Has anyone tried Ionlube?

[Rayong]

Hi All,

There was no heading for engine oil additives so this was the most appropriate heading to post under.

Just tried a product called Ionlube which came with very big claims to extend oil change intervals 4 to 7 times, clean the engine and hold sludge in suspension and reduce friction significantly. I saw a bearing test where it was used and it did indeed reduce friction and even ran without oil for quite a long time without failure.

See: [Link removed.]

For first round I'll let the car run 3x longer than normal and plan on doing an UOA after to see how it fares.

Anyone with longer term experience with it please share your thoughs.

rgds,
Ray

 

[Dr_No]

Fuels / Fuel & Oil Additives >> Oil Additives
For first, yes there is a forum for oil additives

Second,
Snake oil is what it is to me

 

[levi]

Here's a quote from a testamonial page on their site:

"I have seen with my own eyes how one of our vehicles came back to our facility after driving at least 20 miles without oil."

Misleading statement. IMO, that is a red flag. Other "miracle" oil additives/engine treatments have made similar claims. Independent tests determined engine damage DID occur when ran without oil.

I wouldn't spend my money on their products. Seriously.

*

 

[BrianWC]

Quote:

---

Hi All,

There was no heading for engine oil additives so this was the most appropriate heading to post under.

Just tried a product called Ionlube which came with very big claims to extend oil change intervals 4 to 7 times, clean the engine and hold sludge in suspension and reduce friction significantly. I saw a bearing test where it was used and it did indeed reduce friction and even ran without oil for quite a long time without failure.

See: [Link removed.]

For first round I'll let the car run 3x longer than normal and plan on doing an UOA after to see how it fares.

Anyone with longer term experience with it please share your thoughs.

rgds,
Ray

---

Three times your normal oil change interval? I hope your normal interval is no more than 1-2,000 miles.

 

[Rayong]

OK so no one here seems to have any first hand experience with it.

But guys keep an open mind. I'm not writing this out of the blue with no prior experience with the mainstream additives you guys use.

Prior to this I did a full 2 cycle apply, flush, re-apply and flush again with Auto-RX.

Following that I've been using LC-20 and FP-60 for a couple of years.

These seem to have quite a following here.

This is my SUBJECTIVE observation to date so please don't split hairs with me over what follows.

Auto-RX, great product seems to do a good job cleaning engine. No noticeable effect on friction reduction but did seem to thicken oil a little so engine ran a bit quieter.

LC-20, On initial application seems to smoothen engine a bit but not that much. Within a couple of hundred miles friction reduction effect gone and by 1000 miles later it seems to have made oil worse, ie. engine running noisier and sluggish, possibly friction gone up.

LC-60, great stuff would recommend it.

I've been using Schaffers 10-30 in a Mercedes Benz W-124.

Observations of Ionlube so far, ie. about 300 miles.

Applied it after last oil change, my oil change interval is about 6000 miles. Last oil used was Schaffers with LC-20 used as follows. 2 oz per quart at oil change and 3 oz every 2000 miles. The guy who sold it to me said this was a new dose recommendation from manufacturer. True or not I don't know. Performance with the Schaffers/LC combo nothing special. My fuel efficiency with this batch of oil/LC-20 combo is about 3 to 5% below what I used to get. Just before oil change the engine was beginning to idle rough, and was a bit noisy, could hear it laboring when accelerating hard and wasn't quite so responsive.

After oil change, used same oil...Schaffers 10W 30 again and like new oil change things slicked up a bit. I didn't make any engine adjustments so CO, idle and timing left as is. Drove for a while to get a feel for the new oil.

Then added Ionlube:

On initial application seemed to smooth and quieten engine even over the new oil...good. While driving the next 30 miles it seemed to smoothen and quieten the engine further reaching a peak around 30 to 50 miles after application.

Now engine is idling smoother and is about 150 RPM faster than before, might tune it down a bit but will wait to see what the fuel efficiency is before I do so. On second tank of gas after application and gotta say the engine is really really smooth. Accelerates at the lightest touch and is extremely smooth, powerful and quiet in top gear. And engine is so responsive in top gear that it feels like I could do with an extra gear. My car is a 4 speed auto and an extra gear would be just about right.

At this point in time I'm a real happy camper. Its doing everything it says but I wouldn't go to the extreme of running the car with no oil or anything. I'm going to push oil change to 18 or 20K miles before doing a UOA. This should be enough to show if its done its job. I know what the car feels like when the oil is at the end of the road and if that comes before the 20K I'll change it out.

Right now its too early to tell if the friction reduction is temporary like LC-20 or as long lasting as they claim. Will keep this forum posted.

 

[Dr_No]

Chlorine?

 

[Rayong]

PS: After the great result in the engine I added some to the rear differential and auto transmission as they claimed it could be done. Was really concerned about putting it into the Auto transmission but now no worries, Gear shifts smoother and there's no slipping.

Surprise, surprise, my gear shift lever seems smoother too...this one very subjective so no bashing please, just my opinion.

 

[bruce381]

I would say a Chlor Parrifin with a CA TBN boost.
been done and while a good lubricant AW/FM additive has long drain problems with corrosion.

common Chlor cutting oils will do about same at a lower cost in the $2-3 quart range.
bruce

 

[bruce381]

MSDS will tell if the specific gravity is heavier than 0.9
then a chlor IF decomposion by products have HCL then a Chloro.
bruce

 

[Rayong]

Some background info:

I'm from Singapore. Its Ionlube is rebranded as Molecular Science Products (MSP) here.

I came across it just over a year ago in Malaysia when I was visiting an industrial equipment supplier there. They showed it to me and said they were initially skeptical but tested it for 2 years before they decided to carry it. They ran it in cars, trucks, generators and industrial equipment like cranes and fork lifts.

They have their own blending equipment and one of their products is a gear oil which they say is the cheapest oil with Ionlube added to improve performance. This they say outperforms the best synthetic which they also carry. And their customers rave about the cheaper oil with Ionlube.

All very impressive, then he did the friction demo. Quite typical, I've seen it done to demo products like duralube and such. Pressure was applied to a spinning pin in an oil bath. On the other end weights were applied till it froze. With normal oil it froze on the second weight added. Some of the other additives I've seen before went up to 6 before seizing. The pin was noticeably scarred and worn.

Then IonLube was added to oil and test repeated. It went up to 10 weights and still was turning. After couple of minutes when oil began smoking it still kept going. At that point we stopped and looked a the pin. Very small amount of scarring at the point of contact. it was about 80 to 90% smaller than with oil alone.

Next ran it complete dry but with a small amount of Ionlube penetrating lube sprayed onto contact point. That's the product in the spray can. Turned it on, and squirted once or twice more and let it go completly dry for couple of minutes. Applied up to 10 weights and still running. We let it keep going with smoke coming off the contact point for a minute or 2 more before turning it off. Damage to the pin virtually none same as before, it will still about 80 to 90 percent less than with oil alone.

Now this "I saw with my own eyes"!

After that been thinking and thinking and thinking and finally over a year later I decided to try it.

 

[Rayong]

Have not heard of Chlor Parrifin or CA TBN before. Long drain interval issued noted.

What is MSDS?

One other thing they mentioned in their product description is the ability to remove varnish and hold slude in suspension so combo Auto-RX and LC-20 like properties.

Anyway I'm going to use this car for another 3 years before sending to the yard so won't get too beat up if it damages engine. Its a 91 but still runs great.

 

[Dr_No]

The device you were talking about ray is useless
Adding shampoo to the motor oil will do the same thing.

 

[Dr_No]

Chlorinated paraffin’s is the most popular additive. They show how their oil will perform in a pressure test that has a torque wrench that puts pressure on a bearing and a round but rough surface that is turning in the test oil. They show how by adding their oil the wear is greatly reduced. This can be done with household bleach but you would not want to put any of that in your engine because it’s corrosive. The Chlorinated paraffin’s are also corrosive to the light metals in your engine. The lead in your engine bearings is subject to corrosion or acids that can build up. When the chlorinated paraffin’s come in contact with moisture or water of any kind they turn into hydrochloric acid and can become acidic to the lead in your bearings. So the reduction in wear shown by the torque wrench test is only one realm of wear that goes on inside your engine. Acidic or corrosion wear is another type and that is why I would never use an additive containing any type of chlorinated product.

 

[Rayong]

OK, understand.

I'll check with Ionlube to see if they have chlorinated Paraffin in the product.

Anyway will keep you posted.

Another thing is freeway driving temperature seems to be down about 10 to 20 degrees similar to cab fleet manager claim. In stop go city driving its about the same as before.

 

[bruce381]

The chlor parrifina used will do all the things you have seen but beware of any potental corroison problems.
bruce

 

[bruce381]

a UOA with the TAN and TBN would be a good way to tell if you have run it to long since acids formed will kill the tbn and raise bearing corrosion.
bruce

 

[Rayong]

There was an interesting article written by Molakule about Boron as a friction reducer. That explained the 20 degrees cooler engine temp.

 

[Frank]

If you clean your engine with Auto-Rx and run a moly oil (not friction reducer) you will have the maximum in lubrication without drag. All this other stuff is just that "stuff' it does not perform and it is toxic also.. My experience working for X1R is in the files I helped in that formulation. Why would you buy a friction reducer and add it to a diirty engine ? it won't perform any differen't than adding oil to dirty metal.

 

[Rayong]

Totally agree Frank. My car has already gone through 2 full clean and rinse Auto-RX cycles and is kept clean with LC-20. Was using FP-60 up till recently when i switched to the redline fuel additive product. Have also tried X1R for short time.

After all that I added the Ionlube and as far as I can tell its doing what they claim. My fuel efficiency is about 10% better. Car runs silky smooth.

If you look at Ionlube's site you'll see that it has engine cleaning properties similar to Auto-RX and sludge holding capability similar to LC-20.

Right now I've only driven about 500 miles with this stuff in my car and I can't fault it. Its done everything it says it does so far.

All the assumptions about chlorinated parafin and other corrosive substances are just guesses by the board here. I for one don't know what's in it and no one here really does till they've tested it. We're all just guessing at this point.

PS: I don't work or have any connection with the company. Finally decided to put the stuff into my car after a year going back and forth about whether to do so.

 

[bruce381]

""All the assumptions about chlorinated parafin and other corrosive substances are just guesses by the board here.""

Unless you have done the for a living for 33 years take my word at this it is a chlorinated additve with the problems I have stated it will lube well it will not last long drains
thats all you need to remember.
bruce