Long before Slick 50, there was Wynn’s Friction Proofing. It came in a little 4 ounce can. it contained “Rape Oil” and other magic ingredients. In one of their ads, they took a Ford Falcon, removed the drain plug and left it out, then drove the car from NYC to Albany on the Thruway with no breakdowns or engine damage (they claimed)…
These demonstrations ignore the fact that plain bearings must have a constant supply of lubricant to prevent metal to metal contact and to cool the bearing along with other engine parts that depend on oil to cool them…
There were rumors that the engine in the Falcon had been converted to all roller and ball bearings which can indeed survive with very little oil…
The modern equivalent is the amazing array of snake-oil products that purport to make your PC faster, safer, etc. I work in IT, and when someone has installed some registry cleaner/speed enhancer/off-brand security product, I get scared. Most of these are like Slick50… probably harmless, but unnecessary and may actually cause problems.
I actually tried one of the Slick50 products in a car I had when I was a teenager. After adding it, my oil pressure dropped 20PSI! and the gauge was somewhat erratic. I changed the filter and it went back up. So at the very least, it seemed to partially clog my oil filter…
Slick 50 should be advertised on late night televison with a toll free number to call. Can’t you see it now – For only $15 you can eliminate those expensive oil changes on your car. Think of all the money you will save on oil changes over the lifetime of your car.* If you will place your call in the next 10 minutes, we will include, absolutely free, another can of Slick 50. But wait, there’s more: Call within the next 10 minutes and we will include, absolutely free, a $10 pair of fuzzy dice to hang from your rear view mirror. All of this, a $40 value if you call in the next 10 minutes and place your order for a can of Slick 50.
*The lifetime of your car running it without oil won’t be very long, but it will be the end of the life of your car and we will be off the hook.
The modern equivalent is the amazing array of snake-oil products that purport to make your PC faster, safer, etc. I work in IT, and when someone has installed some registry cleaner/speed enhancer/off-brand security product, I get scared
I always laugh at those commercials. “Mycleanpc cleaned up my computer and increased my speed”