Chevron's "Techron" VS Lucas "Upper Cylinder Lube"

[Durango]

Hello to all,

I was short a few bucks and decided to give the Lucas "Upper Cylinder Lube" a try cuz it claims to do the same as Chevron's "Techron" product. I've always been a loyal use of "Techron" except for today so this time around I don't think Chevron will lose any money due to my mishap.

I do have a few questions regarding the Lucas version though. Does just one small bottle really treat the entire tank of gas? Does this product last for 3000 miles just like the Chrevron brand? If not I must add one bottle every fill up of a tank of gas? Give me the skinney on this stuff. Does Lucas really work compared to the Chevron?

Many Thanks,

Durango

 

[psudaytona]

As for cleaning, I dont really know. It DOES make my car idle much smoother and have more power. I use lucas in every tank. Its cheap enough to do it for me. Actually, my current mix I run weekly is 4-5oz Lucas then its chased with 16-20oz of MMO to wash it all down.

This old I4 engine idles so smooth its like a brand new engine.

 

[Durango]

psudaytona,

Thanks for your reply. The bottle claims to clean injectors and lube upper rings and such. Generally speaking the Chevrons version does the same but last for 3000 miles of driving. I want my old Toyota 89' Camry to run it's best that I can afford. With over 220,000 miles on it you know what I mean. Not bad for a 4 cylinder engine. Anyway I'd like more replies before I give this product much more consideration. I'm all for saving money and must admit the Lucas brand is very tempting BUT I want it to work not just becoming a snake oil additive/waste money. If anyone would give me more opinions I invite all of them

Durango

 

[psudaytona]

I think the general view on Lucas UCL is good, there has been some claims that it actually tried to clean piston tops to the point where it wanted to leave bare metal.

The 2 cleaners do things differently. Techron is based on a great cleaner called Polyether Amine(PEA). Same cleaner can be found in Gumout Regane and Redline SI-1 in higher concentrations. UCL....well no one is quite positive how it works, but it does seem to work. There are no solvents in lucas vs plenty of solvents in techron. One theory is that Lucas has a chemical called polyisobutylene(PIB). Supposedly it makes the fuel molecules uniform in size when they atomize, leading to better combustion. PIB is supposedly a good detergent as well.

I am in your same boat, my daytona's engine has a bit over 185K on it to.

My personal way of running these adds is to run the lucas/mmo mix in every tank. And every month or 2 run a full "system cleaner" just to make sure its all clean and nice.

 

[mechtech2]

Chevron Techron isn't an upper cylinder lube. It is primarily a very good cleaner of deposits in the fuel system, valves, and combustion chamber. It is not to be used in every tank - maybe twice a year.
Lucas UCL is primarily an upper cylinder lube, with something that makes fuel burn more efficiently, and is s decent cleaner. use it everytank, if you wish.
They are both very good products.
At least get the qt bottle of Lucas, and maybe even the gallon. The cost per ounce goes WAY down.
They are not directly comparable, as they are designed to do different things.

 

[Durango]

psudaytona,

OK I get ya! They both do different things. I see now. Now my question is does my 4 cylinder engine need an upper cylinder lube? I've used Techron for years but never an upper cylinder lube. What are my benifits.

Durango

 

[Durango]

Quote:

---

Chevron Techron isn't an upper cylinder lube. It is primarily a very good cleaner of deposits in the fuel system, valves, and combustion chamber. It is not to be used in every tank - maybe twice a year.
Lucas UCL is primarily an upper cylinder lube, with something that makes fuel burn more efficiently, and is s decent cleaner. use it everytank, if you wish.
They are both very good products.
At least get the qt bottle of Lucas, and maybe even the gallon. The cost per ounce goes WAY down.
They are not directly comparable, as they are designed to do different things.

---

mechtech2,

Thank you for your posting as well. I've seen the big bottle of Lucas UCL and wondered if it's really a benifit cuz you have to use it in every tank for the best results. I'm not sure what yet but perhaps I'll see it soon. I've tried one bottle in this weeks tank of gas.

Durango

 

[Sinasta]

Quote:

---

Chevron Techron isn't an upper cylinder lube. It is primarily a very good cleaner of deposits in the fuel system, valves, and combustion chamber. It is not to be used in every tank - maybe twice a year.
Lucas UCL is primarily an upper cylinder lube, with something that makes fuel burn more efficiently, and is s decent cleaner. use it everytank, if you wish.
They are both very good products.
At least get the qt bottle of Lucas, and maybe even the gallon. The cost per ounce goes WAY down.
They are not directly comparable, as they are designed to do different things.

---

So you are suppose to use cleaners like RedLine S1 only twice a year?

 

[mechtech2]

Those cleaners are strong [and expensive!].
Once or twice a year should be enough.
Some have postulated that diesel engines last so long [compared to gas engines] because the fuel has a natural lubricity that is better than gasoline.
Also, modern gas has alcohol in it, which makes it even worse. Our fuel pumps, injectors, valve guides, and upper cylinders benefit from extra lubrication.
I use MMO mixed with ashless 2 cycle oil in my gas at about 3 ounces/10 gallons fuel. If that scares you, just use the MMO - it will also help keep things clean.

 

[mechtech2]

Lucas UCL is great, but a bit expensive.

 

[Durango]

Thank you all for your postings. I now have a better understanding of both these products. I might consider trying the Lucas once per month and see what happens in the future. Currently I've added one bottle and have noticed nothing yet. Perhaps it hasn't mixed with the entire fuel tank yet. For my budget I might be able to get a bottle or two per month but since gasolines so expensive here in Los Angeles I have to pinch my pennies and put food in my mouth first. Forgive me for being so political BUT we have a sorry government that does nothing for the people!!!!!

Durango

 

[SrDriver]

We use Lucas Fuel Treatment every time we buy fuel. We carry the small 5.25 oz bottle in the cars with about 3 oz of Lucas Fuel Treatment in them refilled from a large bottle which cuts the cost. When we are down 10 - 13 gallons of fuel. Add the Lucas then top off the tank so it gets mixed up good.

Used it in the past two vehicles we owned too and I use it in the fuel for the lawnmower.

I have found the 2 - 2.5 oz per 10 gallons of gasoline is enough in our vehicles.

 

[Jeremiah]

Techron / RedLine S1 you only use once a year because it's harmful to the fuel system for constantly use (note: the once-a-year cleans are okay). They're more expensive, but the benefit is you only need to run it once a year or so. It's method of giving you MPG gains is by cleaning the fuel system and valves.

Lucas UCL (LUCD) gives you MPG gains by libricating the upper cylindar walls, and is a mild cleaner. It's best if used on every fill up. I chose LUCD because:
* My own tests / logs prove to me it's working.
* I figure if it works as the manufacturer claims (by lubricating bits, and cleaning them) it might extend engine life.

I've noticed 2-4 MPG gains, and I've noticed the three vehicles I've ran it in all ran smoother with it.

I'm fairly certain I did the math correctly here...

I usually get the quart (32 oz) bottle for about $8 after tax. At 2 to 2.5 oz per fill-up, I get 13 to 16 uses per $8 bottle ($0.50 to $0.62 per use). I usually see at-minimum a 2 MPG gain (Stop & Go driving, 4 MPG on highway) using LUCD. In my area, we're consistently at $3.50 a gal now ($0.12 per mile). So, 2-4 MPG gain = $2.80 to $5.60 savings. Subtract the cost of the LUCD and my net savings are $2.30 to $4.98 per fill-up.

Notes on testing: I almost always buy cheap ARCO gas. If I don't use it on every fill up, I immediately loose the 2-4 MPG gains. I drive a '95 Toyota Celica ST w/ 242k miles on a 1.8L 7A-FE engine and get about 30 MPG. I've recently ran 2 tanks of gas without LCD on my '96 4 door Geo Tracker (1.6L 115k miles), and 2 with LUCD and I'm noticing similar gains.

 

[mechtech2]

I'll bet that Arco gas is pure gas with no alcohol, if you are getting those immediate and great gains with it.

 

[GMorg]

Jeremiah wrote: "My own tests / logs prove to me it's working."

Are you willing to share the data from which you have drawn your conclusions?

 

[Jeremiah]

mechtech2: I live in California where we have alcohol in our gas. I believe we still use two formulations - one for winter, and one for summer.

GMorg: For my Celica I didn't keep my old logs around (this test was done a few years ago). At the time I kept a slip of paper in the car and wrote my mileage / usage across 4 fills prior to LUCL. My car was just over 200k miles when I first ran my tests. I ran the tank down to empty every time (12-13 gal fills), and was getting 28 / 29 MPG pretty consistently. I never went over 400 miles on a fill. After a couple uses of LUCL I was getting 400+ miles between fills (31-33 MPG). I used 2 of the 5.25 OZ bottles across 5 visits to the pump. I was then out of LUCL and within a tank or two I dropped back down to about 360/370 miles per fill (sub-30 MPG).

The cost of the smaller bottles / hassle of use I just didn't bother using it for a while, so I was content with my high 20's MPG. When gas prices started to significantly rise and I discovered the larger (more economical) bottle I started using it again, and I've been getting over 400 miles a tank ever sense.

For the initial tests before & with LUCL I made sure to go to the same gas station and use the same pump. I'm not sure that's really important now 'cause my years of driving since is consistent with the data I gathered during my tests. I almost always use LUCL at every fill now, and I'm keeping just above 30 MPG per fill.

I've noticed the best gains in MPG are with freeway driving. I did a long distance trip (600 miles) going 70MPH and got almost nose-on 30MPG prior to LUCL. Doing long distance trips @ 70MPH with LUCL I get 34-36 MPG. I suspect my MPG gains may be higher than some because I typically use cheap ARCO or Safeway gas, and have a high mileage (242k) engine that may benefit more from the added lubricity.

 

[Jeremiah]

I should further note - if for some reason I don't have LUCL or forget to add it in, I'll go sub 30 MPG pretty fast (usually have to skip more than one fill).

So for me, the repeatability has been consistent enough for me on this particular vehicle to keep with it. I'll be testing my 4 Door Geo Tracker over the summer and will share my log at end of test. With my SMALL dataset I have now, LUCL seems to be working, but not nearly as well as with the Celica.

 

[Dominik]

Just to add my 2 cents I also have noticed an improvement in fuel economy with V-power my 3.2 CL-S never got more than 450-460 km on a tank even less with Sunoco's Ultra 94 Last two fills I noticed that it takes a lot longer before fuel lamp comes on. As of now 489 km as of now and the lamp has not come on yet. I get about 30-35 km

on a tank more but I think the current fill has been overtreated used about 9oz. per 16 gal tank

 

[Durango]

Guys,

Then I understand you use a small bottle every fill up of gas? I plan to buy another bottle this weekend and see if I gain anything.

Durango

 

[Buffman]

Good to know about to use the Techron only once a year. I've gone through about 3 bottles of it in my winter beater (ranger) because of how poorly maintained it was before I bought it. Won't be putting anymore in it now.