Oil additives

Can you use them, and what happens if you do?

23 articles in the section, about 29 minutes of reading in total

It’s hard to say what problem a car owner thinks they’re solving by adding some additive to the engine oil in their own engine. Presumably they’d very much like to believe it will let them save on engine repairs. In practice, unfortunately, the opposite tends to happen — using additives most often speeds up the need for major repairs and makes them, at the very least, substantially more expensive.

The result of using additives In general, engine oil additives are one of the most “harmful” inventions in the world of car chemicals, because the consequences of using them do maximum damage to the wallets of drivers who believed the advertising fairy tales. That’s exactly why I will never buy an engine oil from a manufacturer that also makes additives for engine oil. But that’s all just talk — below I’ll try to explain exactly what’s going on.

More on this topic:

  1. Oil additives - the heart of the matter. Engine oil additives – to be or not to be? It's commonly believed that whether or not to use additives is a matter of faith... 249 words, 2 min
  2. What types of additives are there? What types of engine oil additives are there? These days you can buy a huge range of engine oil additives at parts shops... 233 words, 2 min
  3. How do additives for automotive oil work? The working principle of engine oil additives. The main job any engine oil additive performs... 278 words, 2 min
  4. How fast will additives finish off an engine? How long can an engine survive on additives poured into the engine oil? Nobody can tell you that. Because it depends, first of all, on the engine's design... 236 words, 2 min
  5. When Can You Add Additives? In which cases does using additives make sense? Traditionally, the most grateful consumers of additives are... 526 words, 3 min
  6. Oil additives It's commonly believed that whether or not to use additives in engine oil is a question akin to choosing a religion. In reality, once you understand what… 62 words, 1 min
  7. Do oil additives harm the engine? Using these supplements substantially alters the characteristics of engine oil, which already has every element it needs straight from the factory. 35 words, 1 min
  8. Do additives harm the engine? (automotive oil) By using aftermarket additives in your automotive oil, you risk harming the engine. Using such additives radically changes… 30 words, 1 min
  9. Is there a real effect from additives? Topping up with such additives will fundamentally change the characteristics of an engine oil that already has every element it needs. 37 words, 1 min
  10. Is there a real effect from using additives? By using any additives in engine oil, you are taking on the risk of damaging the engine. 35 words, 1 min
  11. Should you add additives to your oil Using third-party additives in your oil risks harming your engine. Adding these will change… 31 words, 1 min
  12. Do additives in oil harm the engine? (third-party additives) Using third-party additives in oil - you're taking a risk of harming the engine either way. Using additives will fundamentally change the properties of the oil… 32 words, 1 min
  13. Is there a real result from using additives? Is there a real result from using additives? 37 words, 1 min
  14. Do additives harm the engine? (engine oil) Do additives harm the engine? 36 words, 1 min
  15. Will additives actually deliver results? Using any additives in oil means taking on a risk of harming the engine, whatever happens. Topping up with these additives will radically change… 37 words, 1 min
  16. Do additives harm the engine? Using any additives in oil - you're taking on a risk of harming the engine. Topping up with such additives… 39 words, 1 min
  17. Do oil additives harm the engine? (any additives) Using any additives in engine oil - you're taking a risk of harming the engine in every case. Topping up with such… 38 words, 1 min
  18. Should you add additives Using any additives in your engine oil risks harming your engine… 34 words, 1 min
  19. Do additives in oil harm the engine? Adding additives will substantially change the chemical make-up of car oil that already has everything the engine needs, straight from the factory… 37 words, 1 min
  20. Do oil additives harm the engine? (third-party additives) Using third-party additives in car oil - you're taking a risk of harming the engine, no matter what… 34 words, 1 min
  21. Do additives harm the engine? Using any additives in your oil, you always risk harming the engine. 28 words, 1 min
  22. Do additives poured into the oil harm the engine? (topping up additives) Topping up with such additives radically changes the quality of an engine oil that already has everything it needs… 33 words, 1 min
  23. In brief: about additives... any additives poured into engine oil are evil! Additives in oil can give a short-lived effect... 42 words, 1 min

Other subsections