RE: Oil additives

["Buchholz, Steven" <Steven.Buchholz@kla-tencor.com>]

> I found a real interesting website on oil additives:
> http://www1.surfsouth.com/~gdirksen/oiladd.html
> 
... yes, I'm going to base my decision on ALL oil additives based on a page
put together by someone selling Ams-Oil!  :-)

That page primarily discusses PTFE-based additives, which AFAIK Prolong does
not use.  

While I have yet to use any additive, and I don't go for the unscientific,
engine on a stand running without oil tests, I do know of several people who
have had to replace engines because they were run without oil in traffic for
short periods of time.  I've got to say those ads where they show cars
without oil driven in traffic for hours or out on the track do give me
pause.  My brother-in-law's friend uses Prolong religiously in his
circle-track racer after he did tests that showed the engine runs cooler
with Prolong and he also found that he could get another race or two between
rebuilds with the stuff.  Of the additives I know of to date, it is the one
I would be most likely to try out.  

One of the more interesting tests I saw in the Prolong ads are the ones
where they use some sort of abrasive material to brake a rotating cylinder.
While I can't vouch for the scientific method that was used for the ad, it
certainly did appear that there was a lot less wear when Prolong was used.
I suppose if we knew what it was made of we could make a better decision ...

It sounds as though a number of q-listers use Marvel Mystery Oil in their
cars and find that it helps.  While I have yet to use it myself, if they
find some value, that's fine for me.  I'm recommending that no matter how
altruistic the members of the q-list are (myself included :) if you do
believe that you might be able to do better than what the oil manufacturer
gives you in their _oil_additive_ package then you might want to do your own
research to see if there are any more scientific tests that prove or refute
its effectiveness.  I guess as long as it does no harm the only thing that
you've lost is the price of entry ... 

IUD
Steve Buchholz
San Jose, CA (USA)