Any body ever use slick 50 or zmax in their boat engines?

[embo]

I have used zmax in my truck and don't know it that give me the 350,000 miles or if it was simply the make and model of the truck that did it but it certainly didn't seem to hurt the engine.

Has anyone heard bad or good about using these products in Marine engines?

[chpthril]

Oil or fuel treatment?

I was never a fan of the Slick-50 oil additive. It seamed that the particulates were large enough to end up getting trapped in any most quality oil filter. So, 3k later when you did your oil change, you tossed that $50 bottle of Slick-50 out with the filter

[virtualmiller1]

I'm not a fan of special sauce. Modern oil formulas generally have additives already incorporated.

Check-out http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/cms/
It's a pretty good forum and will have info on additives as well as oil.

Another good resource for tech info is iATN (International Automotive Technicians' Network) - http://www.iatn.net/
Obviously automotive based, but there are some good discussions about using the correct oil based on mfg spec's.

[embo]

hmmm....I will check those sites out. Thanks for that heads up.

Any other comments would be welcome too!

[ajholt7]

Just use Amsoil 10w-40 Marine oil. http://www.amsoil.com/storefront/wcf.aspx

[virtualmiller1]

Just remember, oil is not a generic fluid. 5w30 for instance is not a universal spec. It's not a one size fits all situation. Oil manufacturers' product descriptions often are more about the product marketing than what is truly correct for the engines. No knock on AMSOIL, I have used it in previous automotive applications, but they are also guilty of careful wording.

"Recommended for use in engines requiring xxx and/or xxx specifications/certifications..." Nowhere does it say that the oil actually meets any particular specification... only that the oil manufacturer recommends it for use in...

There's a big difference in the oil manufacturer vs. the engine manufacturer recommending a product. This practice is somewhat common in specialty oils, but also prevalent in more mainstream brands. Valvoline for instance is notorious for implying that they meet spec, but in reality only meet part of a spec.

I think our (boat) engines are more tolerant of different oils due to the older design/technology, where some of the automotive counterparts are not. My F150, and Suburban are both susceptible to serious engine damage by not using the correct spec oil. It's not just about using 5w20 or 5w30, it's about the Ford and GM specific specifications. I run different oil in my HotRod (Trailblazer SS - forged 402 with Magnacharger Supercharger ~700 RWHP) depending on the weather temps. Manufacturer spec's went out the window on this one.

API and ILSAC used to be the "gold" standards, but this is no longer the case. What [manufacturer] specifications does your Marine Power, Mercruiser, Indmar, etc require?

Look for new specifications that are coming out now that follow GM's dexos1 & dexos2 specs. It hopefully will help simplify the mess in the (automotive) industry.

Also, on the newer boat engines, you now have to think about how the oil impacts the catalyst (catalytic converter). Some of the additive packages from older spec oil, and oil treatments will damage a converter.

Sorry for the long, winding road.

-Jeff

[boatwakes]

Amsoil

[dom w. forte]

Stick with manufacturers recomendations, no other additives, and use a good quality oil that meets their spec, also dont extend the oil change past the manufacturers spec, I dont care what the oil companys tell you.
Everybody has a product that they are happy with, we have been in bussiness since 1956, serving the cars and boats and have used nothing but kendale since that time.

[embo]

Thanks for the imput very much! Always a lot of help here on this forum. )