"Anyone have a comment on the use of Z-max in a Pathfinder?"
Not in a 'Finder but I don't think highly of the stuff at all. All my snake-oil alarms go off when I see this stuff being peddled on TV. They were under investigation by the FTC who claimed the stuff was merely colored mineral oil.
If you search BITOG, you'll find plenty of info on this stuff ... but I'll tell you one funny story about it now:
One of the BITOG members attended an automotive trade show and Z-Max had a booth and were trying to sell a pallet-load of their $20 kits. I guess the kit has an additive for the gas, oil and maybe something for an automatic transmission (I'm not sure).
At the conclusion of the show, they still had a fair number of kits left and instead of taking them back to HQ, they pretty much abandoned them. That tells me a lot about how much
they think their product is worth.
"What about that Marvel Mystery Oil stuff?"
MMO as we often call it on BITOG, is a much more reputable product. I have used it in the gas in a number of vehicles and it seems to make the engine run a little smoother. That's a completely subject comment subject to the "placebo effect." However it DID eliminate the minor oil consumption in my Ford Escort 1.9L as long I as I kept using it.
Keeping track of my gas mileage, I seem to remember a slight gain there as well ... maybe 1-2%. It's been over 10 years since I've used it regularly.
It works by reducing friction ... primarily on the cylinder walls above the piston. Reductions in drag inside an engine will give you a touch more power and economy.
I am concerned that it might cause some clogging of fuel injectors with long term use, however, and have a hard time giving it a blanket recommendation. Injectors are finicky and expensive things and I tend to play it safe.
There is also the possibility of fouling the combustion chamber with deposits as well as sensors and emmission. This may be slight but I'd be afraid to find out the hard way. I mainly use MMO in carbureted lawn & garden equipment and even then occasionally run a tankful of straight gas with or without a cleaner through the engine to make sure any deposit formation is kept at bay.
I regularly use Red Line SI-1 in my Nissan which is an ester-based fuel system cleaner. Esters are both lubricants AND cleaners which makes them safer for long term use. It is also improves the lubricity of the fuel and can have the same effect as MMO on cylinder walls. about $5-6 per pint bottle.
A more cost effective ester based cleaner/conditioner is Schaeffer's Neutra 131. Cost me something like $13 per gallon (+ S&H). Some of the best fuel economy I've ever gotten with my QR25DE (30.5mpg) has been with 2-3 ounces of Neutra in the gas tank.
Schaeffer claims their newer soy-based Neutra 131C is
even better and can give mileage improvements above and beyond like-new performance. I'm cautiously skeptical but all their other stuff has been fantastic so I'm willing to give it a try next time I'm ordering from them.
I suspect Lucas Oil's "UCL" (upper cylinder lubricant) is also ester based but I have no info to prove that and haven't tried it personally.
Some comments from the goo guru
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