Extralube ZX1 question.

not being funny but they spent years upon years developing these oils i.e. 10W40 yadda yadda yadda.

so why would the oil alone not be good enough? it is what its there for and if the engine does malfunction and you can catagorically PROVE it was the fault of the oil you have in there, then the oil manufacturer are responsible, you would hope.

just makes me think of Octane boosters for fuel to gain an extra 2 to 3 hp, its just not cost efficient i think anyway.

[maviczap]

I used Zx1 to no ill effect in my Cavalier, so an old tech engine in many respects, although I think I added what was left into the diesel Zafira, with no problems.

They said that you could add a couple of ml to the cooling water, which I did and I noticed that the water temp dropped by a few deg and stayed that way, so it did have a positive effect that I could notice.

I've got a big tub of Zx1 grease in the garage, which I use on most things, its a lovely sexy red colour

have a look at octane boosters. 80% do bugger all on a nice clean engine.

manufacturers say you will invalidate a warrenty if you use stuff like this. Wonder why that is?

its balls. It works on that test but its not suitable for a car/bike engine. especially if its got a shared gearbox imo

[yorkie_chris]

Octane boosters are different, if you don't bump compression they do nowt. It's just f***wits who can't even do basic searching of wikipedia who think it helps!

These snake oils, tell you what the oil manufacturers want to start buying the stuff! They could make a fortune selling oil with it already in!

Seriously, for example castrol spend millions making new super racy WSB spec 0w50 super synth, massively complex blends of carefully formed synthetics, VIs and other additives, then you buy it for £6 a liter or whatever. Over a hundred years of lubricant development and some bloke in a shed has some stuff to tip in?! F***s sake...

Bike (IIRC) tested a ZX6R a while ago, they drained all but a liter of oil out of it and held it on the limiter. It rapidly emptied it's coolant due to overheating and after half an hour or so burned the exhaust can off! Refilling the oil and coolant saw it run fine afterwards. How much abuse is reasonable to test for?
I have also drained a liter or so of oil out of car engines which have not appeared to suffer from it.

Go to uni, do a tribology degree, or go work for castrol or someone. Find out the exact composition of all this stuff and tell me how and why it works. Otherwise it is anectodal, all psychological, and generally BS. And you're probably just putting relabelled splash of mineral oil in your engine

[Bibio]

with all respect Andy you have never used ZX1 so how can you comment on something you have never used? this is like trying to describe a fine wine or a well aged whisky that you have never drank.

so far we have 2 people that have never used it and say its snake oil and 2 people who have used it and say it works.

dont knock products because of your bad experience with some other product.

[Bibio]

from what i know the main ingredient it zinc phosphate which used to be used in oils as a slip agent until it was deemed to be unstable for catalytic converters. its still used but in smaller amounts in oils.

you will always get your haters and lovers its just that most of the haters have never tried the product.

ill quote


General Remarks on Chlorinated Additives.

A number of ‘add-on’ additives intended to improve the performance of commercially available automotive lubricants have been marketed in recent years, under such names as ‘Xxtralube ZX-1’, ‘Metol FX-1’, ‘PPL Anti-Friction’ and ‘Activ-8’.All such products share the following characteristics with ‘X-1R Friction Eliminator’:-

1) They all contain chlorinated paraffin ‘exteme pressure’(EP) compounds first used in the 1930s in heavily-loaded industrial gearboxes, and in some automotive transmission applications, mainly hypoid gears.

2) They all corrode copper-based alloys at moderate temperatures, easily exceeded in all engine, and most transmission applications.This problem was recognised in the 1930s, and chlorinated compounds were never used in transmissions with bronze bearings or gears. No responsible manufacturer ever suggested using them in engines where their increasing activity at high temperatures could lead to piston ring corrosion and bore glazing. (For the same reason, modern ‘hypoid’ additives are not used in engines, even though they are much safer than any chlorinated additive.)

3) X-1R Friction Eliminator and its clones are based upon very outdated technology, which was abandoned by responsible lubricant manufacturers for automotive transmission uses in the 1950s. Chlorinated compounds still find applications in metal working, but their use is on the decline because of health and safety considerations.

4) When burnt, chlorinated paraffins produce corrosive hydrochloric acid, and organo-chlorine compounds including the highly poisonous phosgene gas. Apart from these corrosion and health hazards, with petrol engines the deactivation of exhaust catalysts is also a problem.

5) Unfortunately, these additives give spectacular results in simple EP test machines such as the ‘Falex’. As a marketing ploy, a demonstration of this type looks impressive to those not aquainted with the above facts. Also attractive is the low cost of chlorinated compounds, allowing profits of several thousand percent to be made.

Hope this helps you to make your own mind up on these magic additives.


so thats the syncro rings in your gearbox knackered, bearings etc!

[Bibio]

yes i have read that as well ages ago. when my bike/car explodes then i'll eat my hat but in the mean time i will continue to use ZX1.

the above presumption is that ZX1 actually contains chlorinated paraffin ‘extreme pressure’(EP) compounds. there is no mention of an analysis so its an assumption.

i might one day get a family member to analyse it and tell me what it actually contains. but until then we can only speculate.

OK you go for it. but knowing the damage it can cause i can only advise people strogly to stay away!!!

[yorkie_chris]

Originally Posted by Bibio

this is like trying to describe a fine wine or a well aged whisky that you have never drank.

so far we have 2 people that have never used it and say its snake oil and 2 people who have used it and say it works..

No, whisky or wine is a matter of opinion, this is factual topic to which people bring anecdotal evidence.

I have used it (not in my bike, nor on my advice) and it made FA difference to anything.