I've tried a few but never really knew if they actually did what they claimed. A few years back my wife's 1991 Integra blew a head gasket at 200K. When the mechanic showed me how much cylinder wear there was I lost faith in anti wear additives. Dura Lube, Slick 50, etc.
Maybe I should just switch to synthetic or something like Royal Purple. Don't know if it's worth the price tho. Always used conventional oil.
Are there any proven anti wear additives out there?
Thanks.
Oil Additives
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twoqttsdad
- Posts: 212
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2012 SLS
Azure Grey
FWD CVT
Azure Grey
FWD CVT
No, they're all snake oil. Use a good quality oil and change it regularly. Synthetics are much better, and the second tier oil filters are much better.twoqttsdad wrote:Are there any proven anti wear additives out there?
Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms
Should be a convenience store, not a government agency
Should be a convenience store, not a government agency
Almost all oil additives are a waste of money. You're much better off switching to a quality synthetic.
Unless you're doing extended intervals, you'll be fine with any decent synthetic like Mobil 1, Pennzoil Platinum or Ultra. I wouldn't bother with Royal Purple or Amsoil on the Kizashi
Unless you're doing extended intervals, you'll be fine with any decent synthetic like Mobil 1, Pennzoil Platinum or Ultra. I wouldn't bother with Royal Purple or Amsoil on the Kizashi
Just adding to agree with the others. The best anti-wear product isn't an additive. It's full synthetic oil because of the anti-wear properties it has by itself in the formulation.
Additives don't do too much (if anything, modify viscosity) and even car manufacturers state that nothing other than oil should go into the engine. Some people use high viscosity oil for the sake of better engine protection (especially in the past), but I stick to what the engine was designed for. For the Kizashi, it's 5W-30 in nearly all conditions. Synthetic works a lot better to keep the engine cleaner and will better resist sludge build-up. I use only synthetic and no oil additives.
Synthetics already have a lot of the benefits such as detergents and friction modifiers anyways.
Nearly all the owners of cars with over 500,000 miles on the original engine I've read about said that they used synthetic oil. Mobil 1 is the one that is most popular even among these very high mileage folks.
For high mileage engines, especially neglected ones, there is a product called Auto-RX that is rather highly praised over at BITOG. I've used it on my old Impreza when it was in high mileage. However, it's not really an additive as much as an engine flush that works with the oil. However, if you've always run synthetic and never neglected oil changes, I don't really see a reason for needing to use Auto-RX unless in very high mileage.
Regardless, for everyday use, I'd switch to synthetic and stay away from additives. Keep in mind that synthetics allows you to extend your oil change interval so in the end, it's not going to cost you too much to use a significantly better oil because of this. It's also better for the environment as there is less waste because the oil lasts longer.
Truth be told, I see little reason to use conventional oil on just about any car especially given that modern synthetics no longer cause old gaskets to leak oil.
Additives don't do too much (if anything, modify viscosity) and even car manufacturers state that nothing other than oil should go into the engine. Some people use high viscosity oil for the sake of better engine protection (especially in the past), but I stick to what the engine was designed for. For the Kizashi, it's 5W-30 in nearly all conditions. Synthetic works a lot better to keep the engine cleaner and will better resist sludge build-up. I use only synthetic and no oil additives.
Synthetics already have a lot of the benefits such as detergents and friction modifiers anyways.
Nearly all the owners of cars with over 500,000 miles on the original engine I've read about said that they used synthetic oil. Mobil 1 is the one that is most popular even among these very high mileage folks.
For high mileage engines, especially neglected ones, there is a product called Auto-RX that is rather highly praised over at BITOG. I've used it on my old Impreza when it was in high mileage. However, it's not really an additive as much as an engine flush that works with the oil. However, if you've always run synthetic and never neglected oil changes, I don't really see a reason for needing to use Auto-RX unless in very high mileage.
Regardless, for everyday use, I'd switch to synthetic and stay away from additives. Keep in mind that synthetics allows you to extend your oil change interval so in the end, it's not going to cost you too much to use a significantly better oil because of this. It's also better for the environment as there is less waste because the oil lasts longer.
Truth be told, I see little reason to use conventional oil on just about any car especially given that modern synthetics no longer cause old gaskets to leak oil.
2011 Suzuki Kizashi Sport GTS 6MT (Black)
I've also found at WalMart that the difference in price between dino and synthetic oil is about $10. Not much if you change at Suzuki's 7,500 mile interval for the added protection you get. Plus, Suzuki is never going to extend maintenance interval that could in any way impact the 100K mile power train warranty. So you can follow the scheduled maintenance with confidence.
2011 Kizashi SLS CVT (silver)
2005 Honda Odyssey
Priors:
2009 Suzuki SX4 Cross AWD 5-speed Tech package (vapor metallic blue)
2005 Honda Odyssey
Priors:
2009 Suzuki SX4 Cross AWD 5-speed Tech package (vapor metallic blue)
Walmart is a great place to get motor oil if you live near one and can stand the place. It's not so much Walmart that I mind, but their clientele.
I used to go to Walmart a few times a year to get a 5 quart jug of Pennzoil Platinum or Pennzoil Ultra, but recently decided to switch to Mobil 1. It's not even the oil that's the reason for the switch, but the place to buy it. I live much closer to a Costco that sells Mobil 1 (a box of six 1 quart bottles) and sometimes with an instant rebate. Walmart is a drive for me and is never convenient, whether getting there or dealing with their lines.
I know Pennzoil Ultra is a great oil, but so is Mobil 1. From what I read on BITOG, both are highly regarded and there is little evidence to show one is significantly better than the other. I'm going to try out M1 for the Kizashi and compare it to the P. Ultra I'm using now (assuming I can even detect a difference).
I used to go to Walmart a few times a year to get a 5 quart jug of Pennzoil Platinum or Pennzoil Ultra, but recently decided to switch to Mobil 1. It's not even the oil that's the reason for the switch, but the place to buy it. I live much closer to a Costco that sells Mobil 1 (a box of six 1 quart bottles) and sometimes with an instant rebate. Walmart is a drive for me and is never convenient, whether getting there or dealing with their lines.
I know Pennzoil Ultra is a great oil, but so is Mobil 1. From what I read on BITOG, both are highly regarded and there is little evidence to show one is significantly better than the other. I'm going to try out M1 for the Kizashi and compare it to the P. Ultra I'm using now (assuming I can even detect a difference).
2011 Suzuki Kizashi Sport GTS 6MT (Black)
This part of your statement is likely untrue as it requires a massive amount of energy to refine a synthetic oil vs traditional oil.KuroNekko wrote:
It's also better for the environment as there is less waste because the oil lasts longer.
Other than that I agree with just about everything said above by everyone. All of my cars run synthetic. Pennzoil Platinum for the Mazda (all its life), Pennzoil Ultra for the forester XT, and Rottla T6 for Saab 92x aero. I tend to avoid Mobil 1 because my aero eats it like a fat kid in a candy store. Wally World tends to have free shipping if you get over about 50 bucks so I tend to order 15 quarts or so at a time. (The girlfriends POS mercury sable gets whatever dino oil I can find cheap)
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One thing I did see missed is that most mechanics do not have a problem with switching from traditional oil to synthetic, but once you switch you probably do not want to switch back. You certainly do not want to switch back and fourth a bunch of times as it will likely cause wear on things.
I meant as environmental waste as used oil. Sure it may take more energy to refine synthetic, but the oil lasts longer therefore extends oil change intervals meaning less used oil getting generated. If one had to calculate the amount of used oil they would generate in a year or longer, it would be less with synthetic. Used oil is not only terrible for the environment (unless disposed of properly) but is also carcinogenic. Basically, you want to avoid dealing with it as much as possible.
Also, I know that turbo Subaru engines (as found in your 9-2X) don't like Mobil 1. It's one of the main reasons I avoided M1 for so long as a long time Subaru owner (although mine were normally aspirated). Some with WRXs and STIs claim to have spun bearings with Mobil 1. Whether that's a valid claim as a fault of M1 is questionable, but it's well known that M1 is not preferred in the Subaru crowd.
That being said, I think it's totally fine with engines from many other brands and I'm switching from Penn. Ultra to M1 but mainly for convenience reasons.
Also, I know that turbo Subaru engines (as found in your 9-2X) don't like Mobil 1. It's one of the main reasons I avoided M1 for so long as a long time Subaru owner (although mine were normally aspirated). Some with WRXs and STIs claim to have spun bearings with Mobil 1. Whether that's a valid claim as a fault of M1 is questionable, but it's well known that M1 is not preferred in the Subaru crowd.
That being said, I think it's totally fine with engines from many other brands and I'm switching from Penn. Ultra to M1 but mainly for convenience reasons.
2011 Suzuki Kizashi Sport GTS 6MT (Black)
Both will work great but I'd say PU is better than M1. Check out this UOA comparing M1 with 3000 miles to PU with 5500 miles:
http://www.tsxclub.com/forums/1st-gen-c ... ultra.html
PU had better results despite nearly twice the mileage and autocross use!
http://www.tsxclub.com/forums/1st-gen-c ... ultra.html
PU had better results despite nearly twice the mileage and autocross use!