was in halfords other day and saw many oil treatments. i was looking at wynn's stop smoke oil treatment as my Vectra-B is starting to smoke a little but then i saw other's so not sure which would be best to get. have you peeps ever used any oil treatments and if so do you rate them ?
{made non make/model specific as question could apply to any vehicle}
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 02/03/2009 at 19:12
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My car's Owners Manual specifically warns against using oil additives, and that's good enough for me.
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If oils needed additives they would be included in the oil by the makers. Same with these fuel saving devices/snakeoil. If they worked the makers would include them when the cars and engines were built.
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I agree with the above. 25+ years ago when engine oils were considerably less sophisticated, I could understand people using additives, but modern oils contain a very complex blend of additives and treatments "out of the can".
The one and only time I ever used a "treatment" like this was a cooling system leak fixer. Never again! Still leaked, but deposited what looked like river sediment through the entire system.
Edited by DP on 03/03/2009 at 06:37
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It's probably a long shot, but there's always the possibility that the additives in the oil may not get along with the additives in the additive (if you get my drift). Mix them together and you may find the sum of the parts is less than the sum of the individual components.
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The only oil additive I use is STP engine flush, £2.35 from my local factor. For the cost of a pint of bitter it is just about worth it!
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I was always advised in not using engine flush as it could unroot deposits in the engine and these could then cause problems with the running system.
I used it once many years ago in an old Audi but have never bothered again.
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Depends what's causing it to smoke. If it's the valve guide oil seals, then an additive will not really help.
If the bores / piston rings are worn, or there's a scratch on the cylinders, it may help a little but the smoke is the least of your problems.
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I have once used an oil flush to free up some occasionally sticking hydraulic valve lifters and it seemed to work.
The only other treatment I use is to treat the engine to new oil regularly.
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I rate frequent oil changes over additives, any time. If you want to save money, buy Halfords or other own-brand retailer oil. As long as it meets the requirement specified by your car's manufacturer, it will do the job fine.
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My fiest car failed its MOT for excessive blue smoke (the piston rings had gone), I put it in that stop smoke and it passed the MOT no problem. It was of course just a temperoy cure and in less than 100 miles it had all burnt away.
I would never ever use adictives on a healthy engine but they can be ok to get the most out of a clapped out one.
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When my Astra G had a clattering Hydraulic Valve lifter in, the Local Indie Garage tried some oil treatment in, and it resolved the problem.
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Maybe an Italian tune-up and a tank of high octane non-supermarket fuel could help.
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