Practex in Long-Term Use: Our Experience with High-Mileage Diesel Engines

At Advanor, we are interested in technologies that can extend equipment life, reduce operating costs and help existing machinery remain reliable for longer. One of the products our team has been using for many years is the Practex tribological additive, primarily in older diesel vehicles.

Our practical experience has focused mainly on diesel vehicles over 15 years old and with mileage exceeding 300,000 km. These are precisely the conditions where wear, increased vibration, noise and difficult cold starts can become noticeable.

What we have observed

Over the years, we have completed several treatment cycles on different vehicles and have had no concerns related to engine or fuel-system operation that we could associate with the use of Practex.

Based on our own observations, after a complete three-stage engine treatment we have seen:

• reduced engine vibration;
• lower mechanical noise;
• smoother and more stable engine operation;
• improvements in fuel consumption under comparable operating conditions;
• good cold-start performance in severe winter conditions.

Of particular interest to us is its behaviour in the Nordic climate. Vehicles treated with Practex have been operated at temperatures below –30°C, including cold starts after prolonged exposure to low temperatures.

How does it work?

Practex describes its products as tribological compositions intended to work in friction zones rather than simply changing the properties of the lubricant. According to the manufacturer, the treatment is designed to modify and protect interacting friction surfaces, reducing friction and wear during operation.

For us, the important point is not the theory alone, but whether a technology produces useful results under real operating conditions. This is why we have continued evaluating Practex in older, high-mileage vehicles rather than under laboratory conditions alone.

Why this is relevant to Advanor

Extending the useful life of existing equipment is one of the areas we follow within Research & Development. Replacing machinery is not always the only answer. Technologies that can reduce wear, improve efficiency and extend service life may offer both economic and environmental benefits when applied appropriately.

Our experience with Practex is one example of this approach: test promising technologies in practice, observe their performance over time, and evaluate where they can create real value.