Engine Lubricant

[Razi]

I have been wonder lately about products like Zmax, which claim to clean up carbon deposits and lubricate engine parts.

They claim to increase engine life and smoothness by cleaning up the engine and lubricating it by "soaking" itself into the parts by "micro-lubrication" as written on their 'Benefits' page.Also claims that it will not overfill your oil levels since it really does soak itself into the engine parts.

Then comes the question, isn't the engine oil enough, and does it really "soak" itself into the engine parts? I think I've seen these bottles of Zmax or similar products go for 20 bucks a pop and been wondering if they are really that effective.

Is it just smoke and mirrors or does it really do what they claim to do?

[Infinitiguy19]

Should have done a search before asking, No offense

zerothread?id=306945

[Razi]

So sorry, I should've searched.

Edit: I looked through it fairly quickly and I believe they are talking about the fuel additive not the engine oil additive? Correct me if I'm wrong.

[Infinitiguy19]

All the same I would think.

Can't just make 1 crappy product then make some other product that actually works.

[maxnix]

Look at http://www.bgprod.com intake mist and rail flush.

Also http://www.envirolution.com for crankcase.

[Razi]

Alright thank you guys, I read that thread over again, this time throughly.Thanks for not flaming me, and thanks for the links!

[Infinitiguy19]

Look at http://www.bgprod.com intake mist and rail flush.

Also http://www.envirolution.com for crankcase.

For the first link, If you remove and clean the TB you will do a much better job and for the fuel rail flush, never done it dunno.

But for the second link have you had any experience Maxnix?

Does it clean the engine of varnish as well?

[maxnix]

For the first link, If you remove and clean the TB you will do a much better job ...

But for the second link have you had any experience Maxnix?

Does it clean the engine of varnish as well?

The misting will only slow the coating of a clean intake, not clean a really dirty one.

Yes, I envirolutioned all my engines before converting to M1. It will not remove varnish, but it will remove sludge. In fact, at the Infiniti of Fife Service Manager has bottles on his wall of infamy of what came out of various crankcases. The worst was a Toyota V6 that hadn't had the oil changed in 30K. It was like solid coke. Took a couple turns on the machine.

[Unnatural1]

I'm sure I've seen this posted on the forums before but:

http://www.carbibles.com/engineoil_bible.html

This link provides a good over view on the basics of oil and it's job in your engine.

http://www.carbibles.com/additives.html

This is the section on oil additives.

My opinion:

I have never used oil additives on any of my cars. I do however use good quality oil and perform oil and filter changes on my vehicles regularly (about 3,000-4,000 miles). I use full synthetic in my Q. All my vehicles have well over 100k miles on the clock and still ticking away. My 1999 Ford Expedition is closing in on 200k miles.

My point is, it doesn't matter whether an oil additive works or not (the law suits would suggest they don't), you don't need it. Most oil additive companies are marketing products to fix problems that don't really exist. Oil companies spend millions on R&D to perfect their oils. They also work with auto manufacturers to insure their oil products are up to their standards. A good oil (even a conventional oil) will do an excellent job in your engine as long as you change it at the recommended interval.

If an engine is new to you (as in 'used') and maintenance history is questionable an engine flush is not a bad idea. Once sludge starts to form it's VERY hard to get rid of short of completely disassembling and cleaning everything.

So the moral of the story is, if you want to spend money on oil products buy a quality full synthetic oil and filter and keep it changed at the recommended interval. You will get the maximum life out of your engine as well as gain a small amount of additional HP/TQ.

[Q45tech]

If you want to get 400,000 to a million miles* from a precision designed AND ASSEMBLED engine..............all that is necessary is proper oil and filter changed at 90 day intervals or 3,750 miles. Prolonging a single change can cost you big on the end life. [Quality expensive synthetics can prolong these intervals if filters are good enough to remove microscopic particles].

That's the rub with buying used, you can not fix the damage done by previous owners. No magic in a bottle can rebuild worn away atoms, nor reanneal aluminum alloys which have been over heated JUST ONCE.

*Almost every domestic and foreign brand WITH A V8 has a few examples of MILLION MILE ENGINES

http://www.millionmilechevy.co....htmlDozens of words of wisdom in this story but remember the Chey V8 is cast iron blocked so more forgiving.

" I did not want to wait until a part wore out to replace it. "

"Shutting Off A Hot Engine…Would Be Like Crawling Into A Hot Oven Whenever I run the interstate and pull off to rest or get fuel…I never shut off the engine right away. You should leave it run for about five minutes to cool down. If you shut a hot engine down…there’s no air or anti-freeze circulating to cool it down. So all the heat builds up in the head of the engine…causing gasket and metal fatigue.

[Unnatural1]

Since we are on the topic of regular oil changes. Don't forget about taking care of the rest of the fluid filled components in the drivetrain. Here's my favorite part from the above mentioned Million Mile Chevy site:

My Chevy still has the original transmission…at 1,036,000 miles. It has never been overhauled.

What’s the significance of that? By changing your transmission fluid regularly…and installing a high quality synthetic oil…could possibly make your transmission…almost immortal!

BTW he was using Amsoil.

[maxnix]

I rather suspect he didn't care when the shifts times went to 2.5 seconds on a delivery van. But since he didn't mention any shift timing that I saw, his tolerance was greater than the additonal .5 seconds that Q45tech thought was excessive.

A complete mechanical fluid exchange every 2 years 24K miles and an ATF cooler will dertainly help extend ATF performance. Heat, even just peak heat spikes, is the enemy.

[Q45tech]

What it proves is driving a thousand miles at a time on highways is much easier on engine /transmission THAN 50 miles of frequent shift city driving!

[bullittandy]

What it proves is driving a thousand miles at a time on highways is much easier on engine /transmission THAN 50 miles of frequent shift city driving!

Very true! My 1997 Q was driven regularly (city/highway) until 30K and then from 30K to 225K all highway miles. Still feels tight!