Engine flush should be used before your next oil change, not after. This is pretty obvious because you actually want to remove all the contaminants and sludge built-ups out of the system.
Also, ALWAYS read the instructions on your product BEFORE you begin Project Engine Flush.
Most of the engine flush fluids out there states that you should add the engine flush fluid and let the car idle for at least 10 minutes. And if it says idle, it’s generally a good idea not to drive around with the engine flush content in your engine. Some labels might even say, “DO NOT DRIVE WITH CONTENT IN THE ENGINE”.
One of the reason why you shouldn’t drive is because the engine flush fluid usually reduces your existing engine oil’s viscosity. This means your engine oil becomes less thick and hence, it can handle less pressure. Driving under this condition can do serious damages to engine parts.
That is why it’s every important to only use engine oil with the grade recommended by the manufacturer, not the oil salesmen.
When an engine is idling, there’s very minimum pressure and contacts among the bearings and internal engine parts. So the lowered oil viscosity isn’t going to do any damage as opposed to when you are driving it.
On that note, the engineers at X-1R has specially formulated their Engine Flush technology to ensure that no engine is ‘killed’ after using their Engine Flush product. During our interview with X-1R Malaysia, their spokeperson revelead to us that their Engine flush enable you to “flush while driving” because the special formulation does not contain any harmful content to the engine and does not reduces viscosity of your existing engine oil. It’s meant for hassle-free DIY engine maintenance, that you can even pour X-1R’s Engine Flush content into your engine and drive to the workshop for them to do the following necessary work. To prove that they meant what they claimed, they’ve got a RM3 million products liability insurance policy underwritten by Tokio Marine Insurans (Malaysia) Berhad.
Malaysia’s Millers Oils distributor Mr Tony Tang also warns against using any solvent-based additives as it will cause unnecessary frictions to your engine parts.
You can read up more about solvent-based additives here: Why Solvent Based Additives and Flushes are Harmful?
Bardahl Malaysia’s spokeperson Mr Wong Jun Wai also says that it’s important to separate rumors from facts. As not all engines are built the same, so are mechanics. Not all of them have the same school of thoughts, or should I say level of professionalism. Hence, Mr Wong sent us some dyno results of a stock Ford Ranger after using Bardahl’s products.
Bardahl CRDI Cleaner vs Stock for Ford Ranger Dyno Test Results
Bardahl Engine Treatment vs Stock for Ford Ranger Dyno Report
Bardahl CRDI Cleaner and Engine Treatment vs Engine Treatment Only for Ford Ranger Dyno Report
Since some of the contaminants will end up in the oil filter, it’s also a good idea to change the oil filter after flushing your engine. In fact, you should change it every oil change. Always get a reputable brand of oil filter because leaking caused by defective filters can be very damaging to the engine parts and also the passengers in the car.
Some mechanics would not recommend flushing your engine if you change your engine oil regularly- if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Also, some mechanics claim that the additional performance you get out of a flush is negligible.
Our take is, if engine flushing is not effective, the engine flush market would never grow this big, with so many big brands competing with each other. If it’s a scam like some mechanics claim, then, like most scams it would have collapsed a long time ago. At 12VOLTS, we believe in scientifically-proven data, dyno-tested in this case. We only recommend products that has a good, reputable track record and happy customers are listed on our store.
Engine flushing is meant to prolong the life of your engine by keeping it clean and operating at maximum level (like new). However, if you do not follow the proper instructions, you might well be doing the opposite.
Good luck flushing!
