FP and LC
10-06-2005, 03:42 PM
#1
FP and LC
Alright after many many posts in other threads recommending lubecontrols products, I finally decided that they deserve a thread of there own. This thread will serve only to educate those of you who may be interested/or benefit from these products, but I plan to also use it as a link instead of typing my same answers over and over again to help people.
First let me start by saying that I have no affiliation with LubeControl, other than the fact that I use and love there products.
Just for clarification when I say FP im referring to Fuel Power, and when I say LC im referring to Lube Control.
We'll start with FP; I first got interested in this stuff after reading numerous numerous positive reviews of it on BITOG last year. After reading about 4000 of these reports I couldn’t stand it anymore, I ordered a gallon of FP and one of LC. when they came in I immediately added some to my I30 (98 with 75k at the time) I honestly expected no results from these products in this car, as it had gotten a seafoaming through the brake booster a few months before, always gets premium, had used techron as well, I knew this engine was quite clean but still decided to use some, overall over a bunch of miles now, I consistently see 2 mpg higher, if not more, now ill admit im not good at math but I think that that adds up to this stuff paying for itself. I used it in the maintenance dose in this car (1oz./5gal) im not so sure it was really the cleaning that I can attribute to this increase in MPG so much as the chemical change it makes on your fuel (and octane boost it gives). Well after adding it to the Qx4, which also saw a MPG increase, but I don’t drive primarily so it doesn’t get calculated regularly, I decided it was trustworthy enough for the Allanté, which nothing gets within 10 miles of without meeting my exacting standards. This engine was also clean, seeing only premium gas, having 70k on it, and getting techron here and there, after a few tanks of it I was shocked to learn that I was seeing 2-4MPG better almost all the time(except when I really pound it which I cant count).
Overall, I have been incredibly impressed with this product, my only complaint would be that im always giving people some for there cars, and never getting any back when they order it
.
FP and techron to me are the only additives worthy of seeing my gas, however I have reasons why I now use FP almost exclusively, instead of cracking off deposits and throwing them into the CC, FP dissolves them, which is easier on your engine. Also FP can be used all the time in low doses, or less often with larger doses, so it’s more flexible than techron is for me. The biggest thing that makes me choose fp over techron is the fact that I don’t like the elevated lead leaves seen in UOA's after using techron, chevron states that there is no lead in it, so my only explanation is that it some of it must be getting into the oil and eating up the bearings, Terry dyson of dyson analysis has said he sees no differences in cars w/ or without FP when he look’s at a UOA. Probably not that huge of a deal overall, but for the cheaper price of FP and all of those other factors, I now see little use for techron.
Now onto LC,
I decided that as long as I was ordering some FP I might as well get some LC. LC is a cleaner that goes in with your oil, but can also be used in the tranny and the power steering. Well I first put it in my oil, in a small dose, as in 1 or 2 ounces, I saw no difference, figured it might be doing something but who knows, now looking back I would love to have a UOA before and after, but anyway at my next oil change I decided I would follow there recommendation of adding one ounce per quart of oil, and then 1 ounce per 1k miles. I did this and to my shock at the end of the second oil change using this method the light varnish inside my valve cover is now almost gone, and I expect it will be with one or two more. Also LC adds the security if you go over a few miles on an oil change of knowing you aren’t hurting anything (they recommend taking a 3k OCI up to 10k, I know I wouldn’t do that but still its interesting) Anyway I also now use it in the Allanté, which I would say I have noticed no change in, it has used synthetic oil for some time now so was already clean, and the Qx4 which is too new to be dirty, but now with LC and M1 I don’t have to worry about. The catera has 91k on it and has had a nice life of dealer bulk 5-30 dino, with 3k miles or so on each one, not usually a problem there but this car isn’t driven easy (none of mine are) and in the oil filler has developed something more than varnish, but not full blown sludge either, I am currently in the process of deciding whether to do a LC flush (RE: lab report on site below) or adding a few ounces of LC ever 1k until its nearly gone, or using Auto-Rx, which I recommend for cars that have bad sludge, once the Rx is done I always recommend a steady diet of LC to keep it clean. Anyway my most impressive experiences with LC are the following 3:
1) With some LC and some ATF you can make one hell of a penetrating lubricant that will free up just about anything and is second in my house only to PB blaster. (The lc and ATF freed up a stuck block and tackle that I use to get our boat in and out of the water each year, this thing is most likely over 100 years old and was rusted beyond belief, this lube freed it up and bought me at least a few years.
2) After much contemplation I decided to add it to my PS and ATF, both of which I was planning would need replacement within the next 30k or so miles, my tranny made a fairly loud sound when in 3rd gear, and shifted slow, with LC and a few drain and fills, this is almost gone, anyone not looking for it specifically will not find it. I now plan to go around 50k on this.
3) my power steering pump loved to sing to me, low speeds with hard turns that thing moaned and groans, I finally decided that id try some LC in it, added a few ounces with a turkey baster fluid change, and nothing, few weeks nothing, finally while I was under the hood one day I took a look in my reservoir, to my astonishment the fluid was nearly black because of how much crud it had in it, I added LC with ATF doing the turkey baster thing for a few weeks, now the fluid stays clear red, and the pump wine is only audible with the stereo off, windows down, and moving real slow and turning hard, and barley even then. This was my most impressive LC experience.
-Overall, those of you who know how picky I am with oil know that I don’t trust just anything in my oil, all the cars (except the catera) get M1, and now all except the Mercedes (lease) get lc with it, the only other thing I even consider putting in my oil is Valvoline Synpower Oil treatment, and that’s only really good for the moly boost and viscosity boost.
To order these products/or read more about them go to Lubecontrol.com (and I highly recommend reading there lab report written by BITOG member molakule.
In conclusion, yes I admit these findings sound like they may be to impressive to believe, but I honestly experienced all of them, I will keep you guys updated on the catera situation, my guess is by now its bad enough to warrant Rx then LC, but I don’t know because its in Syracuse now.
Thanks, and questions are welcomed and will be answered to the best of my knowledge. Also check out the BITOG additive forum for much more info on these and other products.
First let me start by saying that I have no affiliation with LubeControl, other than the fact that I use and love there products.
Just for clarification when I say FP im referring to Fuel Power, and when I say LC im referring to Lube Control.
We'll start with FP; I first got interested in this stuff after reading numerous numerous positive reviews of it on BITOG last year. After reading about 4000 of these reports I couldn’t stand it anymore, I ordered a gallon of FP and one of LC. when they came in I immediately added some to my I30 (98 with 75k at the time) I honestly expected no results from these products in this car, as it had gotten a seafoaming through the brake booster a few months before, always gets premium, had used techron as well, I knew this engine was quite clean but still decided to use some, overall over a bunch of miles now, I consistently see 2 mpg higher, if not more, now ill admit im not good at math but I think that that adds up to this stuff paying for itself. I used it in the maintenance dose in this car (1oz./5gal) im not so sure it was really the cleaning that I can attribute to this increase in MPG so much as the chemical change it makes on your fuel (and octane boost it gives). Well after adding it to the Qx4, which also saw a MPG increase, but I don’t drive primarily so it doesn’t get calculated regularly, I decided it was trustworthy enough for the Allanté, which nothing gets within 10 miles of without meeting my exacting standards. This engine was also clean, seeing only premium gas, having 70k on it, and getting techron here and there, after a few tanks of it I was shocked to learn that I was seeing 2-4MPG better almost all the time(except when I really pound it which I cant count).
Overall, I have been incredibly impressed with this product, my only complaint would be that im always giving people some for there cars, and never getting any back when they order it
.FP and techron to me are the only additives worthy of seeing my gas, however I have reasons why I now use FP almost exclusively, instead of cracking off deposits and throwing them into the CC, FP dissolves them, which is easier on your engine. Also FP can be used all the time in low doses, or less often with larger doses, so it’s more flexible than techron is for me. The biggest thing that makes me choose fp over techron is the fact that I don’t like the elevated lead leaves seen in UOA's after using techron, chevron states that there is no lead in it, so my only explanation is that it some of it must be getting into the oil and eating up the bearings, Terry dyson of dyson analysis has said he sees no differences in cars w/ or without FP when he look’s at a UOA. Probably not that huge of a deal overall, but for the cheaper price of FP and all of those other factors, I now see little use for techron.
Now onto LC,
I decided that as long as I was ordering some FP I might as well get some LC. LC is a cleaner that goes in with your oil, but can also be used in the tranny and the power steering. Well I first put it in my oil, in a small dose, as in 1 or 2 ounces, I saw no difference, figured it might be doing something but who knows, now looking back I would love to have a UOA before and after, but anyway at my next oil change I decided I would follow there recommendation of adding one ounce per quart of oil, and then 1 ounce per 1k miles. I did this and to my shock at the end of the second oil change using this method the light varnish inside my valve cover is now almost gone, and I expect it will be with one or two more. Also LC adds the security if you go over a few miles on an oil change of knowing you aren’t hurting anything (they recommend taking a 3k OCI up to 10k, I know I wouldn’t do that but still its interesting) Anyway I also now use it in the Allanté, which I would say I have noticed no change in, it has used synthetic oil for some time now so was already clean, and the Qx4 which is too new to be dirty, but now with LC and M1 I don’t have to worry about. The catera has 91k on it and has had a nice life of dealer bulk 5-30 dino, with 3k miles or so on each one, not usually a problem there but this car isn’t driven easy (none of mine are) and in the oil filler has developed something more than varnish, but not full blown sludge either, I am currently in the process of deciding whether to do a LC flush (RE: lab report on site below) or adding a few ounces of LC ever 1k until its nearly gone, or using Auto-Rx, which I recommend for cars that have bad sludge, once the Rx is done I always recommend a steady diet of LC to keep it clean. Anyway my most impressive experiences with LC are the following 3:
1) With some LC and some ATF you can make one hell of a penetrating lubricant that will free up just about anything and is second in my house only to PB blaster. (The lc and ATF freed up a stuck block and tackle that I use to get our boat in and out of the water each year, this thing is most likely over 100 years old and was rusted beyond belief, this lube freed it up and bought me at least a few years.
2) After much contemplation I decided to add it to my PS and ATF, both of which I was planning would need replacement within the next 30k or so miles, my tranny made a fairly loud sound when in 3rd gear, and shifted slow, with LC and a few drain and fills, this is almost gone, anyone not looking for it specifically will not find it. I now plan to go around 50k on this.
3) my power steering pump loved to sing to me, low speeds with hard turns that thing moaned and groans, I finally decided that id try some LC in it, added a few ounces with a turkey baster fluid change, and nothing, few weeks nothing, finally while I was under the hood one day I took a look in my reservoir, to my astonishment the fluid was nearly black because of how much crud it had in it, I added LC with ATF doing the turkey baster thing for a few weeks, now the fluid stays clear red, and the pump wine is only audible with the stereo off, windows down, and moving real slow and turning hard, and barley even then. This was my most impressive LC experience.
-Overall, those of you who know how picky I am with oil know that I don’t trust just anything in my oil, all the cars (except the catera) get M1, and now all except the Mercedes (lease) get lc with it, the only other thing I even consider putting in my oil is Valvoline Synpower Oil treatment, and that’s only really good for the moly boost and viscosity boost.
To order these products/or read more about them go to Lubecontrol.com (and I highly recommend reading there lab report written by BITOG member molakule.
In conclusion, yes I admit these findings sound like they may be to impressive to believe, but I honestly experienced all of them, I will keep you guys updated on the catera situation, my guess is by now its bad enough to warrant Rx then LC, but I don’t know because its in Syracuse now.
Thanks, and questions are welcomed and will be answered to the best of my knowledge. Also check out the BITOG additive forum for much more info on these and other products.
10-06-2005, 04:23 PM
#3
Originally Posted by Love_00_Max
Very interesting, makes me wonder why not give LC a shot (though I am not inclined to add anything to my oil, but then, rules are made to be broken).
Yes believe me, i have tried many gas additives, but my oil is precious to me(i use M1 5-30 w/a pure one filter and change it ever 5k which is big time overkill) and ill admit it was a step to add anything to that mix, but as of right now there are only two things i can reccomend addin to oil, LC for pretty clean engines, to keep them clean and mabye clean them up a little, and Auto-rx for neglected engines, mabye with time i will learn to trust the Synpower but as for now that can stay on the shelf.
10-06-2005, 06:08 PM
#5
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 6,190
You da man, kcyran!
I have completed my AutoRX clean phase and have just over 1,500 miles left on the rinse phase, ie. 1/4 complete. I used a 12 oz. bottle of Chevron Techron just before dumping the oil and filter from the AutoRX clean phase.
I'm not sure if I needed the AutoRX in the first place as my car is a low-miler with mostly highway miles and I've never over extended the OCIs. However, I must admit that I think my fuel economy has improved somewhat and I can not hear the engine idle, despite having a Budget stainless steel y-pipe. The car seems to run like new. I recently replaced the PCV valve for the hell of it, but at 61,150 miles still have the original OEM platinum plugs in place and don't plan on changing them for awhile yet.
About 8,500 miles before adding the Chevron Techron, the stealership talked be into using a 2-part fuel additive called BG02 (not BG44K). Prior to that I had used it once before. So I have only had fuel additives 3 times in the car's life. Given that I have
just used Chevron Techron, when would a good time be to start using FP?
Secondly, following completion of the AutoRX regimen, I will be switching to Esso XD3 Extra, 0w30, PAO full synthetic year round. I plan on 12-month, approximately 6K, OCIs and have not used synthetic before. I was planning on running the XD3 on its own for the first OCI, then perhaps complementing it with LC starting with the 2nd oil change.
The primary reason I used AutoRX was not so much over worries about sludge and varnish, but in preparation for the switch from dino to synthetic oil. I thought it would help rejuvenate the engine seals and minimize the potential for any leaks following the change over to synthetic.
What do you make of my plan, kcryan?
I have completed my AutoRX clean phase and have just over 1,500 miles left on the rinse phase, ie. 1/4 complete. I used a 12 oz. bottle of Chevron Techron just before dumping the oil and filter from the AutoRX clean phase.
I'm not sure if I needed the AutoRX in the first place as my car is a low-miler with mostly highway miles and I've never over extended the OCIs. However, I must admit that I think my fuel economy has improved somewhat and I can not hear the engine idle, despite having a Budget stainless steel y-pipe. The car seems to run like new. I recently replaced the PCV valve for the hell of it, but at 61,150 miles still have the original OEM platinum plugs in place and don't plan on changing them for awhile yet.
About 8,500 miles before adding the Chevron Techron, the stealership talked be into using a 2-part fuel additive called BG02 (not BG44K). Prior to that I had used it once before. So I have only had fuel additives 3 times in the car's life. Given that I have
just used Chevron Techron, when would a good time be to start using FP?
Secondly, following completion of the AutoRX regimen, I will be switching to Esso XD3 Extra, 0w30, PAO full synthetic year round. I plan on 12-month, approximately 6K, OCIs and have not used synthetic before. I was planning on running the XD3 on its own for the first OCI, then perhaps complementing it with LC starting with the 2nd oil change.
The primary reason I used AutoRX was not so much over worries about sludge and varnish, but in preparation for the switch from dino to synthetic oil. I thought it would help rejuvenate the engine seals and minimize the potential for any leaks following the change over to synthetic.
What do you make of my plan, kcryan?
10-06-2005, 06:19 PM
#6
Bobo, sounds like a great plan, i must admit im not to well educated on XD-3, everything i know i know from you, but im sure it wont hurt to LC it every now and again, it will not only boost the additives but it will make sure to keep oxidation real low, if i were running that interval id deffently use it. As for the FP, anytime is a great time to use it, you may or may not notice a difference having just used techron, but your car will be happy with it. sounds like you've got the car in a great position to last a long long time, just keep it clean and waxed, AND RELACE YOUR TIRES 
And by the way, my slowing down of posting on this borar recently has been because you always beat me to the answer.........and say exactly what i would've.
And by the way, my slowing down of posting on this borar recently has been because you always beat me to the answer.........and say exactly what i would've.
10-06-2005, 06:29 PM
#7
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 6,190
Originally Posted by kcryan
Bobo, sounds like a great plan, i must admit im not to well educated on XD-3, everything i know i know from you, but im sure it wont hurt to LC it every now and again, it will not only boost the additives but it will make sure to keep oxidation real low, if i were running that interval id deffently use it. As for the FP, anytime is a great time to use it, you may or may not notice a difference having just used techron, but your car will be happy with it. sounds like you've got the car in a great position to last a long long time, just keep it clean and waxed, AND RELACE YOUR TIRES
And by the way, my slowing down of posting on this borar recently has been because you always beat me to the answer.........and say exactly what i would've.
And by the way, my slowing down of posting on this borar recently has been because you always beat me to the answer.........and say exactly what i would've.
Not to ***** your thread but as far as the tires are concerned, cheapskate that I am, I finally broke down last week and bought 4 Yokohama Avid H4S all-season (H-rated tires) at blowout prices. I saved just over Cdn$300 on what the wholesale to the public firm typically sells them for. The reason given was that my 215/60R/15s are an odd size and they wanted to clear them out. When they restock they will be back to Cdn$147/tire and I paid Cdn$80. I was out on the highway this afternoon in heavy rain and they performed very nicely at 70 mph. Had I been on my old Goodyear Eagle RSAs with 3/32" left I probably wouldn't have exceeded 60 mph, given the conditions.
Who knows maybe one day I'll get a steal on sparkplugs, lol!
10-06-2005, 06:34 PM
#8
Glad to hear you got new tires man, now i dont have to wonder if when you dont post for a while if your dead...just kidding.
plugs dont worry me as much, but id change them if it was me.
i must admit i've never been in the 6th gen forum haha
plugs dont worry me as much, but id change them if it was me.
i must admit i've never been in the 6th gen forum haha
10-06-2005, 07:04 PM
#9
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 6,190
Originally Posted by kcryan
Glad to hear you got new tires man, now i dont have to wonder if when you dont post for a while if your dead...just kidding.
plugs dont worry me as much, but id change them if it was me.
i must admit i've never been in the 6th gen forum haha
plugs dont worry me as much, but id change them if it was me.
i must admit i've never been in the 6th gen forum haha
My NOx levels were on the high side, so I might have to clean out the EGR system at some point, but I'm good to go for emissions testing for 2 more years so that can wait too as I don't believe it affects the vehicle's performance. I could stand to be corrected on that one.
10-07-2005, 03:49 PM
#11
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 6,190
Originally Posted by kcryan
Actually, fp is well known for reducing the Nox levels, also i replaced my PCV with no real good reason, just makes a man feel good about himself.
Maybe I'll order some FP in a few months and start using it. Given that I've just run the Chevron Techron, I should be good to go for awhile yet on fuel system cleaning.
And as I said I'll probably hold off on the LC until after the first synthetic OCI. One of the strong points of Esso XD3 is that it lends itself to longer OCIs and is not prone to oxidation.
