What is the lifeblood of any vehicle? If you answered “oil,” you would be correct. Oil is essential to the performance and overall health of your vehicle. That is why staying on top of oil changes and using quality oil is so important to the maintenance of your vehicle—without it, your car would fail.
It’s no surprise that the vehicle maintenance market is saturated with aftermarket oil additives and treatments that claim to turn your engine oil into an engine miracle worker, promising to extend the life of your vehicle, improve mileage and even improve overall engine performance. However, research has shown that there is little fact to back up these claims. As a local spot for a fast and high quality oil change in Conway, AR, we have customers asking us all the time if these oil additives are worth it. Let’s take a closer look and find out.
What are the claims?
Aftermarket oil additives make some pretty big promises in their advertising. Here are just a few claims of these products:
- Improve gas mileage
- Reduce engine wear
- Lower engine operating temperature
- Extend overall oil life
However, of the years, lawsuits and research have exposed many of these claims to be false. Yet, many manufacturers continue to make these products and sell them as a cure-all engine treatment.
What does the research show?
Many of these aftermarket oil treatments contain an additive called ZDDP (zinc dialkyldithiophosphate). Research shows that this additive does, in fact, reduce engine wear. However, it can also reduce the life of catalytic converters by increasing friction inside the engine. In addition, this additive only works with engines made out of steel.
Another additive, tiny carbon spheres, was also shown to increase fuel mileage and reduce engine wear. However, the technology for this additive is not fully developed for this product to be commercially available yet.
Should you use a cure-all engine treatment?
While we are nearing a breakthrough when it comes to these aftermarket oil additives, the products that are currently commercially available to consumers simply do not live up to the hype. Using a cure-all engine treatment most likely won’t harm your car, but the benefits are not worth the cost, especially since most quality oils already contain additives to help improve your engine’s performance and the life of the oil.
What’s the number one way to care for your engine?
You don’t need a cure-all engine treatment to ensure your vehicle’s performance. All you need to do is stay on top of your vehicle’s regular maintenance, particularly oil changes. Keeping up to date with your vehicle’s oil changes and opting for quality oil will do more for your car than any cure-all treatment.
If you have any additional questions about cure-all engine treatments or are looking for a fast, convenient and quality oil change in Conway, AR, be sure to stop in at Riverdale Automotive, your local experts for auto repairs and maintenance. We look forward to assisting you soon!