Oil and additives
 

So do you guys use fuel boosters in your gas? And what oil is everyone using. I always use premium gas in my bird, and every other month use a booster.

When I use any mechanic in a bottle its only Lucas products. The only fuel additive I use is Lucas fuel treatment. I run C-12 so I never use an octane booster. Oil is usually Mobil 1

Just a note on octane fuel additives. Many of the popular fuel additives will turn your spark plugs a rusty orange color. When you pull them the first thing your think is that you're getting water in the combustion chambers. Doesn't seem to hurt anything other than scare you to death the first time you see it.

I've always been a little leary of additives. I'm sure there are some good ones, but I've always avoided them in my high performance stuff. I may have to change my tune now with fuel injectors. I use Dieselkleen in my diesel fuel, but sparingly. Probably 3 or 4 times a year. I've been using Rotella in everything for a while, but have used and like Mobil 1.

I use VR-1 in all of my older cars and Mobil 1 in anything newer.

I had heard great things about seafom.... it worked too good. I used it in our 79 TA and the car ran like crap for months. I can only assume it did a good job of breaking up any corrosion in the tank. New carb got trash in it constantly. Filter got clogged up within miles. I eventually had to replace the tank, sending unit and lines.

The car ran great for years before this and no problems after replacing the tank/lines so pretty sure that’s what it was

I use Joe Gibbs hot rod oil in my 1971 455HO. I used his break-in oil for the first 500 miles after the rebuild. For fuel, I'm just using Chevron supreme gas with no additives.

brad penn green oil in all my old cars

Flat tapped cam engine I use 10-30 dyno oil with a 1/2 bottle of GM EOS.Tom

X2 Brad Penn 10W-40.

Never was a big snake oil guy, but Lucas fuel treatment has proved to actually work. I had put a bottle in a 5 gallon container of gas and forgot about it for 3 months. When I found it I figured I had 5 gallons of paint thinner. Nope! The gas still smelled good and hadn't discolored. I do use full syn. in my DD's and VR1 in my older engines.

All things "mechanic in a bottle" are snake oil. No exceptions. Use the lowest octane fuel that your car requires, use good oil and a good filter. That's it.

The marketing of fuels as "regular" and "premium" was absolutely genius, as they have the majority of the public totally fooled into thinking higher octane fuel is somehow better for their car. It isn't. Use the lowest octane fuel that your car requires. Period. No boosters, no additives, no nothing. Unless you enjoy spending money for the sake of spending money, in which case why not donate it to charity instead? Then it might actually do some good.

Castrol GTX full synthetic, no additives.



Frank

Castro’s GTX is the oil we use, and the gas additive I use is STP octane booster. The 400 motor seems to like it, never had any unusual color change to my plugs.

Avoid any fuel with Ethanol. It's hard to do in most areas now.

Use Amsoil in my car and truck, Mobil 1 in the wife’s cars. As for additives, the only one I’ve used is MMO.

Not hard to find at all - https://www.pure-gas.org/

Valvoline VR1 + STP oil treatment for some extra ZDDP.

Pump 91, sometimes cut with 110 or Race Gas additive when I'm going to drive the car hard.

Pontiac 350 "slightly" modified 10.38:1 measured - 93 octane, 10W40 Ford oil
Ford 390 "slightly" modified 10.22:1 measured - 89 octane (unless pulling the 16' trailer, then 93), 10W40 Ford oil
Ford turbo 2.3, factory original except SVO cam - 93 octane, 10W40 Ford oil

The only "miracle in a can" I have ever found is Rain-X, and I use it on all my vehicles.

25 years ago, when I just HAD to have something that started every day, I used Mobil 1 in the Ford in the winter. Now, I just push snow with the John Deere, and wait for the temperature to warm up to start anything else.

Jon.

Jon, as a carb person, what do you think of Lucas fuel treatment? I have had great success with it. I also use Lucas ethanol treatment.

OK - the key here is you asked what I think.

Caviat - I am NOT a chemist, and this is not my field, so the opinion is personal, and NOT professional.

I have tried (because customers have asked me to) every fuel treatment O'Reilleys carry, including Lucas, in my own vehicles.

So far, the ONLY difference I can see in using or not using ANY of the fuel treatments, is the transferal of funds from my account to the account of O'Reilleys. They neither hurt, nor help.

The only fuel treatment I have used recently was Sta-Bil, in my Troy-Bilt until the warranty expired. Troy-Bilt stated they would not honor the warranty unless Sta-Bil was used. My guess is there is some hands under the table.

I have had MUCH worse results with oil treatments.

Over the years, we GENERALLY purchase used vehicles. We lost 3 engines that had been treated before we got them - 1 to STP, 2 to Slick-50. Not used to losing engines. We expect to get a minimum of 200k miles on any of them. Change oil AND filter at 2500 miles.

Again, the above is a personal opinion, based on personal experience, NOT a professional opinion.

Jon.