Zmax
The man behind the mask
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 11,572
From: Birmingham, AL
never heard of sea foam but I thought about using Zmax myself. I saw the info-mercial on it and it looked to be the real deal. The only reason Id consider it is because it's approved by the FAA for use in commercial aircraft. They have a lot stricter requirements than automobiles when it comes to whats accepted.
Registered User
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 1,164
From: Michigan
Careful about what you put in your engine. A lot of "restorers" have solids in them. Slick50, for instance, has teflon in it. Teflon is a solid. You don't want solids in your oil galleries, sump, valve stems, etc.
As a general rule, I add only what the manufacturer recommends in the way of fluids. If this stuff was good for your engine, they would probably recommend that you use it. But they don't.
As a general rule, I add only what the manufacturer recommends in the way of fluids. If this stuff was good for your engine, they would probably recommend that you use it. But they don't.
Registered User
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 381
From: Des Moines, IA
Zmax had a big FTC investigation going on a few years ago, apparently it's merely mineral spirits. "Linkite" is the FAA ingredient that's supposed to make it work great.
As many of you may know, mineral spirits break down oil. The first time I used it, I was sold. My fuel economy sky rocketed. I drove out to CA in my Pontiac Grand Prix GTP and was getting about 36mpg most of the way. The car was rated at 28mpg highway. On the way back, across the state of Nebraska, I had the cruise set at 90 mph and managed 40 mpg. Did the fuel economy sky rocket because the oil was thinner? Perhaps, or maybe the stuff is that good. I tried it once in my Protege5 and my fuel economy continued to suck. I haven't tried it since.
Reading about the mineral spirits scared me off and I stopped using the product, fearing premature wear on the engine. A year or so later, the motor was torn apart. It didn't need to be rebuilt. It had 120,000 miles on it when my transmission went out, so wife said to do the motor while I'm at it. Guess she really wanted me to have an 11 second car! Now that's love.
Anyway, the motor was torn apart in a classroom. The instructor as well as the students were amazed that this high mileage motor still had the cross-hatching in the cylinder walls and there were no ridges at the top of the piston stroke. It looked like a new motor.
Seafoam is totally different. I do not run with Seafoam in the engine for prolonged periods. You can use it prior to an oil change. . . add it straight into the oil. Run for a bit and then change you oil. I prefer kerosene "engine flush" products for that. I use Seafoam for induction cleaning. Hook it up to a vacuum line. Modulate the throttle so the engine doesn' t sputter out, while it drinks the stuff. Towards the end of the bottle, let the engine suck 'til it stalls. Let the engine sit for a minute or so. Fire it up and enjoy the smoke show.
Now if you don't get smoke right away, I recommend waiting a little longer. The first time I used it, I didn't think it was working, so I drove off to the car wash. I got stuck at a light and sat there for awhile. A few seconds before the light changed, I looked in the rear-view mirror and saw nothing but white smoke. I felt bad for the person behind me. Also, pretty embarassing driving down the street with that much smoke shooting out of your tailpipe.
As many of you may know, mineral spirits break down oil. The first time I used it, I was sold. My fuel economy sky rocketed. I drove out to CA in my Pontiac Grand Prix GTP and was getting about 36mpg most of the way. The car was rated at 28mpg highway. On the way back, across the state of Nebraska, I had the cruise set at 90 mph and managed 40 mpg. Did the fuel economy sky rocket because the oil was thinner? Perhaps, or maybe the stuff is that good. I tried it once in my Protege5 and my fuel economy continued to suck. I haven't tried it since.
Reading about the mineral spirits scared me off and I stopped using the product, fearing premature wear on the engine. A year or so later, the motor was torn apart. It didn't need to be rebuilt. It had 120,000 miles on it when my transmission went out, so wife said to do the motor while I'm at it. Guess she really wanted me to have an 11 second car! Now that's love.
Anyway, the motor was torn apart in a classroom. The instructor as well as the students were amazed that this high mileage motor still had the cross-hatching in the cylinder walls and there were no ridges at the top of the piston stroke. It looked like a new motor.Seafoam is totally different. I do not run with Seafoam in the engine for prolonged periods. You can use it prior to an oil change. . . add it straight into the oil. Run for a bit and then change you oil. I prefer kerosene "engine flush" products for that. I use Seafoam for induction cleaning. Hook it up to a vacuum line. Modulate the throttle so the engine doesn' t sputter out, while it drinks the stuff. Towards the end of the bottle, let the engine suck 'til it stalls. Let the engine sit for a minute or so. Fire it up and enjoy the smoke show.
Now if you don't get smoke right away, I recommend waiting a little longer. The first time I used it, I didn't think it was working, so I drove off to the car wash. I got stuck at a light and sat there for awhile. A few seconds before the light changed, I looked in the rear-view mirror and saw nothing but white smoke. I felt bad for the person behind me. Also, pretty embarassing driving down the street with that much smoke shooting out of your tailpipe.
Registered User
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 156
From: Colorado Springs, CO
I used ZMax in my 88 Taurus. I already had 138,000 miles on it though. I didn't notice much after adding the ZMax exept for a little better gas mileage and smoother idle.
I got a rebate from the FTC investigation also, ZMax settled and decided to give out a bunch of money for making false claims about the fluid lowering eng. temp, reducing friction, etc. The company said they would continue to market the product, just not make any additional false claims.
I got a rebate from the FTC investigation also, ZMax settled and decided to give out a bunch of money for making false claims about the fluid lowering eng. temp, reducing friction, etc. The company said they would continue to market the product, just not make any additional false claims.
Registered User
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 156
From: Colorado Springs, CO
I've also used "Engine Restore." It's the blue stuff that comes in a black can at AutoZone, or Checker, wherever. It's really only designed for engines with more severe loss and a lot of miles. I added it to my 89 accord (feedback carb) which also had a misfire for many many miles. The first cylinder had bad leakage and poor compression due to carbon deposits, and after running "engine restore" through it, the compression and leak down test both passed with flying colors.
