yes, then they invented snakeoil (may only apply to their additives)

 

Actualy they have some good aditives, my brother uses their diesel engine oil aditive in his supercharged Methenol dragster engine with good results. Up until he started using it he would have to replace main bearings once during the racing season beacuse they wear getting trashed. Now he can go the season on a set of bearings and they come out looking pretty good compaired to before. I figure if it helps a 6 second BBC that uses a 4.25" stroke and goes through the top end between 7,800 - 8,000 rpm live it sure isn't snake oil.

 

Lucas I am your father!

 

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BITOG (bob is the oil guy)
i have used 2 of their additives with NO improvement. auto trans seal and upper cylinder lubricant
google bitog for a really indepth look into lubes and additives

 

Not saying all their additives are good, just know what the diesel oil additive does. I figure when you can diassemble the item you used it on and see the difference with your own eyes it has to be doing something. He started using it after another supercharged racer tipped him off about it, this guy was seeing much better bearing life also.

 

hi there
ok, now for some questions
what brand and weight of oil was he using?
what did he think was wrong with the oil he was using?
what was the name of the lucas additive he was using?
i can only comment on my experience with additives. and it's been pretty abysmal.since bitog, i have learned that the correct lube is more important than doctoring something to a higher spec.
btw, what do the other contestants use?

 

Valvoline 20w-50 racing oil has been using it for years, the oil only sees about 10 passes and its drained and disposed of which is the same practice he has followed since going blown. The additive is the Lucas Heavy Duty Oil Stabilizer, other contestants use a wide range of oils and additives some run synthetics if they have big bucks others run Dino oil. Figure when you make 10 passes down the track and then dispose of 15 quarts of oil it does kick the wallet a bit. I've been running the used oil in my oil burning beater work truck, I figure it gets about 150 miles to a quart so I'm not to fussy. I've never been a big oil additive fan until I saw the difference between before and after. For my brothers application it seems to do the trick, until another racer told him about what he was seeing we didn't think there was anything wrong with the oil he has been using. Just by the nature of the beast a supercharged engine can be hard on bearings, if you miss the tuneup the rod bearings can realy take it on the chin.

 

Oil additives aren't generally needed or recommended for modern oils, especially the newest synthetics. The reason has little of nothing to do with whether the additive is a good product or a snake oil rip-off. It has everything to do with the chemistry of the original base oil and additive package included with it. Unless you know what elements, molecules, and chemicals are in the additive package, and what elements, molecules, and chemicals are in the stuff you are dumping in, you can actually end up with a product that is less than the sum of the ingredients. This happens when certain additives get out of balance with each other, possibly affecting things such as the pH, anti-wear package, and a host of other things. If you look at the chemical composition of most similar oils, you'll see they are strikingly similar. That's because there is a general range of ingredients that will complement each other. Get too far out of balance and things don't necessarily work well with each other, kinda like too much salt on a chunk of rare Chateau Briand steak.

But all that stuff has to do with additives, and not plain ol' Lucas 20w-50. Check with BITOG and see if anyone has had an analysis done on it. Or send in a new quart of your own and have it done. Then send in a sample at 2500 miles and have a UOA done on it. That UOA will tell you more than anything else about how good an oil is, as well as what's happening inside your engine.

 

There's a good test on the Lucas additive floating somewhere online. The test shows severe foaming when added to oil. Turns the oil white, with lots of air injection. If I can find it, I'll post.