More on Oil Additives
Not long ago I got the technical explanation of why and why not to use additives so I thought I'd share it.Additives can, in fact, extend the life of an engine IF THE ADDITIVE IS USED WHEN THE ENGINE IS NEW. When the engine rolls off the factory floor (when you buy it new) an additive is fine because no grooves or flex exists in the motor. The additive (usually teflon-based), coats all the parts and keeps them from rubbing the grooves into the cylinder walls, on the crankshaft, etc. for about 75,000 miles or 1,500 hours. On the other hand, the life of the teflon is based on the compression ratio in the engine. With a gasoline engine running approximately 7-9:1, the teflon lasts about 20,000 miles where more can be added if desired. With diesel engines running compressions ratios of 17-28:1, the teflon is broken down under pressure and lasts on 2,000 or less than 50 hours meaning you would have to completely replace it roughly once per month to make it do anything: Very Expensive.If your engine is used (more than 10,000 miles or 100 hours), the grooves and flex already exist and placing a teflon-based additive to the engine causes the additive to settle in the grooves and flex. This deforms the "natural" operating environment for moving parts (cylinders, crankshaft, etc.) and actually causes the engine to work harder to produce the same horsepower which means a higher operating temperature.The guy went on to explain viscosity and the exact temperature and pressure combination where teflon is broken down into nothingness, but I got the message early and didn't remember any of that stuff.So, don't use an additive in a diesel, ever.