Restore?

[hberdan]

I was thinking about adding a can of Restore to the 3AC in my 4x4 Tercel wagon. I've never used any oil additive before--is this going to give my car some real improvement or will it just cause problems? The engine has lots of mileage on it, (320,000 original miles) the compression has dropped maybe 20% over time, and the gas mileage is starting to go down too. I've been hesitant in the past to add this stuff as I was not sure of benefits versus any risks--for example, will this cause any head gasket problems, etc?
Anyone with personal experience using this or a similar product in their 3AC?
Thanks!

[takza]

Try doing a Google on it? I've heard quite a few recs on it...seems to work for most people. I have a can of it I bought on sale...haven't used it yet.

Might try a carbon clean and flush the oil. I'm doing these every 7K when I change oil....reduced oil use.

You'd want to flush the oil before you use Restore?

[SynthDesign]

Use at your own risk. If particles were blocking an oil leak or holding metal fragment in place, they will be set loose. Not always a good thing.

[takza]

ZMax is the additive that loosens all the sludge (mineral oil?).

Restore is a CERMET...Google the term. Restore adds a layer of metal/ceramic to the wear surfaces. I have a can I might try in my truck this summer.

There are some very expensive cermets out there. Xado?

http://www.wm-e-shop.com/product_info.php/products_id/1

http://www.mpgresearch.com/forum/viewto ... f=4&t=2093

[Petros]

you really have nothing to lose than, the engine needs new rings at least. It would be a cheap experiment, no way it would harm a good head gasket, if it is bad anyway it will not make any differenace. I used a similar Teflon based product once on an old Datsun 510 I once owned. I found it improved my compression by about 15%. Do a compression test before and after.

If Restore adds a coating you should flush out the oil side of the engine with Seafoam first. Run 50/50 cheap oil and Seafoam for a short while (around the block, or up and down the street), just enough to heat everything up, but go real easy on it! NO bogging or very high revs. let is sit overnight, warm it up again in the morning, and drain it all and than add good oil with the Restore additive per the instructions. They ususally want to you to drive it for 50 or more miles after that, give it about 300 or more miles to re-run your compression test.

It may make it last a bit longer, and cheaper than a rebuild. I would not count on it replacing a rebuild, but it will get you further down the road.

Report back on what you found with the compression test.

[hberdan]

As an update, my mpg has increased since putting the Restore in the tank. Might be hard at this point to give a definitive answer as to exactly how much better it is, as I need to put a couple more gas tanks full thru the engine--but I'd estimate maybe a 7-10% mpg increase, or even more, and dramatic differences in perceived engine responsiveness and power.
Otoh, the snow season is finally over and some of this mpg increase might be attributible to warmer weather and less idling at warmup...but I'm still driving on my snow tires--anyway, using Restore seems very positive so far.

[Neu]

As an update, my mpg has increased since putting the Restore in the tank. Might be hard at this point to give a definitive answer as to exactly how much better it is, as I need to put a couple more gas tanks full thru the engine--but I'd estimate maybe a 7-10% mpg increase, or even more, and dramatic differences in perceived engine responsiveness and power.
Otoh, the snow season is finally over and some of this mpg increase might be attributible to warmer weather and less idling at warmup...but I'm still driving on my snow tires--anyway, using Restore seems very positive so far.

You should get slightly better MPG when the air is colder, since cold air is more dense and has more in it.

[splatterdog]

One way to verify a good carbon cleaning before you even drive it is to measure engine vacuum before and after.

If you don't get at least 1/2 inch of vacuum increase you either didn't have a problem or it didn't work. Most likely it didn't work.

[takza]

Hope you put that in the oil? I guess "tank" is what you call your wagon? Could be partially due to warmer weather.

I've seen good reports on it...but that might partially be the placebo effect too.

I ran my Terc a bit hard (some 4-5K shifts) and used about 1/3 qt oil in maybe 1 K miles where I have been seeing 5-7 K out of a quart if I shift at 2.5-3K all the time.

As far as additives...a lot of people just don't want to believe anything works.

Since you know what your typical summer mileage is...maybe replace the snows and see how it does in warmer weather?

[4wdchico]

As an update, my mpg has increased since putting the Restore in the tank. Might be hard at this point to give a definitive answer as to exactly how much better it is, as I need to put a couple more gas tanks full thru the engine--but I'd estimate maybe a 7-10% mpg increase, or even more, and dramatic differences in perceived engine responsiveness and power.
Otoh, the snow season is finally over and some of this mpg increase might be attributible to warmer weather and less idling at warmup...but I'm still driving on my snow tires--anyway, using Restore seems very positive so far.

You should get slightly better MPG when the air is colder, since cold air is more dense and has more in it.

The rolling resistance of tires goes up quite a bit in cold weather as the rubber is less pliable at lower temps. As far as engine efficiency goes, colder weather does not help much, if at all. Peak horsepower can be greater in cold weather due to the denser air as you state.

[hberdan]

I added the Restore to the oil, not the gas tank, sorry, a typo there. Right into the oil filler cap and then brought the oil level up to full.
The norm for mileage in this Tercel in warm weather has been about 27-28 on summer tires, not bad for an old car with 320,000 miles.
Regardless of the denser, colder air, I only average about 24 mpg in the winter. Lots of warm-up idling, traveling with a loaded ski rack and driving on snowy roads in 4wd, up and down about 6000' vertical a day to the ski area and back makes me lucky to even get the 24. Some weeks it's closer to 21-23.
At any rate, since adding the Restore (to the oil!), even with the (non-studded but heavy) snow tires still on the car, I'm averaging about 30.5 mpg right now. Since I haven't done any thing else to help the mileage other than removing the ski rack, I think it's the Restore--maybe, we'll see over the longer term.

[takza]

24 to 30.5 is a 27% increase. Now add 2.5 oz of 91% iso to each 10 gallons of gas and gain another 10%?

The problem with Restore is that you need to use it every oil change...while the more expensive cermets last much longer...cost much more.

Restore would still probably work in a noisy transmission.

[hberdan]

Gosh. Am I being confusing here? Don't mean to be...
OK, the summer mileage previous to using Restore was about 27-28 mpg. So far, this summer's driving seems to be averaging 30.5 mpg, even with the unstudded snow tires still on the car; about a 7-10% gain over the previous summer's average. Perhaps when I change the snows next week I'll even see better mileage...

Not sure about what your alchohol reference is about, I am confused myself about that one. Not putting any alcohol into the tank other that what is in this s###ty gas that they sell here with the added alcohol for smog reduction.

[takza]

Guess I got that wrong. ANY increase is a good increase? Should do a little better without the snows and into warmer weather?

Whereas ethanol can range up to 10%...the 2.5 oz iso per 10 G = 0.2 %....hard to believe that it even works. Acetone doesn't work so well with ethanol laced gas...iso does.

Going to try the Restore in my truck soon.



Why you should worry?

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http://www.theoildrum.com/node/5395#more

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Peak Oil has happened....oil expected to surpass 2008 price peak in ~2 years. This means that transport...food...heating costs go way up for most people. You should prepare?

http://www.theoildrum.com/files/price20090515.png

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[takza]

Some info on Restore:

http://atvconnection.com/Features/Produ ... storer.cfm

“ENGINE RESTORER” IS NOT AN OIL ADDITIVE According to the company... each can of Engine Restorer contains billions of CSL micro-particles in suspension in a neutral motor oil of high quality. Each CSL micro-particle contains Lead (40%) dispersed uniformly throughout a Copper (60%) matrix with Silver.

Engine Restorer is added to the motor oil but it is not an oil additive. An oil additive, by definition, is a product which is added to automotive oil in the crankcase with the intended purpose of modifying the oil characteristics such as viscosity, detergency, or foaming. Engine Restorer is not an oil additive in this sense. It is rather an engine additive because it acts on the engine itself playing a double role. The CSL particles fill scratches, grooves and other worn out areas between the piston and the cylinder wall in the engine. The CSL particles provide maximum natural lubrication due to their percentage of lead, even under very high temperature.

The action of RESTORE reduces friction and rebuilds metal surfaces, which restores lost power and reduces oil & fuel consumption. It works effectively wherever friction and wear cut scratches in metal surfaces, such as cylinder walls, crankshafts and bearings. Ya, Right! And I have a bridge for sale too!

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* So it's not a cermet....combo of ceramic and metal.

* Probably would work in a loose/noisy transmission.

* Looks like it does 2 things...rebuilds surfaces and acts as a lube....the lead content would help here?

* After a search...I've seen several references to increased gas mileage...and reduced noise and oil consumption

* Probably best for noisy and/or oil burning engines??