So, a recent thread in the additives section sparked me into writing this. I am not bashing anyone or thing particularly, but just as a general statement.
I have a car. It’s dirty. Since a clean engine is a happy engine, I need to clean it up. I spend about $75 on extra oil changes and the product you all know and love or hate. My engine is cleaner, but my undercarriage and parking place isn’t. I now have to spend $200 to replace some seals, as well as the extra money for the oil that has leaked out of the seals. My mpg went from 32.1 to 32.8 with a .5 margin of error.
What have I gained, aside from a $300 hit in my paycheck?
I have a car. The pistons look dirty. I do a Molasoke, or pour in some Seafoam. The stuff cleans up something, and I start to leak at the rings or the valve seals. My car is now burning oil, and the pistons that got cleaned are now getting dirtier because of the oil that is now being introduced into my combustion chamber, as well as the air I breathe. My cat is now getting ruined, I am burning oil, and I am polluting more than I was before by trying to make my car run better.
I understand that my seals weren’t really clean, and my valve seals had already gone out, but it’s the same thing as changing the ATF fluid of a 200,000 mile car. Just because it’s dead, doesn’t mean it isn’t doing it’s job.
Does clean necessarily mean better. If I am not getting any benefit (mpg, decreased engine temps, pollution test, can’t really say increased OCI unless more is spent on a UOA), then what good, aside from the warm fuzzies I may get if nothing goes wrong, is there?
I have a car. It’s dirty. Since a clean engine is a happy engine, I need to clean it up. I spend about $75 on extra oil changes and the product you all know and love or hate. My engine is cleaner, but my undercarriage and parking place isn’t. I now have to spend $200 to replace some seals, as well as the extra money for the oil that has leaked out of the seals. My mpg went from 32.1 to 32.8 with a .5 margin of error.
What have I gained, aside from a $300 hit in my paycheck?
I have a car. The pistons look dirty. I do a Molasoke, or pour in some Seafoam. The stuff cleans up something, and I start to leak at the rings or the valve seals. My car is now burning oil, and the pistons that got cleaned are now getting dirtier because of the oil that is now being introduced into my combustion chamber, as well as the air I breathe. My cat is now getting ruined, I am burning oil, and I am polluting more than I was before by trying to make my car run better.
I understand that my seals weren’t really clean, and my valve seals had already gone out, but it’s the same thing as changing the ATF fluid of a 200,000 mile car. Just because it’s dead, doesn’t mean it isn’t doing it’s job.
Does clean necessarily mean better. If I am not getting any benefit (mpg, decreased engine temps, pollution test, can’t really say increased OCI unless more is spent on a UOA), then what good, aside from the warm fuzzies I may get if nothing goes wrong, is there?
