Oil Additives for Maintenance

Additives are a really fun subject. One opinion is that all of today's oils have everything needed ... NO additives are necessary. That is absolutely correct. Another opinion is that additives are wonderful. ... Each is a specific aid to each situation. That is absolutely correct too. Some additives ... the one in the original post ... I think are just fantastic. Anything "Lucas" is good in my book. My team and I ran a car on full "Rislone" for a season. It ran just fine. We ran that same car the next season on all types of STP products. It was still a hard running car."Marvel Mystery Oil" has been a favorite of mine for a long time. As it turns out, an in-depth report I read makes it out to be generally nothing. I didn't think much of that report but I NO longer think it to be magic any more. It's a great cleaner and loosener of stuck and/or clogged parts. You should be able to determine my opinion ... after three(3) posts ... that if it makes you happy ... You're good to go.

To answer from the first post ... that Lucas stuff is great. I still like the thick after the vid ... but I'll be using the thin in my G2.

 

I've seen pics and vids of guys taking filters apart. They show the constancy of the filter element; it's folds and such. They show how well or not how everything fits in the can. They also show how much stuff is actually in the can. Fram hasn't done well in the stuff I've seen. I'll say it again though that I used Fram filters for a long time with NO problems.

 

Opinion.
I feel consumer oil sales, is such a competitive arena, that if any singular additive REALLY improved oil, it would be added at the manufacturing level.
Therefore, my feeling is most separate oil additives are unnecessary and unneeded.
Most claims are miraculous in nature, which also always makes me skeptical.

I'm probably being hypocritical however, as about 2-4 times a year I add a fuel system cleaner...Techron. I guess I just have more faith that an octane boosting fuel system cleaner "Might" have some benefit occasionally as opposed to a product designed to supposedly "improve" oil.

 

You have to keep in mind, this is @TheChip that we’re talking about- autocross w/full throttling and force charging. If he drives like me (See my avatar photo) and engine is okay then it might not be needed.

 

How did I get dragged into this? I never posted in this thread.

 

Your rep'

 

I'm answering the OP.
The question being "Oil Additives for Maintenance". Which I'm reading as regular usage, and regular maintenance.

If you are driving autocross? Well I just recuse myself from opinion. I think that's a different and specific level of engine and oil demand, that I'm just not familiar with.

When I was young...one of the first new vehicles I owned and could afford was a Nissan Pick-Up. I was obsessive about it's maintenance. Despite it almost being a model-T in terms of it's mechanical simplicity.
This was early 90's, and there was more than one late night infomercial for Oil additive products. You might remember the demonstrations and "stunts". This included running dry but treated engines for days, to show the protective quality of the additives. Bearing load tests. Even as dramatic stunts as engines being frozen in solid blocks of ice and started after being treated with the "magical formula".

I admit in my early 20's, I bought and used one of the more popular (at the time) additives. Believing in all the pseudo-science, and demonstrations. Terms like "Nano-technology" and cartoon graphic clips of the additive supposedly protecting the engine on a molecular level all enticed me into purchase and usage.

Looking back?
Well that stuff wasn't cheap.
I don't think I damaged my engine using the stuff...but I spent a lot of money, and I don't really think it extended the life or efficiency of my engine. I traded it in running perfectly...so who knows if it ran for another 25 years? But I doubt it.

Today, I insist on OEM oil....synthetic, but I obsess far less. I have faith in the baseline recommendations for maintenance, including replacing the Oil on a prudent schedule and changing the Oil filter.
And that's about where I leave it.

Unless my engine is demonstrating symptoms of failure...smoke or blow by..I feel no need to add anything.

 

I'm curious here. What exactly is "OEM oil"? What auto maker produces their own oil?

 

The only oil additive I've ever used that worked as described is a product called Auto-Rx. It's an Internet only item, not available in stores as they say. My Volvo had dino oil in it for the first eight years of it's life and there was a brown coating on the cam shafts and the whole area as seen through the oil fill hole.

Added a bottle and followed the instructions to the letter. The area that I could see the cam shafts and area around them were as shinny as a brand new penny. The product is designed to clean out the engine of any gunk in the oil galleries and crud off the rings. It's not something you use on a regular basis but I would say every 50K miles. It did smooth out the engine and increase the power after using it. I use nothing but Mobil One in the car since that cleaning (2005) and probably it's due for another cleaning this year.

If you want to know anything on oil and fluids for your car bobistheoilguy.com is the place to go for this type of information.

Years ago Volvo use to have cut away oil filter display at their dealers comparing popular oil filters. There was a Volvo OEM, Fram, Purolator and some other filter on the display. You could easily see that there was a major quality difference between OEM and aftermarket. There are some great high quality aftermarket filters and there are a lot of junk filters out there.
Volvo filters are made by a company by the name of Mann. Like air filters the Volvo unit is heads and shoulders above anything I've ever seen available in a local parts store.

 

IIRC, The Mann filters are built in Germany to German standards.

 

The only oil additives I have used were used in "Nothing left to loose engines". High mileage, noisy and nothing left to loose. I never use anything but good quality oil on a good engine and they usually last the life of a car up north. I loose interest in a car once rust starts showing on the body after several attempts and mucho dinero invested in bodywork.

 

As I'm using the term, somewhat clumsily, I'd say obviously manufacturer branded Oil.
Toyota doesn't seem as bad, but if you own a Honda and read the owners manual? Honda will recommend ONLY using Honda products for just about any replaceable fluid in the vehicle.

Maybe I have become less obsessive over the years. I use to buy my Oil separately...Mobil One Full Synthetic or other highly touted brands, and then pay to have it put in. Today? I'm OK with the dealership using their branded Oil. Honda's is a full synthetic in my case, and I'm OK with it.

When I had my Prius? I let the Toyota dealership put whatever product they were using.
Today I'm more concerned about keeping up with the maintenance as opposed to trying the latest "Wonder Oil" or newest product in a bottle.

I keep my head in Prius Chat...and a few other automotive forums. I expect if anyone discovers an Oil or Oil Additive that legitimately makes 200K the new 50K, I'll hear about it.

 

Now marketed as Auto-Rx Plus. Compare their website price with the price on Amazon to get the best deal.

 

in my country greece toyota use SAE 5W30 oil for prius GEN 3.for GEN2 prius use 5W40.

 

You're not being hypocritical. I also use Techron once or twice a year. While I try to use my local gas station consistently, this is not always possible. The variances in fuel type, additives, and quality from different stations "may" have an impact on fuel system degradation, so throwing in Techron every so often can't hurt.

OTOH, since I always use Toyota's 0W-20 oil, there should be no reason for an oil additive.

 

Which one do you use?