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Originally Posted by JP-s-in st. louis
I thought it was for Zmax and other "trendy" oil products. I personally do not see Lucas as the same type of product. Lucas has many racing teams and are well respected in some motor sports circles they even have their own race tracks in the US. Please read about their product and let me know what you think. Let me know if any has any first hand experience with their products?  |
Hi,
I don't want to specifically speak to Lucas products, except to say that using anything in a Racing Engine is completely different than in a Street Car. All motor Oils are made from a proprietary recipe, Lucas just has a different one. They all start with pretty much the same Base Stocks (Oil or Synth), the differences lie mainly in the Detergent, Anti-Foaming, Anti-Oxidant Agents, or Polymers.
Now consider all the years of experience, the reaserch facilities, the money, and expertise available to Mobil, Exxon, BP, Shell, etc. If it was truly revolutionary, don't you think they would have
a.) Come up with it first? or
b.) Copied it or made it even better? This stuff is only Chemistry, not Alchemy - there is no
Secret Formula.
The Oil in a Race Car has to endure 500 miles at best while in a Street Car, you're going 10k mi. Also, the Race Engine is inspected after each race, and usually torn down in a few thousand miles. Add to this that they don't usually have the same budget constraints that most of us do.
Whether these things work as advertised or not is really not the issue. The issue is more are they really needed in the first place? Your engine needs what it needs period. This means a quality Synthetic Oil with regular Change intervals. Giving you engine more than it needs is usually a waste of time and money and little or no benefit beyond a Placebo Effect is usually ever realized.
Plus, there's all the hype these non-mainstream products use to allow them to infiltrate into the Big Guy's Turf such as those with the PTFE - Polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon) additives. Everybody knows your Fried Egg doesn't stick to the Pan, so it must be good right?
But, few realize that Polytetrafluoroethylene has an operating ceiling of 500°F and actually burns at 600°F, so in an engine, how much of this stuff survives the temps encountered?
The Hype tells you that these particles Bond with the Metal Parts in your Engine - PURE BUNK!! Teflon is notoriously poor at bonding with anything except itself. In order to make the non-stick Fry Pans you use, they first slightly rough up the metal pan, then spray a fine coating of PTFE which flows iinto and adheres in the fine surface irregularities, then the final coat is then sprayed on and attaches to the 1st coat of Teflon. How do I know so much about it? My late Father was the Inventor of Record on the Patent (held by 3M Co.) for a process which came to be marketed as Dupont's Teflon II.
And, the PTFE Particles will collect around narrow openings in the Oil Galleries and in particular the Oil Drillings in the Crankshaft and Bearing shells and may actually restrict the volume of Oil these can handle, still think it's good?
Save your time and money and forget trying to second guess Porsche and Mobil. Do what they recommend and your Car will run well and last a very long time...
Happy Motoring!... Jim'99