I went to a flea market in Yuma Arizona and watched a demo for IXL oil additive .I was impressed with the demonstration and was wondering if it would be feasible to add it to my ML500. In the owners manual it states that no oil additives should be added, as it would void the warranty. The IXL sales person says it will not harm the engine or void the warranty, only improve horsepower, better mileage and extend the live of the engine.
My question to the techs is would it be to the benefit to the engine.

No, it won't benefit the engine. But it will benefit the pocket book of the IXL sales person.

__________________
95 E320 Cabriolet, 159K

Apparently dandruff shampoo is better:

From Amsoil's site:

At a recent trade show we were at one of these miracle oil additive companies was there with a machine that demonstrated how their additive reduced friction. It was a motor with rotating solid steel disc secured to the motor shaft and a torque meter with a flat piece of steel mounted on the torque arm. They put every type of oil on the market, one by one, on the machine & pressed hard on the torque meter and at about 20-40 lb-ft torque the torque arm would stall the motor....that is until they cleaned it off & tried their (chlorinated) additive "IXL" on the bearing & ran the test.

People were amazed as the meter peaked out at 140 lb-ft. torque and still didn't stall the motor! We knew what was happening but many unsuspecting consumers were eating it up and standing in line to buy the additive! The next day we showed up with some Head & Shoulders Shampoo disguised in an oil bottle & had the IXL additive people try it on their test machine. The operator was amazed as the motor just barely stalled at 140 lb-ft! The operator says that's pretty good stuff, what is it? We said Head & Shoulders. He was quite embarrassed to say the least. Head & Shoulders has high levels of high potency ZINC in it that attaches itself to ferrous metals. Coke soft drink will do exactly the same thing. ZINC reduces friction and provides anti-wear protection and is present in most motor oils at a much reduced level. Now, would you put Head & Shoulders in your engine?

Hi,
I was one of those people who were amazed at their demonstration. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you on your expertise help on this matter. It goes to show you can’t believe all you see. Shampoo wow I would have never guessed.
Thanks again.
Bill

I always take the advice of Mercedes/BMW/VW/Redline/Mobil 1 engineers over snake oil salesmen

nothing like buying Atomic Wonder World Motor Fix All at a "Flea market" to make one of the worlds best engines run even better..........
William Rogers.......

No, it doesn't have a good anti-foaming formulation.

__________________
95 E320 Cabriolet, 159K

I think there must already be some head and shoulders in all engine oils.

I have had a few problems with engines over the years but never an engine with dandruff.

Ipso facto.

__________________
NormanB
230 TE (W124) 1989 with 153,000 miles on the clock - hoping for at least another 100K

Actually, the question is, "Does IXL clean and condition at the same time?"

thanks for the tip...l ve been looking for a good shampoo.

__________________
1993 500SEL

The Shell 4 Ball Test is the STANDARD of the Industry for FRICTION TESTING . . .

ANYTHING with CHLORINE is HAZARDOUS to an engine . . .

It eventually produces HYDROCHLORIC ACID when it is subjected to prolonged HEAT mixed with normal engine CONTAMINATES ! ! !

Here's some INTERESTING INFO . . . LUBRICATION INFO

Intersting article, but his focus is on power improvement not wear. In a normal passenger car, which we expect to run for up to 300K miles before a complete overhaul is required, the highest priority is wear reduction. Race engines usually have a very short life in terms or miles or hours before components are replaced. Fatigue life is the reason, not wear.

Duke

The MPZ product in that article has a track record of keeping engines alive for 100's of THOUSANDS of miles . . .

I know of a few race car haulers that run MPZ Oil that has been drained from race cars after many runs or laps, and they run it for 20K Miles with 2 or 3 FILTER ONLY changes. Some of these engines have over 300K Miles on them . . .

POWER IMPROVEMENT is DIRECTLY RELATED ! ! !

LESS FRICTION = MO POWER = LESS WEAR ! ! !

to join the fray of charmed newbies , head and shoulders notwithstanding, what does the forum think of another oil additive called X-1R , i had used it once and found the improvement in performance significant.