# Oil additives (slick 50, marvel mystery oil, etc) **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Created:** [March 23, 2009, 12:44am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/oil-additives-slick-50-marvel-mystery-oil-etc/28168 "2009-03-23T00:44:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![hawg3992](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c4cdca/32.png) [@hawg3992](https://community.cartalk.com/u/hawg3992)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 12:44am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/oil-additives-slick-50-marvel-mystery-oil-etc/28168/1 "2009-03-23T00:44:06Z")
to many to list, but do they work? Whole aisles devoted to these at auto parts stores… ---
**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 12:46am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/oil-additives-slick-50-marvel-mystery-oil-etc/28168/2 "2009-03-23T00:46:47Z")
Here’s a summary of the sorry track record of a number of them. I have no use for oil treatments: Slick 50 – lost lawsuit to FTC (false advertising) Duralube–lost lawsuit to FTC MotorUp – lost lawsuit to FTC Fuelmax - lost lawsuit to FTC Zmax – settled out of court Prolube-- busted by CR as useless, but not prohibited by FTC as yet ---
**Author:** ![hawg3992](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c4cdca/32.png) [@hawg3992](https://community.cartalk.com/u/hawg3992)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 12:52am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/oil-additives-slick-50-marvel-mystery-oil-etc/28168/3 "2009-03-23T00:52:20Z")
Thanks for the info, I don’t use them, but every time I go to the auto parts store I keep thinking what if… I guess if you change your oil like you should no worries ---
**Author:** ![Caddyman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/caddyman/32/23_2.png) [@Caddyman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Caddyman)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 2:54am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/oil-additives-slick-50-marvel-mystery-oil-etc/28168/4 "2009-03-23T02:54:29Z")
“But do they work”… What work?? What do you expect them to do?? At the 200K mile mark, people drag out the Rosary Beads and are willing to try ANYTHING…Please God, just another thousand miles…$4.95… Worth a try… Even Tester swears by Restore, an engine overhaul in a can… ---
**Author:** ![pleasedodgevan2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ad7895/32.png) [@pleasedodgevan2](https://community.cartalk.com/u/pleasedodgevan2)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 3:02am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/oil-additives-slick-50-marvel-mystery-oil-etc/28168/5 "2009-03-23T03:02:20Z")
When sales people were trying to sell additives they would claim that it works almost as good as full synthetic. I translated that into “don’t buy this stuff”. ---
**Author:** ![MikeInNH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a587f6/32.png) [@MikeInNH](https://community.cartalk.com/u/MikeInNH)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 1:58pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/oil-additives-slick-50-marvel-mystery-oil-etc/28168/6 "2009-03-23T13:58:34Z")
Here’s my favorite argument AGAINST Slick-50. If you find early ads for Slick-50 you’ll see they say the active ingredient is Teflon. And now they use the Chemical name for Teflon (TPFE). The reason for this is because Dupont (the company invented Teflon) owns the right to the name. They’ll allow anyone to use the name if they actually use it…like a company that makes cooking pans and are Teflon coated. Well Dupont heard about Slick-50’s claim of using Teflon in their oil additive and wondered HOW it could possibly work. From their experience there was no way Teflon could coat the moving parts of a engine. So they did their own research and found it to be GARBAGE. They then told Slick-50 they could NOT use the name Teflon in their advertising. That’s why they use TPFE. Even with all this proof that these products are GARBAGE…it’s still a billion dollar a year industry. ---
**Author:** ![Docnick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Docnick](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Docnick)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 4:00pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/oil-additives-slick-50-marvel-mystery-oil-etc/28168/7 "2009-03-23T16:00:28Z")
Adolph Hitler and his propaganda minister Joseph Goebels firmly believed that “no matter how big the lie, if you tell it often enough, people will believe it!”. The only persons that did not work for was the US military and Nixon’s spokesman during the Vietnam War. They said “America was winning!”, but you only had to turn on your TV to see that it was not. ---
**Author:** ![MikeInNH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a587f6/32.png) [@MikeInNH](https://community.cartalk.com/u/MikeInNH)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 4:05pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/oil-additives-slick-50-marvel-mystery-oil-etc/28168/8 "2009-03-23T16:05:51Z")
> The only persons that did not work for was the US military and Nixon’s spokesman during the Vietnam War. They said “America was winning!”, but you only had to turn on your TV to see that it was not. Or in my case…I was in Nam when Nixon made that STUPID STATEMENT. We were winning the battles…but NOT thw war. ---
**Author:** ![racersteve](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/racersteve/32/1110_2.png) [@racersteve](https://community.cartalk.com/u/racersteve)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 4:29pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/oil-additives-slick-50-marvel-mystery-oil-etc/28168/9 "2009-03-23T16:29:15Z")
Marvel Mystery Oil is still around? I remember my father used that on small engines and cars back in the 60’s (he learned engine repair on B24’s!). Isn’t this stuff a good valve train lube added to gas of old cars with non-hardened valve seats. Not much value on a modern car engine? ---
**Author:** ![ok4450](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ok4450](https://community.cartalk.com/u/ok4450)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 7:11pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/oil-additives-slick-50-marvel-mystery-oil-etc/28168/10 "2009-03-23T19:11:54Z")
The only one I would say that was even halfway useable would be Marvel Mystery Oil, which has cleared up a sticky valve lifter or lash adjuster now and then. Everything else is hype and the shelves stay full of this stuff because marketing campaigns work. It works for the same reason that many people think their vehicle’s fuel system and engine performance will disentegrate if they don’t add a can of fuel injector cleaner at least once a month. There’s a time and place for some additives but for the most part people have been conditioned to use conditioners… ---
**Author:** ![shanonia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de053/32.png) [@shanonia](https://community.cartalk.com/u/shanonia)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 10:50pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/oil-additives-slick-50-marvel-mystery-oil-etc/28168/11 "2009-03-23T22:50:56Z")
I agree MMO may have some value - as a gasoline additive. Years ago my 1984 Chevy Cavalier was getting some preignition knock on slight acceleration. After a few tanks of gas with MMO added, the problem was gone. I continued to use MMO in the gas. Somewhere around 170,000 miles I replaced the head gasket and had the cylinder head worked on. The machine shop guys were impressed with how clean the head assembly was. I told them about the MMO and they thought that might have had something to do with it. I think the MMO helped clean off carbon deposits, which had brought on the preignition knock. ---
**Author:** ![Docnick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Docnick](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Docnick)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 10:53pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/oil-additives-slick-50-marvel-mystery-oil-etc/28168/12 "2009-03-23T22:53:11Z")
Looking at the Iraq situation today it gives me a familiar deja vue feeling. ---
**Author:** ![oldschool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e19adc/32.png) [@oldschool](https://community.cartalk.com/u/oldschool)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 11:39pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/oil-additives-slick-50-marvel-mystery-oil-etc/28168/13 "2009-03-23T23:39:13Z")
I used to use MMO in my air tools,then the manufactures came out with their own oil.