Found this link, thought it was pretty interesting:

http://www.chris-longhurst.com/carbibles/additives.html

To sum it up, pretty much any oil additive is worthless, including zmax, duralube, and slick 50. Most are in the middle of lawsuits (or lost already) that claim they don't do squat.

Interesting enough, zmax supposedly wears out your engine faster.
x( I've used it at least twice in my car. ;(

interesting article. solidified my preconceptions about additives

There is alot of good information on that page concerning oils. There is even a section that tells you if those advertised oil filter magnets (the magnets you put around the oil filter to trap metal shavings and keep them out of your engine) work. It is definitely worth a look especially if you don't understand the terms printed on the oil bottle. It can even answer the question of what oil should I use in my car?


Good find :thumbsup

--Kurt

the only additive i use is Hyperlube 'race formula'. good stuff to use in hot weather.

"The current trend is the "90% of your engine wear happens at startup" advertising ploy. This fact is absolutely true, but as it happens, it's less to to with "grinding engine parts" and more to do with combustion. When the combustion gases burn, they form acids which are highly corrosive when their vapours condense. These acids collect in the upper cylinder areas where their temperature is raised above their dew point. The acids condense and etch the cylinder walls and piston rings. In reality, this accounts for over 85% of engine wear, the other 15% being down to abrasion. So the adverts are nearly right - most of the engine wear does happen at startup, and it is because of a lack of oil, but it isn't because the oil isn't coating moving parts - it's because it's not transporting these acidic gases away. Having said that, if you start the engine and let it idle for 15 seconds or so before moving off, you can probably add another 100,000 miles to your engine's life without one bottle of additive. This warms the oil up a tad and makes sure it's in all the most vital areas before you start putting a strain on the engine."



long quote, but i couldnt agree more, although i dont understand how the oil transports the acidic gasses. (any thoughts here, ive had a few beers and am not thinking clearly) .i ALWAYS let my engine warm up for at least a minute or two before driving.

The only engine additive I use is RESTORE. Say what you will but that stuff works. I was burning alot of oil in my 87 Ranger and I used that stuff a few times and it amazingly stopped.

not allllllllll additives are bad...myself and my father both use stuff called friction free 3000...your not gonna find it anywhere so don't bother looking...its too hard to find....but he has a BMW 530i 3.0L v8 with an 8 quart oil capacity...he uses the additive and full synthetic oil and goes 20k miles between changes...the car now has 240,000 miles and the oil comes out clean...i do the same changinging every 10k miles and my oil looks almost as clear as when it went in and never burns any...:thumbsup