactly my recommended fix for a tired engine, but if you just can't afford to fix a car with bad rings it does work.

[COZY Z COLE]

This is interesting.....First click this link and then on the left side click, engine oil additives.

 

http://www.chris-longhurst.com/carbibles/index.html?menu.html&suspension_bible.html

 

LARRY

[Guest tony78_280z]

WOW that is interesting. Nobody was left off the hook but ZMax, and they simply settled out.

[randy 77zt]

i have been running an additive called pro-blend you get from speed shops.i put some in my van that i bought used and it ran cooler on the same day i put it in.i ran it in a 87 ford ranger with a 2.9 and had to do a valve job on it due to sunken exhaust valve seat after about 300,000 miles.cylinder walls still had hone marks.the additive is supposed to be added every 12,000 miles but i put it in once a year.

[Guest bastaad525]

I've heard a lot of people say they've had good luck using Restore... but the one time I finally got the chance to put it to the test myself...

 

 

When I first put the ZXT motor in my 240, it ran good... then mysteriously one day it threw a lash pad off one of the valves and bent the valve, while I was cruising 35mph down the street. So I had the head removed and rebuilt, and imediately the motor started burning oil, smoking from the exhuast REALY bad. It ended up being the rings... I used some Restore in there and it didn't do a thing... no reduction in smoke, no effect at all. Funny thing was, when me and a buddy took the engine back apart, and took the rings out, they didn't look bad at all, and the cylinder walls looked perfect. But, we put new rings and bearings anyways, and sure enough, the smoke went away. I figure, with the rings looking as good as they did when I pulled them out, it was really surprising that the motor was smoking at all, and surprising that the Restore stuff didn't do anything to alleviate the smoke.

[Guest rick458]

I have had mixed results with Restore

 

it worked quite well in my 305

did NADA in my 1.8L Mazda/ford

[Mikelly]

Well I"m an amsoil dealer, but I won't push a product on you...

 

GO HERE: http://www.bobistheoilguy.com to get some edumication in petrolium products.

 

I'm running Amsoil in all my stuff and right now I"m changing the truck's oil at 12-14K miles and the Vette, I change between 6-8K miles INCLUDING track events... I've had independant tests run on the oil with EXCELLENT success.

 

I'm N-O-T an additive fan at all! The key is using group 4/5 Synthetic oils.

Mike

[Synlubes]

I too am an Amsoil dealer for over 20 years now.

And I will not push my product on you either!

If you ask, I will inform you. The product sells itself!

 

I saw the benefits back in the early 80`s.

I worked for a Z specialty shop and the owners raced (scca) a 240.

I worked this car thru a season and I tore it down at the end of the season.

We reused everything (including bearings), we only lightly honed the cly and went with fresh rings.

The lubricants (Amsoil) were changed after every 3rd event (i think it = about 10 hrs of practice/race time)

 

If you have a problem, you need to fix the problem.

There is no magic stuff in a bottle! Except for Amsoil!

You might find some informative info at my site as well.

[Guest JAMIE T]

Doug is the Amsoil Pimp!

[Savage42]

Here's one case for Slick 50. While teflon floating in your oil doesn't do anything and certainly won't coat anything, it does work under different circumstances. The only way (that I've heard of) for something like Slick 50 to work is in places where there is extreme pressure between 2 metal surfaces. My buddy had a howling rear end, where the gears had worn and had a harmonic whine to them. I know that many of you know what I'm talking about. Many transmissions do the same when they get older and worn. Anyway, he put some in the diff and it went away. The extreme pressure and heat of the gears actually pressed the teflon info the fine grooves, etc. So, there's a cheap fix for an older diff or trans. I just wouldn't recommend putting the stuff into a LSD diff, as teflon and clutch discs probably don't like each other. Just thought I'd pass that along. In regards to oils, I've had great luck with Mobil 1 and Amzoil. We only run Mobil 1 in our Mopar race cars. I was running at Daytona a few years ago in our '73 Petty Challenger and while going around Nascar turn 3, I got a little smoke inside the car. I could feel that the motor was getting tight. I was flat out at 180 mph and I looked at the oil temp and it was at 375 degrees. I shut the motor down and coasted back into the pits. Once cooled, it fired up and we rebuilt the motor. Rod bearings were gone, but motor was saved. Good stuff.

[MAYHEM]

I to use either Amsoil or Mobil 1, I change my filter every 3-4 thousand miles and top off what I lost with the oil filter removal. I've sent in my oil sample in to be analized once a year, for years and have NEVER had abmormal wear in my motors. These is the same way to see abnormal wear in jet engines, too.

 

Now if I get a used car that I want to clean it out out (cardon) I use SEA Foam.