namvette69

One trick that I picked up from a fellow who has worked on 1000s of corvettes is to use diesel oil, usually in the 10-40 to 15-45 range, on older vettes. The zinc in the oil helps preserve the inner parts of the engine. If you're going to go racing the oil might be to thick.

Tom400CFI

Maybe. On what basis do you make that recommondation, other than that 'you heard if from a guy"?

This Excellent post (scroll down to "Rejected option 1") shows evidence that using Rotella could be harmful in a gasoline engine. I'm not a chemical engineer, so I wouldn't be likely to switch to Rotella w/o understanding the science/chemistry behind it. -especially when I already see better than necessary engine life w/the oil that is recommended.

Dt86

I'm a faithful user of sta-bil. New York is seasonal and thus I have seasonal equipment. Trimmers,blowers,mower,snow thrower, etc. I don't empty the gasoline tanks while they sit unused for months. I've been using sta-bil for a decade this way and all of my engines start right up when going back in service. I have a 2 cycle gas jug that probably has had gas with sta-bil in it for almost 2 years and it runs through the engines fine.

93 ragtop

I have a 91 model cub cadet 1320. I have never used any additives in the gas, and I keep gas in it throughout the year. Never had a problem from it. Keep in mind my area has had alcohol added to the gas way before it was mandated nationally.

With the oil, several years ago, I pulled the heads on my 93 with 99,000 miles and was amazed how clean it was. No additives, just mobil 1 oil.

aklim

In reality, all you have proven is nothing. The only way to prove anything is to have a teardown of several identical engines under identical conditions of operation. Had you not put Prolong into the engine and instead sacrificed a goat every week, you might claim the same thing. That the goat sacrifice helped. You have not proven if the engine could have made the same distance without the stuff. You cannot compare a Toyota engine with a Mercedes engine either. You need to compare several L98 engines with each other after being run under the same conditions. That is why we have laboratories for that sort of work.

That the manufacturer will not do such tests and publish results of an accredited and independent laboratory speaks volumes about the product.

BBNJKen

I use Mobil1 5W-30 in my 96 CE. At the completion of each oil change, I add 2-6 oz of bourbon of choice to the operator. My engine runs great!

aklim

Would a virgin sacrifice work as well?

vader86

If you keep the car put up in winter then try it.

Otherwise save it for the lawnmower or boat in winter. I would recommend it for any boat that you don't take out of water in wintertime for sure.

cv67

Tried Prolong in a 5.0 I had back in the 80s
Could swear it idled a little higher afterward maybe the IAC got dirty lol

Bout a yr later there were many reports of teflon clogging oil pump pickups. These days I use about any oil thats available unless its for the weekend toy but still use a good filter

aklim

I'm not sure how the Teflon thing works. It makes it sound like you can massage it onto engine parts when I think the process for sticking it onto a pan is more involved. Alas, all I hear is the people who think it does something but no real scientific evidence of efficacy.

As I have often asked, if a company wants to peddle a product, why are they so afraid of having an independent laboratory that is accredited do the work of testing and publish the unedited results with the method of testing used for all to see? Unless the test results might no go their way and support the claims?

Tom400CFI

As for the teflon thing, Slock50 made the same claims too. If it reduced friction so much that it idled higher, I'd certainly expect to see a ver noticeable jump in fuel economy too. But you don't (I never have).

Also, lets say there is teflon in there. Let's say it does some how attach itself to metal surfaces and presumably reduces friction. How much teflon is in that bottle? Probably not much. Let's say that there is enough to coat all the wear surfaces of a V8 engine.

Now, once you pour the bottle in, how does the Teflon "know" which metal surfaces to adhere to? I'm going go ahead and say that IF there is Teflon in there at all, and IF it does adhere to metal surfaces all by itself, then it's also going to adhere to ALL the metal surface area in an engine: the oil pan. The valley of the V, china walls and the cylinder heads/valve area. The crank counterweights, the undersides of the pistons. The back of the timing cover. All that is a LOT of surface area. What is left, to "protect and reduce friction" in the bearings?

Those products don't pass the "gut check test" (for me), they don't produce objective (measurable) results, and as Aklim pointed out, where are the 3rd party results? Why doesn't Exxon/Mobil buy it to add to Mobil 1, if it's so great?

And looking back at my pictures....What am *I* missing out on, by not having spent my money on the stuff?

Silver96ce

Teflon is non-sticky in all directions meaning it is not going to "coat" the engine parts. In order to get teflon to stick to something, the surface has to be made "scratchy" by sandblasting. Then a thin coat is sprayed on and baked at a high temp. I think for it to adhere to any engine parts would require that they be in very bad shape - scratched cylinder bores, damaged and scratched main bearings, etc. At that point I think the engine would too far gone for teflon to help anything.
So it's only a selling gimmick - and apparently millions over the years have bought into it. The only good it is doing is to the bottom line of the companies marketing it. There are so many gimmicks for cars today that I would go broke getting all of them. The airfoil that adds hp, oil additives, special filters for oil and air, multi-ground strap spark plugs and on and on. And anybody remember the graphite oil - I think it was marketed in the late '70s early '80s by Citgo. Yeah let's add graphite to the oil - what a great idea.

Tom, you are completely 100% right about not needing additives for the oil. Modern oils do a fantastic job lubricating and protecting the engine. I would be willing to go out on a limb and say that the cheapest synthetic I know of - Walmart - probably does a better job than the best oil made 25 years ago.

aklim

I asked Lingenfelter about it. His engine came with a warranty. He has to know we beat the engine. When asked about additives for future use, I think he called it "mouse milk".

I have to think he has forgotten more about engine building than I would ever know

WW7

You do know John Lingenfelter died 11 years ago right, so right now you probably know much more then he does about engine building.......WW

aklim

Yep. Back in the late 90s, I bought his intake and headers so he did a live tune for me.

tx75vette

I have seen some of the additives really darken the inside of some motors.
Also seen a oil that was dyed purple cause the inside of the engine to turn black within 30k miles

QCVette

I do not use oil additives and never had oil related failures.

I do remember a long time ago that STP was evaluated by an engineering group. Their conclusion was that they couldn't prove it hurt anything. They also said it raised the viscosity of the oil some, but said if you want thicker oil, buy thicker oil.

I was also a mechanic for a while. I noticed that several engines had a white "slime" on a lot of internal surfaces especially in the pan. I do not know for sure what caused that. When I talked with the owners it was a pretty good correlation of white slime to using STP. I can't prove it, but it happened quite a few times.

The one additive that I think could be good is Techron as a fuel additive. The reason is that it will dissolve sulfur buildup. A frequent problem with C5's and other cars is that the fuel level sending unit is in the tank and they stop working because of the sulfur buildup. Techron has cured quite a few sending units.

Overall, I tend to think of additives as snake oil that add very little and may worsen the conditions. Without proof, it is hard to believe most claims. I think many people try them as a last ditch effort and a wish that they will miraculously fix a mechanical problem. I suspect they rarely fix the problems.

ToniJ1960

I cant give any proof either way, and I surte wont claim you `need` any additives.

I used slick50 in my car in 1988 after I had th engine rebuilt. A year or so ago I went somewhere and it was late at night the light bulb on my oil pressure gauge was out and I didnt realize, all my oil was gone.Until I heard it tapping. I though well sht its done for might as well get it home (not corvette).

Next day I found the hose to the oil gauge broke it all leaked out on my way out not the way back home. No oil pressure for 4 or 5 miles at least city driving stop and go, lights stop signs traffic.

Put in a new oil line to the gauge new oil and drove it it was fine.

Cant say if it helped or not but hard to prove it didnt.

Splitfire plugs I loved in my old car. I put them in and I could hear the difference. Used to have to be up to 35 at least 40 better, to shift into 4th with that 4cyl car. With the splitfires I could shift into 4th at 35 with no lugging.

Say what you want.

aklim

Just as hard to prove it did.

I've tried those in my friend's car. Instant improvement. Of course, they were an improvement over what came out.

ToniJ1960

Exactly I cant prove it to you, but it proved to me that car could shift into 4th gear 5-10 mph sooner without it lugging.