Has anyone experience with "Lubrilon" oil additive?
It was once named Slick 50. They have a web site at

Lubrilon Specialty Chemicals and Lubricants

Thanks for any advice....

 

Never used this product but if it's son of Slick 50 like as not it's got PTFE in it. If so my advice is to stay well clear. I've seen PTFE additives (Slick 50) gunge up in my sump.

 

Absolute snake oil.

Your engine does not need any additives of any type.

 

Why do you think you need it?

 

A similar product doing the rounds about 10 years ago: Microlon was discussed in the Other Place.
There wasn't much enthusiasm then, either.

In common with most it promised everything other than how to be a multi-billionaire and have life-long success with beautiful women.

If I was producing something that returned the results being claimed I'd be putting the full studies on my website rather than inviting folks to request one.

Maybe this one is different?


Mike

 

That is the thing, Lubrilon is the original formulation. No PTFE. The reason I am looking into this is, I just replaced what I believed to be a near perfect engine for $7000.00 . Do not want to do that again.
Years ago I used Slick 50 in my airplanes with good results. Just do not know about the new product.
As to test results, the Government has published good test results. I also do not trust the IRS.

 

Car manufacturers spend hundreds of millions of dollars every year trying to develop technology that will improve gas mileage by even one or two MPG.

Oil companies spend similar amounts trying to get even a tiny step up on their competitors with reduced engine wear, less friction etc.

Putting conspiracy theories aside, how come they don't just go out and buy a bottle of this or a similar miracle juice?

 

Point taken. (Conspiracy theories can be fun though! I've always enjoyed the oh-so-detailed proofs of how we faked the moon landings. )

Often it seems as though additives are judged to be worthwhile when they can make a worn engine behave more like a newer engine ... usually as regards smoke and/or compression and/or oil consumption. But seldom is much attention paid to how this is done. I don't know anything about Lubrilon but, for example, Restore has lots of lead and copper in it which (some say) fills in the missing metal from wear points. I don't know if the presence of these elements is a cause for concern or not, but I would for sure want to know about this kind of thing before adding any additive to my engine oil.

(One case where additives are a clear winner is for the addition of zinc to motor oil in some old engines, like my MG's. They need it because of the type of valve gear, and modern oils lack it because it attacks CATs.)

On such topics, you just can't beat BobIsTheOilGuy.com. They even have a forum dedicated to oil additives. It's worth a visit when just about any lubrication question arises.

 

I avoid that site like the plague. Too many self appointed 'experts' trying to convince the unwashed masses that they need/don't need a given product to fix something that's not broken in the first place.

Putting aside older flat tappet engines that might (might) suffer valve train damage from lack of ZDDP, has anyone heard of an engine that failed or wore out directly from a lubrication system problem?

No, me neither.

 

It seems we've come down on opposite sides re: BobIsTheOilGuy. To each his own. Others may want to take a look and see for themselves.

The valve gear wear / zinc question is not a "might".

 

There's an old saying recommending that politics, religion and money never be discussed in polite company. I think that this extends to the Bitog site as some view Bob and his oracles as deities.

The ZDDP issue certainly applies to some types of flat tappet engines but not all. The venerable Chev SBC was designed around oils that had about 800 ppm of ZDDP, pretty much what the latest API categories have today. Some high performance versions from the 60s with radical cam profiles need around 1000-1200 ppm, a level that's provided by today's off the shelf CJ-4 oils.

 

The BITOG site is probably best thought of as two: the articles and the forums. The forums, like forums everywhere, offer a mix of well-supported and, uh, other posts. The articles section I have found to hold rock-solid research material. I would bet that just about anyone taking the "Motor Oil University" exams would be surprised by some of what he thought he knew. I know I was.

My background with the ZDDP issue is with older British engines. It has been shown, to my satisfaction anyway, that many of these engines have suffered from lack of the additive, and can be helped by adding it to most modern oils.

 

No disagreement there.

 

Use a quality oil and you should be fine. Restore is only good for compression or blowby issues.

Gus
www.jagrepair.com

 

The oil cap came off my friends engine... the oil sprayed out and he seized his new motor.

Loss of lubrication either accidentally (e.g. hole in sump or a leak) or through stupidity (e.g. failure to change the oil or top it up) is more common than some people realise.

:-)

 

The closest this crap is to getting in my car is the similarly named lubalox on a black talon loaded into a pistol inside the car.

Figure out a nice synthetic oil and pick your viscosity, pick a quality filter, and change periodically. Your engine will last a very long time, or die of an issue that the additive wouldn't have made a difference anyway. Modern engines are amazing how long they'll last.

 

the company that created Teflon stated that it was never intended to be used in liquid lubrication and continues to do so today. most oil today is very good. unless one is at the margins with things such as ultra high performance or very low viscosity it matters little or a verifiable special need. yes, synthetic does seem to have a few benefits. the most overlooked is how much cleaner the engine is kept, performance stability is another. one thing that i will hold my ground on is that for marketing reasons oil change intervals are too long (time and mileage) and not enough users are told that they are in a severe service situation. with the 20's and lower oils which we do not use here, do not mess around with cheap stuff, otherwise find something else of concern.

 

No secret formula here. Just use a good quality oil of the proper viscosity, do regular oil and filter changes, and your engine will be just fine....

 

Measuring the amount of zinc in your oil and the amount of wear is probably the simplest way to establish if you need more?

https://www.techenomics.net/2014/04/...-we-need-zinc/

If wear decreases using more zinc then you needed more zinc?
If the zinc in your favourite oil is below the level considered normal you might want to consider an oil with more zinc in it?
Modern engines rarely seem to run into zinc problems... but it's possible older engines or certain types of engines (motorcycles?) might be a bit more fussy?

Oil analysis is fairly cheap and will unambiguously tell you which oil is performing better.
Patch/spot testing of oil is an even cheaper way of comparing oil quality.
Alternatively fit a magnetic sump plug and compare how much metal is on the magnet when you do an oil change? The better the oil the less metal on the plug.

The same approach can be used with any oil or oil additive.

:-)

 

Hello Everyone! Billy Clyde here....Let's talk about Engine Additives.....Seems to be the subject here....Down here in Houston there's a little Company, which was created by a couple Guys that were connected to the Space Program (NASA)….They developed some things that helped get us (The U.S.) to the Moon!

Sometime after the Moon Landing, they started up a little company here in Houston making all sorts of Coatings...Which were and are currently being used by NHRA, NASCAR and Indy Car...I've used it myself for years and have never had an Engine failure....I started using Poly Dyn "TX7" Engine Treatment, along with having the Piston Skirts "Poly Dyn" Coated, the Piston Tops and Combustion Chambers Ceramic Coated back in 1985....That was my 2.4 VW Boxer engine with FI...The "Little Bug that could"! ... Since then every Engine that I have had built, including my current 4.2 XKR Engine, has had the same procedures done to them with excellent results.....I also use "TX7" and pour in a quart about every 20,000 miles.....Current 4.2 XKR has about 50,000 miles and uses about 1/2 quart of Oil between my 4,500 mile Oil changes...

I've never heard of some of the additives some of you have used or thought about using but I know "TX7" works and I know a number of Guys that use it as I do!

Billy Clyde in Houston