Slick 50 - good product or snake oil?
Discussion
I fully realise this may well be a large can of worms but I'll try anyway...
I recently started a large thread regarding the fact that I loved my 'shed car' (1997 Polo 1.6), but ever since I got the Polo it has had a little bit of a noisy engine. Slightly 'tappety' and clattery.
It's never worried me, and it runs perfectly but it did irritate me slightly when I would be in town and open a window for some fresh air to be greeted by the constant 'tap, tap, tap' from my engine.
A friend who has owned more cars than anyone can remember recommended I stick Slick 50 in it... he totally swears by it and has put it in everything from diesel polo's to big power Skyline GTR V spec's over the years.
He tends to run shed cars as well as Skylines/Range rovers and says it works wonders in something with high miles that you don't plan on looking after, you just want it to run quietly and smoothly.
So I bought the 500ml bottle of it and poured it into the Polo.
Didn't notice much difference at first but after I had used the car for a couple of hours on a longer run, the tapping and clattering in the engine had considerably reduced to almost nothing. I was quite frankly amazed.
I'm usually the biggest skeptic over this kind of thing, but I can honestly say it quietened the Polo down, my Slick 50 loving mate bought a 16v Corrado for his girlfriend with high miles on (well over 100k) and the same happened.
I still don't actually fancy putting it in any of my 'good cars' though!...
Thoughts people??
I recently started a large thread regarding the fact that I loved my 'shed car' (1997 Polo 1.6), but ever since I got the Polo it has had a little bit of a noisy engine. Slightly 'tappety' and clattery.
It's never worried me, and it runs perfectly but it did irritate me slightly when I would be in town and open a window for some fresh air to be greeted by the constant 'tap, tap, tap' from my engine.
A friend who has owned more cars than anyone can remember recommended I stick Slick 50 in it... he totally swears by it and has put it in everything from diesel polo's to big power Skyline GTR V spec's over the years.
He tends to run shed cars as well as Skylines/Range rovers and says it works wonders in something with high miles that you don't plan on looking after, you just want it to run quietly and smoothly.
So I bought the 500ml bottle of it and poured it into the Polo.
Didn't notice much difference at first but after I had used the car for a couple of hours on a longer run, the tapping and clattering in the engine had considerably reduced to almost nothing. I was quite frankly amazed.
I'm usually the biggest skeptic over this kind of thing, but I can honestly say it quietened the Polo down, my Slick 50 loving mate bought a 16v Corrado for his girlfriend with high miles on (well over 100k) and the same happened.
I still don't actually fancy putting it in any of my 'good cars' though!...
Thoughts people??
Edited by NinjaPower on Thursday 18th February 15:14
I used it years ago and do remember making the engine quieter.
I can remember the advertising at the time, they took a car treated with Slick 50 for a lap round some track without any oil in it and it was fine.
They said it stuck teflon to the moving parts (I think) making them slippy, which increased efficiency and made an engine quiet.
I haven’t used it since, but still regard it as one of the few potions which is not a complete scam.
I remember driving up to Coniston (the old man of) in my diesel 205, it would only get up the hill in first gear. The next year after it had been Slick 50’d, it could do it in 2nd.
I can remember the advertising at the time, they took a car treated with Slick 50 for a lap round some track without any oil in it and it was fine.
They said it stuck teflon to the moving parts (I think) making them slippy, which increased efficiency and made an engine quiet.
I haven’t used it since, but still regard it as one of the few potions which is not a complete scam.
I remember driving up to Coniston (the old man of) in my diesel 205, it would only get up the hill in first gear. The next year after it had been Slick 50’d, it could do it in 2nd.
Slightly off topic but has anyone heard of and/or experience a similar product called 'prolong'
Saw it on an american infomercial a few years ago and they did everything with this engine, no oil, sand in the rockers yet this prolong stopped it from damage!! The even drained a car of oil then drove it in very hot weather through heavy traffic for approx 30 miles yet the engine was fine!! Emerson fittipaldi said!
I was young and naive!
Saw it on an american infomercial a few years ago and they did everything with this engine, no oil, sand in the rockers yet this prolong stopped it from damage!! The even drained a car of oil then drove it in very hot weather through heavy traffic for approx 30 miles yet the engine was fine!! Emerson fittipaldi said!
I was young and naive!
Oil companies spend zillions on making separate oils for different applications. They blend base oils, and use additives in order to produce a product that will satisfy the demands of motor manufacturers who definitely want that oil to support their product, and help it work efficiently and prolong the life of the components it is protecting.
How is it then, that adding something out of a can; on the basis of a large can for large engine, and small can for a small engine, and with no change in dosage if you have Sainsbury's cheapest or Mobil1 fully synthetic, possibly be a good idea?
If your engine is 'tappety' then putting something 'gloopy' in there may quieten it down, but something else will suffer, possibly the oil pump in having to shift treacle. Hiding the symptoms of any problem, does nothing to fix the problem.
Disclaimer: I am not an engineer, there's a lot of s
t posted on internet forums by people who actually know nothing about the subject.
How is it then, that adding something out of a can; on the basis of a large can for large engine, and small can for a small engine, and with no change in dosage if you have Sainsbury's cheapest or Mobil1 fully synthetic, possibly be a good idea?
If your engine is 'tappety' then putting something 'gloopy' in there may quieten it down, but something else will suffer, possibly the oil pump in having to shift treacle. Hiding the symptoms of any problem, does nothing to fix the problem.
Disclaimer: I am not an engineer, there's a lot of s
t posted on internet forums by people who actually know nothing about the subject.Papa Hotel said:
Syndrome said:
Snake oil you say? That sounds good, where do I get this Snake oil of which you speak?
It hides on ice at dangerous corners that should be closed off.On topic though.
I've used extralube ZX1 before. The ad had an engine driven water pump with a fire hose pointing straight up. After treatment the water went higher and stayed there while the coolant and oil were ejected out the bottom of the engine! I ran a BMW with it in on no oil for a long time (a week of commuting up and down the motorway 15 miles each way!) and eventually the engine gave up but you wouldn't believe how long it went for!
Paul Drawmer said:
Oil companies spend zillions on making separate oils for different applications. They blend base oils, and use additives in order to produce a product that will satisfy the demands of motor manufacturers who definitely want that oil to support their product, and help it work efficiently and prolong the life of the components it is protecting.
How is it then, that adding something out of a can; on the basis of a large can for large engine, and small can for a small engine, and with no change in dosage if you have Sainsbury's cheapest or Mobil1 fully synthetic, possibly be a good idea?
If your engine is 'tappety' then putting something 'gloopy' in there may quieten it down, but something else will suffer, possibly the oil pump in having to shift treacle. Hiding the symptoms of any problem, does nothing to fix the problem.
Disclaimer: I am not an engineer, there's a lot of st posted on internet forums by people who actually know nothing about the subject.
I concur. The Federal Trade Commission have come down hard on additive companies making false advertising claims. How is it then, that adding something out of a can; on the basis of a large can for large engine, and small can for a small engine, and with no change in dosage if you have Sainsbury's cheapest or Mobil1 fully synthetic, possibly be a good idea?
If your engine is 'tappety' then putting something 'gloopy' in there may quieten it down, but something else will suffer, possibly the oil pump in having to shift treacle. Hiding the symptoms of any problem, does nothing to fix the problem.
Disclaimer: I am not an engineer, there's a lot of s
t posted on internet forums by people who actually know nothing about the subject.http://www.ftc.gov/opa/1999/09/prolong.shtm
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/1996/07/slick.shtm
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/1995/12/stp.shtm
Paul Drawmer said:
Oil companies spend zillions on making separate oils for different applications. They blend base oils, and use additives in order to produce a product that will satisfy the demands of motor manufacturers who definitely want that oil to support their product, and help it work efficiently and prolong the life of the components it is protecting.
How is it then, that adding something out of a can; on the basis of a large can for large engine, and small can for a small engine, and with no change in dosage if you have Sainsbury's cheapest or Mobil1 fully synthetic, possibly be a good idea?
If your engine is 'tappety' then putting something 'gloopy' in there may quieten it down, but something else will suffer, possibly the oil pump in having to shift treacle. Hiding the symptoms of any problem, does nothing to fix the problem.
Disclaimer: I am not an engineer, there's a lot of st posted on internet forums by people who actually know nothing about the subject.
Working Lada engine. Bit noisy up the top. Add Slick 50. Non-Working lada engine due to buggered oil pump.How is it then, that adding something out of a can; on the basis of a large can for large engine, and small can for a small engine, and with no change in dosage if you have Sainsbury's cheapest or Mobil1 fully synthetic, possibly be a good idea?
If your engine is 'tappety' then putting something 'gloopy' in there may quieten it down, but something else will suffer, possibly the oil pump in having to shift treacle. Hiding the symptoms of any problem, does nothing to fix the problem.
Disclaimer: I am not an engineer, there's a lot of s
t posted on internet forums by people who actually know nothing about the subject.Cause...effect...who knows it was a lada we didn't exactly have an engineer check it out. But can't say I'll be using slick 50 anytime soon.
It is a short term fix for an older and worn engine. It quietens things down for long enough to flog it. It's a quick fix. A bodge if you want. It certainly isn't a permanent fix for a worn engine, and the benefit will be offset by it causing shortening of the longetivity of related components.
If there was a 'magic' remedy they'd be charging alot more than £5 for a tin...
My moto is 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'...
If there was a 'magic' remedy they'd be charging alot more than £5 for a tin...
My moto is 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'...
On the other hand, it has been on sale for years and years and years. I'm pretty sure oil manufacturers wouldn't put in anything they didn't need to, or in proportions that were unnecessary. Most vehicles won't need these additives so they don't put them in. You probably wouldn't want these sort of additives every 6000 miles or whatever or they would build up too many deposits.
Boy oh boy !!! Aren't these additives / engine treatments hard to fathom ! On the one side you have the theory that oil companies spend millions to create the best super duper oil for their latest model BUT on the other hand, the manufacturers would not want such a fantastic engine oil that the engine might do 500,000 miles !! They would be kicking themselves up the backside when their sales went down 50% because their cars would not need replacing so often !
I would hazard a guess that the car / oil manufacturers could already make such an oil if they really wanted but they know it would have too great an effect on business and, hence, it would be commercial suicide ! And I'd even go much further and say they could make the engine components super slippy even before the addition of the engine oil !
The bottom line is that they are not daft and will carry on making very slight improvements to keep the public satisfied!
I would hazard a guess that the car / oil manufacturers could already make such an oil if they really wanted but they know it would have too great an effect on business and, hence, it would be commercial suicide ! And I'd even go much further and say they could make the engine components super slippy even before the addition of the engine oil !
The bottom line is that they are not daft and will carry on making very slight improvements to keep the public satisfied!
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