Fuel/Oil additives - Snake Oil?

I just got an email from Parts4VWs.com (a place i trust and use for maintenance items for my GTI) announcing a new product- Ethos Fuel Reformulator. Historically, I've considered these things to be snake oil, as no one, but the manufacturer, seems to have tested it. Of course the manufacturer is going to say their own product is good.
Did Caroll Shelby seriously endore Z-Max? Doubtful, and based on the low production quality of his endorsement, he probably just got a check for it and didn't even know what he was endorsing.

Could it be a sign that everyone truely is suffering from a bad economy and Part4VWs is just trying to boost sales, or could the be some merit to these products?

d_jabsd wrote: could the be some merit to these products?

No. If it is possible to get any difference with fuel or oil additives at all, the difference is so small that it wouldn't be worth your money. Could be useful for competitive hypermiling if it did work.

At this dealership (Williams VW, Lansing, Mi) we use a product from Krex. It is designed to help reduce coking and sludge formation, a HUGE VW problem from what I can gather.

The products we use cost the customer $13.95. It includes a fuel injector cleaner and a graphite engine lubricant. I like it because it also includes a free to the customer Road Hazard Tire protection policy that covers up to $150.00 per tire, a sign and drive emergency roadside assistance program and rental car coverage for mechanical breakdowns. Use it once every 180 days and your butt is covered.

I suggest it for the RHC alone because it covers almost all of my customers tires.

Actually, I have it on good word that Ethos FR isn't snake oil - they've switched to lizards.

Seriously, here's a good analysis of Ethos FR fuel additive.

For what it is worth. My buddy used to test oils and additives for Lubrizol (sp?). They would not use Slick 50 in their test engines, because they could never get the engine back to the original base line for their friction test. So I asked him.... Why don't we use it in all of our engines? I pretty much do now! I also used Slick 50 with compression builder in a high mileage Miata engine that I had. The car would not hold place in a slanted driveway parked in gear without the e-brake. After using the Slick 50 it would. I never did a compression check, but I took that as proof that the compression was better.

Back some 25 years or so ago, when I was JFX the Younger, my Father was involved in selling Slick 50. We had the little Briggs & Stratton engine with the clear lexan over the oil pan so everyone could see that it did, indeed, run without oil.This was back when there was no Internet, and it was all marketed sort of Amway-ish.

It has polytetrafluoreythelene (sp?), which was the slickest substance known to man at that time.

I still use it in my cars.