I've seen some of the advertising...watched some of the YT vids...bold claims...yada yada...

So anyone had any actual first-hand experience with Tribotex? It's been around awhile now...

https://shop.tribotex.com/

NASA 'connection' is intriguing...

https://spinoff.nasa.gov/Spinoff2020/cg_4.html

At the expense of dating myself, it seems sorta like this generation's 'Slick 50'

I'm not affiliated in any way, just curious if anyone else had given it a whirl...

Thx in advance,
B

quote:

Originally posted by Boss1:


At the expense of dating myself, it seems sorta like this generation's 'Slick 50'


Thx in advance,
B

Never used Tribotex.

Used to use Slick 50 on Aurora T Jet slot cars (not dating myself) and it worked well.

As far as Slick 50 goes, I would use that, it has been around a long time.
For a "snake oil", in theory, it may actually work, I never had any vehicle long enough to use it.
New rides are not designed to run forever.

I use to use oil additives until I came across The Motor Oil Geek (Lake Speed, jr.) on youtube a while back. Now I use a select few fuel additives but add nothing to the oil.

Here's a video of his that talks about this topic:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAGT5inQScE

Another Motor Oil Geek video on the subject is here: https://www.youtube.com/live/E...?si=kbgTeSZlJ4Gb6nyL

This is a very long recording of a community livestream. The first section is about Valvoline Restore & Protect and how in a real world example it had a positive effect on FE for an ancient truck. No need to watch that section for your question.

The second section is about adding something to gasoline engine oil, and the third section is about adding something diesel engine oil.

Bottom line is that used engine oil analysis data comparing owners who augment the engine oil to those that don’t shows NO effect of the top treats on engine wear.

How is anyone to know without a longer term precise evaluation? I’ve had vehicles go over 200k with no major engine problems, often with regular oil changes using Supertech oil & Fram filters.

I have a relative, no problem with a McDonald’s lunch but then very particular with supplements & certain vitamins. She was even on a big alkaline water kick, of course much more $$ than regular water. OBTW, she has a full list of health issues.

Most additives don’t hurt anything, then there’s the placebo effect, which I kinda like.

On full disclosure, I do dump some ‘injector cleaner’ in my gas at times.

The OP asked about oil additives, not fuel additives. They may sound the same because of the word "additive" but they are quite different in chemistry and effectiveness.

Conflating the two is not the way to go forward.

sourdough44, the used oil analysis data is a certainly proven method to evaluate your engine health. With the proper analysis, you will learn of wear metals in the oil, fuel dilution in the oil, soot, and if ordered, particle evaluation.

The Motor Oil Geek review of thousands of used oil analyses divided up the responses into fuel only, engine oil only, both, and none. There is no difference, statistically, in wear metals per 1,000 miles of oil drain interval for any use described by the owners.

What makes you think that an oil additive is needed ? Serious question .

I’m a fan of Lake Speed and his clinical testing to prove or disprove a theory. Over the last year he has been pretty positive on using Valvoline’s Restore and Protect as a way to clean the internals of an engine, particularly potentially stuck piston rings which can lead to increased oil consumption.

My DIL just bought a new Camry and decided to keep her 2016 Subaru Legacy with the NA 2.5 motor even though it was burning a bit of oil. The car has 181K miles on it and the dealer wouldn’t give her anything for it so they’re going to keep it as a beater.

I convinced them to try VR&P (actually I paid for it!!) in the hopes it will clean up the internals and free up the rings thereby reducing oil consumption. The Suby has been virtually maintenance free except for the routine stuff so why not keep it?

Here’s another tidbit, not all engines are created equal. Some are unlikely to make it to 150k no matter what you do. There are so many things that go into engine & vehicle care, hardly know where to start.

Which is one reason why the testing and information from The Motor Oil Geek is so helpful in sorting what is useful vs. what is not.

I switched to Valvoline R&P on my last oil change after ~5 years running OEM synthetic. Overall I’m satisfied…my engine must have been quite clean…after about a full interval (3000+ miles), the oil is looks about like watered down flat root beer in color/clarity.


But here I’m looking for specific TriboTEX first-hand experience..

It’s been around awhile, mostly positive reviews here: https://judge.me/reviews/stores/tribotex.com

One short video on a 6 cyl. boxer engine Subbie…not super technical, but interesting…tho it seems the rpm in the ‘before’ footage seems somewhat high, and higher than the ‘after’ footage…



YMMV,
B

Please recognize that the safety data sheet of tribotex gives much insight.

https://www.tribotex.com/wp-co...s_MSDS_12-6-2020.pdf

Here we can see 90% is simply oil.

About 5% is magnesium sodium hydroxide nanosheets according to the paragraph on consumer treat rate.

About 3% is beeswax, given by the CAS number, camouflaged as a thickener, with the percentage further obscured by a treat rate in mass per volume units.

2% is fragrance and color chemistry.

quote:

Originally posted by Boss1:

One short video on a 6 cyl. boxer engine Subbie…not super technical, but interesting…tho it seems the rpm in the ‘before’ footage seems somewhat high, and higher than the ‘after’ footage…

Subaru specs 0W-20 in the USA, but 5W-30 elsewhere. Many US owners run 5W-30 and find the engine runs quieter and lasts longer. In my 2018 Crosstrek it definitely ran a lot quieter. Longevity would be impossible to prove of course. If this product thickens the oil at all it could quiet down engine noise.

Is there any credible independent data showing whether this product leaves any deposits, possibly in the small oil passages?

Slick 50 had a lot of good technical evaluation and user experience in aircraft piston engines. I used it in my old airplane and swear it ran quieter and cooler. Those engines are substantially different in many ways from modern automotive engines.

quote:

Originally posted by 4MUL8R:
Please recognize that the safety data sheet of tribotex gives much insight.

https://www.tribotex.com/wp-co...s_MSDS_12-6-2020.pdf

Here we can see 90% is simply oil.

About 5% is magnesium sodium hydroxide nanosheets according to the paragraph on consumer treat rate.

About 3% is beeswax, given by the CAS number, camouflaged as a thickener, with the percentage further obscured by a treat rate in mass per volume units.

2% is fragrance and color chemistry.

Pretty much sums it up, not much in the kit for what you're buying, maybe the fragrance and beeswax will sweeten up the exhaust if you're burning oil.

I would say that a high quality or top tier synthetic oil most likely has all the additives you'd need to keep an engine in compliance and running smoothly.

Key it change it at the intervals specified in the manufactures literature.

Well, you expect it is going to be some form of oil/lubricant…it is going into your engine oil system after all…

This is what I’m more curious about…

quote:

5% is magnesium sodium hydroxide nanosheets

Beeswax? Weird.

I did read on Reddit someone claiming to be a scientist/doctor, including S.T.L.E. (Society of Tribologist and Lubrication Engineers), which is a real thing, did basically vouch for the tech…they just indicated the quantity provided was insufficient.

A trustworthy unbiased first hand account would be handy…

B