Automotive additives..Why do people waste their money?

Question

Why do people waste their time and money on the instant fix additives sold at the auto parts store? Are people so dumb they think that a can of liquid will save them thousands of dollars by doing an instant engine rebuild? What do you think of such products?

Answer 1

Lousy - I've never found one that worked. But you have to admit, they have very effective advertising!

Answer 2

Well, there's the laws of "averages" when talking about maintenance and repairs. All scheduled maintenance is based on operating hours and not miles. One person might put 3,000 miles on a car in three weeks and another might put 3,000 on a car in three years.

If your car sits a lot, things are not constantly being lubricated and cars run 12-24 hours a day like a Police cruiser or Taxi Cab will see their oils break down faster. They spend many hours a day sitting still with the engine running.

So, additives for fuel help keep least often run cars in better shape since the gums that like to settle in a carburetor or throttle body have plenty of time to sit and take hold and "gum things up".

Oils that might see 600 hours of running time verses 50 hours (60 miles per hour times 50 hours equals 3,000 miles) hours of run time between oil changes will benefit from an oil additive since it is actual hours of engine running time that tears the oil apart and creates metal residues and combustion by-products.

While people think 3,000 miles is or is not an extreme amount of miles on an oil change, som ego a lot more some go a thousand less, think of this; an over the road truck (18 wheeler) holds ten gallons of oil and all of the truck drivers I knew at Mayflower changed their oil every 10,000 miles or roughly once a month. This is the equivalent of one gallon of oil for every 1,000 miles driven. And they used the Rotella 15W40 or other heavy duty oils. In addition tothe actual miles driven they may never tunr the truck off in Winter to keep the interior warm and prevent the fuel from gelling (we sold diesel additives and winter blend diesel fuel) and prevent the oil from getting so cold and thick it may not crank.

Yes, there's bound to be some snake oil for sale out there but the further north you go or south you go there are those weather extremes and those driving extremes that make these "additives" necessary and in some case life saving. The fuel in a diesel can gell up while you are driving head on into a blizzard and leave you stranded and dead on an Interstate that cannot be accessed by emergency vehicles. It happened more than once when I was at Mayflower and we had already switched to the treated winter diesel and saved a few drivers lives. Others headed north gelled up and were stranded for days and froze to death.

We can't assume everything so it helps to ask.

Good Luck!

Answer 3

well some actually help. like seafoam for instace. there trans cleaner helps remove build up on the filter and lubricates the discs which make sfor smoother shifting. Abd carb/fuel injecton cleaner cleans up built up carbon on the intake and injectors. if you have a stuck throttle its more then likely a build up of carbon. There is no miracle in a bottle that will save some one thousands on an engine over haul. Another thing which is useful is octane booster. Especially if you drive a supd up car.

Because there still forgeting the seals. But what ever if people wanna waste money on that then go ahead.

Answer 4

I agree, except some "additives" have been proven by years of scientific testing to produce results. A case in point is synthetic motor oil. Another is the "Top Tier" gasoline additives you need to keep the injectors, intake manifold and engine valves clean. Chevron "Techron" is a legitimate fuel additive in my opinion. You also need to use the proper lubricants and fluids designed for your car. There is sound reason for using the proper fluid and lubricant for the purpose.

Answer 5

Most of it is snake oil, doesn`t really do anything. Half of it has some merit , in the sense it will help "prevent " something from wearing out sooner. But will not fix something that is all ready worn. There is no quick fix for something that is worn. Proper maintenance will prevent any need for these additives in the long run.

Answer 6

I've never used an "instant engine rebuild". I can testify that fuel injector/carb cleaner helps me get better mileage by about 20-40 miles a tank.

Answer 7

People want to believe. Like the poster on Moulder's door on the series the X files, "we want to believe."