Lucas Oil Production Inc has developed a special formula to be added with motor oils that protect the engine and enhances its performance called Lucas Oil Stabilizer. There has been much debate about the safety and efficiency of this product and the internet is full of mixed reviews from both sides.
In this article, we will debug all misconceptions regarding this stabilizer and will go through all of its ins and outs to finally separate the truth from the lies.
Table of Contents
Lets talk about its Composition
Starting with the most basic and core question which is asked about any product i.e. ‘What is it made of?’.
However, in our case, the results are shocking as the company claimed on their official website to be a miracle worker for the engine and we were right to suspect this claim as there was no scientific data presented to back it.
When the product was tested it was founded out that it has non-essential dangerous additives like ethanol which too about ten percent.
No such kind of product should be even brought near the engine as it is a danger to it.
Other than that it has viscosity modifiers which makes your engine oil thick. You might think that it’s a good thing but that’s not necessarily true on all occasions.
Working of this stabilizer:
As mentioned earlier this stabilizer is just a mixture of viscosity modifiers combined with some additives.
These viscosity modifiers are not like the conventional ones, the ones that good motor oil brands include in their products, which are ester based and expand to the temperature input to fulfill the viscosity deficiency of the motor oil.
However, in the instance of Lucas Oil Stabilizer, this product has active viscosity modifiers which are not activated by temperature rise and exist in their active state even during low temperatures.
How Effective is it?
There are two sides to the coin here when asked about the effectiveness of the Lucas Oil Stabilizer.
When talking about the hot temperatures, yes it does work, just like any motor oil or in some cases even better.
The thick liquid (Stabilizer) combined with motor oil compensates for the oil’s inefficiency which arises due to its thinness caused by temperature increases.
This stabilizer will maintain the integrity of the oil, keeping the engine lubricated and helping the motor oil to do its job.
But the downside is that at lower temperatures when we need the viscosity of the engine oil to be as low as possible, this product doesn’t disappear from the oil whereas in regular motor oil the viscosity modifiers return to their inactive state to lower the viscosity of the oil.
This phenomenon is the main drawback of this stabilizer.
Problems of Lucas Oil Stabilizer
Since we have pinpointed the main problem with the Lucas Oil Stabilizer, now we can understand which problems occur by using this product and more importantly why.
The most common problems are listed below:
Lower Fuel economy
The motor oil combined with Stabilizer gets thick and this solution is not able to flow especially at temperatures less than 40 degrees Celsius.
This decrease in the flowing of oil mixture directly impacts the engine’s performance and hence decreases fuel economy.
Premature Engine Wear and Tear
The motor oil forms a thin oil film on the moving engine parts to protect them from wear and tear but when combined with the stabilizer this layer is replaced by the thick and dense stabilizer layer which can have a detrimental effect on the metal surface of the engine.
As wear and tear can start occurring from beneath the protective layer.
Cold Performance Issues
The viscosity of good oil is minimum at cold temperatures but when the stabilizer is added its viscosity is increased, making it resistant to flow.
That’s why its performance is very undesirable at lower temperatures.
Dry Start
A dry start occurs when there is little to no oil available inside the engine at the initial start time.
These 10 to 15 seconds are crucial as most of the wear and tear occurs during this time bracket.
In extremely cold weather conditions using this stabilizer will surely result in a dry start.
Oil Change Interval Shortened
Each oil has the capability to hold additives most important of which is base as it is required to neutralize the acids which are formed during the combustion process.
As they tackle the acids their quantity gradually decreases up to the point, we have to change our oil.
Adding a stabilizer disrupts the oil’s capacity to cancel acids and we get a shorter oil change interval as a result.
Warranty Violations
Most of the reliable oils in the market are recommended by the engine manufacturers and the owner’s manual comes with a clear warning to not use any aftermarket or non-recommended liquid as a lubricant inside the engine.
Any damage that occurred through using Lucas Oil Stabilizer will not be fixed by the manufacturer as you have violated the terms of the warranty by using this stabilizer.
No Scientific Approval
Every product goes through a standardized procedure of vigorous mass testing to be declared safe and useful for the engine, but the Stabilizer has no such scientific testing to back up its safety and effectiveness claims which is a very big red flag.
No Major Oil Company Recommends Stabilizers
Even though the Lucas Oil Company was unable to provide any scientific proof of their product’s effectiveness, others can test their product.
After every single test, it was clear that Lucas is just a synthetic non-efficient viscosity modifier with unnecessary additives.
This is the same reason why not even a single motor oil brand in the world recommends using any stabilizer along with their products.
Our Verdict
We have told you about both the positive and negative aspects of this Stabilizer.
We don’t recommend you to use it, as the benefits it provides come with a high price of engine life.
Using any good motor oil is enough to cater to all the needs of your engine and even if you have an old engine, opt for the High Mileage motor oil instead of this cheap Stabilizer for maximum efficiency and life of your engine.
