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Has the AA access to any information regarding fuel and oil additives such as Bitron or EthosFR?

Both have claims about being unique blends of esters that reduce friction and improve fuel economy by around 20%.

Frankly, I'm a little suspicious - there have been a lot of such formulations that have come and gone in the past 30 years. Both these are "Network Market" products and I suspect that the system is what is being sold.

Colleen

From the "Ask Jack" archives - 14 December, 2009

Additives are a very interesting subject and one with several opinions both for and against. We do not have any information on the products you mention.

My view is they are not necessary if your vehicle has been well serviced and is done so on a regular basis using good quality engine oils and filters.

There are some garages who simply sell additives as a 'on sell' to make extra profit without providing any customer benefit. Oil companies spend millions of dollars improving and upgrading their products and many claim the same end results as what the additive suppliers do. So why pay twice?

Manufactures of many new vehicles produced today are stipulating a specific type and grade of fluid in their engines, transmissions and cooling systems which I would strongly support, surely they know best.

Another danger of engine oil additives is they can become too effective in older or poorly serviced vehicles. If an engine is holding a lot of sludge for example, an additive can move the sludge to the oil strainer causing oil pressure problems and in a worst case scenario engine damage.

I'm sure some additives have their place in the market, but the service provider must be able to explain the benefits of adding them to their customers vehicles. If it is for a 20% improvement in fuel economy then I would be more than a little bit suspicious. Changing your driving technique in most cases will give you an improvement at no cost at all.