i have used the STP fuel injector cleaner on most of my vehicles except the lightning. used to use the black one every fuel change, now i just use the red bottle every now and then. some mechanic i trusted told me to use the black bottle every 3,000. it makes sense. i figure as hard as the L gets driven she really doesn't need a cleaning, not with the low mileage mine has anyway.

 

and what will hydrochloric acid to to your engine(in small doses I would assume, if at all)? I usually commute, so not really worried about it. And where did you get this information?.. PRO LONG is crap? ..sounds like an opinion. You got facts to back that up? ..not trying to argue, just curious. I've never heard anything bad about it, and this is the first time I've heard anything about hydrochloric acid as a byproduct.

 

Here is some data...

ASTM-D-2783 Standard Method for MEASUREMENT OF EXTREME-PRESSURE PROPERTIES OF LUBRICATING FLUIDS (FOUR-BALL METHOD)

http://www.sfrcorp.com/product_comparison.asp

looks like prolong isnt so bad...

 

The FTC settled a complaint with Prolong, basically saying they couldn't make any claims that the additive does anything beneficial.

Read the details here

 

Hydrochloric acid etches surfaces. Bearing surfaces are suppposed to be smooth not eroded by acid.

http://neptune.spacebears.com/cars/legal/procomp.html

Explains Prolongs legal battles.

 

I had some surprising runs this weekend at the strip on toluene. I'll post a separate post about this later today for any comments. It will be lengthy. Basically, I was seeing .07 - .10 faster 1/8th mile ET with a 10% toluene mix (95 octane) on my 93 octane race tune.

 

The legal wording in that document souds more misleading thatn they are accusing Prolong of being... I don't see where it SPELLS OUT that Pro-Long is corrosive or doesn't prolong your engine's life. I dunno, legal battles happen all the time, some moron probably tried to run his engine without oil, CLAIMING he used Pro-Long, or whatever. If you have any info, or you can show me something more explicit depicting that it has corroded bearings, etc, then I'll take your word for it.

 

my pos oil leaky ranger liked teh prolong. ran it damn near out of oil and tried to kill it but it refused to f'n die.

 

You took an engine with rod knock apart and everything looked new?

Or were you talking about one of the race engines? In case you missed it, the BS was called on the rod knock motor that ran for 30 mins. with no oil. I'd call BS too! It doesn't matter how many crevices something gets into if the bearings are already pounded and the cushion of oil is removed!

 

Double post, sorry. See below.

 

Has anyone tried Viscon? It's also know as GTA Fuel Enhancer.

http://www.apdinc.com/GTAfuel.html

I'm thinking of shelling out $20 for a trial.

 

Is your engine worth taking a chance with some unproven snake oil? Are you willing to risk it?
Most of the legal battle had to do with the fact that Prolong could not PROVE any of their claims. The engine running without oil thing was shown to be a gimmick on another site. If I can find it I will link it. There was also a site showing the acid damage on several engines. If I can find those I will post them as well. Some of them are probably gone as the lawsuit was years ago.

 

heres a good read from AMSOIL

http://www.texassynthetics.com/aftermarketad.htm

 

Info on prolong

http://www.ftc.gov/opa/1999/09/prolong.htm

 

..most of the info has dead-links as you said... From what I can find there I still don't see clinical proof that it corrodes our engines or parts, or that it contains a significant or harmful amout of hydrocloric acid. The bearing-load testing is enough to sell me on it as being a superior lubricant. It seems as though they are going after ALL the oil additive companys, including z-max and a few others listed. It talks a lot about "ALLIGATIONS" and advertizing gimicks, but still no proof that it doesn't work or that it cause harm to your engine.
Everything has its "downsides" even regular engine oil, as well as synthetic oil. Synthetic oil actually "RUNS" from heat, but it has to be VERY EXTREME HEAT, so hot that regular oil would boil. So in essence it is the best until it's breaking point. I'd like to see an actual link or a site that works, that maybe sells me on the idea that Pro-Long corrodes our engines when used correctly. Another thing, If Prolong is used correctly, and you put in the concentrate ONE time, and the BOOSTER every oil change, I wonder if that has an effect on proper usage being a factor? I know for a fact that if you use too much fuel injector cleaner you can actually cause damage to your fuel system and engine's internal parts. When used CORRECTLY, how does Pro-Long hurt your engine and its parts?? I mean if it were meant to be used in excess they would just sell it as an engine oil, and kick everyone's butts. I agree that maybe used in excess it may corrode and/or cause problems, as would any other additive. It's like the stuff that they inject in to the blood stream of a blocked-heart patient, it is beneficial upon proper dosage, but will kill the patient and eat throught their blood vessels if given too high of a dose. So, let's say Prolong is a little corrosive, I'll still use half a bottle for insurance cause I've seen the beneficial-gains of the product.