I used to have a 1963 Ford Fairlane, and the geezer who sold it to me told me to add "a half a can of Rislone" every oil change. I worked with a guy who worked at Climax mine in Colorado, who used to throw molybdenum into the oil of his Chevy Vega. Do oil additives really work? Is there one you recommend?
Long live the Red Demon! {black}:cool:
I have a 40 year old Toyota and I use about half a quart of Lucas Oil Stabilizer with each oil change (3000 miles).
Oil additives do work to a certain degree. I would never put any of those additives on a car that is 2018 or newer. A car that is at least 25 years old is when you would put something like that to extend the oil life. Do it at your own risk.
Today's oils are far better than those available in 1963. The only real issue is lack of ZDDP for old flat-tappet engines, but even there on a broken-in stock engine (no heavy-duty valve springs, no racing) it's not going to matter much. (There are high-ZDDP oils available if concerned about it.)
I don't use any oil additives in my 50+ year-old vehicles and they're fine. I certainly would not put any kind of snake oil additive into the engine of a modern car.
There is quite a few snake oil products out there that probably inflate their capabilities for added performance. I can only speak for the one I use, and I only start using it once a vehicle hits a 100k. I like Liqui moly products and have used them for years. Originally started ordering it out of JC Whitney catalog 🤣 ( makes me feel old ). Their MOS2 is the additive for engine oil I use, but no additive in the world will make up for or replace regular scheduled maintenance.
