Lucas fuel injector cleaner! Does it do anything...? Let's find out!
Hey!.... Welcome to #modmonday! This week we take a look at Lucas Fuel injector cleaner and whether it is worth your time/money. With my fuel injectors having almost 220k miles on them I decided it was time for a test.
This is the size you will find at most stores and what I decided to give a go with. Lucas 32 oz fuel cleaner
If you head to Amazon you can buy this in bulk and save more money. Lucas one gallon fuel cleaner
There are plenty of car chemicals that promise countless benefits but which are true? I am always pretty skeptical about these products but decided I would give Lucas fuel injector cleaner to see what it could do, as the reviews seem pretty positive.. so let's find out.
Subaru and every other manufacturer has their own version. I have yet to test any differences within it.
With almost 220k miles on the Forester's fuel system it is safe to say it's less than as proficient as it was when brand new. Given the mods on the Forester it is not so great on mileage, seeing about 200 miles (218ish corrected for tire size) when the light illuminates the dash. which is around 17mpgs in town which is where my mileage predominantly comes from.
This is where I typical get to with the A./T tires on. The orange fuel light is just visible.
A shot of the gauges a few months back. Generally getting 17 mpgs with my in town driving.
After scanning a few reviews online I decided to give Lucas to see how it would do for my car, thinking there would be little to no differences.
Information to know for this experiment is my Forester generally hits 204 miles or 224 miles when the light comes on. It has oversized A/t tires, a stage 3 Cobb ots tune with a Vf39 turbo, Grimmspeed PnP exhaust manifold, Invidia downpipe and Sti axle back exhaust. I start my car mulitple times during the day for short in town trips in a five mile radius generally. I run ethanol free 91 octane in the car with 5w-30 Subaru factory oil.
Quite a few upgrades on the Fxt and this is the oil that I currently run in it.
No ethanol added gasoline is my go to, it always seems to idle and get the best gas mileage on this blend.
Adding 3 oz of Lucas to my 3/4th full tank I started my test. When the light popped on it showed 213 miles or 234 miles (tire size) gaining about 10 miles over my typical fill up. Which is not too bad for the first fill at 3/4, nobody will complain about an extra 10 miles a tank. Fill up was 12.8 gallons.
First full tank. Once the orange fuel light comes on I head to the gas station.
18.2 miles per gallon on this tank. A 1 mile increase., pretty nice.
For my second fill up I added it once again just slightly over 3/4ths a tank. Once again my mileage was slightly higher and the gauge popped up at 226 miles or 248 miles (tire size) this netted another 14 miles or 24 miles over the standard mileage. Fill up was 12.7 gallons.
The second tank with the Lucas, even more miles!
Now up to 19.5 mpgs A two and half mile gain.
I was pretty amazed by the improvements honestly. I haven't changed my driving style, still hitting boost when leaving stop lights/signs with the A/c on due to the current temperatures and really didn't expect large differences. Buying this in a bulk size would be the best way to maximize your gains for the least amount of money. While also keeping your fuel system healthy.
I have added this to a third tank and will see if it sees further gains and also added it to our lower mileage 12 Impreza to see how it compares.
Questions, thoughts, comments!? Leave them below!