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I found this and thought you guys might find it interesting.
Part I:
Advice:The trouble with oil additives by Phil Bailey
If you go for a stroll down the aisle of your favourite automobile parts store, you know, the one with the big red inverted triangle outside, you will find over fifty different types of engine oil additives being offered.
Of course, there are also additives for your gas tank, your transmission, your power steering and your radiator and there is enough meat on this bone to justify a second article about the rest, but for the moment, let's concentrate on the big one: engine oil additives.
Andy Granatelli knew he was onto a good thing back in the sixties, when he created his famous oil thickening device, STP. From the way it flew off the shelves, he KNEW that the good old boys out there were convinced that the big oil companies and their pet chemists, didn't know didly about engine lubrication. They knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that they could second guess these highly paid professional chemists by pouring one kind of snake oil or another into their engines. So it came to pass that Granatelli became a multi millionaire and every one else climbed onto the bandwagon.
First of all, if you check the fine print on the boxes or tins, quite a number of the additives originate from the same manufacturers. Also, you will see, that the additives could be separated into four basic categories that seemed to carry the same ingredients and the same wonderful promises. There are products that are nothing more than regular engine oil with PTFE (Teflon TM ) added. There are products that are nothing more than regular engine oil with zinc dialkyldithiophosphate added. Thirdly, there are products containing the same additives that are already found in most major brands of engine oil, though in different quantities and combinations. And finally, there are products made up primarily of solvents and/or detergents. So let's look at each of these categories separately and then summarise what we know, or aren't told about engine oil additives.
TEFLON (the much abused and often illegally used name that belongs solely to DuPont Corporation).
Currently, the most over promoted and over sold oil additives on the market are those that contain PTFE powders suspended in a regular mineral or synthetic engine oil. PTFE is the common abbreviation used for Polytetrafloeraethylene, more commonly known by the trade name "Teflon," which is a registered trademark of the DuPont Chemical Corporation. Among those oil additives containing PTFE are: Slick 50, Lubrilon, Microlon, and Petrolon (same company as Slick 50). There are probably other names in use on many more products using PTFE.
Oil additive makers like to market their products under a multitude of brand names. While some of these products may contain other additives in addition to PTFE, all seem to rely on the PTFE as their primary active ingredient and all, without exception, do not list what other ingredients they may contain. Though they have won wide acceptance among the motoring public, oil additives containing PTFE have also become the target of very aggressive criticism among experts in the field of lubrication.
By far the most damning testimonial against these products originally came from the DuPont Chemical Corporation, inventor of PTFE and holder of the patents and trademarks for Teflon. In a statement issued about fifteen years ago, DuPont's Fluoropolymers Division Product Specialist, J.F. Imbalzano said, "Teflon is not useful as an ingredient in oil additives or oils used for internal combustion engines."
DuPont threatened legal action against anyone who used the name "Teflon" on any oil product destined for use in an internal combustion engine, and refused to sell its PTFE powders to any one who intended to use them for such purposes. After a blizzard of lawsuits from oil additive makers, claiming DuPont could not prove that PTFE was harmful to engines, DuPont was forced to once again begin selling their PTFE to the additive producers. The additive makers claim this is some kind of "proof" that their products work, when in fact it is nothing more than proof that the legal ethic of "innocent until proven guilty" is still alive and well. The decision against Dupont involved what is called "restraint of trade." You can't refuse to sell a product to someone just because there is a possibility they might use it for a purpose that you do not approve of.
It should be noted that DuPont's official position on the use of PTFE in engine oils remains carefully aloof and noncommittal, for obvious legal reasons. DuPont states that though they sell PTFE to oil additive producers, they have "no proof of the validity of the additive makers' claims." They further state that they have "no knowledge of any advantage gained through the use of PTFE in engine oil."
There is some evidence that certain other suppliers of PTFE produce powders that are of a cruder version than the original, made with larger sized particles that are more likely to "settle out" in engine oil or block filters. One good indication that a product contains this kind of PTFE is if the instructions for its use advise you to "shake well before using." It only stands to reason that if the manufacturer knows the solids in his product will settle to the bottom of a container while sitting on a shelf, the same thing is going to happen inside your engine when it is left idle for any period of time.
The problem with putting PTFE in engine oil, as explained by several industry experts, is that PTFE is a solid. The additive makers claim this solid "coats" the moving parts in an engine (though that is far from being scientifically proven). This coating fallacy comes from everyones immediate visualisation of a non stick frying pan.
But frying pans are coated with PTFE at very high temperatures and the powder is melted into place on a dry and THOROUGHLY DEGREASED surface. Engine temperatures cannot reach PTFE melting temperatures and the inside of an engine is certainly not degreased!
Slick 50 is currently both the most aggressive advertiser and the most popular seller, with claims of millions of treatments sold. However, such solids seem even more inclined to coat non-moving parts, like oil passages and filters. After all, if it can build up under the pressures and friction exerted on a cylinder wall, then it stands to reason it should build up even better in places with low pressures and virtually no friction.
This conclusion seems to be borne out by tests on oil additives containing PTFE conducted by the NASA Lewis Research Center, which said in their report, "In the types of bearing surface contact we have looked at, we have seen no benefit. In some cases we have seen detrimental effect. The solids in the oil tend to accumulate at inlets and act as a dam, which simply blocks the oil from entering. Instead of helping, it is actually depriving parts of lubricant."
In response to this criticism, several of the PTFE pushers responded that their particulates were of a sub micron size, capable of passing through an ordinary oil filter unrestricted. This certainly sounds good, but PTFE has other qualities besides being a friction reducer: It swells when exposed to heat. So even if those particles are small enough to pass through your filter when you purchase them, they won't be when your engine reaches normal operating temperature.
Here again, the scientific evidence seems to support this, as in tests conducted by researchers at the University of Utah Engineering Experiment Station involving Petrolon additive with PTFE.
The Utah test report states, "There was a pressure drop across the oil filter resulting from possible clogging of small passageways." In addition, oil analysis showed that iron contamination doubled after using the treatment, indicating that engine wear didn't go down - it appeared to shoot up.
This particular report was paid for by Petrolon (marketers of Slick 50), and was not all bad news for their products. The tests, conducted on a Chevrolet six cylinder automobile engine, showed that after treatment with the PTFE additive the test engine's friction was reduced by 13.1 per- cent. Also, output horsepower increased from 5.3 percent to 8.1 percent, and fuel economy improved from 11.8 percent under light load to 3.8 percent under heavy load.
These are the kind of results an aggressive marketing company can promote. If you only saw the results in the last paragraph, you'd be inclined to think Slick 50 was indeed a magic engine elixir. What you have to keep in mind is that often times the benefits like increased horse power and fuel economy) are instantaneous results, the long term effects of blocked filters and oil passages does not show up for many months.
Part I:
Advice:The trouble with oil additives by Phil Bailey
If you go for a stroll down the aisle of your favourite automobile parts store, you know, the one with the big red inverted triangle outside, you will find over fifty different types of engine oil additives being offered.
Of course, there are also additives for your gas tank, your transmission, your power steering and your radiator and there is enough meat on this bone to justify a second article about the rest, but for the moment, let's concentrate on the big one: engine oil additives.
Andy Granatelli knew he was onto a good thing back in the sixties, when he created his famous oil thickening device, STP. From the way it flew off the shelves, he KNEW that the good old boys out there were convinced that the big oil companies and their pet chemists, didn't know didly about engine lubrication. They knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that they could second guess these highly paid professional chemists by pouring one kind of snake oil or another into their engines. So it came to pass that Granatelli became a multi millionaire and every one else climbed onto the bandwagon.
First of all, if you check the fine print on the boxes or tins, quite a number of the additives originate from the same manufacturers. Also, you will see, that the additives could be separated into four basic categories that seemed to carry the same ingredients and the same wonderful promises. There are products that are nothing more than regular engine oil with PTFE (Teflon TM ) added. There are products that are nothing more than regular engine oil with zinc dialkyldithiophosphate added. Thirdly, there are products containing the same additives that are already found in most major brands of engine oil, though in different quantities and combinations. And finally, there are products made up primarily of solvents and/or detergents. So let's look at each of these categories separately and then summarise what we know, or aren't told about engine oil additives.
TEFLON (the much abused and often illegally used name that belongs solely to DuPont Corporation).
Currently, the most over promoted and over sold oil additives on the market are those that contain PTFE powders suspended in a regular mineral or synthetic engine oil. PTFE is the common abbreviation used for Polytetrafloeraethylene, more commonly known by the trade name "Teflon," which is a registered trademark of the DuPont Chemical Corporation. Among those oil additives containing PTFE are: Slick 50, Lubrilon, Microlon, and Petrolon (same company as Slick 50). There are probably other names in use on many more products using PTFE.
Oil additive makers like to market their products under a multitude of brand names. While some of these products may contain other additives in addition to PTFE, all seem to rely on the PTFE as their primary active ingredient and all, without exception, do not list what other ingredients they may contain. Though they have won wide acceptance among the motoring public, oil additives containing PTFE have also become the target of very aggressive criticism among experts in the field of lubrication.
By far the most damning testimonial against these products originally came from the DuPont Chemical Corporation, inventor of PTFE and holder of the patents and trademarks for Teflon. In a statement issued about fifteen years ago, DuPont's Fluoropolymers Division Product Specialist, J.F. Imbalzano said, "Teflon is not useful as an ingredient in oil additives or oils used for internal combustion engines."
DuPont threatened legal action against anyone who used the name "Teflon" on any oil product destined for use in an internal combustion engine, and refused to sell its PTFE powders to any one who intended to use them for such purposes. After a blizzard of lawsuits from oil additive makers, claiming DuPont could not prove that PTFE was harmful to engines, DuPont was forced to once again begin selling their PTFE to the additive producers. The additive makers claim this is some kind of "proof" that their products work, when in fact it is nothing more than proof that the legal ethic of "innocent until proven guilty" is still alive and well. The decision against Dupont involved what is called "restraint of trade." You can't refuse to sell a product to someone just because there is a possibility they might use it for a purpose that you do not approve of.
It should be noted that DuPont's official position on the use of PTFE in engine oils remains carefully aloof and noncommittal, for obvious legal reasons. DuPont states that though they sell PTFE to oil additive producers, they have "no proof of the validity of the additive makers' claims." They further state that they have "no knowledge of any advantage gained through the use of PTFE in engine oil."
There is some evidence that certain other suppliers of PTFE produce powders that are of a cruder version than the original, made with larger sized particles that are more likely to "settle out" in engine oil or block filters. One good indication that a product contains this kind of PTFE is if the instructions for its use advise you to "shake well before using." It only stands to reason that if the manufacturer knows the solids in his product will settle to the bottom of a container while sitting on a shelf, the same thing is going to happen inside your engine when it is left idle for any period of time.
The problem with putting PTFE in engine oil, as explained by several industry experts, is that PTFE is a solid. The additive makers claim this solid "coats" the moving parts in an engine (though that is far from being scientifically proven). This coating fallacy comes from everyones immediate visualisation of a non stick frying pan.
But frying pans are coated with PTFE at very high temperatures and the powder is melted into place on a dry and THOROUGHLY DEGREASED surface. Engine temperatures cannot reach PTFE melting temperatures and the inside of an engine is certainly not degreased!
Slick 50 is currently both the most aggressive advertiser and the most popular seller, with claims of millions of treatments sold. However, such solids seem even more inclined to coat non-moving parts, like oil passages and filters. After all, if it can build up under the pressures and friction exerted on a cylinder wall, then it stands to reason it should build up even better in places with low pressures and virtually no friction.
This conclusion seems to be borne out by tests on oil additives containing PTFE conducted by the NASA Lewis Research Center, which said in their report, "In the types of bearing surface contact we have looked at, we have seen no benefit. In some cases we have seen detrimental effect. The solids in the oil tend to accumulate at inlets and act as a dam, which simply blocks the oil from entering. Instead of helping, it is actually depriving parts of lubricant."
In response to this criticism, several of the PTFE pushers responded that their particulates were of a sub micron size, capable of passing through an ordinary oil filter unrestricted. This certainly sounds good, but PTFE has other qualities besides being a friction reducer: It swells when exposed to heat. So even if those particles are small enough to pass through your filter when you purchase them, they won't be when your engine reaches normal operating temperature.
Here again, the scientific evidence seems to support this, as in tests conducted by researchers at the University of Utah Engineering Experiment Station involving Petrolon additive with PTFE.
The Utah test report states, "There was a pressure drop across the oil filter resulting from possible clogging of small passageways." In addition, oil analysis showed that iron contamination doubled after using the treatment, indicating that engine wear didn't go down - it appeared to shoot up.
This particular report was paid for by Petrolon (marketers of Slick 50), and was not all bad news for their products. The tests, conducted on a Chevrolet six cylinder automobile engine, showed that after treatment with the PTFE additive the test engine's friction was reduced by 13.1 per- cent. Also, output horsepower increased from 5.3 percent to 8.1 percent, and fuel economy improved from 11.8 percent under light load to 3.8 percent under heavy load.
These are the kind of results an aggressive marketing company can promote. If you only saw the results in the last paragraph, you'd be inclined to think Slick 50 was indeed a magic engine elixir. What you have to keep in mind is that often times the benefits like increased horse power and fuel economy) are instantaneous results, the long term effects of blocked filters and oil passages does not show up for many months.
