Wrecker
The Oil Geek
Generally oil "Improvement Additives" fall into 3 categories.
1. Viscosity improvers- Products like STP Oil Treatment, Motor Honey, etc. They contain long chain hydrocarbons that raise the kinematic viscosity of the lubricant, thereby temporarily reducing blowby and smoking. They also tend to quiet a loud engine with slop in the valvetrain. A mechanic in a bottle.
2. Chlorinated additives- Products like Dura-Lube, Militec, Prolong, etc. These additives have high concentrations of chlorine and can create hydrochloric acid in internal combustion engines, rapidly reducing the TBN (Total Base Number) of your engine oil which can affect non-metallic surfaces and ultimately metal surfaces, causing internal corrosion, pitting, etc. Most use an extremely cheap Group I base stock carrier oil with a high paraffin content, and can significantly contribute to deposit formation. They use Chlorides because they are slippery, anyone ever seen Chlorox used in a burnout pit?
3. Solid Film or Colloidal additives- Products such as Slick 50, T-Plus, Restore, etc. contain teflon/ptfe, molybdenum, or graphite. These add solids to the oil system, again usually with a cheap low quality Group I base stock carrier oil, which adhere to metal surfaces, theoretically inducing a burnishing process (you've seen real burnishing causing the wear lines on the race of a wheelbearing after use, it deforms the surface of the metal due to pressure and sliding action). Unfortunately, these solids stick to each other as much as anything else, forming larger solids, clogging filters, and possibly blocking oil galleries.
Solids may also dam up around bearings, reducing oil flow. Teflon/PTFE can react with some metals such as aluminum and magnesium at high temperature, causing ugliness in turbo applications.
1. Viscosity improvers- Products like STP Oil Treatment, Motor Honey, etc. They contain long chain hydrocarbons that raise the kinematic viscosity of the lubricant, thereby temporarily reducing blowby and smoking. They also tend to quiet a loud engine with slop in the valvetrain. A mechanic in a bottle.
2. Chlorinated additives- Products like Dura-Lube, Militec, Prolong, etc. These additives have high concentrations of chlorine and can create hydrochloric acid in internal combustion engines, rapidly reducing the TBN (Total Base Number) of your engine oil which can affect non-metallic surfaces and ultimately metal surfaces, causing internal corrosion, pitting, etc. Most use an extremely cheap Group I base stock carrier oil with a high paraffin content, and can significantly contribute to deposit formation. They use Chlorides because they are slippery, anyone ever seen Chlorox used in a burnout pit?
3. Solid Film or Colloidal additives- Products such as Slick 50, T-Plus, Restore, etc. contain teflon/ptfe, molybdenum, or graphite. These add solids to the oil system, again usually with a cheap low quality Group I base stock carrier oil, which adhere to metal surfaces, theoretically inducing a burnishing process (you've seen real burnishing causing the wear lines on the race of a wheelbearing after use, it deforms the surface of the metal due to pressure and sliding action). Unfortunately, these solids stick to each other as much as anything else, forming larger solids, clogging filters, and possibly blocking oil galleries.
Solids may also dam up around bearings, reducing oil flow. Teflon/PTFE can react with some metals such as aluminum and magnesium at high temperature, causing ugliness in turbo applications.
