FACT or FRICTION

There are a number of additives on the market. They can be found at auto parts stores, mass merchants like Wal-Mart and even on late night television. All of these additives were designed to provide a measure of protection against metal wear and engine fatigue. Research indicates that even motors using the highest grade natural and synthetic oils wear out and experience a dry start when the engine has been stopped long enough for all of the oil to drain back into the oil pan.

Nonetheless, some manufacturers make the claim that their additive is good for 50,000 miles. This is a fallacy. First of all - most of any additive, including those added to your base oil by the manufacturer – is lost when you change the oil as recommended. Secondly - to get an idea of what Teflon does in your oil circulation system – picture what it would be like to add a heavy dose of cholesterol to a human circulation system. So don’t be fooled by “slick” talk.

This category of additives on the market uses Teflon as their active ingredient. Some camouflage this terminology by calling the product PTFE (Polytetrafloeraethylene). Oil additives that contain PTFE include Slick 50 , Liquid Ring, Lubrilon, Microlon, Matrix, Petrolon (same company as Slick 50), QMl, and T-Plus (K-Mart)- to name a few.

Another category of oil additives uses Zinc-d (zinc dialkyldithiophosphate) as the active ingredient. Zinc-d is an additive in most major oil brands including Mechanics Brand Engine Tune Up, K- Mart Super Oil Treatment and STP Engine Treatment With XEP2 – to name a few. The wonder additives just add more Zinc-d to 50 weight engine oil. This additive would be useful if an engine was ever operated under extremely abnormal conditions where metal contacts metal because zinc compounds react with the metal to prevent scuffing – particularly useful between cylinder bores and piston rings. The downside, however, is that high zinc content can lead to the formation of deposits on valves and increased occurrence of spark plug failure. Additionally, oil companies have been decreasing the amount of zinc-d because the evidence indicates that zinc-d causes deterioration of catalytic converters.

Chlorinated paraffin’s are the most popular additive. A substance which, when heated up to normal engine and/or machine temperatures, turns corrosive in nature resulting in the premature deterioration of metal, gasket and seal materials. The chlorinated paraffin’s are also corrosive to the light metals in your engine. The lead in engine bearings is subject to corrosion. If chlorinated paraffin’s come in contact with moisture/water of any kind they turn into hydrochloric acid and can become acidic to the lead in engine bearings. A certified copper strip corrosive test would reveal the use of this ingredient in their products.