It's 2 a.m. and you're tossing and turning in bed, unable to sleep. Totally frustrated, you go downstairs and turn on the television, hoping to find something boring enough to sedate you. While channel surfing, you come across "Insomniac Theatre" and the feature tonight is -- TA DA! Engine oil additives!
You're transfixed as you watch several heads bowed -- intently hovering over what looks like a car engine and performing what appears to be a dark religious ritual. They are adding an "elixir" to the engine oil, running the engine briefly, then draining the oil out. To your amazement, they are now starting the engine up!! The ceremony starts to crescendo to a feverish pitch. Grown men are jumping up and down, hooting and hollering, and watching an engine that is about to blow up. Just before it blows they shut it off, proclaiming the magic of this secret potion and its ability to protect the car engine from the wrath of the automotive gods, sparing its life.
It seems that everyone is looking for this magic elixir -- the "Engine Extender," the "Fountain of Youth," the "Mechanic in a Can." Is this a reasonable quest? These products are designed to be lubricant enhancers. In other words, when they are present, the oil in your engine does its job better and longer. And that it might do -- for a short period of time until the hostile environment of the internal combustion engine breaks it down, as it does to the motor oil. Unfortunately, the intense claims of these products give people a false sense of security. This often results in putting off oil and filter changes, which should be done every 3,000 miles, thus causing premature engine failure. For several years I have been entertaining questions on this very topic. They go something like --
Tom, if I use this will it make my engine last longer?
Tom, if I use this will it quiet that noise I'm hearing?
Tom, if I use this can I go double the mileage between oil changes?
Tom, if I use this will it make my engine run cooler?
Tom, if I use this will it give me better gas mileage?
Tom, if I use this will it allow me to run my engine with no oil in it at all? (Why they would want to do that is beyond me!)
Do the claims sound familiar? They should. That is what the manufacturers of these products claim based on "lab tests" or personal testimonies. Where are the facts? Show me where they tested two cars that were identical with the same engines and equipment, one using the "elixir" and one without. Did they run them the same number of miles under the same conditions? Did they change the oil and filter every 3,000 miles in the one car and, in the other car using the "elixir," did they abuse the engine by not changing the oil and filter every 3,000 miles (only when the driver "felt like it")? Finally, at the end of the test, did they disassemble both engines and examine them for comparable wear?
To my knowledge, objective scientific testing has not been done. Until there is valid proof, listen to me -- change your oil every 3,000 miles with a new oil filter and enjoy the "Automotive Fountain of Youth."
