Do Engine Oil Additives Really Work? I just read the post on BikesIndia, and thought I should share my research and experience on this topic.First a question: If oil additives were as good (as they claim to be), why in the 25 years of my experience with different automobile manufacturers has no manufacturer recommended an engine oil additive? Hero Honda, Fiat (PAL), Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Ford, Honda, Daewoo, and Royal Enfield - none of these have ever recommended that I use this product. None of these manufacturers even stock these oil additives as an "optional" accessory.
Of late I saw some Royal Enfield service centers add a 3M additive to oil. When I inquired they said, it makes the mineral oil a bit "synthetic". Later I got to know this was just a ploy used to get the additional Rs 100 per bottle from a customer. When I asked the same question at a Royal Enfield owned (and not franchised) service center in Chennai, they told me-
Sir, we follow strict procedures laid out by Royal Enfield, and adding an additive is not one of them. A franchised store can choose to do things the way they want to do it.
There, however, is one thing ALL the manufacturers quoted above have told me - that whatever an additive has is already present in oil, albeit in different proportions, or in different structures that essentially perform the job. Five out of the nine manufacturers have told me that an oil additive can clog their oil filters making matters worse. Honda (not the five of the nine mentioned in the previous statement) told me that if I used these products, they would not honor warranty terms, and they will know if I have used these additives. How, wasn't a question that I got an answer to.
On one occasion, I choose to fall prey to the superb marketing ploy of one of these oil additive manufacturers. (Yea right, how stupid, as you are about to find out). I had bought a Hero Honda CBZ back in 1999. The bike was hot, quick off its feet, expensive and quite powerful as compared to what used to run on the roads that time (Ok, I know, RE's and Yammies were better in this department), but somehow, that was the advent of these quick 150 ccers. About 13 horses, didn't quite satisfy me enough.
READ ALSO: Engine Oil Additives- Do They Really Work?
Then I bumped into Nulon, an engine oil additive which claimed better power, smoother performance, and better engine protection. Added it up. Went on a spin. The placebo effect kicked in. My bike was a few months old that time. About a month down the line (after adding Nulon), the bike started consuming engine oil. My 4-stroke CBZ resembled a Yammie RX 100 when seen a few hundred meters away - a nice white cloud of smoke emanating from the exhaust. Back at the service center, they replaced the piston rings and the bore, as a favor- they knew, and I was stupid enough to tell them, that I have used an engine oil additive; they did it because the CBZ was a new kid on the block, and they didn't want negative publicity from an owner. It matters. Thereafter, I never used Nulon, or anything other than engine oil.
So the truth is - additives are not needed. Its like adding a spoon of sugar to a glass of water that already had 6 spoons of sugar dissolved into it. An additional spoon won't make it any sweeter. Diminishing returns, get the idea?
Use engine oil. Nothing more. Change it at the prescribed interval, 6 months or 10000 kms or whatever your manufacturer specifies. The time and distance quotient are both important - even if you have not covered 10,000 kms but the last oil change was 6 months ago, change it. Oils have a shelf life and operational life - pushing it beyond would be pushing it too much. And yes, stay away from engine oil additives.
Guest Writer- Anurag Anand
Note: If you also have had such experience with any of the manufacturer or their products you can share it with us, we would love to publish it on the website so that your fellow BikesIndians can also know about the same.