i was wondering if anyone was using lucas oil stabilizer in their cobras. I saw a bottle of it at the store and used it on one of my other cars... it seemd to have quieted the engine down quite a bit (and the car has 110K on it). it states that one quart of the oil stabilizer with your regular engine oil will quiet down the engine, protect it better and reduce friction on start-ups (which is crucial). I know that there are tons of oil additives out there that are crap, but i saw someone was using this stuff on this board. makes me wonder if 8 bucks a bottle of this stuff is worth it for the long run of the cobras engine. Lucas appears to be a major manufacturer of oil products... anyone have any info or experience with it?
lucas oil stabilizer
- Thread starter blksvt10th
- Start date
I use it w/ Mobil One 5w30 syn, I have the tick, but can no longer hear it. 
Originally posted by mj8
I use it w/ Mobil One 5w30 syn, I have the tick, but can no longer hear it.
Do you add it in addition to the 6 qts of oil or in place of one of the quarts of oil?
In place of one of the quarts.
I'm gonna try this at my next oil drop. 5 qts. of Mobil 1 and 1 Lucas. Do you have to use Lucas at every oil change?
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- Jan 27, 2003
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Lucas additive as well as all the others is not good:
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/images/lucas/lucas.htm
"It does not lube the engine, But at these pressures, it foams like a devil. It is then returned to the sump. So, think the oil is being whipped up any in that? On a PSD, This runs the injectors and add a little air to that system, Now you really have problems."
and read here for the full review:
http://theoildrop.server101.com/cgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=5&t=000207
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/images/lucas/lucas.htm
"It does not lube the engine, But at these pressures, it foams like a devil. It is then returned to the sump. So, think the oil is being whipped up any in that? On a PSD, This runs the injectors and add a little air to that system, Now you really have problems."
and read here for the full review:
http://theoildrop.server101.com/cgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=5&t=000207
Good catch in finding that, I have never believed in any of the additives.. well, I do like the marvel mystery oil and have used it from time to time, but not in the Cobra. I dont even believe in the syn oils.. just straight 5 or 10 w 30 GTX for me, I think the important thing is to just change the oil every 2k or so.
thanks for the read... it was very very convincing since it was actually tested. i never really believed in oil additives, but the luas stabilizer just seemed different. but now i could honestly say ALL oil additives are worthless... thanks again
Sorry, not a flame, but why would you put oil stabilizer in synthetic oil? That just make any sense to me. Putting it in dino oil makes more sense.
I was reading on the bottles, and it says that it is safe for use with synthetic oils. Also, they have some other stuff that is 2 times the price that is specific for synthetics
rick
rick
Dominick32
BANNED
Wow.
This is great information.
I was considering the Lucas Oil Stabilizer to quiet down my tick noise. Based on an educated decision, now I will NOT be using the additive with my Royal Purple Full Synthetic.
Thanks again,
Dom
This is great information.
I was considering the Lucas Oil Stabilizer to quiet down my tick noise. Based on an educated decision, now I will NOT be using the additive with my Royal Purple Full Synthetic.
Thanks again,
Dom
Yeah, that's great, but what does it do for you? Synthetic is already "stabilized", so aside from removing extra money from my wallet, what does it do?
Snakebit, dont shoot the messenger, this is just what I saw on the bottles. Also, on the one that was specific for synthetics, it said that if the noise didnt go away to use the regular stuff, making me think the regular stuff is thicker
Rick
Rick
Sorry, I didn't mean to shoot or flame the messanger. I'm just trying to figure out what this stuff does over sythetic. I'm using Amsoil now, but used Mobile 1 in the past and tend to regard any type of aftermarket oil additive as "snake oil" (sorry for the pun). With the explanations given so far, I'm so not convinced.
Back in the day, we used Marvel Mystery Oil to help solve problems caused by irregular oil changes, but now, synthetic is so much superior to the dino oils of the days of yore, that IMO, it is unnessary. Plus, as pointed out in supplied links, sometimes harmful if the aftermarket additives are incompatible with the additives put in the oil by the refineries.
So now I use a good synthetic, extended drain intervals on the crankcase oil, and change the filter (and top off) every 3K miles. A Full change is done every 12K miles. Haven't had any oil related problems yet (1986 GT over 200K miles on Castrol Syntec, 98 Cobra over 57K on Mobile 1, and now the 03 on Amsoil but only 11 K miles so far). The current group of synthetics (Amsoil, Mobile 1, Royal Purple, Red Line, etc.) are so much better than dino oil, that it makes additives unecessary, IMO.
Back in the day, we used Marvel Mystery Oil to help solve problems caused by irregular oil changes, but now, synthetic is so much superior to the dino oils of the days of yore, that IMO, it is unnessary. Plus, as pointed out in supplied links, sometimes harmful if the aftermarket additives are incompatible with the additives put in the oil by the refineries.
So now I use a good synthetic, extended drain intervals on the crankcase oil, and change the filter (and top off) every 3K miles. A Full change is done every 12K miles. Haven't had any oil related problems yet (1986 GT over 200K miles on Castrol Syntec, 98 Cobra over 57K on Mobile 1, and now the 03 on Amsoil but only 11 K miles so far). The current group of synthetics (Amsoil, Mobile 1, Royal Purple, Red Line, etc.) are so much better than dino oil, that it makes additives unecessary, IMO.
I dont agree with all of this.. but most of it
There is no disputing that syn oils are good, but my input is that the dino oils are so much better than they used to be that the lubricating qualities of the dino oil is only slightly less than the syn oils. The syn oil is not that much better..There used to be an oil guru on here that worked in the industry and he would say the same thing.
Also, the syn oil says to go for extended periods between change.. I finally have proof.. well to my satisfaction anyway that this is a bunch of crap. In my friends Nissan truck he has always run a syn oil and done the extended period between changes.. I know he changes the oil every 5000 miles without fail, but when I looked in his oil cap and inside the valve cover, it was one of the worst cases of sludge I have ever seen, granted that he has over 200k, but I have had over 200k on engines and not one little speck of dirt in the engine.
My suggestion, it does not matter what oil you use when using a good brand of syn or dino, it is hard to go wrong, just change it every 3K max! With the 03/04 Cobra and the high heat and wear we see maybe 2K or earlier depending on your power output and mods.
I am sticking with 5 or 10 w 30 GTX and change it every 1500 miles or so.. or if it starts to change color from clear. I dont believe in additives either..
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I have to disagree with part of your statement, it does matter what oil you use. Personally, I don't like the Pennsylvania oils because of their high parafin content. Over time, this parafin will leave deposits inside of the engine. The worst seems to be Quaker State (although that was several years ago, I have not used any since 1986 on any of my vehicles, so it is possible that it has changed since then). I would not use cheap no brand oil on anything bigger than a lawn mower. As for dino oil, my favorite brands are Valvoline, and Castrol (but not their syntec since finding out it's not a true synthetic). It also turns out that oil filters make a large difference, especially in the 4.6 mod motors.
In addition, some oils leave behind a varnish like residue when they burn (oil droplets contact hot engine parts). I've seen the inside of an engine with 40K miles and the valvetrain looked like it was painted with varnish (color only). By contrast, when the valve covers were pulled on my 98 Cobra at 47k miles, the mechanic remarked at how clean the inside of the engine looked. He thought it had less than 10K miles on it and asked what I cleaned the inside with. That was on Mobile 1 5W-30 using extended drain intervals, 3K on filter and top off, then 12K for a full change. Also, that engine used 1 qt of oil every 1,500 to 1,800 miles consistently since new. However, there is no evidence that this coloration does any harm to the engine.
When I pulled the valve covers on my 86 GT after 200K miles (the valve cover gaskets leaked every now and then) that valve train also looked real clean. That engine was run on Castrol Syntec 5W-50 using the same extended drain intervals as the 98, but it used 1 qt every 1,200 miles. I put the first qt of oil in that engine at 750 miles, but as the engine got older, it used less oil.
The advantage that synthetic has IS the extended drain intervals. You are correct when you state that dino oils are almost as good at lubricating, but only up to a certaion point in time. Dino oils wear out in ways that synthetics don't. The enemy to extended drain intervals is contamination of the oil by gas (sliding past the rings unburnt on a cold engine) and water (from condensation inside the block. Most particles will get trapped by the oil filter, so if you are consitent with the filter changes, particulate matter isn't so much of a problem. You can minimize gas contamination by driving the engine soon after startup rather than letting it idle to warm up. I don't have a solution for condensed water, but that doesn't seem to be much of a problem at 12K miles. I'll be getting an oil analysis on my next oil change, but in the past, water has not come back as much of a problem.
So as far as extended drain intervals go, I see your friend's Nissan truck and raise you a 5.0 and a 4.6 4V. The synthetics today are much better than the first Mobile 1 (which was advertised as good for 12,000 miles when it first came out, then later dropped from their ads). IMO, if you are going to change your oil every 3K miles, then use dino oil. If you are going to use synthetic, then extended drain intervals is the way to go. I know there are several on here who will disagree, and that's OK, but so far, I have not seen evidence (even circumstantial evidence) of oil related faileures (spun bearings, or scored cylinder walls for example) on any engine using extended drain intervals. All of the failures have been due to low oil or low/no oil pressure. Come on guys, either call me out or back me up. I'm willing to let the science decide if I'm full of it or not. Show me the evidence.
BTW, stangin, was your friend's Nissan engine still running OK? I'm at a loss to explain his sludge if he was consistent on his oil changes (although I don't consider 5,000 miles to be an extended oil change period on synthetics), but then I could be wrong.
In addition, some oils leave behind a varnish like residue when they burn (oil droplets contact hot engine parts). I've seen the inside of an engine with 40K miles and the valvetrain looked like it was painted with varnish (color only). By contrast, when the valve covers were pulled on my 98 Cobra at 47k miles, the mechanic remarked at how clean the inside of the engine looked. He thought it had less than 10K miles on it and asked what I cleaned the inside with. That was on Mobile 1 5W-30 using extended drain intervals, 3K on filter and top off, then 12K for a full change. Also, that engine used 1 qt of oil every 1,500 to 1,800 miles consistently since new. However, there is no evidence that this coloration does any harm to the engine.
When I pulled the valve covers on my 86 GT after 200K miles (the valve cover gaskets leaked every now and then) that valve train also looked real clean. That engine was run on Castrol Syntec 5W-50 using the same extended drain intervals as the 98, but it used 1 qt every 1,200 miles. I put the first qt of oil in that engine at 750 miles, but as the engine got older, it used less oil.
The advantage that synthetic has IS the extended drain intervals. You are correct when you state that dino oils are almost as good at lubricating, but only up to a certaion point in time. Dino oils wear out in ways that synthetics don't. The enemy to extended drain intervals is contamination of the oil by gas (sliding past the rings unburnt on a cold engine) and water (from condensation inside the block. Most particles will get trapped by the oil filter, so if you are consitent with the filter changes, particulate matter isn't so much of a problem. You can minimize gas contamination by driving the engine soon after startup rather than letting it idle to warm up. I don't have a solution for condensed water, but that doesn't seem to be much of a problem at 12K miles. I'll be getting an oil analysis on my next oil change, but in the past, water has not come back as much of a problem.
So as far as extended drain intervals go, I see your friend's Nissan truck and raise you a 5.0 and a 4.6 4V. The synthetics today are much better than the first Mobile 1 (which was advertised as good for 12,000 miles when it first came out, then later dropped from their ads). IMO, if you are going to change your oil every 3K miles, then use dino oil. If you are going to use synthetic, then extended drain intervals is the way to go. I know there are several on here who will disagree, and that's OK, but so far, I have not seen evidence (even circumstantial evidence) of oil related faileures (spun bearings, or scored cylinder walls for example) on any engine using extended drain intervals. All of the failures have been due to low oil or low/no oil pressure. Come on guys, either call me out or back me up. I'm willing to let the science decide if I'm full of it or not. Show me the evidence.
BTW, stangin, was your friend's Nissan engine still running OK? I'm at a loss to explain his sludge if he was consistent on his oil changes (although I don't consider 5,000 miles to be an extended oil change period on synthetics), but then I could be wrong.
I claim to be no oil expert or anything. I just go from my experience. I used this stuff, and my TICK has went away and my motor has completely quieted down, my piston slap/cold noise is gone as well that I had.
I used this is my Wife's 2000 Z-71 which also had some slap, and it is now totally gone and the motor is a hell of alot quieter as well, it smoked some on startup, and doesnt do it now either.
I try to catch a couple of NHRA races every year, you go check out most of these pit area's and between runs you will see them slamming some Lucas Oil Stabilizer in most of the top fuel cars. I even talked to some of the competition eliminator guys, and they swear by the stuff.
Once again, im just going by my experience, some people believe in additives, other dont. It's worked for me. I used this stuff because some of the guys in the ls1 community had great results with it, and now I do.
I used this is my Wife's 2000 Z-71 which also had some slap, and it is now totally gone and the motor is a hell of alot quieter as well, it smoked some on startup, and doesnt do it now either.
I try to catch a couple of NHRA races every year, you go check out most of these pit area's and between runs you will see them slamming some Lucas Oil Stabilizer in most of the top fuel cars. I even talked to some of the competition eliminator guys, and they swear by the stuff.
Once again, im just going by my experience, some people believe in additives, other dont. It's worked for me. I used this stuff because some of the guys in the ls1 community had great results with it, and now I do.
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