Engine oil additives are used to boost the effectiveness of the base oil by improving its lubricity, viscosity, and film strength. They also help to prevent corrosion and oxidation from happening inside your engine.

Viscosity is the measure of friction between two surfaces that slide over each other. In an engine, this friction causes wear on critical parts like bearings, pistons and valves. The oil's ability to prevent this kind of wear is called the viscosity index (VI). VI refers to how well an oil resists viscosity breakdown at high temperatures. A higher VI rating means better protection against wear at high temperatures.

Engine oil is the lifeblood of your car’s engine. It helps lubricate and cool the moving parts, which reduces friction and wear on engine parts. It also cleans away dirt, grime and contaminants that could clog up an engine.

Engine oil is made up of base oils, additives and detergents. The base oil is usually a mineral-based crude oil that’s refined to contain only the components that help lubricate engines. The additives are added to provide additional benefits such as corrosion protection and anti-foaming agents. The detergents are added to remove harmful deposits from the engine.

Engine oil additives are designed to improve your car's performance in a number of different ways, but do they actually do anything? The short answer here is no, they don't really do anything that can't be done by regular motor oil. That being said, there are some performance benefits that you can gain by using an additive, but these are only going to be noticeable if you're driving hard or doing a lot of stop-and-go driving. For most people, it's not worth the cost of adding an aftermarket additive to their vehicle's engine oil supply.

The Truth About Engine Oil Additives

The truth is that engine oil additives are a waste of money. They don't do anything to enhance your engine's performance and they don't improve fuel economy.

If you've ever stopped at a gas station, you've probably seen the display that shows several different brands of engine oil additives. The labels claim these products will increase horsepower, protect your engine against corrosion, improve fuel economy, reduce emissions and make other claims that sound pretty good. Unfortunately, these claims are all false.

The reason these products do not work is that they contain no lubricating agents whatsoever. This means they can't help your car's engine in any way — they can only coat parts of the engine with waxes and chemicals that may actually harm them over time.

The truth about engine oil additives is somewhere in the middle. They won't make your car run better or worse, but they can help protect it from wear and tear. They can also help clean up deposits from the engine, which may improve its performance slightly.

Engine oil additives have been around since the 1930s when they were first used as a way to extend the life of motor oils by working as a lubricant themselves. Today they're often used to treat specific types of engines or performance problems within an engine as well as extending the life of motor oils or preventing corrosion on sensitive parts like pistons and valves.