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Layman's Guide to Synthetic Oil
COMPLEX CHEMICAL ADDITIVES VS. AFTERMARKET ADDITIVES
Now that you have learned some of the basic chemical
additives
engineered into a motor oil by highly skilled chemists,
scientists and lubrication engineers I ask you to think
about this question:
How can it be that an aftermarket additive company can
come out with an off-the-shelf additive that they claim
you can pour into any motor oil and it will perform all
kinds of phenomenal things the motor oil as engineered
by the oil manufacturer seemingly cannot?
My answer is that they cannot.
First of all, the chemistry of a particular motor
oil is proprietary
and there is no way an aftermarket additive company can
engineer one additive to enhance the performance of any
motor oil without knowing the exact chemical composition
of that particular motor oil. Different base stock motor
oils and manufacturer additive package formulations each
respond differently to aftermarket oil additives.
Secondarily, a base oil formulation, which is
inferior,
cannot be converted into a top quality motor oil simply
by pouring in an aftermarket oil additive, contrary to
the additive manufacturers claims. What works in one
motor oil may have totally different effects in another
brand and/or type of motor oil. Yet, look on the bottle
of any of these miracle additives and they are stated to
work with any brand or type of motor oil.
Ironically, if you research the ownership of a few
of these aftermarket additive companies the parent
company is an oil company.
To me, that raises questions about the motives of these
companies in relation to sales figures and profits.
The additives manufactured and marketed
by these companies have recently come under scrutiny by
the
U.S. Federal Trade Commission.
I strongly believe the additives are on the market
because of the profit potential that exists and the
consumer demand that can be created by an effective
advertising campaign for these products. I have not seen
one single iota of documented test data from an auto
manufacturers R&D labs that can substantiate the use of
aftermarket oil additives.
The claims these aftermarket additive companies make are
absolutely ridiculous. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission
has issued charges of false and unsubstantiated
advertising claims against many of these aftermarket
additive companies. After both the FTC and the various
companies presented their cases in a court, the false
and unsubstantiated advertising claims were upheld and
the manufacturers were assessed damages and consumer
redress and placed restrictions on the type of
advertising they can do in the future.
There is no mystery here.
The additives that are used
primarily consist of Polytetrafloeraethylene (PTFE)
suspended in a standard motor oil, zinc (remember, zinc
is used as an additive in most every major brand of
motor oil, however, more zinc does not necessarily mean
more protection and can cause other engine problems if
not properly blended into the overall additive package
of the motor oil), ZDDP, kerosene, acetones, xylene,
naphthalene, isopropanol, and chlorine blended with some
type of carrier, which is typically a high viscosity
motor oil. These aftermarket additives can offset the
critical balance of additives the oil company has
carefully engineered and blended in as well as cause
detrimental reactions with the chemicals already in the
motor oil that can either strip away useful additives
the oil company blended in, attack internal engine
components or plug critical internal oil passages.
The bottom line is that there is absolutely no
credible documented data or evidence
by any major oil, automotive or equipment manufacturing
company that substantiates the use of aftermarket oil
additives. My advice is to stay away from any
aftermarket oil additive. Based on my engineering
knowledge of lubrication it is my professional opinion
as an engineer that they are a waste of money and can
cause additional engine problems. Instead, spend your
money on a premium quality synthetic motor oil and you
will be far better off. Don't think just because a
particular store sells these additives that they are
"ok". Some owners of businesses will sell whatever the
public wants and if it moves off their shelves, then
it's money in their pockets. Some business owners are
more ethical and will not sell anything that they know
is detrimental and do not personally use and endorse.
As a side note, I know of two auto-parts stores within a
half-mile of each other. One is a well-known family
owned high quality performance type store. The owners of
this store use the products they sell and also design
and build racing and performance cars and have a full
machine shop. They will not sell any type of brand of
aftermarket oil additive and while in their store I have
heard the owner state "I don't sell that crap in my
store" when a customer comes in and asks for it.
Yet, just down the road the owner of a large discount
chain walked down the aisle with myself and a business
associate where he has at least a dozen different
aftermarket oil additives prominently on display and
waves his hand as he walks by these additives and says
"this stuff is all junk, but we sell a lot of it".
Unfortunately, for the unwary consumer, there are far
too many unscrupulous business owners out there that
will sell anything the public will buy, whether it be
any good or not.
In fact, "in the case of oil additives, there is a
considerable volume of evidence against their
effectiveness.
This evidence comes from well-known and identifiable
expert sources, including independent research
laboratories, state universities major engine
manufacturers, and even NASA".
Additionally, a friend of mine is an engineer at one of
the major automotive engineering and manufacturing
companies, and has had the opportunity to work with some
of the worlds most skilled and knowledgeable engineers
from one of the most successful and well-known national
race teams in history. None, and I mean absolutely none,
of their cars ever use an aftermarket oil additive. They
only use synthetic oil, and not just any synthetic oil,
but the absolute best synthetic oil there is.
In summary
I do not recommend the use of any aftermarket oil
additives, regardless of how convincing their claims
are. Instead, I recommend that you research the
different brands of premium quality synthetic motor oil
on the market and select the product that proves to
offer the best overall performance and protection.
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