Lets talk about Lucas UCL

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I once used [no] Lucas UCL, and drove my Corolla with it's perfectly running engine but swiss-cheese body to the bone yard at 213,000 miles. In fact, my father before me also uses [no] Lucas UCL, and he's at 287,000 miles in his 1996 Camry. These weren't magical Toyotas either, they were the made in the USA ones, with PYB OCI's every 10,000 miles ~ ish.

So, using the same logic as TCW3/UCL proponents do, these cars never would have gotten this far had we used it... thank god we didn't.

Sorry if that's too close to trolling. Chalk me up as "not", and the stories are real.
 
None of all the cars in my family + those that maintained by yours-truely ever been on MMO, 2T oil or UCL diet at all, and they all have a combined mileage of over 1.5million kms to date. So far, replaced 1 fuel pump (Nissan Sentra, 91, with 210,000kms to clock when serviced).

In the world of additives, there are believers and there are non-believers.

I belong to the latter when it comes to adding lubricity to fuel (gasoline 4cyl IC-engine only)
 
I have a bottle of Lucas UCL and sometimes add it to my 2006 Caravan in the Winter. I go 7-14 days without driving it in the Winter and figure Lucas has to be better than HEET.
 
As I understand it fuel today is "Dry" and contains very little lubricant in it compared to what it once did, combine this with 10% ethanol and the strong cleaning agents and its even worse. (Not that I wouldn't want to have good cleaning agents)

IMO a UCL is needed and the protection can be seen. I have a couple of UOA's where all that was changed was the use of a UCL and without it there was increased ring wear metals and with it there was a reduction.

This was checked over the course of a couple of UOA's and it repeated itself accordingly. Even though UOA's show a narrow band of particles the fact that it went up/down based on the use of a UCL should prove that it is helping to provide some level of wear protection.

I have tried various UCL's but the reason I like the thought of using Lucas is because there is nothing in Lucas other than light oils that burn easily during combustion and some calcium additive. It doesn't contain anything harmful to the catalyst system. It is also the only one that seems to provide an equal MPG gain as the MMO did when I tested it.

IMO all cars will see a long engine life without the use of a UCL but as everyone knows I like squeezing the most out of my vehicles and I think the use of a UCL is something that should be a part of my formula!
 
Stevie, you certainly raise a good point. Around here Ethanol is a requirement, and most cars designed before the late 80's weren't designed with this consideration. And it is a strong solvent, and very corrosive, so the addition of a UCL on cars from that era is probably a good idea, if for no other reason to prolong the life of the metallic fuel lines. And sure, diesel engines... what not. Or stuck fuel sensors, or a fuel pump on the way out.

I guess it comes down to whether you're a man of science or a man of faith. IMO, you need to believe that it's helping somthing... and have some faith that the engineers at GM/Honda/Ford have a reason for not recommending this.
 
I tried and was using Lucas almost every tank as the instructions told me to follow but in my Durango I saw no improvement at all! Now in my old 89' Camry I did notice a much smoother running engine after adding a steady diet of this product over a couple months time. I believe in order for it to work the ratio of one bottle to treat 20 galllons isn't correct. You have to add at least two bottles to correctly treat any gas tank that large. It appears to work fine but it'll take a hunk of money outta your pocket.

Durango
 
I used it for a while this summer. Didn't notice any difference, truck's in good shape so didn't expect any. I'm using the Penzoil synthetic 2 stroke TCW3 for the last couple weeks per Sarge's suggestion.
 
I got used it once just so I can get the small bottle for other stuff I'm going to add. I don't know if I overdosed or not but my mpg for that tank was a little lower than usual.

I might have overdosed the MMO that I put in too since it also seems mpg is slightly low.
 
I use it all the time. I love the stuff! 3oz per 10 gallons as per the instructions. I have a quarter of a gallon of the stuff left.

I can usually get a bit more out of a tank of fuel with the stuff in there, there is notably more power, and the exhaust pipe after my long drive in the morning looks just as shiny on the inside as it does on the outside.

Next I will be trying Redline SI-1.
 
I've tried Lucas in the past, I keep going back to MMO. MMO works better for me. I just bought 4 bottles of the Redline Fuel system cleaner and plan on giving that a try soon. I like the idea that the RL has a top oil in it and can be used all the time as fuel system maint dose.

I tried PI from Amsoil it seemed OK, I just like the fact that RL has the top oil in it. I grabbed it on Amazon no shipping charges and it was on my front porch the following day, not bad!
 
This time around I decided to try Redline SL-1. After reading the label on the back it appears to be simular to Lucas "UCL" although I guess the formula might be different. I'll report back later if I notice any difference between the two.

Anyone tried both with any good results????

Durango
 
On my truck I've used it to quiet down a lifter tick (or I'm assuming it was a lifter ticking). Usually got it after running cheap gas (or Hess gas) and it seemed to always make it go away. I typically use MMO though.
 
I use Lucas UCL for the same reasons as MMO and 2 stroke oil in the gas.
Start with the fuel pump - they like lube. Same for injector parts, valve guides, valve face sealing, and ring sealing. Any cleaning is a plus, as is better fuel burning characteristics.
Lucas is kinda high priced, but larger bottles are acceptable.

We may not feel a difference, but extra protection won't be felt.
 
You can buy the Lucas in a big jug and it's very affordable like that. I think it works out to be $0.04 per fill up for me.
 
This is the time of the year to start using a UCL if you aren't already using one. Winter mix of gas, colder temps, can all add up to problems and additional engine wear. My father and a buddy I communicate with via PM here both agree that a slight OD during the winter time is a good idea. With all the cold start engine wear we talk about, a thin layer of oil in the cylinders is probably a good idea. JMO
 
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