OIL ADDITIVES:

Ok, awhile back I did some reading up on this crap. I found out that all the additives are a gimmick, and in some cases down right bad for your engine. Most actually had law suits with the government. Many of these additives contain teflon that expands and plugs oil passages and filters. These additives include Prolong and Slick 50 and a bunch of others I can't think of at the moment.

So anyway, don't waste your money.

OIL:

Mobile1 synthetic seems to be the clear leader among on the shelf oils. I'm currently running this oil. I can get it at wal*mart and Costco pretty damn cheap.

However, no comparisons were done with oils such as AMSOIL. AMSOIL is supposed to be the shit, and not a gimmick. You can get some that lasts a year between oil changes. Does anyone actually run this oil? Is it for real?

FILTERS:

Of the filters that were tested, motorcraft and purolator kept popping up ahead of others. Supposively they are pretty much the same filter.

The orange Fram bombs are supposed to be among the worst.

The local Car quest guy swears by Baldwin filters. And of course the AMSOIL filters. Niether of these were included in any of the tests I found. K&N oil filters weren't tested either.


Anyway, there's some info if anyone cares.

I dont usually fall for gimicky stuff, but I have seen and used Prolong and it seems to be the shit. My freind ran prolong in his 71 bronco. He had a massive oil leak and ran it from Salt lake to Moab (aprox 225 miles and 100 degre temp) with zero oil, and it didnt sieze or overheat. We would have seen if he made it back but he rolled it and totalled it.:rolleyes:

I bought some for my cruzer after seeing that. I have a 350. At the time I also had a massive oil leak. I ran down to moab again and went through over a case of oil. On the way back I figured it wasent worth the case of oil and I will just push it. I made it all the way back and drove around for 3 days after that around town and it finally blew, but it didnt sieze it just blew the head gasket. (280 degress) So is it a gimick or did we just get lucky, or is that the way it is?

AMSOIL is supposed to be the shit, and not a gimmick. You can get some that lasts a year between oil changes. Does anyone actually run this oil? Is it for real?


Don't think I'd trust any oil to last a year without changing...For as cheap as it is to change, why risk it?

I don't really trust any additives, and have never used one, but I have wondered if a can of the stuff just called "Restore" in the silver can might help my beater Daytona out a little. The compression's a little on the weak side (Between 105 and 115lbs, still within spec, but on the low side). It should be 130lbs.

I've also read alot of bad things about Fram filters, which I used to use exclusively. I use Purolator filters now. The K&N filters are made by somebody else and rebadged. I can't remember who makes them. I had a good link on filter comparisons, but I can't find it...

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=18392&highlight=oil

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=11225&perpage=20&pagenumber=2

If you take the time to read through these two seperate threads it shows what tests have been done and how the oil looked after so many miles. It basically says that you can go a whole lot longer then most people think.

I have never understood why people are so jumpy to change the oil so often. :D How often do you change your gas? :D

Anyways its a whole lot of reading and the second post has a lot of good numbers in it that proove a whole lot.

Originally posted by rpenner54
[BI have never understood why people are so jumpy to change the oil so often. :D How often do you change your gas? :D [/B]

It is called oil company marketing my friend... and obviously it is working since all the sheeple are buying into it :p

If you really want to know when to change your oil, you ned to do oil analysis. after a few samples are given, the first shoiuld be clean oil, and a trend is started, then you can start extending the changes at 500 mile intervals, doing at least 3 samples before extending it again. Be sur eto use quality oils and the same brand & weight each time, otherwise it will screw up the analysis reports.
The main reason that the oil cpompanies state 3000 miles is for the people who use thier vehicles in the worst of conditions.

This is cut and paste from consumer reports

Prolong additive:
Don't try this at home

The manufacturer calls it "the greatest breakthrough in the history of lubrication." Indy 500 legend Al Unser appears to risk a $60,000 Dodge Viper to demonstrate its amazing claims.
Prolong engine treatment, $20, is what he touts in an infomercial that has generated many reader inquiries. Pour a 12-ounce container of Prolong in with your vehicle's oil, the manufacturer says, and it bonds to the engine metal, "creating a low-friction surface one molecule thick." That yields longer engine life, better mileage, and more savings, the ads claim.

The bond is supposed to last even when the oil is drained. In the infomercial, Unser and others drive along a racetrack in the Mojave Desert without oil or oil drain plugs. The same ad, broadcast nationally, pictures a woman who, thanks to Prolong, supposedly drove from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles without oil. (The reason she stopped after 4 hours, 40 minutes, and 7 seconds? She was hungry.)

We didn't test the other claims, but we did see whether Prolong would protect an engine after the oil was drained.

We installed a factory-rebuilt GM 4.3-liter V6 engine into each of two Chevrolet Caprices. We broke them in with Pennzoil motor oil, changed the oil and oil filter in each car, and added Prolong to one of them. Prolong claims to work immediately. We drove more than 100 miles, then drained the oil and started driving again. After only 13 minutes and five miles, both engines failed simultaneously.

Today's high-quality oils don't need extra additives. The Federal Trade Commission has told the makers of other additives to stop making false claims. We have notified the FTC about this test.

I did a bit of research on oil filters. My conclusion was Baldwin was the best, but expensive. Wix are very good and much more reasonable. Baldwin 253 is a direct replacement for the big Ford filter (Fram ph8a). It has a higher bypass pressure, the most media, and lowest particle size. The Wix 51515 was not too far behind. When I called Fram the guy was an idiot and told me that the filter would never bypass oil, even on a cold start. That ended the conversation right there. I also use Mobil 1 oil, but change it regularly at 2-3 k miles. I believe that oil gets contamination from normal operating conditions that can only be flushed out, so I don't try to go for the 15 k miles like some do. The main reason I use synthetic is because my car is turbocharged. It uses a dual filter setup I made from an Earls catalog. On my truck I use Wix filters and Valvoline regular oil. Food for thought.....:usa: :usa:

Originally posted by JeepinIan
If you really want to know when to change your oil, you ned to do oil analysis. after a few samples are given, the first shoiuld be clean oil, and a trend is started, then you can start extending the changes at 500 mile intervals, doing at least 3 samples before extending it again. Be sur eto use quality oils and the same brand & weight each time, otherwise it will screw up the analysis reports.
The main reason that the oil cpompanies state 3000 miles is for the people who use thier vehicles in the worst of conditions.

Yeah I had to do this our my 5-tons when I was in the Corps. I can't remember doing a full oil change after we started the oil analysis. Actually we had to do one oil change. A truck got stuck on the beach and then the tide came in :eek: :eek: They had search parties for days looking for all the howizter rounds that floated away.

Religious oil changes do work. I've had a gazillion engines apart, and it's always obvious which ones had regular oil changes. Personally I change my oil about every 5,000 cuz I'm lazy.

Originally posted by Nobody


motorcraft and purolator kept popping up ahead of others. Supposively they are pretty much the same filter.


Purolater recived its name from Pure Oil Later, They rebadge those filters for a bunch of brands. THe Shop I worked at we Had Mighty Brand, Econo Lube and Tune, and others were all just the Purolater Filter.

Originally posted by JeepinIan

The main reason that the oil cpompanies state 3000 miles is for the people who use thier vehicles in the worst of conditions.
And the fact that if the consumer tries to come in at 3k miles they make it by about 5-6k miles. That is what I saw.

Originally posted by Chazzworth

Purolater recived its name from Pure Oil Later, They rebadge those filters for a bunch of brands. THe Shop I worked at we Had Mighty Brand, Econo Lube and Tune, and others were all just the Purolater Filter.

I read one really good review, can't find the link. I think it was on msnbc, but I'm not sure.

Anyway, they bought up a bunch of filters and cut them apart and made nice little charts of what each contained. Purolators did very well. There's actually quite a bit that goes into oil filter construction.

Also some of the super filters were actually bad, because they would actually plug up too fast and then the bypass valve would open.

I run Amsoil in everything I own, and have used it in every vehicle I have had since I was 16. Yes, it has a drain interval of 25,000 miles, and no, it doesn't look like mollasses when it comes out after that long. What I have found is that the 100% synthetic Amsoil actually will clean your engine to a certain degree, and MPG will go up slightly, and you will run a bit cooler. :D

I don't have panic attacks if I go over 3, 000 between changes :D

I usually start to think about it around 3,000, and try to do it by 4,000.... Works for me.

Originally posted by dangerber
I run Amsoil in everything I own, and have used it in every vehicle I have had since I was 16. Yes, it has a drain interval of 25,000 miles, and no, it doesn't look like mollasses when it comes out after that long. What I have found is that the 100% synthetic Amsoil actually will clean your engine to a certain degree, and MPG will go up slightly, and you will run a bit cooler. :D

I have used and seen this oil used numerous times and I gotta say I was very impressed. I changed the oil in my wifes car every 12,500 miles at first and was surprised at how "New" the oil looked. (Hell I even though about taking the "used" amsoil and putting it in the cruiser...:eek: )

My uncle has a 94 Chevy fullsize with over 275k on the ticker and when he pulled the top end apart to put on Vortec heads they still looked brand new. He ever sold em to some guy and he is still running them.

I have been using mobil 1 in my truck since the second oil change. It has 150k and has only needed a timing chain. The only additive I have ever used is Militec-1. I get it for free otherwise I doubt I would pay the $$$ for it. I put it in everything, the chainsaw, lawnmower, etc.

I believe the key to extending oil changes is two fold.

Oil annalisys is a must to make sure contaminants are being removed by the filter.

A good filter or a duel filter setup. Amsoil sells a duel bypass filter. 1 good normal, or full filter (filters all the oil in the circulation stream) 1 bypass filter, or super filter. This filters only a small percentage of the flow with a low micron filter. It removes the fine contaminantes a normal filter passes thru. This insures good clean oil.

Oil Analysis (http://www.blackstone-labs.com/)

More than you want to know (http://www.noria.com/)


Another Great Less Known Synthetic Oil (http://www.synerlec.com/)