stp oil additive with zddp, and high mileage,good?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Aug 8, 2005
Messages
2,080
Location
stamford, CT
Just got back from my local autozone. They have the blue bottles of stp oil additive, with zinc zddp as advertised for lesser wear, and a high mileage one, advertising for cars over 75,000 also with zinc. How much zinc is in this stuff? and is it worth it? $3.99 a bottle, says to add too every 4-5 quarts of oil.
 
OK found some threads. I use 10w 30 dino right now. apparently it will raise the oils weight??? is that right/ so adding an entire bottle of the blue one, will make my 10w 30 a 54w0? or 15w 50 or something?
 
A very long time ago(back in the early-mid 90's) Consumer Reports did one of their Taxi Cab/Oil Test. They also tested STP Products(Blue & Red Bottles) and, IIRC, CR said that these STP Oil Treatments changed the grade of oil into a grade not recomended by the engine MFG's.

Use this STP product with caution as, IMHO it's last resort stuff!
 
Last edited:
Too much ZDDP will cause corrosion.I think ZDDP has been overly coveted by older car fans...todays oils have far less,and todays oils are the best ever.There are plenty of other additives that work better than ZDDP.And the newest oils have it.
 
Use this junk at your own risk. There is absolutely no benefit from this product that you cant get with the proper oil selection for your vehicle. Use a HM oil if you want.
 
Thats what i figure chubbs
smirk.gif
almost bought it too. decided to do som e research first.
advance auto has hyper lube zinc aditive, a clear liquid, but at $15.99 for a 12 bottle yikes!!! it appears to not be a oil thickener.
i think stp's line of stuff is [censored]. thier air filter boxes do not state at what efficiency, thier oil fitlers are 96% multi pass, and thier line of products seems it owuld do more harm. I remember as a teen, 1992-93, had used stp gas additive, in a 91 saturn, and a 85 isuzu I mark hatchback. it would always case my fuel light too go on, so stopped suing it, light would never return. eh, at least at autozone, i noticed (4967 filter) it was no longer an e core* but had slits instead of holes in the tube itself, inside filter.
 
If you want increased zinc, Lucas Break-In additive is your answer. It's the only Lucas product I'll buy.

50,000 ppm zinc in that stuff. So every ounce raises zinc approx. 125 ppm in a 4 quart sump.
 
Originally Posted By: ziggy
Thats what i figure chubbs
smirk.gif
almost bought it too. decided to do som e research first.
advance auto has hyper lube zinc aditive, a clear liquid, but at $15.99 for a 12 bottle yikes!!! it appears to not be a oil thickener.
i think stp's line of stuff is [censored]. thier air filter boxes do not state at what efficiency, thier oil fitlers are 96% multi pass, and thier line of products seems it owuld do more harm. I remember as a teen, 1992-93, had used stp gas additive, in a 91 saturn, and a 85 isuzu I mark hatchback. it would always case my fuel light too go on, so stopped suing it, light would never return. eh, at least at autozone, i noticed (4967 filter) it was no longer an e core* but had slits instead of holes in the tube itself, inside filter.
If u will go to the home page in here: see Oil University data, lots of good reading on oils and such,,lots of stuff.....
 
Originally Posted By: NHGUY
Too much ZDDP will cause corrosion.I think ZDDP has been overly coveted by older car fans...

Don't worry, there's a VOA somewhere here of the STP having very little in the way of ZDDP, to the point that it will actually dilute the ZDDP level of an ordinary SN/GF-5 PCMO. Another steaming pile of manure from an additive company....
 
Its amazing how much useless [censored] is out thier, misleading, false advertising: ( thier must be not much or no regulation over these products. i keep thinking, years ago, had heard or read, stp was started by some race car driver... cant say stp was the same product back then, than it is today
 
Originally Posted By: Garak
Originally Posted By: NHGUY
Too much ZDDP will cause corrosion.I think ZDDP has been overly coveted by older car fans...

Don't worry, there's a VOA somewhere here of the STP having very little in the way of ZDDP, to the point that it will actually dilute the ZDDP level of an ordinary SN/GF-5 PCMO. Another steaming pile of manure from an additive company....


Yes, this. It has Zinc but probably less than the oil you're adding it to.

STP Oil treatment is old school. When I was a kid no oil change was complete without a can of STP. It is priced right though and still has it's place if your oil has sheared on you or you have an old oil burner it will slow it down. My "old school" Jeep seems to kinda like the stuff too. Wouldn't use it in anything "modern" though.
 
It may have its place, I suppose, but those places would be extremely limited. I don't like blending oils, let alone using additives. There are enough viscosity choices out there, even within grades, that I don't see a lot of use for such an additive.

No one should be using such a thing under warranty anyhow, and if they're out of warranty or, worse, are nursing a vehicle along, a lot of options open up. But, you're right. Given the price point, along with its availability and visibility over the years, it doesn't surprise me that people use it.

These days, with the choices available and the success I've had with things like MaxLife, I wouldn't even consider it. There's no doubt some things do better on a thicker oil. Buy thicker then!
wink.gif
 
My Jeep likes "thick" oil but grumbles a little at start up with it. STP is peculiar, it thickens the oil but does not seem to have any adverse affect on start up, if anything starts are better with it. Doesn't make sense to me. Anyway I am going to run an OCI with it for giggles soon and do a UOA for curiousity's sake.

I don't think we have a single UOA on here with STP in the crank (for obvious reasons ha ha) so it will be interesting.

Oh, regarding the original topic OP the regular blue bottle STP is the better buy IMO. The HM has even less additives because it contains seal conditioners instead, otherwise it's just the same viscosity improver (oil thickener) and it costs a lot more. Pass on the HM IMO.
 
I am running some STP and 5w-30 dino National brand in my 54 Plymouth. I plan on doing a UOA next driving season for kicks.

I also run the same mix in my 91 Chevy 1500 4.3.

I am aware it thickens the oil, but this allows me to buy all the same weight oil. All my vehicles require 5w-30. Well, the 54 requires 30wt.
 
My STP experiment didn't work out. I used too much and got the oil too thick. Maybe I'll revisit that again later if I've got something thin I want to thicken up and run in the Jeep.

I have used it in the past in more moderate doses and it worked fine. No UOA though.
 
Originally Posted By: KCJeep
STP is peculiar, it thickens the oil but does not seem to have any adverse affect on start up, if anything starts are better with it. Doesn't make sense to me.


It's funny you mention it doesn't have adverse effects on start up. You brought me back in time, a long time. Years ago, many years, I used it in an old oil burning beater I bought to commute to college with when funds were low. I used it to slow consumption until I could afford a nicer car. Anyway I remember easy winter starts with it in the sump, God only knows how it flowed once the engine fired up, but it spun up real easy. Their advertising in the 60's and 70's touted its ability to make oil cling so cold starts were easier. I wonder if there was any truth to that? LOL
 
I saw an ad on Ebay for sale a while back. STP had an illustration of an engine with a coat and hat on, covered in ice and snow.
 
Originally Posted By: Finz
Why do you say too thick? What happened?


A bottle in a 6 qt sump seems to work just fine, I've done it even in winter with no adverse affects whatsoever that I could detect. Like I mentioned if anything cold starts seemed easier. A bottle and half...lifter noise the first few minutes of running. Too much LOL.

I still want to run a single bottle and UOA sometime just out of curiousity.
 
Its a good way to thicken oil in an emergency, keep your lawnmower with a rod knock or oil burning issue running, shut up a noisy worn out FWD manual transaxle, etc. Beyond that its junk, definitely doesn't belong in anything in good working order.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top