Whatever happened to the engine additive - PROLONG??

[JEDIYoda]

Remember those commercials??
In fact was it not Toyota that was using it exclusively in all their new cars??

So what happened? Did they finally realize that Prolong was a sham....
Did they get sued.....

Has anybody ever used Prolong?

What were the results?

 

[npaladin-2000]

Uhh, they're still around and doing a decent business, they show up at AAPEX every year. Their spokesmodel is a friend of mine.

 

[Jimzz]

No; Toyota, or any other major car company, does not use any additive like that in their cars.
Now dealers may try and push it due to markup but that's purely a profit motive.

 

[shabby]

Don't forget duralube with its space aged design...

 

[njmodi]

Unrelated to prolong but continuing the theme of additives, etc...

I've stopped visiting car enthusiast sites/forums as frequently, but from the little I still do, it seems like the "seafoam will fix everything" craze has subsided a bit too...

 

[Jimzz]

Unrelated to prolong but continuing the theme of additives, etc...

I've stopped visiting car enthusiast sites/forums as frequently, but from the little I still do, it seems like the "seafoam will fix everything" craze has subsided a bit too...

That's because people are starting to read the MSDS and see its mostly a pale oil with some naphtha and alcohol as its primary ingredients. For what they charge compared to a can of carb cleaner its next to worthless.

 

[Pacfanweb]

Don't forget duralube with its space aged design...

or Slick 50

 

[RLGL]

Slick 50, a slick way to get 50 bucks from your wallet.

 

[BUTCH1]

Slick 50, a slick way to get 50 bucks from your wallet.

LOL, I bought some once and saved a little for my lawnmower, might I be a redneck?.

 

[BUTCH1]

It's still around!..http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWZ8YL2gTn0

 

[HeXen]

Waste of money considering your engine is way more likely to outlast the rest of your vehicle especially considering how often people trade their vehicles in. I say the same to those that pay for higher priced oil.

 

[Mark R]

Prolong is available. It is a bona fide mix of anti-wear and extreme pressure additives.

Yes. It does reduce wear under extreme conditions. Whether it does under regular daily driving is more questionable.

Modern oils (API SM, and especially SN) are reducing anti wear additives especially traditional additives like zinc (main ingredient in prolong) because these additives damage catalytic converters if burned (and there is always a little oil consumption).

 

[michal1980]

Prolong is available. It is a bona fide mix of anti-wear and extreme pressure additives.

Yes. It does reduce wear under extreme conditions. Whether it does under regular daily driving is more questionable.

Modern oils (API SM, and especially SN) are reducing anti wear additives especially traditional additives like zinc (main ingredient in prolong) because these additives damage catalytic converters if burned (and there is always a little oil consumption).

This ad brought to you by prolong.

 

[Mark R]

This ad brought to you by prolong.

Hardly an ad. I was pointing out that it shouldn't be used in modern cars, because it can damage the emissions system.

 

[bryanl]

Remember those commercials??
In fact was it not Toyota that was using it exclusively in all their new cars??

Toyota never used Prolong in their new cars.

Consumer Reports, 10-1998: "Prolong additive: Don't try this at home"

The manufacturer calls it "the greatest breakthrough in the history of lubrication." Indy 500 legend Al Unser appears to risk a $60,000 Dodge Viper to demonstrate its amazing claims.

Prolong engine treatment, $20, is what he touts in an infomercial that has generated many reader inquiries. Por a 12-pounce container of Prolong in your vehicle's oil, the manufacturer says, and it bonds to the engine metal, "creating a low-friction surface one molecule thick." That yields longer engine life, better mileage, and more savings, the ads claim.

The bond is supposed to last even when the oil is drained. In the infomercial, Unser and others drive along a racetrack in the Mojave Desert without oil or oil drain plugs. The same ad, broadcast nationally, pictures a woman who, thanks to Prolong, supposedly drove from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles without oil. (The reason she stopped after 4 hours, 40 miles, 7 seconds? She was hungry.)

We didn't test the other claims, but we did see whether Prolong would protect an engine after the oil was drained.

We installed a factory-rebuilt GM 4.3-liter V6 engine into each of two Chevrolet Caprices. We broke them in with Pennzoil motor oil, changed the oil and filter in each car, and added Prolong to one of them. Prolong claims to work immediately. We drove more than 100 miles, then drained the oil and started driving again. After only 13 minutes and five miles, both engines failed simultaneously.

Today's high-quality oils don't need extra additives. The Federal Trade Commission has told the makers of other additives to stop making false claims. We have notified the FTC about this test.

 

[Meghan54]

Prolong is available. It is a bona fide mix of anti-wear and extreme pressure additives.

Yes. It does reduce wear under extreme conditions. Whether it does under regular daily driving is more questionable.

Modern oils (API SM, and especially SN) are reducing anti wear additives especially traditional additives like zinc (main ingredient in prolong) because these additives damage catalytic converters if burned (and there is always a little oil consumption).

I think you'll find with a little more reading that, while everyone calls what has been reduced in the oil zinc, it's actually either ZDDP (zinc dialkyl dithiophosphate), or ZDTP (zinc di-thiophosphate) and it's the phosphorous that is causing the problem, not the zinc.

 

[LTC8K6]

Modern oils (API SM, and especially SN) are reducing anti wear additives especially traditional additives like zinc (main ingredient in prolong) because these additives damage catalytic converters if burned (and there is always a little oil consumption).

Hardly an ad. I was pointing out that it shouldn't be used in modern cars, because it can damage the emissions system.

Modern? Cats have been on cars for a long time, and they were certainly on cars when Prolong was in it's infomercial heyday.

 

[Pacfanweb]

Hardly an ad. I was pointing out that it shouldn't be used in modern cars, because it can damage the emissions system.

It shouldn't be used in ANY car, because it doesn't do a damned thing.

 

[Alskn3]

That's because people are starting to read the MSDS and see its mostly a pale oil with some naphtha and alcohol as its primary ingredients. For what they charge compared to a can of carb cleaner its next to worthless.

Does Prolong Engine Treatment have chlorine in it like bleach does?Click to hide


No, although competitors have shamefully and inaccurately tried to make consumers think so by ridiculously showing bottles of bleach being poured into engines or referring to chlorinated or olefin paraffins as chlorine. For decades, tribologists — lubrication specialists — have known that CP’s or chlorinated paraffins provide the most superior lubrication. The drawback to this approach was instability at extremely high temperatures. Enter Prolong Super Lubricants; with a revolutionary Aromatic Petroleum Distillate unique advanced technology. (View Prolong’s Technology Here) The incomparable Prolong formula received the “1a” rating–the highest possible–on independent laboratory testing designed to determine the corrosivity of liquids when applied to metal, demonstrating the products are non-corrosive. The heart of Prolong AFMT™ technology is its unequaled chemical stability, providing the user with the best of both worlds.

 

[Meghan54]

Does Prolong Engine Treatment have chlorine in it like bleach does?Click to hide


No, although competitors have shamefully and inaccurately tried to make consumers think so by ridiculously showing bottles of bleach being poured into engines or referring to chlorinated or olefin paraffins as chlorine. For decades, tribologists — lubrication specialists — have known that CP’s or chlorinated paraffins provide the most superior lubrication. The drawback to this approach was instability at extremely high temperatures. Enter Prolong Super Lubricants; with a revolutionary Aromatic Petroleum Distillate unique advanced technology. (View Prolong’s Technology Here) The incomparable Prolong formula received the “1a” rating–the highest possible–on independent laboratory testing designed to determine the corrosivity of liquids when applied to metal, demonstrating the products are non-corrosive. The heart of Prolong AFMT™ technology is its unequaled chemical stability, providing the user with the best of both worlds.

This ad brought to you by prolong.

 

[dirtboy]

My dad's neighbor sells the industrial version of Prolong to oil companies to provide lubrication for their pumps.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Toyota never used Prolong in their new cars.

Consumer Reports, 10-1998: "Prolong additive: Don't try this at home"

The manufacturer calls it "the greatest breakthrough in the history of lubrication." Indy 500 legend Al Unser appears to risk a $60,000 Dodge Viper to demonstrate its amazing claims.

Prolong engine treatment, $20, is what he touts in an infomercial that has generated many reader inquiries. Por a 12-pounce container of Prolong in your vehicle's oil, the manufacturer says, and it bonds to the engine metal, "creating a low-friction surface one molecule thick." That yields longer engine life, better mileage, and more savings, the ads claim.

The bond is supposed to last even when the oil is drained. In the infomercial, Unser and others drive along a racetrack in the Mojave Desert without oil or oil drain plugs. The same ad, broadcast nationally, pictures a woman who, thanks to Prolong, supposedly drove from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles without oil. (The reason she stopped after 4 hours, 40 miles, 7 seconds? She was hungry.)

We didn't test the other claims, but we did see whether Prolong would protect an engine after the oil was drained.

We installed a factory-rebuilt GM 4.3-liter V6 engine into each of two Chevrolet Caprices. We broke them in with Pennzoil motor oil, changed the oil and filter in each car, and added Prolong to one of them. Prolong claims to work immediately. We drove more than 100 miles, then drained the oil and started driving again. After only 13 minutes and five miles, both engines failed simultaneously.

Today's high-quality oils don't need extra additives. The Federal Trade Commission has told the makers of other additives to stop making false claims. We have notified the FTC about this test.

Well that's... pretty dramatically conclusive, actually.

 

[JulesMaximus]

People are dumb enough to fall for this scam?

 

[Alskn3]

You mean the people that are dumb enough to comment on stuff they have never tried!
The company has never been sued by anyone including the FTC like the other companies have been the FTC looked into prolong and found all their claims to be legitimate
NASCAR and the NHRA use this product in their engines not to mention major trucking companies!!
I have used it in all my vehicles since the 80's and have put almost 1/2 a million miles on them with ZERO internal engine problems till I sold them a few are still on the road today
I am also an A.S.E Certified Mechanic 30+ years and have seen the product do incredible things not to mention I drove my truck over 800 miles with no coolant in it in over 90 deg weather on a hunting trip and made it home on a Sunday with no damage to the motor so don't knock a product till you use it

 

[LTC8K6]

What ASE certified mechanic would drive over 800 miles without coolant? Why in the world would you ever need to take such a risk? Couldn't you find any water/coolant within a much shorter distance?

It makes no sense whatsoever to do that, even if Prolong does what it claims, so it's very difficult to believe anyone would do it. So I think the "over 800 miles" story is not true.

What NASCAR and NHRA teams use it in their engines? Since they rebuild their engines constantly, what's the point of using Prolong? How are racing engines a valid example?

What vehicles did you use it in, and can you demonstrate that not using it would have made a difference?

Several modern engines can go a relatively long time without coolant, as they have an overheat protection mode which allows the engine to run without coolant.