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Her is some documentation I found regarding "snake oils". hope it answers a few
questions.
You may have heard the commercial or seen the ad:
Multiple tests by independent laboratories have shown that when properly
applied to an automotive engine, Slick 50 Engine Formula reduces
wear on engine parts. Test results have shown that Slick 50 treated engines
sustained 50 percent less wear than test engines run with premium
motor oil alone.
There are about 50 other products on the market which make similar claims, many
of them being just duplicate products under different
names from the same company. The price for a pint or quart of these engine oil
additives runs from a few dollars to more than $20. Do these
products do any good? Not much. Do they do any harm. Sometimes.
What's in these miracle lubricants, anyway? And, if they're so wonderful, why
don't car manufacturers recommend their usage? And why
don't oil companies get into the additive business? And where are these studies
mentioned by Petrolon (Slick 50)? Probably in the same file
cabinet as the tobacco company studies proving the health benefits of smoking.
The basic ingredient is the same in most of these additives: 50 weight engine
oil with standard additives. The magic ingredient in Slick 50,
Liquid Ring, Lubrilon, Microlon, Matrix, QM1 and T-Plus from K-Mart is
Polytetrafloeraethylene. Don't try to pronounce it: call it PTFE.
But don't call it Teflon, which is what it is, because that is a registered
trademark. Dupont, who invented Teflon, claims that "Teflon is not
useful as an ingredient in oil additives or oils used for internal combustion
engines." But what do they know? They haven't seen the secret
studies done by Petrolon (Slick 50).
PTFE is a solid which is added to engine oil and allegedly coats the moving
parts of the engine.
However, such solids seem even more inclined to coat non-moving parts, like
oil passages and filters. After all, if it can build up
under the pressures and friction exerted on a cylinder wall, then it stands
to reason it should build up even better in places with
low pressures and virtually no friction.
This conclusion seems to be borne out by tests on oil additives containing
PTFE conducted by the NASA Lewis Research
Center, which said in their report, "In the types of bearing surface
contact we have looked at, we have seen no benefit. In some
cases we have seen detrimental effect. The solids in the oil tend to
accumulate at inlets and act as a dam, which simply blocks
the oil from entering. Instead of helping, it is actually depriving parts
of lubricant."[Rau]
In defense of Slick 50, tests done on a Chevy 6 cylinder engine by the
University of Utah Engineering Experiment Station found that after
treatment with the PTFE additive the test engine's friction was reduced by 13.1
percent, the output horsepower increased from 5.3 percent
to 8.1 percent, and fuel economy improved as well. Unfortunately, the same tests
concluded that "There was a pressure drop across the oil
filter resulting from possible clogging of small passageways." Oil analysis
showed that iron contamination doubled after the treatment,
indicating that engine wear increased. [Rau]
Another type of additive is zinc dialkyldithiophosphate. Zinc-d is found in
Mechanics Brand Engine Tune Up, K Mart Super Oil
Treatment, and STP Engine Treatment With XEP2, among others. The touting of
zinc-d as a special ingredient in engine oil additives is a little
like the Anacin commercials which used to tout the fact that they had an extra
added pain reliever which made them special. What was it?
Aspirin. The aspirin had more aspirin. Zinc-d is an additive in most, if not
all, major oil brands. The wonder oils just put more of the stuff in a
50 weight engine oil. It would be useful if your engine were ever operated under
extremely abnormal conditions where metal contacts metal:
"the zinc compounds react with the metal to prevent scuffing, particularly
between cylinder bores and piston rings....unless you plan on
spending a couple of hours dragging your knee at Laguna Seca, adding extra zinc
compounds to your oil is usually a waste.... Also, keep in
mind that high zinc content can lead to deposit formation on your valves, and
spark plug fouling." [Rau]
If zinc-d is so good for your engine, why haven't oil manufacturers been putting
more of it in their standard mix of oil and additives? Actually,
oil companies have been decreasing the amount of zinc-d because of research
evidence which indicates that it seems to adversely affect
catalytic converters, causing them to deteriorate.
The bottom line is that outside of the testimonials of happy and satisfied
customers and the guarantees of company executives about the
wonderful effects that studies have shown will follow the use of their products,
there isn't much support for using oil additives. Of course,
there are those millions of customers who buy the stuff: aren't they proof that
these things really work? Not really. They're proof that this stuff
really sells!
Though some additives may not contain anything harmful to your engine, and
even some things that could be beneficial, most
experts still recommend that you avoid their use. The reason for this is
that your oil, as purchased from one of the major oil
companies, already contains a very extensive additive package.
This package is made up of numerous, specific additive components, blended
to achieve a specific formula that will meet the
requirements of your engine. Usually, at least several of these additives
will be synergistic. That is, they react mutually, in groups
of two or more, to create an effect that none of them could attain
individually. Changing or adding to this formula can upset the
balance and negate the protective effect the formula was meant to achieve,
even if you are only adding more of something that
was already included in the initial package.[Rau]
On the other side of the engine block are those additives which will cleanse
your engine, not coat it. Stuff like Bardahl, Rislone and Marvel
Mystery Oil claim they can make your engine run quieter and smoother; they can
reduce oil burning. These are products which contain
solvents or detergents such as kerosene, naphthalene, xylene, acetone or
isopropanol. If used properly, I suppose these products will strip
off your Teflon and zinc protective coatings! But unless you have a really old
and abused car, you probably have no need of stripping away
sludge and deposits from your engine. Thus, you probably have no need for these
wonder cleaners. And, if you overuse such products you
can damage your engine by promoting metal to metal contact.
Also, if you use a synthetic oil, such as Mobil 1, you are advised not to use
any engine treatments or additives. Mobil claims that
Tests have shown that some additive supplements may significantly alter the
performance and properties of any
lubricant. In several cases, additive supplements have been detrimental to
viscosity, storage stability and reduced
protection against the formation of deposits.
Finally, you may have seen the commercial where two engines are allowed to run
without any oil in them and the one which had the special
oil additive keeps on ticking after the other engine has conked out. This may be
appealing to the car owner who never changes his or her oil
or who runs his or her car without oil, but it should be of little interest to
the person who knows how to take care of their automobile.
The skeptic's advice? Change your oil and oil filter regularly and if your car
is getting old and cranky use a single viscosity oil (30 weight is
good), not a multi-viscosity such as 10-40. That multi-viscosity stuff is for
the younger set. And don't forget to change the fuel and air filters
at the recommended intervals.