z max

[mes_423]

well i bought this product called z max for my car i dont know if anyone else has heard of this stuff. it advertises a chemical additive called linkite. it sopposendly soaks into the metal to protect it better than regular oil. now it doesnt replace oil or anything, but anyway the kit i bought came with a extra z max bottle for "small engines" as they put it, they say its good for lawn mowers and atvs and snowmobiles. do you think it would be ok to put into my bike? (excuse the spelling errors ) anyone else heard of this stuff?

[JasonB]

Anyone who cant sleep and watches late night spamovision has seen the z-max commercials. Never seen if they have actually worked or not. If you take good care of your motor vehicle you shouldnt need additives to help it along. A injector or carb cleaner once in a while and some Combustion Chamber cleaner is all you need along with oil changes and other maintenence.

I dont think you want any kind of friction modifying additives in a wet clutch motor vehicle as it would prob mess with clutch grab.

[dmp221]

These "miracle" additives come and go.  The problem is, you can't be sure which have some value,   which are totally BO-gus , and which may even be harmful :x .  
My advice would be, save your money; just use a top-quality motorcycle specific oil, and change the oil and filter according to the manufacturer's maintenance schedule.   Ride safe.

[mes_423]

yeah i dumped the additives in my car because i have a 180,000 miles on it and it still has teh original tranny. it seems to have a slight effect so far. but only time will tell i guess. but yeah i probely just dump the "bonus" bottle into the good ol lawn mower oh well just curious

[glenn9171]

JasonB is right, you don't want to use anything that "reduces friction" because the engine oil is also in the transmission.  I would imagine that it could/would cause massive clutch slippage.

[Blueknyt]

Not always true, but in cases of metal on metal yes, im running a walmart brand simular to STP treatment. no slips. im only using it as a bandaid for counter bal shaft,  as its begining to rattle around alittle and i cant afford to take the bike out of commission. once i have another complete engine ready to go into the frame, i will replace the lowerend bearings.  hay Bob B, i realize pulling the ballencer out and redoing the crank still isnt very smooth, what about haveing the crank reballenced with the counter shaft trimmed, so its not swinging as much weight? but just enough to help the Vibs?

[Adam Fraser]

I agree that they prob wont do much good.  But do not follow the manufacturers reccomendations for maintainence.  The Suzuki 2001 technical update says that the oil in a Huyabusa should only be changed every 12,000 miles!  The Suzuki guy at the seminar for mechanics said the EPA made them put that in to reduce oil filters in landfills.  I say more than 3,000 miles on an oil change.

[JasonB]

If its a synthetic oil it might not need to be changed that often, I know amsoil has a high higher oil change milage than most but I think they tell you to change the filter a couple times in that mileage.

[90GS500rehab]

If its a synthetic oil it might not need to be changed that often, I know amsoil has a high higher oil change milage than most but I think they tell you to change the filter a couple times in that mileage.

AMSOIL allows doubling the stock interval. Really any synthetic will allow you to extend drains since it will break down slower but AMSOIL uses A LOT of acid neutralizers as well. The interval for the filter can be doubled as well. In cars, they do recommend changing the filter at 12,500miles or 6 months.

We will see the 3k mile oil change disappear in coming years. BMW is using factory synth. and a oil usage sensor to extend to 12,000 I believe.

Oh and the Federal Trade Commision has sued zMax for false advertising:
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2001/02/zmax1.htm

[yamahonkawazuki]

as dependable as modern engines are, with proper maintenance, you really have no need to spend the money on this s&*T. ask srinath, hes got a heck of alot of miles on his machine...