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KREX Oil Additive

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Uncle Al

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
I have used KREX for years in my other automobiles and in many cases the improvements have been nothing short of remarkable. In reviewing a number of other sites I am reading that many, MANY Toyota Dealerships are selling KREX as their "recommended" additive for Rav4's and any other Toyota they sell. For those unfamiliar with it KREX is a graphite based oil additive similar to the old product ARCO used to market before they were bought up.

From a discussion with a friend that is a mechanic with our local Toyota dealership, KREX extends a no questions asked guarentee of 200,000 miles on any Toyota engine that includes it in their regular oil changes. Anyone out there have experience with this? My only hesitation is the rather unique oil that the Rav4 uses and in as much as it's already a synthetic oil I'm wondering what the benefits might be, or is it just a waste of money?

145066
 
#2 ·
I can't speak to this product directly but as a rule:
Oil/Fuel/Coolant/Transmission etc etc etc additives are at best a waste of money and at worst seriously detrimental to your vehicle.

Every motor oil already has tons of "additives" that are very precisely added to get a certain benefit.
Each motor oil company researches their competitors products to see if they should be using any of their additives.

If there was a miracle product (additive) that did anything significant, every motor oil would very quickly have that additive making the "OTC" additive obsolete in a hurry.

The truth is, if you're changing your oil on the MFG recommended schedule and have access to decent quality gasoline (IOW EU/US/AU standards or better), your vehicle will do just fine and should last a very long time.

On a more specific note, there's nothing special about adding "graphite" to your motor oil. Sure it's used as a lubricant in certain specific applications but, the advantages of graphite don't really apply in an engine. Graphite is used in applications where it must be "dry" so no oil allowed or where temperatures are very (VERY) high >350C (650F). Your car's engine is ~105C or 220F and it's filled with oil, fuel and water. Also, you already have an automatic graphite additive system in your engine. The oil and gas that doesn't properly burn in your engine adds "soot" to your oil turning it black. Another word for soot is amorphous carbon and another word for that is graphite.

While there's nothing specifically wrong with having carbon in your oil, I just wouldn't do it on purpose. The thousands of engineers and scientists who have collectively spend hundreds of thousands of hours figuring out exactly what should go into your oil and explore the science of engine lubrication probably know better than the couple of engineers and scientists who bottled some graphite filled oil. But that's just my opinion.
 
#5 ·
Unless the Owner's Manuals have been changed since I bought my '11 RAV4 there is no recommendation in for using oil additives. If that additive actually contains graphite, as a crystalline form of carbon it may actually increase engine wear in today's finely machined engines with very close tolerances. Any Toyota dealer which pushes this or other oil additives is looking to increase their financial bottom line, and in this situation that may be to the customer's detriment.
 
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#7 ·
it's BS.

"You were low on soot, so we added some ..."

just another way to lighten your wallet

these engines and the factory recommended oil are already
designed to work together best as possible. krex big claims
'it can do even more for your engine' are horsesh*t
 
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