Auto-RX

[SHOpar]

I was just reading through some old topics, and noticed a few people mentioning Auto-RX, saying it reduced oil consumption, leaks, and top end noise.

I have never been a fan of "mechanic in a bottle" stuff, but this stuff seems to be liked by everyone on here.

I would just be worried that this stuff does more damage than good in the long run...

 

[Mr Anonymous]

Unfortunately, AFAIK, to date there are not any reliable, independent scientific tests to determine what benefit or harm (if either) this particular product would do.

There are a handful of members here who speak very highly of it, and usually get insulted when anyone lumps it in with the usual 'snake oil' suspects. Of course, their observations are purely anecdotal and lack any scientific validity. Like any product, time will tell (as will any new FTC lawsuits, like those against Z-Max, Motor-Up, et al)...

The question I usually ask people asking about one of these 'miracle-in-a-bottle' products is: WHY? What is wrong with your car that proper maintenance and regular oil changes with quality oil won't fix?

I used Slick-50 in an '84 Camaro with 100K several years ago and it quieted the motor down nicely and reduced oil consumption dramatically, but it didn't stop the motor from quitting about 10K miles later. I've never used any other type of additive since then, and never blown another motor since then either...

<small>[ March 18, 2003, 08:14 PM: Message edited by: SHOooo ]</small>

 

[Bizzy]

I really don't get insulted by it being lumped in with the other crap, but I do find it unfortunate.

If I knew back when I first poured it into my SHO back in October that i could pull the front valve cover off and just use RTV to seal it back up, I would have done before and after photos. My SHO came to me from a guy that did 5k or 6 month oil changes. And he always too it to the dealer, who used Quakerstate. Now first off, the car is a 94 and I bought it with 67k on it. so that means that it was 8k a year or 2 oil changes a year, and all stop and go driving, hence it being on its third OEM clutch. When I looked down the oil fill hole with a flashlight, the top of the head was very dark brown, like brown sugar. And the oil was freshly changed by me with a load of Castrol GTX. I had already used Auto-RX on mny 95 SE (SLO) with some realy great results, so I knew it would be good for the SHO. Well after a week of commuting to work and back, (700 miles) I drained the oil and it was BLACK as BLACK could be, but when I added the load of AMSoil 0w-30 Synthetic, the flashlight down the oil hole showed me clean shiney metal.

at 73-74k i did my upper part of the 60k, and even after 4500 miles give or take, the heads are still really clean and you can even see the AMSoil there after 4500 +/- miles there being black. One thing you note is that the valve area is pretty clean. Auto-RX cleans all parts of your engine that are in contact with the motor oil that way and it does it slowly as to strip away layer after layer of gunk off. Plus the inventor/distributor says if you aren't happy with it's results he'll refund your money. How many snake oil items back something like that up in real life? This guy has even sent a new bottle to ppl that were dumb and didn't follow the instructions, for free mind you. Give it a shot, all you have to loose is the gunk in your engine. I also gained about 1 mpg highway after using it but I believe some of that can be attributed to the synthetic oil.www.auto-rx.com

 

[BigDogShotime]

I don't know what my engine inards look like, but that looks sweet. Should i change my oil and add some Auto RX or put some in and drive around for a couple hundered miles and then change my oil? Looks good bro. thumbs_u

 

[sdpatt]

That is one clean looking valve train. I suppose the wear on the number 5 exhaust cam lobe is from the long interval changes of Quaker State punishment. It's a shame that AutoRx can't help the wear as much as it helps the cleanliness.

 

[Bizzy]

yeah I'm kinda ****** about the little lobe wear I got. But not much I can do about it, the previous owner thought he was taking care of the car the right way and all. I'm scared to see what the rod bearings may look like, but if they are as easy and cheap to change out as I think they are I ight just drop the pan and do it just for piece of mind. Though there is a 3.2 in my future, just not till at least this fall. Even with that little wear on the lobes, the car pulls very strong, and I havne't noticed any difference to a friends SHO that I have driven. Oh well perhaps the SHOshop could still use them as cores for stage I cams. They don't look all that worn when you look at them in person, and actually they are only worn in very small spot dead center of the lobe. the edges of the lob still look like they are new.

BigDogShotime- depending on the mileage of your car you might need 2 treatments. under ~115k you can get away with one. But really you need to start with a clean new oil filter. I would start with a clean oilfilter, and fresh oil, specifically cause Auto-RX removes and suspends the varnish and gunk in the oil. Drive for 500 miles (750 if using synthetic) and then repreat if needed. I did one treatment on my SHO and it was plenty, and I did one on my 95 SE at 110k and it was good too. The main thing is to get the oil and filter outtat there after about 500 miles. You want that gunk outta the engine quick.

I'm adding 4 oz to my current fill of AMSoil 0w-30 before my drive do to FL whenever my brother gets outta the hospital. I have a bypass filter on there so all the suspended junk that might be shaken loose by the minimal dose of Auto-RX will get trapped by that filter. After the 2800 mile trip my Aynthetic should be at just about 10-12k so and it will be time for me to change it. I believe it could go 35k, but I think that 12k-15k outta a load of oil is surely my money's worth.

<small>[ March 18, 2003, 10:30 PM: Message edited by: netviper ]</small>

 

[Hubes]

you know i was thinking of doing this. when the weather gets warmer i want to get soem auto-rx to use as a cleaner, and open up the oil filter to see what it looks like. i have 118k on my sho now, and it is about to hit 119 k so i would need to do 2 treatmetns accoridng to their web page. what do you guys think? uopen up a regualr 3k oil change filter, 1st treatment of auto rx oil filter, and then a 2nd treatment oil filter. i don't have a digital camera, but if anyone wants to do this they can. jsut an idea

 

[SHOZ123]

Unfortunately, AFAIK, to date there are not any reliable, independent scientific tests to determine what benefit or harm (if either) this particular product would do.

You won't find that here on SHOforum unless you follow some of my post. You will find it HERE. Just be sure to expand the threads to 30 days or do a search in this particular section.