You are gonna get 100 different answers from 100 different people on that one!!!
I'm a big fan of synthetic, for low temperature viscosity performance, high temperature performance, and longer oil change intervals. I personally use Mobil 1, but there are plenty of other good ones out there.
I strongly believe that oil additives are detrimental to oil performance, not enhancing. Each oil provider uses a unique blend of additives and formulation to get their oil to perform. Mixing oils from various suppliers or adding aftermarket additives has a much higher chance of hurting the additive performance than it does helping it. I've read plenty of comments by lubrication engineers and engine designers substantiating that. So, I'd strongly recommend you stay away from additives.
There is no one answer because you didn't state what motor you are talking about. Climate conditions also matter, in spite of most automakers "dumbed down" current recommendations.
Do you have a diesel? Older or high-tech?
Do you have a flat-tappet cam gasoline engine?
Are you in an area with extreme cold startup conditions?
Generally, I'm against the use of additives, as are Ford and most reputable oil companies (except SOPUS). Some are very harmful (chlorine-based), most are a waste of money (Lucas, etc), but a few (GM EOS, Auto-RX) , for very specfic uses, may have value.
All one really needs to do, is follow that great unread document called, "Owners Manual"!!!!
In it is a guide for the specified service grade & viscosity range for the needed lubricants & filters for our ride & the change intevial for them.
So use products that meet or exceed Fords specifications, called out in our Owners Guide, for our engine, under the expected weather conditions & type of driving we'll do, during a particular oil change intervial (OCI).
Then change the lube & filter at least at the specified intervial.
If for some reason your not sure how things are going, have an oil analisis done at one of the labs like, "Blackstone Labs", but it'll cost as much as just changing the oil & filter yourself.
If you drive under extreem, or severe weather or road conditions, maybe a synthetic lube, meeting Fords specifications, would be for you, but for most of us, with gasoline engines, a regular SM GF-4 lube, that meets Fords specifications & changed at the specified time, will do just fine. Diesel engines call for a different lube.
As has been said, unless Ford has specified a particular additive, (like a friction modifier for the traction lock rear differential) leave the additives out of the equation, as they could disturb the lubes addpack synergy.
The Ford specifed lube is fully formulated with all the additives our vehicle needs & these additives are compatable with our engines, transmission & differential's, metal, rubber, plastic & composit parts.
I know, sometimes we are tempted to, or want to, "do more" for our ride, you know play lube engineer & add something we are lead to believe is needed, because the manufacturer was too cheap to specify, or too dumb to put it in, or the seller wants us to think & believe he knows something, or has some secret additive that the dumb manufacturer, or oil company doesn't know about & it's just what we need to make our ride, "run real good & last a long time"!!!!
Problem for us is, we don't know what's in those aftermarket products we're about to buy & pour in, nor how it'll react with whats already in our lubes.
Some lubes may already be 'saturated" with a particular additive & adding more may upset things & cause the additive to percipitate out of solution & cause all sorts of mischief!!!!
Other additives may not blend well, or at all, with the type of lube we're using.
for instance, some synthetic oiis don't take some addtives well at all & need a convenitional oil as a carrier to make the additive work. Other synthetics have a low saturation point, so if we come along & mindlessly dump in more of the same stuff, it may not mix at all, or may not stay in suspension, nor react well with what's already in our lube.
These after market additives haven't had to meet any kind of tests, nor do they have any kind of quality assurance program, so who knows what's in the container, nor in what concentration, or base oil.
So why play lube chemist????? I mean the lube manufacturers run refineries & pay folks to spend their entire professional career, in very well outfitted labs, testing all sorts of lube recipes, to very exacting standards & test proceedures.
So what makes us think that "Billy Bob" in his back room, who doesn't run a refinery, but has to get his goods from someone who does, has concocted something, or knows something the "Pros" don't know & it'll work with anything out there, even though it's never been tested against any standard?????
None of these folks run a refinery, so they aren't making anything that isn't already known about.
They're just buying, mixing, packaging & hawking a product & trying to convince us we need something thats missing, bcause our dumb manufacturer omitted it!!!!!
Yah, it all came out of P T Barnum's mouth a long time ago, so we just gotta be wary of all the "stuff" we're told we need!!!!
At the very least, about all we could hope for, is that it'll at least "do no harm"!!!!
Naw, I don't think so, imo, if a manufacturer hasn't specified an additive, leave it on the shelf & use a fully formulated lube that meets or exeeds our manufacturers specifications, listed in our "Great Unread Document", called Owners Manual!!!!!! lol
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Sir Alpha, first post what year, make, engine, and miles on your vehicle you're talking about. Then I can give you a much better answer to your question.
Actually, the amount of zddp in oils has been reduced because it is hard on cats - it will hurt if you put enough in so your cat quits working and you fail emissions testing. Gets to be a pretty expensive additive in that case...
2000 -150
4.6 gas
2005 focus ( work car, hey 34 mpg what can i say )
as all ready stated
some additives might be bad
what is really something to make sure that i dont have in my oil?
i know anything solid isnt good but what is or more of what is not to be in the oil?
what have you seen that is bad or great for a motor's oil
Last edited by sir alpha : 06-30-2007 at 08:55 PM.
Good point rubydist. You folks go through emissions testing, we don't. So the idea of poisoning a cat never crosses my mind (well, there is the neighbor's cat that gets into the.... oh, wait, not that kind of cat).
Even so, unless the car consumes much oil, the extra zddp shouldn't make it to the cat.
We need to know what kind of car sir alpha has and what year, and whether he has emissions testing.
So, you list two modern OHC gasoline engines and your public profile lists IL as the state.
That means API SM 5W-20. The Conoco (76, TopArctic, Motorcraft, Kendall GT-1) synthetic blends are a good value. Beyond that, because you experience cold winters, a full synthetic could be of benefit in the winter if you dont have a heated garage. No additives are needed.
I'm never serious unless I should be.
