Why don't big names make an Auto-RX alternative?

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If Auto-RX is so good, Why don't some of the big name oil and additive manufactures make a similar product using the main ingredient?

They could mass market it and produce it cheaper.
 
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All I see in the MSDS is: Fatty Acids - Lanolin Esters Ref: TSCA # 68440-09-5

and maybe a carrier oil or something

(I would think they could analyze it and make a very similar product )
 
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If MSDS's gave away proprietory information they wouldnt be available to the general public. There is obviously more to the formulation than whats in the MSDS plus MSDS is just the safety data of chemicals.
 
We have had offers however they want to use less Auto-Rx than necessary to produce results. I don,t want a lesser product with the Auto-Rx Name on the label.

Devon stay tuned
 
This also goes back to the fact that Auto-RX is more then a "Put in before oil change flush"

You have to drive X miles, then change oil, drive X miles again and change oil.

Most people wont do such a thing, they dont care.

You are here reading this because you are a oil enthusiast you care about these things. Most people rapid lube there vehicles and never care.
 
Give me a break with Auto-Rx. It's only been on the market six years. That's not very long at all. This product works and now works better because of user feed back. This is Frank's baby, not a spread sheet. I admire the fact that Frank believers in the product vs looking at it as a vehicle to riches. Some of the best 'things' in the world were championed by a person, not a committee. Look at Amsoil. Al decided to solve a problem and made a synthetic engine oil and stuck to it when the business world called him worse than crazy. The original Mobil 1 was designed by one man leading a team but he was the boss. Auto-Rx is a better product because there was no committee, just one person running the show.

"I'm sure the technology is widely known. Patents can be by-passed or a 'So, Sue me' approach taken (This does happen!) My Guess is solvents cost less and there is a very limited market for High end products."

Spitty, is this a serious comment or should it be followed with "lol"?

Do you know why the Auto-Rx MSDS sheet is there, shipping and safety. It's not a recipe. Don't hold your breath, there are not secrets listed there or in the Patient. The secret is in how you cook it all up.
 
I use and like ARX, but sadly you are right, most of your average Joe's don't care. I went to a dozen dealerships looking at what is out on the lots these days and it aint pretty. People just don't give a [censored] about their vehicle maintenance, let alone preventative maint. I saw 2003 and 2004 Chevy Silverado pickups with rust all over them because people are too lazy to wash the winter salt off regularly. Radiators that loooked like they were never flushed in their lifetimes. these were almost 40K pickups when new. Disposable cars in a disposable society. Except us BITOGers!
 
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As a disclaimer, I browsed the Auto-RX patent but I don't understand it anyway. Perhaps this link will work: http://www.google.com/patents?id=M3QNAAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4

As a thought experiment, someone could independently make the same formulation and not even know it and if the patent does not disclose the recipe, the patent would not be enforceable against that independent formulation.

That is why the recipe for Coke is a trade-secret and not patented...if it were patented, the recipe would be written out in the patent for the world to see.
 
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I am sure there is more money in "5 minute flushes" than if someone made an Auto-RX clone. People want everything now and cheap. And as mentioned earlier most people don't hardly care about the outside appearance of their vehicle and keeping up with oil changes. Much less what might be lurking inside the motor.
 
I would personally buy a Group II oil that had AutoRX in it already.

Imagine, Mobil coming out with a Group II oil with AutoRX at slightly higher price but perform better than expensive synthetics. However, the marketing conflict would have to be worked out.
 
They sell a ton of the B-12 Chemtool [censored], Sea Foam, MMO for the MMO soaks, etc. The harsh solvents have their place in some apps, but something like ARX is a solid long term solution.
 
What if Mobil or other big oil company included an exact AutoRX clone at recommended concentrations in their oils but did not bring specific marketing attention to it, by chemical analysis could anybody even tell it was AutoRX in there?
 
Quote;
"I'm sure the technology is widely known. Patents can be by-passed or a 'So, Sue me' approach taken (This does happen!) My Guess is solvents cost less and there is a very limited market for High end products."

Spitty, is this a serious comment or should it be followed with "lol"
I'm not sure what part of my quote you think I might have been joking about. Did you open the link I posted? Esters are widely available as oil additives and cleaners (I noted one formulation specificially for Litho print industry. Some formulations are marked EU only, I would assume these already are 'Protected' by U.S. Patents. But defending a Patent can be very expensive!
 
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Sure esters are widely used as cleaners. Get them to function in a lube environment or a combustion environment without altering lube chemistry and you may make a competitor to Auto-Rx.

None of the ingredients in Auto-Rx are secret. Frank posted them all in another post.
 
Frank and his product ARX do have some fairly large companies behind him to defend the patent. I think the patent was written pretty well, so as to promote defendability.

In a dream world, ARX would be priced similar to cheap solvents. But unfortunetly with ARX you have dollars in each bottle, compared to pennies in traditional solvent flush products. The mark ups in solvents from the retailers are much higher than what a retailer could expect from retailing ARX. I would say that the same mindset exists with large oil companies. That being that they are putting pennies or may be dimes of raw materials into oil adds, vs having to put in dollars worth of adds.

So yeah, ARX is top tier. But to Franks credit and from some advice from some well respected BITOG'ers, the price of ARX is actually lower than it was a couple years ago. The only exception is the single bottle price. But this is due to the fact that the freight charge that Frank pays on a solo bottle order is twice what it was just two years ago. But if you look at the volume discount pricing starting at a two bottle purchase, the price per bottle is substantially lower. I think that Franks approach of making the product affordable, without compromize on performance speaks volumes to his comitment to get this technology mainstream.
 
Saturn Fan that's because most of those vehicles on the used car section of the dealer are ex-lease cars.
 
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