Lucas tune up in a bottle

[A-boy95]

www.lucasoil.com/products/display_products.sd?iid=26&catid=2&loc=show

ive used it for about a month now, and buy it by the gallon, use about 5 oz evrey fill up and my car is sunning better than ever, i was getting about 20 mpg and now im getting about 24-25.

so if yall whana give it a shot just goto your local autoparts store... preferably oreillys LOL and get a 5.57 oz bottle and give it a shot, its worth the 5 bucks

[luvmybravada]

I ran a bottle of fuel injector cleaner in the Bravada once. I actually could tell it ran smoother after about a half a tank. Pretty good stuff.

[froggyscike]

Im gonna give this stuff a try, my gas mileage sucks lately, like 17-18 mile a gallon.....

[scottydl]

Letitroll98 has the stats on all these kind of products, but most of them really don't affect performance at all... any gains you notice is usually the "placebo effect" or due to other factors. The LubeControl products have been tested and are highly recommended at bobistheoilguy.com and I plan to order the FP60 product eventually. Similar principle as the Lucas, you buy 1-2 gallons at a time and add a few ounces with each fill-up.

[CollegeAurora]

i would have to say lucas is my favorite.

[centennialman]

LucasOil is much cheaper if you buy it in the 32oz squeeze bottle. It's 13.95 CDN at crappy tire. I've been using it regularly for about 2 years.

[intheb0x]

i used it on mine.
i dont know if i could tell a difference or not.

[webenergy]

I've never tried the Lucas gas treatment but I can tell you that the Tranny treatment sucks! It's thinker than maple syrup and if you live in a cold climate good luck trying to shift your tranny out of park without letting the car heat up for at leas 10 minutes!

Personally, out of all the fuel treatments I have used, DuraLube & Fram make the best gas treatment. It also cleans the system, injectors, and boosts the octane.

If you're looking for good oil treatment, Slick 50 is the best. Blue bottle if you car is over 100000km (80000 miles), red bottle if your mileage is less. (Sounds like the Matrix!). By far this is the best engine treatment you can buy, and it reduces oil consumption. It's a little pricy ($24.95 at crappy tire) but it's well worth it!

For tranny treatment, don't put anything in the tranny unless you have over 100000km on your car. My tranny guy told me that as well as never to use Lucas! Plus, most tranny treatment is mainly made up of brake fluid anyways. If your car is over 100000km use the Valvoline treatment for high-mileage transmissions. It's not a stop-leak but a treatment that actually gives smoother shifting, and extends the life of your transmission.

As for oil, I would never go synthetic in a cold climate either. The Quaker state high-mileage oil seems to also work really good too.

[aaaauroraaaa]

webenergy said:

I've never tried the Lucas gas treatment but I can tell you that the Tranny treatment sucks! It's thinker than maple syrup and if you live in a cold climate good luck trying to shift your tranny out of park without letting the car heat up for at leas 10 minutes!

Personally, out of all the fuel treatments I have used, DuraLube & Fram make the best gas treatment. It also cleans the system, injectors, and boosts the octane.

If you're looking for good oil treatment, Slick 50 is the best. Blue bottle if you car is over 100000km (80000 miles), red bottle if your mileage is less. (Sounds like the Matrix!). By far this is the best engine treatment you can buy, and it reduces oil consumption. It's a little pricy ($24.95 at crappy tire) but it's well worth it!

For tranny treatment, don't put anything in the tranny unless you have over 100000km on your car. My tranny guy told me that as well as never to use Lucas! Plus, most tranny treatment is mainly made up of brake fluid anyways. If your car is over 100000km use the Valvoline treatment for high-mileage transmissions. It's not a stop-leak but a treatment that actually gives smoother shifting, and extends the life of your transmission.

As for oil, I would never go synthetic in a cold climate either. The Quaker state high-mileage oil seems to also work really good too.

First off... The fact that you advise to not use synthetic in cold climates make me want to discredit anything else you said in this post. Why would synthetic in the winter be any different than in the summer? But I'll give you the benefit of the doubt.

As far as slick 50... What is your knowledge of sludge build-up within an engine due to the use of this product?

The fact that you advise not to put anything in your tranny unless your over a certain mileage... Wtf?
I believe that if you have a good fluid in the tranny in the first place and do a pan drop and filter change when needed, you should not need any additives the entire life of the vehicle. If you do put in additives, you should feel as safe putting them in with 0 miles on the car as your would with 100,000. Smoother shifting is essentially better lubrication all the way around, if your only experience with this product is when you have a 125,000 mile car and the tranny fluid has never been changed, of course there will be smoother shifting, just as when you change it with a decent tranny fluid.

As far as fuel treatment, there is no reason to boost the octane of a gas if the engine doesn't need it. It's like putting Gold plating on the underside of your engine cover, there is no reason for it... Putting 93 octane in an engine designed for 87 octane is not going to do a dang thing lol, so why would 95 octane do anything for an engine compression that only needs 91/92 octane anyway? Octane is a knock index, not a performance meter.(however you will get less performance from putting 87 in a car designed for 93 octane(second gen auroras have a knock sensor that makes this okay and just compensates in other ways, the first gens 87 octane will actually damage the engine over time(key words: OVER TIME)).

Fuel injector cleaner is the only product on that list I would ever agree with a car needing to perform well & be reliable.

[Letitroll98]

The older Lucas product is similar to Marvel Mystery Oil and SeaFoam in that it uses Naphthalenes to do a pretty gross cleaning of your engine, not recommended. The newer Lucas UCL (Upper Cylinder Lube) doesn't really let on to what it's using but the theory is that Lucas has a chemical called polyisobutylene (PIB) that supposedly makes the fuel molecules uniform in size and also acts as a detergent. It has a lot of followers and appears to give the best results in fuel mileage improvement compared with some other products, at least from some reports. There are also reports of cylinder ring fouling with this product, so believe who you will, but Lucas has had a history of questionable products. (However they haven't had any disasters like Slick 50, a product that only complete idiots would even think about using or recommending)

The other camp of followers swear by various products using PolyEther Amines (PEA) the grandaddy of which is Chevron Techron, but also includes Gumout Regane, BG44k, and Redline SI-1. I've used the Chevron product and have had good results. The PEA camp claims it's a more advanced cleaner and does a better job of fuel injector cleaning than other products.

I've been using LubeControl's FP60, a product that's more of a maintenance cleaner and fuel injector lube. It's a pretty good cleaner, a pretty good mileage improver, and an excellent lubricator for the sealing rings on your fuel injectors. I like that it's a little more gentle on your engine than other products, something more for long term, every tankful use than a quick blast cleaner.

I can't see which Lucas product you're recommending A-boy because the Lucas site keeps crashing my Firefox browser and I'm too lazy to try my IE-7. But you're not alone in reporting mileage improvements with Lucas. Happy motoring.

[webenergy]

First off... The fact that you advise to not use synthetic in cold climates make me want to discredit anything else you said in this post. Why would synthetic in the winter be any different than in the summer? But I'll give you the benefit of the doubt.

Synthetic oil is thicker than regular oil right? In cold temperatures it's harder to turn the car over, and makes your engine work harder too. If your vehicle wasn't made to use synthetic oil then you shouldn't use it. That's why the owners manual says to use 5W30 in the winter and 10W30 in the summer.

As far as slick 50... What is your knowledge of sludge build-up within an engine due to the use of this product?

I used the product in my old car for 4 years. I used the high mileage stuff. When I had the intake manifold gasket changed and a bunch of other work done to it last July, the mechanic showed me the inside of the engine and I had hardly any sludge at all in the engine! This is compared to when I had the head gasket done almost 3 years prior when the mechanic told me to us the Slick 50 after noticing lots of sludge buildup in the engine. Naturally I can't speak for the bottom engine because I never had any work done on it.

The fact that you advise not to put anything in your tranny unless your over a certain mileage... Wtf?
I believe that if you have a good fluid in the tranny in the first place and do a pan drop and filter change when needed, you should not need any additives the entire life of the vehicle. If you do put in additives, you should feel as safe putting them in with 0 miles on the car as your would with 100,000. Smoother shifting is essentially better lubrication all the way around, if your only experience with this product is when you have a 125,000 mile car and the tranny fluid has never been changed, of course there will be smoother shifting, just as when you change it with a decent tranny fluid.

Let me rephrase. Don't put anything into yout tranny under 100000km if you don't have any problems with hard shifting, you have had regular transmission service (fluid, filter, and gasket). The reason you shouldn't put anything in your tranny under 100000km is because GM's powertrain warranty is 5 years or 100000km here in Canada. Additives can void the powertrain warranty.

As far as transmissions go, I think I am an authority on the subject since I went through 5 in my last car. The second to last tranny I put in actually failed because of the Lucas treatment I put in! After driving 500 miles my tranny went on the highway at 75 miles an hour. When my mechanic checked the black box, the code stated that the transmission was too hot and the fluid wasn't lubricating as it should have. And, it was winter time at -12c outside temp! The Lucas tranny treatment got too thin and actually started to evaporate in the heat! I couldn't believe it.

As for fuel treatment, the injector cleaner and fuel system treatment is what I am suggesting. both the Fram and Duralube products I suggested clean the fuel system. The octane boost is a bonus. I actually have felt the difference in several cars I have used it in.

[Letitroll98]

webenergy said:

Synthetic oil is thicker than regular oil right?

Wrong. Viscosity has nothing to do with the motor oil being synthetic or mineral oil. However as a rule of thumb you'll find most synthetics for the same service rating are a bit thinner in true viscosity than a comparable mineral oil.

webenergy said:

I used the product [Slick 50] in my old car for 4 years. I used the high mileage stuff.

I don't care how long you used this garbage in whatever car. The documented cases of products containing PTFE (Polytetrafluoroethylene) causing damage are endless. The FTC complaint against Quaker State (makers of Slick 50) and tests done by the NASA Lewis Research Center showing no benefit and only a detrimental effect just scratch the surface.

webenergy said:

As far as transmissions go, I think I am an authority on the subject since I went through 5 in my last car.

So the fact that you blew up 5 transmissions in one car makes you a noted authority? Sounds like someone not to take advice from in my view.

webenergy said:

As for fuel treatment, the injector cleaner and fuel system treatment is what I am suggesting. both the Fram and Duralube products I suggested clean the fuel system. The octane boost is a bonus. I actually have felt the difference in several cars I have used it in.

No you haven't. The octane boost from these products would be in the 1/100th of 1 percent range, something I seriously doubt you can feel while driving, much less measure in the lab with sensitive instruments. Especially since octane is not a measure of power in automobile fuels, it's an antiknock factor.

I apologize for being so harsh, I don't mean to attack you personally as you seem to be a very reasonable person in your posts and you spent some time coming to your conclusions. However in the spirit of hate the message not the messenger, your ideas are so far off base it's almost funny. Perhaps spending some time around here and other boards (like BITOG) will help educate you more fully on automotive matters.

[webenergy]

Wrong. Viscosity has nothing to do with the motor oil being synthetic or mineral oil. However as a rule of thumb you'll find most synthetics for the same service rating are a bit thinner in true viscosity than a comparable mineral oil.

Then if synthetic oil is so good for your car, why does it void manufactuer's warranty, and my extended warranty on my car if I use synthetic? And, my mechanic in Ontario told me I shouldn't use synthetic in my Cutlass because of potential engine problems. My mechanic here told me not to use it in my Aurora either!

I don't care how long you used this garbage in whatever car. The documented cases of products containing PTFE (Polytetrafluoroethylene) causing damage are endless. The FTC complaint against Quaker State (makers of Slick 50) and tests done by the NASA Lewis Research Center showing no benefit and only a detrimental effect just scratch the surface.

The Slick 50 product I bought has no PTEE. In fact it's advertised largely on the bottle "No PTEE". And, it does reduce oil consumption. And, they only reccomend using it ever 15 to 20000kms.

So the fact that you blew up 5 transmissions in one car makes you a noted authority? Sounds like someone not to take advice from in my view.

I simply meant that maybe someone could learn through my experience! Yeah, 2 of the trannys I put in were used, so them blowing was my fault. The other 2 were rebuilt which cost me a fortune. The 1st rebuilt one I put in went on me 4 weeks after having it put in. That was 2 weeks after putting in the Lucas additive that the tranny guy told me to put in it! You don't want my advice then fine! It's a free country. Treat it like a book, some stuff you take other stuff you leave.

No you haven't. The octane boost from these products would be in the 1/100th of 1 percent range, something I seriously doubt you can feel while driving, much less measure in the lab with sensitive instruments. Especially since octane is not a measure of power in automobile fuels, it's an antiknock factor.

I apologize for being so harsh, I don't mean to attack you personally as you seem to be a very reasonable person in your posts and you spent some time coming to your conclusions. However in the spirit of hate the message not the messenger, your ideas are so far off base it's almost funny. Perhaps spending some time around here and other boards (like BITOG) will help educate you more fully on automotive matters.

I have spent alot of time around cars and educated myself quote a bit. I can tell you that driving at the same place to the onramp and accellerating on the highway with the Fuel system cleaner does give me better accelleration. I notice it over the next few fill-ups. I know it's not in my head! It's common sense. If your fuel injectors, filter, and lines are cleaner then the car will run better and give better performance. If you have dust on your fan and you clean it, does the fan seem to work better and blow more air?

I certainly don't appreciate the personal attack at all. I now have a different view of this board and its members.

[Letitroll98]

I don't mean to attack you webenergy, I didn't call you any names or say your mother wears army boots, however you can't recommend products of dubious benefit and not expect a rebuttal. You can't make inaccurate statements and expect them to be accepted. Surely you realize this before you post. If you feel so strongly about the products please show me the chemical analysis of each and some research results. I can actually do this with most of the products I recommend, and the ones I can't I always put in a caveat to that effect.

So in that vein, yes the tranny comment was a little bit of a cheap shot, but you did nearly admit you set yourself up for it, jeepers, 5 trannies? Anyway, I shouldn't gloat over your misfortune, sorry. And yes, cleaning the fuel system would allow an engine to reach it's full potential, no doubt about that. I only addressed your implication that an octane boost was a true benefit from these products, which it's not.

At the end of the day, I stand by my statements as accurate. However I will never take offense at being called a grumpy old man, as many of the members here do, often. Please keep posting here and feel free to voice your opinions, if I don't agree maybe it will be a vehicle for all of us to learn. Most everyone here is nicer than me, I'm somewhat blunt.

[aaaauroraaaa]

If your mechanic says synthetic will cause harm to your aurora and Cutlass... You need a new mechanic. Is this the same guy that told you to use slick 50?

Whatever you put in your tank may clean your engine, but it won't bring it past the performance levels of fresh off the dealer lot. I think we all agree on the fuel injector cleaner, it was already established about 3-4 posts back(excluding seafoam), but as far as the tranny, oil additives, and octane boosters is what we disagree on.

Final thing, this is not a free country either Canada or the USA. You would have to be quite the prude to think that all the laws that are on the books are good for the people.

Even in Iraq, I don't think Saddam even regulated the use of "slick 50". Or the Chinese government for that matter. Or Saudi Arabia, or Afganistan. Or Dafur. I could go on...

[algonquin]

aaaauroraaaa said:

Final thing, this is not a free country either Canada or the USA. You would have to be quite the prude to think that all the laws that are on the books are good for the people.

Even in Iraq, I don't think Saddam even regulated the use of "slick 50". Or the Chinese government for that matter. Or Saudi Arabia, or Afganistan. Or Dafur. I could go on...

These comments don't belong with the topic at all. Chill out !!!

[webenergy]

I don't mean to attack you webenergy, I didn't call you any names or say your mother wears army boots, however you can't recommend products of dubious benefit and not expect a rebuttal. You can't make inaccurate statements and expect them to be accepted. Surely you realize this before you post. If you feel so strongly about the products please show me the chemical analysis of each and some research results. I can actually do this with most of the products I recommend, and the ones I can't I always put in a caveat to that effect.

Actually my mom does wear army boots! j/k. I understand your rebuttle, and I just give my opinions and my experiences. If you have a different opinion then great! you're supposed to post it. However, there are good and bad products on the market. If they were that bad, they wouldn't be selling them as well as they do, or they wouldn't be selling them at all. I'm not about to go and do chemical analysis, but I am sure that some products do more harm than good. And, if synthetic oil is good for my car, then GM and warranty companies wouldn't void the warranty if I use synthetic oil. The key word here is MY car.

So in that vein, yes the tranny comment was a little bit of a cheap shot, but you did nearly admit you set yourself up for it, jeepers, 5 trannies? Anyway, I shouldn't gloat over your misfortune, sorry. And yes, cleaning the fuel system would allow an engine to reach it's full potential, no doubt about that. I only addressed your implication that an octane boost was a true benefit from these products, which it's not.

That's fine and I never suggested a product for boosting octane. that actually can damage your engine if you use it too much. I was talking about the fuel injector cleaner from Duralube & Fram.
As for the trannies, I'm the first to admit when I make a mistake, and it was a mistake putting in 2 used trannies in my old car. But, when I had one rebuilt that has 68000kms on it and it blew after 4 weeks, that wasn't my fault. It was the Lucas additive.

At the end of the day, I stand by my statements as accurate. However I will never take offense at being called a grumpy old man, as many of the members here do, often. Please keep posting here and feel free to voice your opinions, if I don't agree maybe it will be a vehicle for all of us to learn. Most everyone here is nicer than me, I'm somewhat blunt.

I never doubted your statements as you did mine, nor did I say anything attacking to you. If you choose to be grumpy, then it's your choice to be whomever you please. Just remember that people will treat you as you treat them. And, if you disagree with something then it's your right to disagree and post your opinion, it's just nice to be cuteous.

[webenergy]

If your mechanic says synthetic will cause harm to your aurora and Cutlass... You need a new mechanic. Is this the same guy that told you to use slick 50?

Tell me something then, why does GM & warranty companies void the warranty if I use synthetic oil on my vehicle if it's so great? So, because a guy on the ACNA named "aaaauroraaaa" tells me that I should use synthetic oil and my warranty gets voided, will you cover the rest of my warranty period??? As for Slick 50, then tell me what other product I should use to help reduce engine wear and oil consumption? They may not have the best product, but it seems to work well. I bet you eat at McDonald's yet I'm sure you know it's the worst food in the world for you right?

Whatever you put in your tank may clean your engine, but it won't bring it past the performance levels of fresh off the dealer lot. I think we all agree on the fuel injector cleaner, it was already established about 3-4 posts back(excluding seafoam), but as far as the tranny, oil additives, and octane boosters is what we disagree on.

Duh! No kidding it won't bring back the same performance as when it was new, unless you replace the fuel system! However, on a 2001 car that never had the treatment put in, it does give better performance after using it compared to before!

Final thing, this is not a free country either Canada or the USA. You would have to be quite the prude to think that all the laws that are on the books are good for the people.

Really? Well, a free country means that you have the right to express yourself freely in any way you want. through media, books, internet. It also means you have the freedom to live your life as you wish. If you want to be a jerk to everyone, then it's your birthright! In Iraq or China if you spoke badly about a leader you would be shot. You can't express yourself freely, and heck the routers into China are monitored. If someone in China does a search on Google for a blocked keyword from the government, then the search results never come up. If you continue to search for blocked keywords, you get visited by the police and do some jail time!

Even in Iraq, I don't think Saddam even regulated the use of "slick 50". Or the Chinese government for that matter. Or Saudi Arabia, or Afganistan. Or Dafur. I could go on...

And why would it matter if Iraq or China uses Slick 50? The poor Iraquis don't even have cars that last long enough to know if Slick 50 would work for them! (In case you've been living in a bubble for the past few years there is a war there.) I bet they can't even get Kool aid! And China, man people are just happy there if the state allows them to own a car! I don't even think Slick 50 is exported outside North America.

[Letitroll98]

webenergy said:

Tell me something then, why does GM & warranty companies void the warranty if I use synthetic oil on my vehicle if it's so great? So, because a guy on the ACNA named "aaaauroraaaa" tells me that I should use synthetic oil and my warranty gets voided, will you cover the rest of my warranty period??? As for Slick 50, then tell me what other product I should use to help reduce engine wear and oil consumption? They may not have the best product, but it seems to work well.

From the Mobil site:

Question:
Applicability of Synthetic Motor Oil in a 2003 Chevrolet Impala
I recently purchased a 2003 Impala and wanted to start using Mobil 1 synthetic motor oil. I asked GM about using any brand of synthetic and they did not recommend it unless the temperatures were very cold. They also advised that the use of a synthetic could void the warranty. Do you know if I am getting incorrect advice? Thanks. PS: I purchased regular Mobil 5W-30 per GM recommendations.
-- Tom Hughes, Billings, MT
Answer:
You are getting incorrect advice. Mobil 1 fully synthetic oil is an excellent choice for all operating conditions and will not void your warranty. In fact, General Motors uses Mobil 1 as original equipment (factory fill) on many of its vehicles, including Chevrolet Corvette, Chevrolet Cobalt SS, Chevrolet TrailBlazer SS, Chevrolet SSR, Pontiac GTO and several Cadillac models.

OK, is this better than some guy named aaaaroraaaa? (I can't ever remember how many "a"s)

As for a better product than Slick 50 I have an excellent one that has been endorsed by many oil industry chemists, hundreds of users on the BITOG forum, and many members on this forum. It's AutoRx, a fabulous product made to work as a non destructive engine cleaner and as a prophylactic during normal OCI's. Check it out here:
www.auto-rx.com/

Frank Miller also has a wealth of information on oil additives on this site, it will be a great read for you.

[aurorabrain]

Practically every GM dealer stocks Mobil 1. The GM number for Mobil 1 5w30 is 12345885, I wonder who at GM gave that bad info.

[webenergy]

LetitRoll98,

Here is my correspondance with GM concerning my car & synthetic oil:

Mr. Sanders:

Thank you for your e-mail.

In response to your inquiry, as the manufacturer, we would suggest you follow the guidelines presented in your vehicle owner's manual regarding the appropriate oil type for your vehicle.

Please be advised that owner and service manuals are available for purchase through our distributor, Helm Incorporated. Please contact them directly at - 1-800-782-4356 for further assistance and information.

Thank you for contacting General Motors of Canada and for the opportunity to provide appropriate direction regarding your inquiry.

Please visit our website again.

Laura Shepel
Internet Correspondent
www.gmcanada.com



If you wish to reply to this email, please click here: contactus.gmcanada.com/req_reply.aspx?iid=1-40226903&lang=ENU

-----Original Message-----
From: Rick Sanders
Sent: 04/16/2007 12:16:05
Subject: I am a current owner and have a question, concern, comment or compliment.

Hello,

I own a 2001 Oldsmobile Aurora. I am thinking of changing to synthetic oil. Is it suggested to use synthetic oil with my car? If not, why is that?

Thanks for your time.

[webenergy]

However, here is the surprising response from ym warranty company who originally told me over the phone not to use Synthetic:

Thanks for your inquiry.
The use of synthetic oil will not void your warranty, provided the maintenance period requirements are followed.

Sincerely,
Adam Halko
Assistant Claims Manager

I am a fair person, and I do post all the facts. As you can see I have 2 different responses from GM & my warranty company.

[Letitroll98]

Yeah, we've gone pretty far off topic from the Lucas thread, but it seems GM is at least being ambiguous about their recommendations regarding synthetic oils. I certainly believe you about the phone conversation not recommending synthetic, then the email from GM not really recommending anything except to read the manual. Then your warranty company endorsing it's use. The logical answer is customer service minimum wage earners that don't know what they're talking about, prolly offshore sourced.

I may have an answer for their concerns. When switching to synthetic oil from long term use of mineral oil you'll have some oil consumption issues in the first OCI. I'd buy a couple of quarts extra and monitor your oil levels closely. When the engine seals condition to synthetic this will stop, usually the second, sometimes the third, OCI. I tried using Auto Rx to slow this down as it has lots of seal conditioners in it, but it seems to do no good at all for this. Auto Rx is a great product, but not for easing oil consumption issues when switching oil types (it works fabulous for for ending oil consumption otherwise).

P.S. Look at this thread:
aurorah.proboards47.com/index.cgi?board=reviews&action=display&thread=1121798927

[motbooz]

This is the most entertaining thread I've yet read.

Keep it up fellas - this outward display of passion regarding engine additives is both inspiring and fascinating.