Lucas or MMO for best MPG?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Jimmy9190

Jimmy9190

Joined
Feb 17, 2007
Messages
4,042
Location
Clermont, Florida
Just wondering if anyone has tried and compared the Lucas Fuel additive against MMO to see which gives the most gain in MPG? I have been using MMO in my tank at a rate of 2 ounces per 10 gallons of fuel now for a few months and have run tanks of gas with and tanks without MMO. When comparing the two, I get about 1 to 1.5 more MPG with MMO than without. My truck runs better and has more power with MMO too. I am just wondering if anyone has found out whether Lucas is really any better as far as increasing and getting the maximum MPG.

Thanks for any info here. Gas just keeps getting more and more expensive every day...
 
Thanks for the info. I tried a bottle of Lucas fuel cleaner when I first got my truck 4 years ago. I don't know if it was the gas I bought that day (Sunoco from a small mom and pop station) or the Lucas but my truck didn't run very well on that bottle of Lucas. Until recently all I ever used was Regane about every 5000 miles, then a few months ago started on MMO in every tank. I haven't used any Regane since starting on MMO and my truck still runs very well.
 
Instead of 2-oz per 10-gallons, you might try 3 or even 4 (the recommended dosage, anyway). It seems like every engine is a little different and have their own 'sweet spot' where mpg is the best. For my '99 Metro, it's 4-oz per 10-gallons. In my wife's '00 Cavalier Z24, it's best is with 3-oz per 10-gallons. Motorcycle and scooters are happy either way and don't seem to care, so I just use the recommended dosage.

I'm not trying to steer you away from MMO, but don't overlook TCW-3, i've had great results with it too.

Both of these seemed to work better than Lucas UCL in my vehicles and the price is better for TCW-3 or MMO, but I can't speak for anyone else.

Yes, i'm new to BITOG but have been an obsessive/compulsive oil freak for quite a while and an MMO user for many years as well.
 
Last edited:
I started out using the recommended 4 oz per 10 gallons MMO dose. Then as an experiment, I tried it at 2 oz/10 gallons for a couple tanks then 3 oz/10 gallons and I got the best MPG at about 2 to 2.5 oz per each 10 gallons of fuel. I got less MPG at the full 4 oz dose. My truck seems to run and perform best at the 2 oz dose too. It's a 2001 Dodge Dakota with a 3.9 liter V6 and a 5-speed manual, 126,000 miles on it. I got about 16 to 17 MPG with MMO at 2 ounces per 10 gallons of fuel. I recently increased my tire pressure to 40 psi front and rear and now I get another mile or a little more per gallon. This is all combined highway/city driving. It gets a little better on long highway trips but even those are somewhat stop and go because of the speed up and slow down Florida traffic on the interstates here.
 
Cool, sounds like you found what works for you. No reason to change what you're doing at this point. I've done the 'tire pressure' thing on my Metro and it made a difference as well, although small.

Like the results in your first post, my vehicles seem to run smoother and perform better with MMO as well - although I really couldn't tell any difference with TCW-3, as it worked great as well. I just decided to stick with MMO since I can use it in the gas and oil both.
 
I will never use or recommend the expensive Lucas again.
And tests show it is mostly motor oil, with no cleaners.

MMO is good in the fuel for a bunch of reasons. Some people get a MPG increase, some don't. You can't lose.
 
Oil in the fuel is for upper cylinder lubrication. Which one is a matter of preference. MMO and TCW-3 steal the limelight because they are good products and cost less than their competitors. MMO is intended for use in 4 cycle engines. Though not intended for use in 4 cycle engines, TCW-3 is cheaper and many find it works just as well.
 
Last edited:
Filled up at Texaco today, 15 gallons at $2.71 per gallon. I checked my MPG when I got home, it was 18.1 which I am pretty happy with that. I was getting around 16 before on the 4 oz MMO dose and with 35 psi in my tires. I had thought about buying a bottle of Regane or Shell V-Power fuel system cleaner, but said no, I will just keep doing what works and added my 3 oz MMO before pumping the gas in.

Thanks for the info here.
 
Originally Posted By: Ike_Clanton
You guys mentioning TCW-3, do you mean 2 stroke oil you put in with your gasoline? Is this to clean?


Mostly used as a UCL, although i'm sure that some cleaning happened - with the add-pack in TCW-3.

There are several posts already on BITOG about this, but to sum it up: recommended dosage is 2-oz. per 10-gallons. More or less seems to give no benefit, and my mpg actually went down a little when I tried a heavier dose. My real concern at first was fouling plugs, but absolutely no problems there either - perfect in color after several tanks.
 
Last edited:
I used SL-1 this past week for the first time, I added a full 15 ounce bottle before I filled up. Teaxco 87 again. Mine is a 22 gallon tank. I am very happy with the results so far, there is a very noticeable improvement in power and my gas gauge does not seem to be falling as quickly.

The Red Line SL-1 is the best fuel system cleaner I have ever used. I had not used a fuel system cleaner in about 6,000 miles, I have just been using MMO in the gas at every fillup for the last 3 months. I'll have to check my MPG after this tank with Red Line is used up. If the MPG is significantly better I may start on a maintenace dose of SL-1. I was getting between 16.5 and 18 on MMO alone.

I wonder how well it would (or would not) work to use both MMO and Red Line at every fillup?
 
I like to alternate using MMO and Lucas. To keep it simple, I use one of the 5.25 oz bottles of Lucas UCL and fill it with one or the other. Usually just rotate by going thru a quart of MMO, and then switching to Lucas. Do that on 3 Volvos, all with 18 gal tanks. Haven't tried mixing.
 
Originally Posted By: Jimmy9190
I used SL-1 this past week for the first time, I added a full 15 ounce bottle before I filled up. Teaxco 87 again. Mine is a 22 gallon tank. I am very happy with the results so far, there is a very noticeable improvement in power and my gas gauge does not seem to be falling as quickly.

The Red Line SL-1 is the best fuel system cleaner I have ever used. I had not used a fuel system cleaner in about 6,000 miles, I have just been using MMO in the gas at every fillup for the last 3 months. I'll have to check my MPG after this tank with Red Line is used up. If the MPG is significantly better I may start on a maintenace dose of SL-1. I was getting between 16.5 and 18 on MMO alone.

I wonder how well it would (or would not) work to use both MMO and Red Line at every fillup?


This has been mentioned before but might be worth mentioning again. MMO is not a FI cleaner, it is a UCL that does some cleaning, and will keep a clean system clean. RL's fuel system cleaner is a complete fuel system cleaner which also contains a UCL. That UCL is not as good a UCL as MMO or TCW3, but does a much better job cleaning IMO.

According to Rich Kelly over at Turtle Wax, using a good FI cleaner before using MMO is a good idea. Then you can switch over to just adding MMO to the gas to keep things clean and well lubricated.

RL can be mixed with MMO according to a conversation I had with Dave over at RL, or it can be used as a stand alone maint dose. The rate would be 1.5 ounces/10 gallons of gas. HTH
 
I got almost 17.8 MPG on the tank of gas with a full 15 oz. dose of SL-1 and no MMO. SL-1 made a really good improvement in the power on the butt-dyno too. It's a really good cleaner but I think I will only use it as a cleaner, at each oil change.

I will keep using my regular dose of 2 to 2.5 oz MMO to each 10 gallons of gas. It is amazing how much easier my truck starts and how smoothly the engine runs with MMO in the tank. I could really tell a difference when I had onlyused the SL-1.

I think MMO and Red Line SL-1 are both outstanding products. I have gotten great results from both and will keep my eyes and ears open for sales on both.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

SOUNDMAN5000
Thoughts on Using Sta-bil and Marvel Mystery Oil In EVERY tank of gas?
2
Replies
25
Views
1K
SammyChevelleTypeS3
B
Fuel Stabilizer in car not driven much
Replies
18
Views
2K
CharBaby
F
226k mile 2500HD 6.0l
2
Replies
29
Views
1K
BrendanC
M
Lucas Fuel Injector Cleaner needed if Costco gas is used often
2 3
Replies
49
Views
12K
BigCahuna
T
Picked up a good load of diesel fuel. Running smooth.
2
Replies
21
Views
2K
Chris142
Back
Top Bottom