If your car is getting old, and you’re starting to burn oil frequently then you might start asking the question; are oil additives worth it? The truth is, on most newer cars they are not needed. Your regular synthetic oil does a fine job lubricating the engine and that’s what it was spec’d for.
The ONLY time we can vouch for using it is when your car is burning off too much oil. I had a 2003 Dakota, and for me this definitely helped reduce oil consumption. An oil additive is labeled as a chemical compound that improves the lubrication of your base oil. Some additives work by affecting your viscosity. They improve the resistance of your oil from taking huge swings in it’s thickness based on your engines temperature. It would make sense to us, that when a vehicle gets older it might run a bit hotter. If it’s running hot, that could be a reason why it’s burning more oil. The use of your additive will address that issue so your oil stays within a normal range.
If an additives claims it can improve performance in a regular, maintained engine then it’s probably hocus pocus. There are some formulations that claim to reduce buildup and debree by “cleaning it up” with added chemicals. The thing is, regular oil already has additives in it.
In summary, each car owner is different and you know your car better than anyone. If it’s burning off a ton of oil and it’s not because of a terrible leak – you might want to give an oil additive a try if it keeps your viscosity in a tighter range.
As for brands, we find that BestLine Premium Sythetic Engine Treatment worked best for what we needed it to do. If you have any other brands that you like or suggestions, let us know. We’d be happy to hear it.