Extralube ZX1: A short rave.

'Sup dawgs,

Before me and my good lady went for a nice country drive today I stuck 200ml of this stuff down my oil filler cap - I liked the sound of their blurb so I thought I'd give it a try. I can't remember who here told me about it but thankyou!! I had neither the knowlege nor equipment to do scientific testing, however:

What a bloody difference it makes!!!

Just a few miles down the road and I really started to notice the engine - or rather not notice as it had quietened down dramatically. The throttle seemed a bit more responsive and smooth too. No real change in revs, I guess it takes 3k revs to drive at 65 no matter what you do but the engine seemed to be going easier.

The biggest difference was power in lower gear ratios - in 5th I had alot more accelaration power and overtaking on the Mway was much swifter than before. In 4th I was able to drive under 30mph and up hills without the engine labouring much. I could always tell when it was complaining as it would make a funny kind of gurgling noise, which has now completely dissapeared. It really feels like it suddenly has lots more guts in 3rd 4th and 5th.

Also for 1.8 owners, a theory of mine (feel free to debunk less friction = less heat generated = reduced chance of HGF. Yeh it won't be much, but every little helps.

Anyway, I'm going to put this stuff in all my transmission oils and petrol (10ml every 3k miles) as reccomended. Very impressed indeed with this stuff.

Will.

chocolate teapot

Hi mate, this "formula" has been knocking about for years under different names and so far the suppliers have never come up with any scientific evidence that it benefits the engine in the long run. The suppliers used to join car forums and recommend it until they were rumbled and when pushed by knowledgeable engineers and research scientists who were members of these forums they never had anything to back up their claims and disappeared quickly. It's your choice what you put into your engine and good luck to you as you seem to be having some benefit but I have heard that it ends up altering the properties (viscosity) of your oil quickly and with no long term scientific tests I would be worried.

That's a shame, I was pretty confident after reading the testimonials around but there's always the chance that it's just more snake oil. I'm very sure that it has done something good, I just hope that it stays good and doesn't feck my oil after a few K.

We can only see. It wasn't too expensive so i was willing to try it. It would be cool to hear from people who've used it in Freelanders before .

Will.

WLJayne said:

That's a shame, I was pretty confident after reading the testimonials around but there's always the chance that it's just more snake oil. I'm very sure that it has done something good, I just hope that it stays good and doesn't feck my oil after a few K.

We can only see. It wasn't too expensive so i was willing to try it. It would be cool to hear from people who've used it in Freelanders before .

Will.

Click to expand...

Hi Will,

Just like you, I poured it into 2 of my vehicles and was happy as the tickover was smoother and the engines a little quieter.

I've now ran 15K in the TD4 and 8K in the Sprinter 212D with no problems.

I too subsequently heard the bad reports and the doomsayers predictions of nasty things to come.

It says it should last for 25K miles so that's the deed done - whether I'll repeat the treatment I don't know.

I see on their website they refute Honest John's comments about PTFE etc. and also assure folks it's NOT copper-corrosive.

Ah well who can you believe?

I'm still happy.

Singvogel.

Glad you have had a positive experience with it. My girlfriend asked what I'd done to make the engine so much quieter, so I don't think it's just in my head. The engine is definitely complaining less in the low gears, which will mean better mpg. Just hope it lasts.

The debate continues... may want to check this out guys.... Extralube ZX1 Copper corrosive? - YouTube

this information was below the video...

Extralube ZX1 extremely copper corrosive, IMO not suitable for cars and any other application where copper is widely used!

the zx1 was heated using a 60W halogen lamp for 3 hours

The fumes produced during the heating are extremely toxic! don't breathe.

Looking around on the net i found this:


General Remarks on Chlorinated Additives.

A number of 'add-on' additives intended to improve the performance of commercially available automotive lubricants have been marketed in recent years, under such names as 'Xxtralube ZX-1', 'Metol FX-1', 'PPL Anti-Friction' and 'Activ-8'.All such products share the following characteristics with 'X-1R Friction Eliminator':-

1)They all contain chlorinated paraffin 'exteme pressure'(EP) compounds first used in the 1930s in heavily-loaded industrial gearboxes, and in some automotive transmission applications, mainly hypoid gears.

2)They all corrode copper-based alloys at moderate temperatures, easily exceeded in all engine, and most transmission applications.This problem was recognised in the 1930s, and chlorinated compounds were never used in transmissions with bronze bearings or gears. No responsible manufacturer ever suggested using them in engines where their increasing activity at high temperatures could lead to piston ring corrosion and bore glazing. (For the same reason, modern 'hypoid' additives are not used in engines, even though they are much safer than any chlorinated additive.)

3)X-1R Friction Eliminator and its clones are based upon very outdated technology, which was abandoned by responsible lubricant manufacturers for automotive transmission uses in the 1950s. Chlorinated compounds still find applications in metal working, but their use is on the decline because of health and safety considerations.

4)When burnt, chlorinated paraffins produce corrosive hydrochloric acid, and organo-chlorine compounds including the highly poisonous phosgene gas. Apart from these corrosion and health hazards, with petrol engines the deactivation of exhaust catalysts is also a problem.

5)Unfortunately, these additives give spectacular results in simple EP test machines such as the 'Falex'. As a marketing ploy, a demonstration of this type looks impressive to those not aquainted with the above facts. Also attractive is the low cost of chlorinated compounds, allowing profits of several thousand percent to be made.

Cheers
Guy


JUST TO BE CLEAR THIS PRODUCT HERE IN ITALY IS SOLD AS "CONTAINING C60 MOLECULES" WHEREAS ON THE PRODUCER'S WEBSITE THIS KIND OF DESCRIPTION IS NOWHERE TO BE FOUND

THIS EXPERIMENT CAN BE REPRODUCED VERY EASILY BY PUTTING A GLASS FILLED WITH ZX1 ON AN HALOGEN (60W) LAMP, I'M NOT SURE ABOUT THE TEMPERATURE YOU'LL HAVE TO WORK IT OUT ON YOUR OWN (probably over 100°C)

Make up your own minds

I may do that copper test myself, best to know. Thanks for the info . Lots to think about.