Oil Additives
No doubt, you will have seen advertisements for all kinds of additives. Just add them to your car’s engine oil. They are then supposed to bring about a number of benefits, or so they claim. Benefits? Yes, benefits such as better power output and better fuel economy.
Your car’s engine oil
Should you add additives to your car’s engine oil? Now that is the trick question! Let us begin by telling you more about your engine oil. Oil manufacturers spend many years developing and refining their oils to keep up with the demands of modern engine technology. To this end, the viscosity is one of the most important characteristics. The viscosity must be even and consistent, within the parameters of high-tech engines with small tolerances. The oil should be sufficiently “thin” when cold, but should not be too thin when hot. It should be chemically inactive and not react with any of the compounds found in fuel or in combustion by-products. The oil should resist foaming under high temperatures and engine speeds. It should also act as a detergent, keeping the engine clean and deterring the formation of sludge.
Research and development
It takes many years and a truckload of money to develop modern engine oils. Their effectiveness is then demonstrated in motorsports like Formula 1, where standard, off-the-shelf engine oils are used. In other words, they use the same oil that you can buy locally. These oil companies have research and development facilities that constantly formulate and exhaustively test new compounds and additives. They continuously attempt to improve their oils. Now, imagine the following scenario. A relatively small company, possibly unheard-of, formulates a new wonder additive. They claim that the additive brings about incremental improvement in performance and power output by 5 – 10%. Now think about the multi-billion-rand international oil companies who vies for the oil-spotlight in international motorsport circles. How is it that they have not yet stumbled upon the formula for such an additive?
Put the claim to the test
The question remains, have these additives ever been approved or tested by any standards organisation? Were their tests (if ever done) only done privately? It was most likely also never audited, leaving the “test results” open to manipulation and interpretation. We have tested several oil additives before, and we have never objectively found any improvement in performance or economy. What we did experience, was engine damage necessitating expensive repairs after the use of such additives. We, therefore, recommend staying away from any type of engine oil additive. Modern oils already do their job superbly well. If you want to read more about oil additives and whether it is beneficial, then click here.
Unichip will not contribute to the state of your car’s oil. Unichip can, however, assist in fine-tuning your car’s engine for optimal power and economy. It will safely optimise the standardised ECU by bringing its settings in line with your specific engine’s characteristics. Your car stays standard and your improved figures will be entirely legitimate, with no side effects at all. Practice responsible car care. Become part of the Unichip family and buy your Unichip today. Click here to contact us.
