General inquiry

scoobas

scoobas

Well-known user
Dec 30, 2013
205
17
little hulton,salford
hi just a general inquiry as something I have read recently and just curious
does anyone use engine oil additives eg slick 5 an or stp and alike and if so
which do you use and did you notice a difference ,did you use it when you changed
your oil or when the oil had been used for a while to boost it again so to speak ????


the reason i ask is I read about oil additives actually can cause more damage than its supposed to provide
and to support tis a independent body confirmed that its true

well ill post is and see what others have to say
 
I flush it then use lucus oil and last time added lucus stop leak,cost me 80 quid but purred like a kitten and has never dripped oil since
 
Had a mark ii golf gti back in the day was bit noisy and gave off Ratel's from engine , banged slick50 in after filter changed and topped with good oil.... Silence.

Though whether it improved performance I doubt it.
If engine bit nasty though , I'd be recommend mate.
 
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Nope - wouldn't dream of it. If I ever found additives necessary, it'd mean one of three things:

1) I need to change my oil more often.
2) I need to use a better oil.
3) My engine is due a major overhaul.

Being a bit simplistic here, oil goes bad for two main reasons:

1) Shear force. Oil is a long-chain molecule, and the pounding of pistons/spinning of bearings simply tears it apart. When this happens, it doesn't lubricate as well as it did.
2) Contaminants. Mostly this is water and soot from burning fuel. The water reacts with the suphur compounds in the soot and makes suphuric acid. Which then merrily spurts around your engine.

What the additives do is increase lubrication (with even longer-chain molecules) and neutralise the acid, usually with some form of calcium compound.

In other words, these additives are a bit like you eating a very hot curry, castor oil, and a handful of Gaviscon at the same time. For what they cost, just change the oil more often and use one that meets the Ford specs.
 
Drain the oil when it's hot, and refill with sythetic oil. Apart from the A-series, all my engines get synthetic oil and when drained next time round from hot it comes out treacle coloured dark brown and still viscous like fresh oil, as opposed to clumpy and anthracite black like tar.

There are a few very vocal cheapskates who proclaim loudly that oil quality and service intervals are just a big consipiracy by oil companies, but it's more born out from testing carried out by actual engineers on test benches and test mule vehicles.

Semi-synthetic meets Ford spec and is fine, but fully synthetic oil is more resistant to molecular changes under heat and pressure. Buy it from Costco or similar wholesalers and you'll get top tier stuff for very good prices.

I have a garage full of Magnatec and Mobil1 from Costco. I just keep buying more.

(Now away to find out if I can find a suitable viscosity synthetic for the A-series, because mineral oil really is cack)
 
I change my oil every year just before MOT time. I do well under 5000 miles a year, infact this last year I have only done 2000 in the car and it will still be getting changed as normal. I also look out for deals on oil and stock up on it. I posted up a cracking deal last year from halfords where they had 30% off all there oil and when you bought it online they also put another 30% off as well. I ended up with 4 bottles of 5 litre Mobile 1 for under £9 a bottle. Thats my next 3 oil changes sorted for under £36.
I always believe it pays for its self in the long run with costly engine repairs if not changed.
 
The fiestas getting an oil change next week, one because it's been 12 months & two because I've done over 7300 miles since the last service. The old Ohv engine that the Endura -E is based on is a bit rattly and tapety but it's because it's not built with the same tolerances as modern engines and hence I've been informed it's hard as nails (bottom end) plus it has a timing chain not belt too :thumbup:
 
Just use a good qaulity oil Ford recommend Castrol Magnetec 5w/30, and thats what we use at work mostly, i word of slight caution although mobil 1 is a good oil its very thin at cold 0w/50 and having used it in previous cars found it left via the exhaust rather than stay where it was supposed to i:e in the engine

Having run some pretty high powered turboed cars in the past i was once told by a well known engine tuner fully syth isn't really needed for a road car as semi is quite good enough even for mega HP turboed engines.... just a thought !!
 
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I used to always use slick50 when funds permitted but stp when not but reading what I did that additives can cause more trouble/damage then they provide now makes me wonder if using them are with it
 
The thing is over time so I'm told these additives build up in your engine like cholesterol in your blood /veins.
I've used Wynns engine flush before now to clear the crud out engine and their stop leak to block any leaks in the coolant system
 
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