Additives??

['STANGETR]

My father mentioned to me toady how he purchased some Amsoil additive for the engine and put it in after his oil change (he has a '96 Caravan ), but he mentioned how great it works and quiets down his lifter (has one that noisy). My question is, how do you (board members in general) feel about using engine/tranny additives? I've never used any in my T/A, but might try the Amsoil one. I don't have any issues with the engine, use full synthetic oil every change, would I even benefit from an additive? Would love to hear ya'lls thoughts!

[ConElite]

I used to use some Restorer on my mothers old car. I have never used it on my T/A nor my brothers 96 Z. If your using fully synthetic, you should be fine. One rule of thumb that my father would always tell me is, th more crap you add to the engine, The more sludge thats going to build up. I would not add it if i were you.

[Rhode Island Red]

to quote wolfman "If it worked, the GSA fleet would be using it" . Considering if it worked as advertised it would save the US government's vehicle fleet money if the claims were true. They don't use it, so there's your answer

[Performin Norman]

Some additives work but most are snake oil.

[strkt_&_blwn]

I don't ever use them and don't plan on using them. We like to refer to them as "Mechanic in a bottle" just doesn't work like that.

[e40]

From an aviation forum, on the subject of miracle additives:

I've always believed that Shell, Phillips, and the rest have a vested financial interest in producing and selling the best possible oil for your aircraft engine. Just ask Mobil what happens when you screw that up. Further, they do not have any vested financial interest (to my knowledge) in any engine overhaul shops or engine parts manufacturers. Therefore, I figure that if any of these additives were really useful, the big refiners would buy up the rights, put it in their own oil, and either charge more for the better oil or grab more market share at the same price once we aviators found out how much better it is. And I doubt that any of the additive inventors would find the serious offer of a major oil company for such a product too small to accept.

Regarding warranty in aircraft engines:

If your engine is still in warranty, you should be aware that Lycoming says that the use of any oil additive is unnecessary and against their recommendations – which could void your warranty.

So, I have just stuck with the general rule of using the proper weight oil as stated in the owners manual, and keep it fresh. 3000 miles for dino, 5000 miles for synthetic. Some manufactures publish an 'approved' oil list which must be adhered to for warranty purposes. In the case of my Audi, the ONLY approved oil sold in North America is Mobil-1 0w40. Using anything else means they are off the hook for warranty claims on the engine.