Slick 50?

[TechHeavy]

Does anyone here use Slick 50, (or a similar engine protectant) in their MM? How effective is it, and is it worth the cost?
Doesn't a good synthetic oil, (such as Mobil 1 5w30) have the same cold engine crank-up protective qualites of these other products?
Thanks for the feedback.

[DEFYANT]

There was a thread on this stuff. Cant answer your question but I was glad I didnt use it in the MM when I was done reading.

[Wires]

Snake oil.


Dupont does not recomend PTFE as an engine additive.

There's no way that a teflon coating is developped in an engine.

All it does is clog your oil filter, and possibly your oil passages.

http://www.brickboard.com/ARCHIVES/1998NOV/20016872.shtml

http://www.xs4all.nl/~chris/slick50.html


http://neptune.spacebears.com/cars/legal/s50com.html
This one's a long read, but the key is buried in there:


C. Slick 50 does not coat engine parts with a layer of PTFE. D. Slick 50 does not meet military specifications for aftermarket motor oil additives.

[TechHeavy]

Snake oil.


Dupont does not recomend PTFE as an engine additive.

There's no way that a teflon coating is developped in an engine.

All it does is clog your oil filter, and possibly your oil passages.

http://www.brickboard.com/ARCHIVES/1998NOV/20016872.shtml

http://www.xs4all.nl/~chris/slick50.html


http://neptune.spacebears.com/cars/legal/s50com.html
This one's a long read, but the key is buried in there:


C. Slick 50 does not coat engine parts with a layer of PTFE. D. Slick 50 does not meet military specifications for aftermarket motor oil additives.
Excellent post and links. Thanks! I'm due up for an oil change and was considering it but after reading from the above pages I'll pass! Thanks Wires! :) :beer: :rock:

[Shaft333]

I didn't know they still sold the stuff.

[RF Overlord]

TechHeavy:

Thank your lucky stars you posted this before you used Slick 50...DO NOT under ANY circumstances use that junk in your MM, or indeed in ANY car you care about. As Wires said, DuPont, the inventors of PTFE, say that it has NO business being in an internal combustion engine. Likewise, never use a FRAM DoubleGuard filter, either (for the same reason).

"...tests done on a Chevy 6 cylinder engine by the University of Utah Engineering Experiment Station found that after treatment with the PTFE additive the test engine's friction was reduced by 13.1 percent, the output horsepower increased from 5.3 percent to 8.1 percent, and fuel economy improved as well. Unfortunately, the same tests concluded that "There was a pressure drop across the oil filter resulting from possible clogging of small passageways." Oil analysis showed that iron contamination doubled after the treatment, indicating that engine wear increased..."

[Joe Walsh]

Yeah, I made the mistake of using that stuff years ago (@1988) in my 5.0 Mustang. Their 'slick' advertising convinced me and I bought some.....
I NEVER noticed any HP difference but I did start to have engine problems* some time after using it.....though I can't absolutely say that Slick 50 was the cause.

*oil consumption and oil smoke out of the tailpipes.

[ctrcbob]

Mouse Milk!

[TechHeavy]

TechHeavy:

Thank your lucky stars you posted this before you used Slick 50...DO NOT under ANY circumstances use that junk in your MM, or indeed in ANY car you care about. As Wires said, DuPont, the inventors of PTFE say that it has NO business being in an internal combustion engine. Likewise, never use a FRAM DoubleGuard filter, either (for the same reason).
Got it Bob! :) Heck, I don't do anything to my MM these days without running it by you guys first! I thought you guys would know about that stuff... :2thumbs:

Thanks.

[MM2004]

I hear Ya' Dave! :)

Was ready to put that crap in mine until I inquired about it here.

None of my future cars will have this stuff. Funny when I asked my dealer if they support the use of this additive, their reply was "Yes".

Hmmm, . .

Mike.


Got it Bob! :) Heck, I don't do anything to my MM these days without running it by you guys first! I thought you guys would know about that stuff... :2thumbs:

Thanks.

[04funmerc]

DON'T DO IT!!!

I Tried it in my 87 Jimmy when I had 90,000 miles on it and it was running pertty good. about 15,000 mi. later I started having engine probs. When the engine dumped, we took it down and a lot of my piston rings were clogged up, ie; gummy and I was using mobil 1 in my engine from the get go. I thought (:depress: ) the 50 would help. :bigcry: . Now I use Amsoil in the MM and Grand Am and Mobil 1 in my 92 P.U. w/ 205,000 on it

[RF Overlord]

For the record, Slick 50, although the most egregious violator, is not the ONLY miracle-in-a-can oil to avoid...add to the list:

DuraLube
MotorUP
Z-Max
Prolong
QMI
Tufoil
Lubrilon

...and almost every other additive on the shelves at Wally World.

Although some of the additives listed above *MAY* deliver on parts of their claims, ALL of them will either do NOTHING, or will actually cause MORE wear. If you have a motor which is very worn and/or sludged up, with bad valve seals, stuck ring packs, and burns a lot of oil, it's *possible* one of these additives *may* provide a small improvement...

BUT...

NONE of them will do anything useful in a motor that is mechanically sound.

Just Google "oil+additives" and see what you get...

[TechHeavy]

For the record, Slick 50, although the most egregious violator, is not the ONLY miracle-in-a-can oil to avoid...add to the list:

DuraLube
MotorUP
Z-Max
Prolong
QMI
Tufoil
Lubrilon

...and almost every other additive on the shelves at Wally World.

Although some of the additives listed above *MAY* deliver on parts of their claims, ALL of them will either do NOTHING, or will actually cause MORE wear. If you have a motor which is very worn and/or sludged up, with bad valve seals, stuck ring packs, and burns a lot of oil, it's *possible* one of these additives *may* provide a small improvement...

BUT...

NONE of them will do anything useful in a motor that is mechanically sound.

Just Google "oil+additives" and see what you get...
Z-Max... That's the one I was trying to think of! Ok, thanks for the comprehensive list RF! :high5:

[grampaws]

Additives rarely do what they promise I have tried several

and they are not worth the added cost, more frequent oil changes
will get you better results..a good Syn oil will do more..
Improved fuel mileage etc..I use Syn Amsoil eng and ATF and
would recommend it to anyone...
The best oil is clean oil...

[maraudernkc]

We have sold all kinds of snake oils over the Years and the only company that I know of that has beaten the goverment in there claims ( which cost them 4 million dollars to do so) is Zmax.

There website is

www.zmax.com

This stuff is not oil based. It is suppose to be the real deal.

I am scared to put it in my car.

It is suppose to be the real deal. Who knows for sure.

Com'on Mikey you try it. :)

[RF Overlord]

This stuff is not oil based.Actually, testing determined that Z-Max was in fact nothing BUT colored mineral oil.


I am scared to put it in my car.You should be.

[maraudernkc]

RF, do you have any links or anything to back up that ZMAX is colored mineral oil?



Actually, testing determined that Z-Max was in fact nothing BUT colored mineral oil.

You should be.

[RF Overlord]

RF, do you have any links or anything to back up that ZMAX is colored mineral oil?How about the Federal Trade Commission's (http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2001/02/zmax1.htm) own web site?

Here's the relevent part:

"The agency alleges that enhanced performance claims for the product are unsubstantiated, that tests cited to support performance claims actually demonstrated that motor oil treated with zMax produced more than twice as much bearing corrosion than motor oil alone, and that the three different products - an engine additive, a fuel line additive and a transmission additive - were all actually tinted mineral oil."

[fastblackmerc]

I hear Ya' Dave! :)

Was ready to put that crap in mine until I inquired about it here.

None of my future cars will have this stuff. Funny when I asked my dealer if they support the use of this additive, their reply was "Yes".

Hmmm, . .

Mike.
The dealer supports the use of that additive because they get it for pennies and charge you BIG BUCKS for it. When the car that the typical yokel, that falls for the claims, starts to have problems he's out of warranty and the deal gets more BIG BUCKS to repair it. then the cycle starts all over again.

[maraudernkc]

RF, good information. I am glad I did not put it in my car.

Thanks for the information.


How about the Federal Trade Commission's (http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2001/02/zmax1.htm) own web site?

Here's the relevent part:

"The agency alleges that enhanced performance claims for the product are unsubstantiated, that tests cited to support performance claims actually demonstrated that motor oil treated with zMax produced more than twice as much bearing corrosion than motor oil alone, and that the three different products - an engine additive, a fuel line additive and a transmission additive - were all actually tinted mineral oil."

[Ross]

Never used Slick 50, but many years ago I heard of one of the first Teflon lubes called Microlon. Supposedly the French Army (isn't that an oxymoron?) put it in a few tanks, ran them for a certain length of time, then drained all of the oil out and ran the tanks for some distance (50 miles?) with no internal wear on the engine. Sure sounds hard to believe.