Please note, this is a long text. :)
I am often asked questions and raised doubts about whether oil additives are effective, or even whether they work at all.
This is understandable, as there is not much information available on this subject, and the topic itself is not yet popular. Car and oil manufacturers constantly remind us that standard engine oil is perfectly adequate. This is true, but these same manufacturers also tell us that the oil in a passenger car will easily last 30,000 kilometres between changes. However, mechanics at authorised service centres unofficially say that this is not entirely true, which is also confirmed by many tests available on the internet.
In the following text, I will show you that Metal Guard products actually work and bring measurable results. I will do this based on our own observations and customer reports, as well as independent laboratory and practical tests.
1. Oil viscosity
I will start with the simplest myth to debunk. I have repeatedly encountered the accusation that oil additives change the viscosity of the base oil. There have been comments that after using Metal Guard, the viscosity class of the oil mixture with Metal Guard may change in relation to the base oil. I do not know how additives from other manufacturers work (I do know, but that is not the subject of this text), but Metal Guard does not change the viscosity of the oil. This is confirmed by tests carried out by the independent Ecol laboratory, and their results are available on our website, here:
https://metalguard.es/media/upload/pdf/castrol_elf.pdf
I invite those who are patient to read the test results, and I will only summarise that, based on the above tests, Metal Guard products do not change the viscosity of the base oil. This means that a mixture of oil and 6% Metal Guard has the same viscosity as the oil itself without the addition of Metal Guard. The mixture of engine oil and 6% Metal Guard therefore easily meets the viscosity standards recommended by car manufacturers.
2. Effect of Metal Guard on fuel consumption
Metal Guard significantly reduces friction between moving parts of the engine (as well as gearboxes, axles, differentials, pumps, cranes, hoists, mowers, etc. wherever it is used), which translates into lower energy requirements for the system to perform the same work, and thus lower fuel consumption.
The mechanical system of a car, or any machine, has its own resistance. Reducing friction makes the system work more easily, which translates into fuel savings and/or increased power of the drive unit. In the case of our customers' cars, we have seen fuel consumption reductions ranging from 3.5% to around 30%, but most often it is around 9-12%. In the case of our own Skoda Scala 1.5TSI DSG, we achieved a reduction in average fuel consumption from 6.9 litres to 6.3 litres after using Metal Guard, which is about 10%. However, this is an almost new car, which may also have an impact... but more on that below.
I have described the tests of our Skoda in detail here:
https://metalguard.es/en/news/combustion-tests-after-adding-metal-guard-engine/15
Many factors influence how effectively Metal Guard reduces fuel consumption. Below are the most important ones.
Engine capacity
Generally speaking, larger engines are usually less ‘stressed’, so they tend to operate under lower loads than small engines. With such engines, the difference in fuel consumption is more noticeable and can increase significantly more than the average 10%.
Technical condition of the engine
With every thousand kilometres travelled, the engine components wear out. Microscopic irregularities and minor clearances appear, which increase resistance inside the engine and naturally also increase nominal fuel consumption. In this case, Metal Guard works more effectively than in new cars, as fuel consumption decreases relative to a higher indicator than when the car was newer.
Ratio of engine resistance to other loads
One customer achieved a reduction in consumption of only 3.5%. He drove a car with a 2.8CRD engine in a heavy American car, pulling a trailer with a machine weighing over two tonnes (a machine necessary for his work, always attached to the hook). In this case, the engine was constantly under maximum load to move this combination. Instead of reducing fuel consumption, the engine mainly generated more power, which with such a weight could go unnoticed. Nevertheless, by using Metal Guard, the customer certainly significantly extended the life of this engine operating in harsh conditions.
The ratio of resistance in the engine to the resistance of the entire vehicle
Metal Guard reduces resistance in the engine or gearbox, but a car as a machine encounters many more different types of resistance. These include wind resistance while driving, resistance on the wheels, axles, bearings, the aforementioned gearbox, etc. The lower the resistance outside the engine, the better the performance of Metal Guard.
Driving style
An aggressive driving style will cause Metal Guard to have a greater impact on increasing the car's power than on reducing fuel consumption. The car will accelerate better and can reach higher speeds, at the expense of fuel consumption.
As you can see, there are quite a few factors that affect how much fuel consumption will decrease, and each person may achieve slightly different results. Nevertheless, every engine will benefit from using Metal Guard.
3. The effect of Metal Guard on engine power increase
In the case of dynamic driving or simply high engine load, the use of Metal Guard will result in an increase in power. We tested our cars (actually the cars of the creator of Metal Guard) on a dynamometer and achieved significant power gains. A Fiat Ducato 2.3L, used on a daily basis for Metal Guard Polska, had a power output of 110.7HP without Metal Guard. After adding Metal Guard Engine to the engine and driving 400 kilometres, the measured power increased to 118.4HP. After covering 10,000 kilometres without changing the oil, the engine power was already 124.3 HP - more than the nominal engine power when the car was new.
Metal Guard needs to cover about 50-100 kilometres to start working optimally. However, to achieve the best possible results, you need to wait a little longer: 500, maybe 1,000 kilometres – it all depends on many factors. The power increase itself can also vary depending on the type of engine, capacity, technical condition and other factors.
More power measurements for other cars will be available soon, and I will describe them in a separate article.
4. Should Metal Guard be replaced when changing the oil, and how often should the oil be changed?
Until now, I have been changing the oil every 15,000 kilometres, rather than every 30,000 kilometres as recommended by the manufacturer. Over the years, due to my place of employment, I have dealt with many car mechanics and have also seen many new engines that looked heavily worn after 80,000-100,000 kilometres simply because the owner changed the oil every 30,000 kilometresNow that I use Metal Guard, I am not afraid to change the oil every 30,000 kilometres because I know that when the oil base loses its properties, Metal Guard will continue to protect the engine. I may still change the oil every 15,000 kilometres. In January, I will see for myself what decision I will make, whether old habits will win out over new possibilities, but now I am more relaxed about my car's engine. During an oil change, I will of course add Metal Guard Engine. Along with the removal of used oil from the lubrication system, old oil sludge is also removed.
When changing the oil, I will of course add Metal Guard Engine. When the used oil is removed from the lubrication system, most of the Metal Guard is also removed. Small amounts remain on metal components, and the manufacturer estimates that the effectiveness of the Metal Guard residue will last for about 5,000 kilometres, but it is not worth delaying the addition of Metal Guard – for full and effective protection, it is worth topping it up during or immediately after an engine oil change.
5. Other interesting facts we encountered
The creator of Metal Guard sacrificed one of his cars, an old Toyota Yaris. This car ran on oil with Metal Guard added. Our colleagues drained the oil from the system and set off on a journey without lubricating the engine, with the oil drain plug unscrewed. The film is available on YouTube (https://youtu.be/ovk9-UgAb5o?si=EqSAtBv2DFbEy0fy) and although our colleagues speak Polish, subtitles are available, which can be machine-translated into any language in the film settings. In summary, the car easily covered over 30 kilometres on local roads and reached its destination under its own power, which would not have been possible without the prior use of Metal Guard.
At the beginning of the year, I received a call from the owner of a Vehicle Inspection Station (in Poland) who drives a Volvo that meets EURO 4 standards. He called just to boast that his car's fuel consumption had dropped by about 18%, but more importantly, after testing its emissions, the car now complies with EURO 6 standards. This does not surprise us, but we are always happy to hear independent opinions and observations. One of the company cars was consuming a lot of oil during operation. We added 50% Metal Guard Engine (to 5 litres of oil) and the car's oil consumption dropped significantly.
One of the company cars was consuming large amounts of oil during operation. We added 50% Metal Guard Engine (5 litres of oil in a 2.5-litre system was Metal Guard) and after driving about 300 kilometres, the car stopped consuming oil. This is an unusual situation and we do not generally recommend using Metal Guard as a remedy for oil loss. We assume that the Metal Guard oil film got into the place where the system was leaking oil, settled there and prevented further loss due to its very durable structure and the small space through which the oil was leaking.
Summary
Our own tests and comparisons have led us to conclude that Metal Guard is one of the best and most effective additives for engine oils. The results it achieves are comparable to the top products available on the market, with the difference that Metal Guard is significantly cheaper than its competitors. Importantly, Metal Guard does not contain Teflon, ceramics or molybdenum, and does not change its form inside the engine. Metal Guard always remains oil and does not form any hard structures that could theoretically damage the engine.
I could write endlessly about the various cases we have encountered while using Metal Guard. However, the most important thing for us is that we are receiving positive feedback from all over the world, confirming the effectiveness of our products and giving us the energy to continue our work.
We will not convince opponents of the use of oil additives, but we invite enthusiasts and the undecided to see for themselves the effectiveness of our product. :)
