I read about this in a magazine, but I know not everyting they ad is true. I know products like prolong and zmax have been in problems with lawsuits, so I was wondering if anybody knows about any bad stuff about RESTORE.
It is the ONLY additive that I would ever (and have ever) added to a vehicle. It will NOT FIX a junk/terminal engine. Add it at about
60-80,000 miles with your oil change. Then, again at another 30,000 or so. You WILL notice the difference in a few hundred miles. You DON'T need it every oil change. I am NOT an additive junkie BUT this stuff works. Remember that the engine should be in GOOD shape. I know, why put it in an engine that is OK? Well, lets call it preventive maintenance
And the basis for your opinion is?
Richard.
From: dodgeboy snipped-for-privacy@rogers.com >>I tried it it did nothing!!!!
I used a can of Restore in a Chevy 250 six cyl. engine. Boy did it do something. Glued the rings to the pistons and all of a sudden I had the mother of all mosquito foggers. Several flushes later still smoking. Tore engine down, sure as shit rings stuck. New rings and bearings and it ran fine. Never again!
Pete Geurds Douglassville, PA
My experiences are about the same. It actually does work, though toss the instructions and use it every two years or so. Once your engine gets past 150-200K miles(dep on design), nothing's going to really help.
Note - it doesn't do squat other than condition the seals a bit.
No increased power or mileage - just a bit smoother running from what I can tell. If your top end/lifters are shot, it does nothing there either. Switching to a semi-synthetic motor oil honestly made a bigger difference. Now, that's a change that DOES give results.
Most of the rest of the stuff - not a bit better, though a few of the additives do clean out injectors if you put in about
2-3 times what they recommend.
I am an auto mechanic and instructor. I have used this product on vehicles since before some of you were born. I have torn engines down that have used it and you can see how the product has worked. I did not START this thread , I only answered it. This is MY opinion and all you have to do is read it. I am NOT twisting your arm or dumping this into your car. Thank you for your time.
From: snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com
Wasn't aiming my comments at you specifically. The guy asked and I figured he should know not everyone's happy with it. If it worked for you fine. I feel like it made me tear the engine down sooner than I had planned on. Maybe that wasn't an entirely bad thing but I won't give them any more of my money.
Pete Geurds Douglassville, PA
Was there something wrong with your engine before you tried it?
----------------- Alex __O _-\
I'm a parts guy, as well as a serious DIYer. I've sued Restore occasionally since I first saw it years ago. It certainly seems to do what it says it will. I can tell the difference in torque within a few miles. I have used in a high-mileage Astro van just before leaving on a trip, espcially when planning to tow a trailer. Works fine, no problems, benefit goes away with the next oil change. Rex in Fort Worth
It's kind of like leather conditioner/cleaner. You really SHOULD use something every so often on your seats. I've seen 20 year old Mercedes with perfect interiors and 10 year old ones with rotting crud.
It helps a bit - like fuel injector cleaners do. Terminal damage or excessive wear - no, it won't fix that anymore than leather conditioner will fix a tear or rip.
Some of the older products are still out there. They work to a point, and are basically what the others charge huge bucks for. $30+ for some slick-50? Try $4 for a can of Restore.
An engine isn't a piece of leather. You can't "condition" metal. Its snake oil, just like all the others.
I, for one, have always gotten at least 200,000 miles (my lowest-mileage engine currently has 202,000 miles on it) out of engines just with good oil and regular changes. Not even religiously at 3000 miles- quite often up to 5000 mile intervals- but I never let an engine run low on oil or go beyond 7000 miles on a change. There's absolutely no need for these goofy products.
There is a total lack of independent data to support the claims for Slick-50 or for Restore.
Richard.
Metal, no. Seals? Depending upon the type of materials used in the seals and gaskets, yes.
As I said, the biggest thing you can do is change to a semi-synthetic oil and do oil changes regularly. Especially in a smaller engine - the semi-synthetics are a big help and won't trash the seals on an older engine.
| "I can tell the difference in torque within a few miles." | |Interesting statement. Too bad you don't have any data to back up your |experience.
I should spend $100 er dyno run to justify (to you) my occasional purchase of a $10 consumer product? I've spent exactly as much time & money proving Restore works as you have disproving it. Only difference is I've actually used it, in several vehicles.
| I helped develop the fuel quality testing program for my state |and had access to the lab guys from all the major fuel venders.
Great. If that was Texas I have a bone to pick with you and your cronies.
|a summer at a major's lab one summer in my youth. Statements from the PR |departments at the major venders about improvements in performance are |mostly BS. Statements from snake oil venders are usually less than reliable.
You just now discovered this? Where was your head before this insight came to you? never mind
|I have yet seen any objective data supporting the use of any such additives. |If it had an additive that worked that additive would be included in all oil |or fuel, as appropriate. Everyone is fighting for the smallest improvement, |yes they are. Restore's owners would have been paid lots of money if they |actually had something that worked. Instead they are still trying to sell |their "magic" in the can one can at a time to anyone who believes what they |want them to believe.
You don't give people very much credit for any brains, do you? I think most of the known world knows to question the claims of anyone trying to sell you something. I'm as jaded as they come, having sold automotive parts and supplies all my life at various levels. I've also done all most all my own work on daily drivers and race cars. I'll go with what I know and can learn as needed.
Rex in Fort Worth
You're not a metalurgist, I'll bet. Have you heard of "running in"? True, you don't hear much about it with new cars these days. - RM
You don't give people very much credit for any brains, do you?
Sorry if I gave you that impression. But experience tells us that subjective opinions are not that reliable. I find your observations interesting and you sound credible. But the adds for the product make it sound very much like a viscosity index improver (shades of STP). This additive has been identified as one that can form varnish and lead to stuck and cracked rings. One major advantage of a pure synthetic is that it needs less viscosity index improver to get the job done. I guess that you too don't know of any objective studies to support their claims.
Richard.
Good for you. I guess you've never owned a used vehicle with an unknown matainance record? I believe the original poster asked for opinions on whether or not the product works, not if there was a need for it.
| | You don't give people very much credit for any brains, do you? |> I think most of the known world knows to question the claims of anyone |trying to |> sell you something. I'm as jaded as they come, having sold automotive |parts and |> supplies all my life at various levels. I've also done all most all my own |work |> on daily drivers and race cars. I'll go with what I know and can learn as |> needed. |>
|> Rex in Fort Worth | |Sorry if I gave you that impression. But experience tells us that subjective |opinions are not that reliable. I find your observations interesting and you |sound credible. But the adds for the product make it sound very much like a |viscosity index improver (shades of STP). This additive has been identified |as one that can form varnish and lead to stuck and cracked rings. One major |advantage of a pure synthetic is that it needs less viscosity index improver |to get the job done. I guess that you too don't know of any objective |studies to support their claims.
Very few additives have had objective testing peformed on them, simply because there's no money in it. So their claims are largely unchallenged. If you are intrigued by the ad, you pays your $5 or $10 and do your own highly subjected, uncontrolled "test". If it makes you feel all warm inside, then maybe you'll buy another can or recommend it to others. Most of the recommendations take the form of Parts Store Customer to pimpy kid working at WeBe Discount Auto Parts: "My transmission is sipping and it smells bad. What do you have to fix that?" Mr. Pimples: "Well, we got Trans-Fix. A guy last week said it fixed his overnight" "Gimme some, what the heck"
But to the original point: I have several vehicles over 130K miles which run well but which almost certainly have some compression loss past the rings. I also have a friend with a chassis dyno. If I can, I'll see about a before & after comparison for Restore. Might take some time to get to it.
|Richard. | |
Rex in Fort Worth
Dubious. Most "seal conditioners" simply cause rubber seals to soften and swell temporarily. In many cases, as the "conditioner" diffuses back out of the seal, it winds up even harder and more shrunken than before. If seals are leaking, replace them.
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