Motor oil additives are used to improve your oil and keep your engine running smoothly. Almost all the motor oils you will find for sale on store shelves contain additives. Different types of engine oil additives can be used in combination to provide a number of useful benefits.
Oil additives can help keep your oil clean and prevent sludge from building up. Detergent type additives can enhance the performance of your oil and your engine.
They can also provide better protection against friction between moving parts. Anti-wear additives can help to reduce heat and extend the life of your engine and its parts.
Certain additives prevent oil from becoming thin or foaming at high temperatures. Extreme heat and higher temperatures cause motor oil to become thinner, severely limiting its ability to lubricate effectively.
Some types of additives allow oil to flow and pour better at lower temperatures. In cold weather and at low temperatures, oil becomes thicker and less fluid which hinders its ability to flow through your engine and do its job.
Additives can inhibit corrosion and rusting. Corrosion can lead to all sorts of engine problems that require major, expensive repairs or a full engine replacement.
So as you can see, additives make your oil perform better under normal as well as tough conditions. This is why additives are used to enhance nearly all petroleum based and synthetic motor oils on the market today.
There are plenty of aftermarket engine oil additives you can buy as well. Aftermarket oil additives are sold separately and promise similar benefits if you add them to the engine oil itself. Some promise to make your oil thicker, reduce friction even further, stop leaks, or allow you to drive longer without an oil change. Others tout the ability to dissolve deposits and eliminate sludge.
Whether or not engine oil additives work or really help at all is a matter of some debate. Many people, mostly consumers, swear by them and have been longtime users of such products. Others are quick to dismiss any oil additive as unnecessary at best or a scam product backed by unproven claims at worst.
So should you buy aftermarket oil additives? Probably not. Just about any motor oil you buy is already formulated to contain additives that provide the same type of protection and benefits that makers of aftermarket oil additives promise.
Engine oil additives might provide some level of temporary performance improvement, but they are not a solution for engine problems nor will they make up for long periods of neglect or bring a beat up engine back to life. They might also have no effect whatsoever or actually damage your engine if you go overboard with them thinking that you are doing your engine a favor.
There are no aftermarket engine oil additives that are endorsed or recommended by any major passenger car maker. Some of the testimonials from happy customers you see in ads or on television sound awfully persuasive. But does the average driver who buys an oil additive from his local auto parts store really possess the ability or the equipment to measure and determine the actual effectiveness of an oil additive?
While not an entirely objective opinion, major companies who manufacture much of the engine oil you see in stores like ExxonMobil specifically state that they do not recommend them. ExxonMobil cites a quote from the API (American Petroleum Institute) and the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers (AAM) on their website which reads: “certified oils eliminate the need for supplemental engine oil additives.”
In the past, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has actively pursued cases against the makers of fuel and oil additives charging that their advertising contained false and unsubstantiated claims. You can read about the FTC cases against the makers of Slick50 here and STP here.
If you buy an established quality motor oil brand, use a motor oil of the correct weight and proper classification, and have your oil changed according to the recommendation in your owner?s manual, aftermarket oil additives are not likely necessary.
Source: http://www.autorepairtroubleshooting.org/engine-oil-additives.html
um dick cheney daryl hannah lexisnexis troy victoria justice red hot chili peppers new album