Oil & Gas Additives and Enhancers
courtesy of Bob, The Auto Answer Man
After reviewing some of your letters, I have 2 questions on my mind.
- I have been seeing a lot of these oil additive products such as Slick50, Duralube, and Prolong around, and hearing lots of good claims about them as internal engine friction reducers. Some claim to be permanent (50k mi), others need to be changed with each oil change. What is the validity if the friction- reducing claims of these products, and is there any valid testing agency that tests out their claims on a cost-effective basis of 50-100k mi.
- You mentioned different ways to enhance the octane of a vehicle's gasoline. Are there any outside of the chemical additives, such as these magnetic things that go on the fuel lines and supposedly make the fuel more burnable in the combustion chamber?
UUUUGGGGGHHHHHHH!!! You hit a nerve with this one! There is an agency called the US EPA. Those magnet deals do absolutely nothing. Think about it, if all it took was a $10 magnet to reduce emissions and increase fuel economy, then why doesn't the manufacturer do it? Also, after you run the fuel through the injectors, you loose lose any magnetic flux or influence that may have been imposed on it. As for the oil additives, there really is no "standard" to compare them to. I grow very weary of all these infomercials saying that this product is great and that one is no good.
There was one though, where a guy had this machine and he applied pressure to a bearing and made it stop... he applied different additives to different bearing and measured the torque required to stop the spinning bearing. Until he got to his. Once applied, he could not stop the spinning bearing and the torque meter was off scale. Take it for what you want.
Bob, The Auto Answer Man
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