Do any of you have thoughts, suggestions or warnings about adding Z Max to the oil in my '97 XK8? It has about 95,000 miles on the engine.

 

What do you believe you will achieve by doing this?

 

From their site:

For the Engine:

• Cleans and conditions cylinder walls, pistons, piston rings, bearings and valves
• Provides continuous lubrication of your engine’s internal parts
• Protection for both new and used engines – helps with engine break in

The result is reduced wear on vital parts, longer engine life and restored power


Save gas and diesel fuel, increase mileage and reduce carbon build-up in piston powered engines including automobiles, trucks, airplanes, SUVs, off-road vehicles, small engines, 18-wheelers

 

Not being sarcastic here, but isn't that bullet list what regular engine oil does? Don't see any advantage.

 

Did I say there was an advantage?

 

True. So, back to Jon89's query. What is the expected result here?

 

OK, as a "noob" here, and my very first post (other than thee obligitory "new member " thread....I'll offer up a thought.

Back in 96, dino motor oil contained more PPM of Zinc and Phosphorus, both provided protection from metal on metal, wear. Todays same brands have much less of these compounds. The "Z-MAX" replaces these for motors designed with these agents in mind...

Absolutly not being a wise guy here, but my hobby background is with older pushrod engines with hydraulic valve lifters. The lack of Zinc in todays oil is a major problem for these motors, specially upon break-in of rebuilt motors. Perhaps there is a similarity in the need for these additives in the older Jag motors ???

 

YES YES YES to all your points

DO whatever makes you feel better. I use stupid expensive syn oil in mine. Make me feel better and I swear up and down I get better eco out of it.
I can prove that my engine is quieter then using dino oil.

I dont think it can hurt., that being said there is not a min amount of zinc that our motors require so there no telling what our engines actually need.

Hope you enjoy your car. I enjoy mine. I love my baby. I call her Kate.

Just enjoy taking care of her. What your doing cant hurt. When it comes to oil I always advise using Royal Purple.

 

This is a wind-up, right? Zmax is the biggest scam ever.

read here:

FTC Sues Speedway Motorsports and Oil-Chem Subsidiary

in short:

The FTC's complaint alleges that the defendants did not possess and rely on reasonable substantiation for the following claims in the infomercial, on the Web site and in brochures that zMax:

• increases gas mileage;
  
• increases gas mileage by a minimum of 10%
  
• reduces engine wear;
  
• reduces or eliminates engine wear at startup;
  
• reduces engine corrosion;
  
• extends engine life; and
  
• reduces emissions.

The agency's complaint also alleges that the defendants falsely represent that the results of the CRC L38 test proved that zMax:

• increases gas mileage;
  
• reduces engine wear;
  
• extends engine life;
  
• lowers fuel consumption by 8.5%
  
• lowers wear on valve stems by 66%
  
• lowers wear on piston skirts by 60%; and
  
• cuts carbon build-up on valve stems by 66%.

This cr*p is the worst of the worst snake oil................


Regarding the reduction of zinc in newer engine oils- there is truth to this. Old flat tappet lifters and cams are possibly at risk with the newer oils. This issue does not affect the OP's engine, or any engine on a newer generation Jag but moreover there's nothing in Zmax that would help in this respect.

NO additives are required or are of benefit if an engine is good working order and has been maintained properly.

 

It's all BS remember Auto-RX and Slick 50 same scam, dont fall for it.
If you worry about no Zinc in modern oils use Diesel truck oils they are full of Zinc.

 

Would they be suitable for use in XK engines?

Is diesel engine oil basically the same as petrol engine oil, but with the added zinc?

 

If you read some posts on Bob is the oil Guy it seems that many people like to use the heavy duty oils (Rotella, Delvac, etc.) and they are pretty inexpensive. I've used them for years in boats that have 454 Chevy blocks, as well as diesels. I think the only downside is they may shorten the life of catalytic converters. I never saw an estimate of how much, though. Personally, for the Jag I take take Brutal's advice and add Restore to whatever brand-name synthetic I get on sale and change the oil every year before storage. Probably wasting good oil that could go another year, but old habits die hard.

 

The expected result for a user would be the list from the website, the actual result may be different.

 

Why do you believe that zinc and phosphorus levels higher than those specified by Jaguar are either required or of benefit? Your owners manual will specify which API category is required, no sleuthing or second guessing required..

Bobisthoilguy or it's members will not pay your engine repair bills when it all goes wrong.

 

Use Marvell's Mystery Oil instead. Sorry, I can't help but laugh.

:P

 

Many motorcyclists use diesel engine oil in their crankcases. Its the right viscosity range, and doesn't have the friction modifiers so detrimental to wet clutches. Cheap too! I'm a Chevron Delo or Shell Rotella user.

 

Zmax was taken to court along with the other like products and was the only one to prove they were telling the truth! It is used in airplanes (FAA Approved), You had better not screw that one up. It gets rid of moister in the oil, coats the cylinder walls and other metal parts for less friction. It was proven in court.

The Only product of it's kind to do so. I have used it in my Corvettes and shelby Mustangs and have never had a problem and I beat those engines far more than you guys do your Jags. I don't think these Jag engines have what it takes to put up with what I put those cars through. I raced them pretty hard and never lost an engine.

 

[QUOTE=Mikey;631588]
This is a wind-up, right? Zmax is the biggest scam ever.



Oh well, one for and one against.

I asked about diesel oil compatibility with the idea of adding a little diesel oil to my engine oil to raise the zinc content if,
1) it may help reduce wear
2) the diesel oil was compatible with the petrol engine oil, and
3) if the mixed oils together were compatible with the engine.

If in the case of 2) the mixed oils created some kind of sludge, or other detrimental effect, then the idea would be abandoned.
In the case of 3) where the combined mixture resulted in too thick or too thin an oil in relation to recommended spec, or some kind of chemical reaction, then again, the idea would be abandoned.

It's probably well known by now that i don't know too much about mechanically related issues, but, like most owners if a little extra care ( or additive) can be used to preserve and/or improve my cars life, i'm all for it.
It seems to be generally accepted that older engines like a higher zinc content to avoid premature wear on valve lifters etc, but those engines tend to be from the 70's-80's era, or earlier.

So the question is, does it also apply to engines that are only 16 years old maximum, or not?

I looked up Restore on a well known internet auction site, and found it on sale in America for £4.36 ( but with £32.38 postage on top), and in the UK for £25.96 with free postage, but the UK can was only enough to treat a 2litre engine.

Picture 1 is the American stuff, and pic 2 is the UK stuff.

They may not even be exactly the same as each other.

Any chemical reaction caused by mixing oils or using additives, may be paticularly relevant in cars still running with the Nikasil liners, as mine is.

 

'Zmax approved by the FAA' is a bit of a misnomer. First, it's not Zmax, it's a sister product called 'Avblend', but most importantly the approval doesn't mean that the product actually works, just that it doesn't make things worse. In other words- it could be re-bottled and re-labelled straight engine oil. The claims of 'It gets rid of moister (sic) in the oil, coats the cylinder walls and other metal parts for less friction' also apply to regular engine oil, so nothing gained there either.

On the subject of 'diesel' oil- what problems are you guys trying to fix with your home brewed witch's potions? The engines are known to last the life of the car (and then some) when using the recommended lubricants with no other additives. In the rare cases of the engines suffering something bad- it's almost never anything related to lubrication. Pretty hard to fix something that's not broken.

Today's oils have more than enough zinc and phosphorous to suit our modern engines. More is not better. If you want some good info on older engines- here's an article written by an acquaintance of mine from the Corvette world, starting on page 3

http://stlouisncrs.org/news_files/St..._July_2011.pdf

 

I do have to say that the problem we are trying to treat with Restore is low compression and blow-by in the early Nikisil engines. Other than that, any good name-brand oil will work for 99% of us non-racers. (unless you're into stripping down your engine to check out how clean your pistons are this month.)