Don't get me wrong...I have never advocated using Oil additives. I think they are junk. But when someone with the reputation like Carroll Shelby recommends a product I listen. Does anyone have any Idea if this product he is pushing, ZMAX is on the up and up?

 

zMax Power System: Oil-Chem Research Corp., a subsidiary of Speedway Motorsports Inc. (yeah, the guys who own all those NASCAR tracks), have been marketing this kit of three additives: one each for oil, fuel, and transmission. They claim rather impressive gains with the product, and claim that their results are laboratory-proven. The FTC disagreed with this assessment, and in a suit for a permanent injunction the FTC accused Oil-Chem of falsifying the test results. The FTC also charged that zMax is nothing but mineral oil, and that it actually causes a 50% increase in bearing wear, proven by Oil-Chem's own testing! Oil-Chem didn't take this lying down, and Federal Trade Commission v. Speedway Motorsports went unresolved for quite a while. One of the more creative assertions in defense of zMax was that the benefits of using zMax need not be backed by "competent and scientific evidence", but only "reasonable basis" (the "lower your expectations and we'll meet them" defense). Finally, in one of the more convoluted additive rulings, both sides have claimed victory: the FTC has restricted zMax advertising and imposed a $1 million mandatory consumer refund, while Oil-Chem is ecstatic to still be able to advertise that zMax helps your car by reducing engine deposits. Unfortunately the settlement doesn't address the issue of whether zMax is little more than colored mineral oil. The bottom line seems to be that zMax works as a solvent of some kind, so if you have a sludged-up engine it'll help clean it up. Oil-Chem apparently has documentation to back its claims but, for whatever reason, doesn't want the public to see it. To let you make up your own mind about zMax, we've got the stipulated final order, the zMax press release, a request to approve advertising claims, and the FTC Enforcement Division's conditional approval. Of greatest interest, compare the approved advertising claims with the ones in the permanent injunction, paragraphs 15 and 18, to see what's changed.

http://neptune.spacebears.com/cars/legal/index.html

 

Carroll Shelby Foundation Controversy...

As quoted here...
http://news.windingroad.com/earnings...ns-under-fire/

Carroll Shelby’s charity efforts have been well publicized, but according to a jarring new report by Automotive News, the lion’s share of the legendary racer’s Children’s Foundation proceeds aren’t making it to those who need it.
The organization—whose charge it is to help cover the medical costs incurred by children with organ and tissue transplants or cardiac issues—has held a number of fundraisers in which it has auctioned off valuable Ford automobiles, taking in hundreds of thousands of dollars. But according to the AN article, the Children’s Foundation has issued between 4.3 and 13 percent in grants between 2002 and 2005, a far cry from the Better Business Bureau’s guidelines, which call for at least 65 percent of an organization’s total expenses...

 

I am NOT famous ...

But if I was and the $$$ was right ...
I would do a playtex comercial

And I don't even have that cromosone

 

THAT I DON'T want to see!!

zMax has that fine fragance of ether. Used it once in the crankcase of my 1990 Maxima. It loosened up a lot of sludgy stuff, but also made every oil seal leak like crazy!

Jim

 

As much as I respect Carroll Shelby's talents, last I heard he wasn't exactly making it rich. Doing a commercial for something wether you believe in it or not is a quick way to make money.

 

Hey guys, thanks for the fantastic response...It's just as I suspected, and I too have always respected Shelby's talents.

 

The man made Cobra's, now he's selling snake oil.

 

What Shelby did 40+ years ago was amazing. What he's doing now is sad. I prefer to remember him for the car that I lusted after in the late sixties.

 

He will never be forgotten for what he's done in the automotive world. How can one ever forget the Cobra's & the Mustang Shelby's. Nope that won't happen.

 

Is one of the cars I grew up in. It's probably why I own a MINI now.