Due to a flurry of lawsuits, DuPont was forced to sell PTFE to manufacturers of engine oil additives. To their credit, DuPont maintains they have “no knowledge of any advantage gained through the use of PTFE in engine oil.”

Why the controversy? Remember, this additive is a suspended solid. Imagine introducing an additive with solids which your oil filter is designed to remove. If your oil filter is doing its job, then it should be collecting as much of the suspended solids as possible. The result? Clogged oil filters and a marked drop in oil pressure, exactly what you and I do NOT want happening inside our engine.

Ah, but there’s the added “comeback” to that critique. Manufacturers claim it is of sub-micron size, passing through engine oil filters.

That isn’t the whole story.

I’ve spent nearly three decades working to find chemical solutions to industrial problems. When you test chemicals, you must follow them through the whole cycle of their use.

Polytetrafluoroethylene expands radically in size when subjected to heat. It starts out “sub-micron”, but you won’t find any guarantees that it will stay that size when engine heats to normal operating temperatures.

However, PTFE is often criticized for the oil pressure drop accompanying its use. This again is probably due to the clogging of the oil filters. What is disturbing it that there are tests showing the presence of iron contamination in the oil due to increased engine wear after its use.

Maybe this one is best kept in your non-stick frying pan. As an engine oil additive, why risk it?