I have a 2014 Hyundai Veloster Turbo for me and a 2013 Nissan Quest for the family. I like both cars a lot and want to keep them running a long time. I also live in Idaho so we have some longish winters.
I've watched your videos about oil stabilizers, and the Lucas synthetic is supposed to be okay for Asian motors. However, I'm a little worried. Some drivers complained about the Veloster having an issue where the bearings in the cam shaft would freeze up, punch a rod through the engines (if I remember right).
Lucas synthetic is still a bit thicker than synthetic oil, and I don't want to risk oil starving those bearing. I saw at Walmart that right next to it was the Seafoam. It felt like it wasn't as thick as the Lucas synthetic which is encouraging.
My main objective is to find a way to try and protect from those cold starts since the winters last a bit longer. Would a stabilizer help with those cold starts while not risking oil starvation in the tight places, especially those cam shaft bearings? Or should I just stick the Castrol 20k mile synthetic oil with Dexos Gen2 certification and trust a quality oil to do the best job? Bout due for my oil change on the cars.
Big fan of your vids!
Modern oils don't need any 3rd-party additives. The vast majority of them are snake oil that accomplish nothing but taking dollars out of your wallet.
I forgot to add this. Do tests like the ones in this video mean anything?
Those tests are not done in actual engines under real-world operating conditions. A real test would be to run identical engines with and without the stuff under the same conditions, take them apart, and measure internal parts for wear.
If it is very cold, you can use block heaters.
Modern oils don't need any 3rd-party additives. The vast majority of them are snake oil that accomplish nothing but taking dollars out of your wallet.
I forgot to add this. Do tests like the ones in this video mean anything? This is really what brought me to asking this question. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rd-ZLDF6ddE Cool tests and all, but Scotty is good about mixing physics level data with practical experience. Hard to weed out the good vs bad info out there.
Thanks for these responses. They were really helpful, and I plan to stay away from the additives.
Is there anyone like me and want a good reason why oil additives are either snake oil or providing better protection? I've been researching this for weeks, even posted earlier here, and spoiler alert, oil additives are snake oil (well, mostly).
Quick background, I stumbled across Seafoam Ultimate Synthetic Oil Stabilizer. It's not thick. Feels very similar to typical oil weight an Asian turbo engine would require on the oil cap. My big question was if the oil stabilizer would help leave a film on the moving parts, would my engine have less wear from cold starts? Living in Idaho, those will happen a lot for me.
To the answer. I looked at the MSDS for the Seafoam. The key ingredients that are used for things like knock and coating (from what I can tell) for additional protection are the Zinc additives. Something like Zinc phosphorodithioate and Zinc dithiophosphate. Zinc leaves a coating on the metal to help protect it. In theory, more Zinc would mean more protection for cold starts...
HOWEVER, as pointed out in several forums and my other post, modern engine oils already have additives needed for engine protection. This includes Zinc. I found an article here that explains this expertly.
ZDDP is the short term for the Zinc additives. In the old days, the levels of this would be around 1,500 ppm. In 1996 the American Petroleum Institute (API) lowered this to the 800 ppm of today.
As pointed out in the above article, to much ZDDP can begin to clog lubricant carrying devices, or areas of the engine with very low tolerances. A great example of this would be 4 cylinder, turbo-charged engines. Adding ANY additive to modern oils in modern engines will upset the delicate balance intended for the car. However, the reverse can be true. Adding a cleaner to the oil can remove too much of the current protections of the car. We truly live in a remarkable age where cars and oils are specifically designed for each other.
In conclusion, buy the exact oil weight your car recommends and buy a good, high quality oil. It should have the API seal, and another good label to look for is the Dexos Approved Gen 2. If the oil has these seals, it means it already has just the right amount of additives to help with cold start protection, heat protection, and viscosity levels. Additives will only risk causing buildup in the engine and cleaners risk stripping away too much. Modern oils are meant to do both jobs gradually. If you shop at Walmart, the Castrol Edge Extended Performance not only has both seals, but boldly claims the 20k mileage duration. Not that I'd recommend going that long, but it looks like a great price to performance product.
One more point, I'm not saying that you can NEVER use an additive. A good example is I have an old Pontiac mini van my daughter drives. I've noticed it's starting to drip some oil. I might throw some stabilizer in that since it's a big clunky engine, the car is from 2006 and I won't be heartbroken if I hurt it. The extra Zinc could help with those small leaks and smooth out a minor idle stutter that happens when the car first starts. I would call this a poor mans fix so that you can prolong any serious engine work. Might get some extra miles and save some money in the process, but in reality I'm probably putting a band aid on it.
However, no additives will touch my Veloster Turbo or my Nissan Quest. I hope this information is helpful and please, if there were details I missed, please respond to the post. I merely posted this to be helpful after feeling like this answered my uncertainty. I do not want to mislead anyone, post away!
This is basically an addition to your original post on Seafoam oil additive. Per the forum rules please do not post multiple topics dealing with the same subject matter. Thank you. (Topics merged.)
