Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Duratec Performance Engine Additives

I already know prolong is crap cuz if water gets into it things will start to sieze but what about Z Max. No one i know can really find anything bad about it. I ran it in my car and it didn't seem to do anything bad anyway. There are a bunch others on the market too. Interested on any feedback dealing with those too.

All the additives are crap… David Z has a good write-up on his web-site labeled snake oil that address this stuff.

Do the standard maintenance on the engine and everything should be okay. Keep that oil nice and clean!

Let's put it as simply as this.
Oil companies spend billions on R&D. If this crap worked... They'd have it, own it, found it, or what not...

Put oil in your engine. Leave the additives on the shelf next to the other 1000 different bottles of crap every other company peddles...

Well said!! I think you're better off using the best oil and filters you can get your hands on.

Hey guys don't forget that snake oil is usually very good at what it was designed for. Unfortunately, it was not designed to help your car, but rather to transfer money from your pocket to theirs.

Remember the Z-max commercial, where the airplane mechanic says the FAA has an approved additive that extends the life of engines. Well that product actually exists, its called AVBLEND. Some pilots swear by it, others wouldn't use it if their life depended on it.

The Z-max fuel treatment is a scavenger, it chemically combines with combustion chamber deposits like carbon when it is burned to form other chemicals that lower the melting point of the deposits and allow them to be blown out the exhaust. If you have a high mileage, or dirty engine I would not suggest it because it may cause large chunks of deposits to break away and cause scratches or scoring on your cylinder walls.

ok...another question...what about injector cleaner...you know the ones in the bottle. Are those worth using every once in awhile?

In the UK all Fuel has detergents and cleaners in it, I'm pretty certain this is true for the US as well. Why would you want to add even more?

If they are that bad you need to remove them and get them cleaned ultrasonically (or replaced). I know mine were spotless when last removed at 105k miles

I just used some in my car. I used two bottles of GUMOUT REGAIN and it is like a new car.

I suggest an injector cleaner at least every oil change. or 3-4 thousand miles.

The reason is that the fuel does not have any scavenging agents in it anymore. When there was leaded gas a chenical known as TCP (tricresyl phosphate) was added to the fuel to combine with the leadoxide and carbon deposits to help burn away rather than build up. But with unleaded gas and strict emissions regulations these agents have been eliminated for the most part, and therefor you have to add them yourself periodically.