Auto manufacturers want your car’s engine to fail. At least after a certain point, some would argue. This planned obsolescence theory is rooted in the idea that car makers want to sell you more vehicles. Either that or turn to them for expensive parts and service maintenance.
But there are some ways you can extend the life of your engine. And it’s with a product that subscribes to the old adage: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” That product is an upper cylinder lubricant. A controversial topic among gear heads some will swear up and down that UCL’s are a pointless endeavor. Others maintain that they are affordable and effective additives that will significantly extend an engine’s lifespan.
Car enthusiast and TikToker Thomas (@carsrme) belongs to the latter category. He posted a viral testimonial gushing about Lucas Upper Cylinder Lubricant’s efficacy on his 270,000-plus mile vehicle. The clip accrued 38,000 views as of Saturday.
Love for Lucas
He shows a bottle of Lucas upper cylinder lubricant. Beneath the product is an open car hood, which stays propped up while he narrates the lubricant’s benefits.
“I know some people will swear up and down that this stuff is snake oil. But this is the best stuff you can put in your engine as an additive,” he says.
Thomas says the oil is great for older-style car engines, pointing to hosing and various components in the engine bay.
“This stuff is just so thick and on these old Vortec motors. They like to leak, they like to consume oil. I mean look at clean this, look. Not a leak in here,” he says, attributing that to the ameliorative properties of the upper cylinder lubricant.
The car enthusiast then shows another piece of tubing inside the engine bay. It appears to be spotless.
“Like look at that. Look at how clean that is. Literally, I don’t burn any more oil anymore. It’s amazing no cloud of smoke coming out of the exhaust,” he says. “This stuff the engine’s quieter, it’s just amazing what this stuff can do.”
High mileage
Thomas’ video cuts to him pointing to the car’s odometer. “I mean this old girl has 270,000 miles on it. And if you hold this down it’ll show your engine hours. And I think I have like 9,000…” he says, pressing the button. A different number pops up on the odometer screen. “847 engine hours. 9 thousand — almost 10,000 hours on this old girl,” he says.
He then keys the car’s engine. “And listen to how easy she just starts up,” he says. Indeed, after keying the car on, the engine turns and activates without hesitation. Moreover, there’s no squealing or other harsh noises.
“Nice, quiet, no lights on the dash. But yeah that’s why I love Lucas stuff, it’s just so good,” he says. “And I’ve also used their stop leak stuff and it doesn’t stop the oil leak. But, it sure will slow it down.”
He reiterates another benefit of utilizing the oil on his well-traveled engine. “And again, the engine’s quieter. It runs better…it doesn’t smoke as much,” Thomas says to close out the video.
Car enthusiasts divided
Depending on who you ask online, upper cylinder lubricant is either an engine savior or a placebo. Folks on a Bob is the Oil Guy forum post embodied this conflict. Some commenters said there didn’t seem to be any empirical evidence attesting to its efficacy. Others stated that they believed that due to the way older engines are constructed, that UCLs could provide some benefit.
Other users on this YBW forum seemed to echo the aforementioned sentiment. In fact, some people even remarked that they thought that it could cause damage to particular engine types.
However, other folks in this Garden Web forum post swore by UCLs. And not just for cars, but anything that is outfitted with a gas engine such as lawnmowers and hedge trimmers.
TikTokers were split
Akin to the various forum posts discussing the efficacy of UCLs, commenters who replied to Thomas’ video were divided. One person seemed to agree with the TikToker’s assessment. “Try Lucas oil additive high mileage. That stuff works even better,” they penned.
Another replied, “I use Lucas every other oil change, I agree it’s awesome.”
Someone else professed appreciation for another Lucas offering that they said worked wonders for their transmission: “Lucas makes some good product. I used the transmission fix and it helped my temperamental transmission a lot.”
But there were naysayers. One wrote, “Lucas does nothing has no properties in it.”
@carsrme Lucas keeps the old Chevy running #usedtrucks #silverado #gmt800 #trucks #newcar #usedcar #moneysavingtips ♬ original sound – Thomas
Another said that their car’s engine had an even higher mileage count than Thomas’. However, they’ve never used additives and haven’t had any issues. “292k never added any additives just regular 5w30syn going strong and very quiet,” they said.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Lucas via email and Thomas via TikTok comment.
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