additives for improved mpg?

[k.civic.f4i]

has anyone ever experimented with this kinda stuff. theres a lot of products and they all CLAIM that they work. the only one i can attest to is seafoam and it DOES work

[Mustang Dave]

Additives are SNAKE OIL! Don't waste your time or money on them.

[Christ]

SeaFoam doesn't improve your mileage, it cleans stuff. The result may have been improved mileage, but it wasn't the SeaFoam that did it.

Most additives are only there to cover stuff up. The only things that I'm still slightly intrigued by are Zmax products, basically because of the marketing demonstrations that I've seen where they run a load meter on an electric motor with thermal protection, and with standard lubes, it clicks off, and when they put ZMax lubes on it, it runs up to high load, backs down a bit, and steadies at middle load, never clicks off, they remove the lube and it stays running for longer than the show went on.

Their claim is that ZMax provides a "dry film lubricant" to bearing surfaces. I have yet to test it.

[tangomar]

Zmax sounds like another ceramic lubricant. There are several on the market:
- cermax
- autocerm

I'm going to try Restore (I think it is the cheaper) soon (just changed the oil but the mechanic refused to put it in the engine... now I need to remove 1 quart of oil!).
I'll let you know soon.

[NiHaoMike]

Water injection can be used to improve MPG, and the additive it uses is just plain water.

[pgfpro]

What I do once every four months is run 1 liter of water through my engine.

It cleans the tops of the pistons and the combustion chambers of carbon build up.

I just hook a small vacuum hose from a 1 liter water bottle to a vacuum port on the intake and bring the engine rpm up 3000rpm so it won't stall. The engine will steam big time out the exhaust. I also pull all my O2 sensors so they won't be damaged.

[Christ]

Originally Posted by tangomar

Zmax sounds like another ceramic lubricant. There are several on the market:
- cermax
- autocerm

I'm going to try Restore (I think it is the cheaper) soon (just changed the oil but the mechanic refused to put it in the engine... now I need to remove 1 quart of oil!).
I'll let you know soon.

Should be a pretty good indication that it's not what it's "cracked up" to be.

[Christ]

Regarding ZMax microlubricant -

These are the tests they claim to have performed, at a cost of $4.5 Million to "Oil-Chem", the parent company.

* SAE J1321 - designed to measure fuel economy changes of in-service vehicles.
* Auger Electron Spectroscopy - designed to measure the penetration of a material into a metal subsurface.
* Modified CRC L-38 - capable of measuring bearing, cylinder, piston and valve guide wear; horsepower; piston deposits; and oil deterioration.
* ASTM D4172 (Four Ball Method - Prevention of Wear) - designed to measure anti-wear properties of a lubricant.
* ASTM D5182 (Four Ball Method - Coefficient of Friction) - designed to measure the coefficient of friction of a lubricant.
* ASTM G99 (Pin on Disc Method) - designed to measure the coefficient of friction of a lubricant.
* ASTM D2174 (Block on Ring Test) - designed to measure the coefficient of friction of a lubricant.
* ASTM D1748 - designed to measure rust preventive properties of metal preservation.
* Modified Sequence VIII - capable of measuring bearing, cylinder, piston and valve guide wear; horsepower; piston deposits; oil deterioration, and fuel efficiency.
* TEOST MHT-4 Thermo-oxidation Engine Oil Simulation Test - designed to measure and emulate deposits that would occur in the piston and ring area of a modern engine.
* FTP 75 - designed to measure the emissions of a vehicle under normal city and suburban driving conditions.
* BAR 90 - designed to measure the in-use emissions level of vehicles for controlling air quality.


They do have an FAA approved lubricant, AVBLEND, which apparently is the same basic formulation, made from a base package of "Lenckite" (Linkite), derived from a famous racer back in the 50's, originally marketed as "Speedway Blend".

[FastPlastic]

I might be crazy, but I run a bottle of Iso-Heet in every tank. Someone suggested it a while back because of some problems I was having over the winter. First tank I put it in I saw a 1-2mpg increase. I figured It was just my driving, so I didn't use it in the next tank, sure enough it dropped back down. I went back and forth 2-3times and finally decided to just keep using it. Don't know what it does for sure, maybe boost the octane rating, or counter-act the 10% ethanol, who knows. All I know is it seems to make a difference and it's only about $1.75 a bottle in the 4-packs. Also guarantees I won't ever have any problems with water buildup in my tank.

[Christ]

ISO-Heet is a little different beast than what we're discussing here.

I-H is just methanol, basically (the yellow bottle). It's to help remove/emulsify water in your fuel... the water that's inherently there. It actually does help some peope's vehicles run better, especially in colder weather, but many people use it as a band-aid for another existing condition, such as leaky vent lines or return lines, which allow moisture into the tank when the vehicle sits for awhile.