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Comments
Zddplus sounds like a very specialized product for older cars not having cat converters.
One of the SAE articles they quoted was printed in 1977, which was back when cat converters were in their infancy.
The site warns about not using Zddplus in cars with cat converters:
Why should ZDDPlus™ not be used in OBD [On Board Diagnostic] cars?
The key ingredient of ZDDPlus™ is ZDDP, which has been known to shorten catalytic converter life. Manufacturers have been redesigning engines for the last decade to minimize the need for ZDDP, in order to lower emission levels. One method is switching over to roller rockers.
Anyway, you want peace of mind? You can just use SJ or SL, plus CH-4, type oils. That's all you'll ever need IMO.
Here's a nice list I found:
1. Castrol RX Super 15w40
2. Chevron Delo 400 15w40
3. Mobil Delvac 1300 Super 15w40
4. Pennzoil Long-Life 15w40
5. Quaker State 4X4 Synthetic Blend 15w40
6. Shell Rotella-T 15w40
7. SuperTech 2000 (WalMart) 15w40
8. Valvoline All Fleet 15w40
9. Castrol Syntec Blend Truck and 4X4 15w40
I believe ZDDPlus has everything in it they claim it has, so it is not being misrepresented as per content (which is what their "lab tests" are saying---not that it "works").
But it looks to me, from what I've been reading, that ZDDPlus is a cure in search of a problem.
I don't have to prove that ZDDPlus prevents flat tappet wear---THEY have to prove that modern oils cause it --- and they haven't. Their ads are full of "argument by assertion", which claims that lots of flat tappet engines are showing wear, but wear is the evidence?
NADA. I'm ready to see it, bring it on. I want bench-tested vintage engines, side by side, newly rebuilt, 10 with regular modern oil, 10 with ZDDPlus, run 'em for 50000 miles and show me.
The oil is Chevron 5w30 (I do not know AP rating but assume it's match for the Turbo engine as Subaru recommended it). Only additive is ASL Camguard.
Happily, the oil had little soot and no water/gas contamination.
I did the analysis because some folks have had major XT engine failure around this mileage - this engine seems ok.
Most of us know the additives,for all intent will not get you much and if they did then why use oil,Put in one can STP,Prolong,Z-Max, Teflon junk?,one can of whatever Wal-Mart has on the Red tag close out,and just a touch of Marvel mystery oil,Weld her shut and Drive anyway you want,it just won't wear out or break!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!- - !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Always research,get the facts,then look for double blind tests,and when you find them,see what Governmental agency recommends them and you just might have something there! Good luck Guys with additives, Mike C
There was one recall early in the '09 model year, then various reports on Subaru forums.
Seemed prudent to check the oil at least once just to be sure. :-)
However, its maker seems to be expanding to chain stores such as Walmart, and the info with the product also claims power increase of 10% and fuel economy improvements of 16%.
Their claim is enzymes help improve combustion efficiency and better blending of E-10 and H2O within the fuel tank.
The site has many of the usual testimonials, some bordering on science fiction, others sounding reasonable. The editorial articles sounded reasonable but offered no hard comparisons (none of "we put STP in tank A and Star Tron in Tank B and....").
Have any folks here heard of this stuff?
Around 1980 people were taping these to their fuel lines and they would swear it made a noticible improvement in fuel mileage.
Did those also work for arthritis is worn on the arm?
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I didn't buy it at the time but a lot of other people did.
Or the second fallback position, which is gutsy but risky "you didn't believe in it".
Whether that's useful enzymes or recycled cow flop is anyone's guess but the ST chemist, and he ain't talkin'.
A letter to the ST manufacturer requesting hard data has gone unanswered. I've sent a similar request to the distributor.
That's a lot different from the maker of another additive I've had good luck with, with actual data behind it. It's been discussed and dismissed here so no point in bringing it up again.
BTW, Marvel Mystery Oil is mostly Naphtha with wintergreen fragrance. And no, I don't use it
I can personally testify that I have NEVER been hit by an asteroid while using this product.
And no, I have not tried walking out without the cookie---are you crazy? I'd risk getting killed.
"Well...er....sure my mileage seems to have gone up...I'm no sucker, after all!" **
** The human mind is a tricky thing---it tends to validate that which we need it to validate, and seems to blithely ignore any evidence to the contrary.
Dr. Intern: " Cured her hiccups didn't it?"
You better put a blackberry in your pocket to in case you get shot at.
blackberry
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
So what's the newest, hottest snake oil on the market now? The hydrogen generators seem to have bubbled their last bit of gas. Are they still selling Turbonators?
I'm sure when gasoline prices spike again, they'll be crawlin' out of the woodwork.
I noticed a business card stuck into the corner of the pump top advertising Shell has. It was advertising a gasoline additive. It had been sealed in plastic on both sides to protect it from the weather.
I guess a gas station would be a good place to advertise using the Shell company space. It's sort of like putting your ad on Edmunds.
I dropped the business card in the trash and checked the adjacent pumps and didn't find one there.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Anyone remember them?
They wherre a chrome cannister that mounted under the hood. The used a roll of toliet paper for the filter.
Lincoln, Packard, Cadillac, & Chrysler owners of course used the two ply paper.
In business since 1962 and still cooking.
I remember now they claimed (and may still claim) that with a Frantz filter you never had to ever change your oil. Just the toilet paper.
I heard a story about someone who installed one on a VW and it dropped the oil pressure so much it ruined the engine. Don't know it that was true.
Something tells me they don't sell many of these now.
They claimed that "oil never wears out". Not a chance I wanted to take.
I kept the toilet paper in the bathroom.
Oil doesn't, but the additives in it do wear out. Also the oil collects contaminants that are't evaporated and removed by the PCV system.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
As if that one or two oil change receipts in your glove box each year is really going to kill the driver of a $30,000 car.
GEEZ, what logic! :sick:
"You can save $9 a year by filtering your used dish water through a loaf of bread!"
Anyway,oil does not wear out per sey but Class III grade base stock does shear and you loss some of the lube molecules due to the shear factor and some of the molecules are to big to lube and some are to little to provide quality lubrication. the majority of of the oil does not deteriorate and the big issue, in general, is the additive package.
As far as taking a chance on a toilet paper filter,it would not hurt anything set up as a bypass system but could plug, if it was the only filter on the engine oil system.
All said, bypass oil filtering systems are used for two or so main reasons,extended oil change cycles or for reduced engine wear are the two main reasons, as I understand it.
That's why I was very surprised to see these are still being sold.
Where would you mount one in a modern crowded engine bay?
To borrow a phrase from Mythbusters --- BUSTED. :lemon:
"Although this is a very unique application of enzyme technology, we encounter various enzymes in our everyday lives. For example, enzymes in laundry detergents break down dirt and stains so that they may be easily washed away, even in cold water. Enzymes in the human digestive system break down food into components that are easily used by the body to produce energy. Functioning as biocatalysts, enzymes increase and control the rate of chemical reactions. Star Tron® uses highly specialized enzymes to modify how gasoline and diesel fuel burns, the end result being more complete and uniform combustion."
I wonder if, given enough time, Startron could create life on other planets?