Zmax or Oil additives
 

I know that the Boxster (and Porsche in general) engines are very different than the everyday car engines, but has anyone used and oil additives and has there been any results?

zMax was sued by the FTC over false advertising. They settled. Go Google "zmax ftc lawsuit" for more information.

There is no reason to add any additives to your engine oil and doing so is most likely a bad idea.

I agree
 

Just change your oil. I change mine every 5k. Daily driver in Virginia (all seasons).

Hi,

In a word - Snake Oil (OK... maybe 2 words) ;)

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

I think they found out z-max was basically vegetable oil or something...

No additives in the oil at all. Most cause foaming due to the cleaning agents in the oil so you get air pockets. Very bad. :eek:

Just change the oil before the 15K due date or annually, whichever comes first, and use pure synthetic.

Mobil one is one of the best syns available.

Save your money!

Thanks everyone - this was all great info.

Are you suggesting that junk is good for regular engines?
 

If it was so good, Mobile, Castrol, etc would include it in their additive package.

Use Porsche approved synthetic poil and change it.

QED.

Has any one used Lucas brand oil. I use 1 qt to displace 1Qt of Mobil 1 0W40.

I actually use it in all my cars. I told a friend about it, he started to use it in his high mileage Eclipse that burned 1 qt ever 2 tans of gas. Ever since he used it on his next oil change he has not burned ANY oil. I know another guy who drives a semi over the road and used this and now ascending hills his temp gauge stays in check.

here is the link
www.lucasoil.com/

I think this post is instructive as to why you would NOT use Lucas in a car with a properly functioning engine.

Now, if I had a beater burning oil .........

I thought it was for Zmax and other "trendy" oil products. I personally do not see Lucas as the same type of product. Lucas has many racing teams and are well respected in some motor sports circles they even have their own race tracks in the US. Please read about their product and let me know what you think. Let me know if any has any first hand experience with their products? :cheers:

Hi,

I don't want to specifically speak to Lucas products, except to say that using anything in a Racing Engine is completely different than in a Street Car. All motor Oils are made from a proprietary recipe, Lucas just has a different one. They all start with pretty much the same Base Stocks (Oil or Synth), the differences lie mainly in the Detergent, Anti-Foaming, Anti-Oxidant Agents, or Polymers.

Now consider all the years of experience, the reaserch facilities, the money, and expertise available to Mobil, Exxon, BP, Shell, etc. If it was truly revolutionary, don't you think they would have a.) Come up with it first? or b.) Copied it or made it even better? This stuff is only Chemistry, not Alchemy - there is no Secret Formula.

The Oil in a Race Car has to endure 500 miles at best while in a Street Car, you're going 10k mi. Also, the Race Engine is inspected after each race, and usually torn down in a few thousand miles. Add to this that they don't usually have the same budget constraints that most of us do.

Whether these things work as advertised or not is really not the issue. The issue is more are they really needed in the first place? Your engine needs what it needs period. This means a quality Synthetic Oil with regular Change intervals. Giving you engine more than it needs is usually a waste of time and money and little or no benefit beyond a Placebo Effect is usually ever realized.

Plus, there's all the hype these non-mainstream products use to allow them to infiltrate into the Big Guy's Turf such as those with the PTFE - Polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon) additives. Everybody knows your Fried Egg doesn't stick to the Pan, so it must be good right?

But, few realize that Polytetrafluoroethylene has an operating ceiling of 500°F and actually burns at 600°F, so in an engine, how much of this stuff survives the temps encountered?

The Hype tells you that these particles Bond with the Metal Parts in your Engine - PURE BUNK!! Teflon is notoriously poor at bonding with anything except itself. In order to make the non-stick Fry Pans you use, they first slightly rough up the metal pan, then spray a fine coating of PTFE which flows iinto and adheres in the fine surface irregularities, then the final coat is then sprayed on and attaches to the 1st coat of Teflon. How do I know so much about it? My late Father was the Inventor of Record on the Patent (held by 3M Co.) for a process which came to be marketed as Dupont's Teflon II.

And, the PTFE Particles will collect around narrow openings in the Oil Galleries and in particular the Oil Drillings in the Crankshaft and Bearing shells and may actually restrict the volume of Oil these can handle, still think it's good?

Save your time and money and forget trying to second guess Porsche and Mobil. Do what they recommend and your Car will run well and last a very long time...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

M1 Euro formula is clearly in the top 5 oils in the world. Which one is best is open to interpretation and bias. If you race, move up to M1 15WE-50 or one of the Redline oils.

And you can buy M1 at Wally World on sale.

Stick with this oil, it is more than sufficient.

And change it at say, 7500-10K miles. Filter too!

The argument I've always seen against using teflon is that first of all, it's a solid, which right there should tip people off that it's something you don't want in your engine. Hadn't thought about the temperature thing.

Hi,

Here's an interesting read on the subject: http://skepdic.com/slick50.html

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99