I believe that professional racers find out more quickly than just about anybody if there's a performance or reliability edge to be had. The only big name pros (in any series) I've ever known to use any of the oil additives were those sponsored by the additive manufacturer. If there was a big benefit to be had for a reasonable price, the racers and/or the oem manufacturers would be all over it -- and they're not. For engines in good working order, I don't think there's any significant benefit. For engines that aren't in good working order, QDRHRSE said it.
I have used Lucas oil stabalizer. Seems that age/mileage have caught up to my valve seals. Car was usin up a bit of oil and smokin a little. When I did an oil change I put in 1qt of Lucas to 4qts of Castrol 10W-40. All the little drips of oil my car was leavin on the garage floor were gone. Floor was bone dry. So I guess it helped out with the pesky little oil leaks but that's about it.
I don't remember the site but did see a test with lucas oil stabalizer
one big problem it did vs just plain oil is it let a lot more air get trapped in the oil
as we all know air doesn't make a very good lube
and from my experience working at a company that made some of these things is that they are just base oil with some polymer(sp?) to thicken the oil up and also used a 10w40 base oil
some others use a few anti frinction addatives that only work when oil isn't present due to shearing
but all in all these things are not always the greatest thing to have being they leave more deposits when they wear and break down and can cause more problems then what they are worth
What he said, but the Lucas additives do work to a certain degree. I've used them in a high mileage (i.e. worn out) engine and transmission. They helped with, low oil pressure at idle, engine knock and auto trans shifting problems.
I just put in the Lucas on my last oil change. 1 part Lucas to 4 parts Motocraft 10W-30. It pretty much turned my 10W-30 into 10W-40. I have an underground heated garage that never gets below 0 degrees celsius which is the freezing point of water so in that sense, it won't gum up like hell. I did it as I know the stuff "hangs" on to the cylinder walls and coats the gaskets (prevents drying) well so when the car sits idle for a couple of weeks in between starts, I know when I do a "cold" start, the oil pressure will go up faster, and the wear inside won't be as bad. I don't know about using it if I stored my car outside in cold temperatures. I think I'd use it with a 5W-30 or something like that.
I've put about 300 km on the engine or 188 miles since before the storage. The oil still looks nice and clean and I started her up just last weekend with no problems.
Come spring though, out the oil goes and I think I'm switching to the 10W-30 Valvoline high mileage oil from now on.
I've never heard a poster here complain about Lucas that it ruined their engine, and I've called a 15 year pro 5.0 racer who said he doesn't use it, but didn't think the stuff could do any real damage and has never pulled a block apart that had used it and was damaged by it, or worked on an engine where the Lucas may or was a culprit.
I saw the site about how the Lucas could interfer with the anti-foaming agents of conventional oils, however, foaming could occur once the oil gets really hot, and I noticed that on long trips (1 hour) after my oil change, the oil on the dipstick was slightly less hot than when I was just running the conventional stuff alone. Apperently, one of Lucas's bragging point's about it's oil stabalizer is it keeps the engine cooler due to better lubrication.
It couldn't hurt trying it, but I'm trying something else next time.