EXACTLY!!! These engines are being put to GREAT use and he's not only helping everyone out by showing use the results, he's actually donating them when he's done with them so even more people can learn with them. This man is great and he deserves every good thing he has in his life, and he deserves the even better things bound to come his way down the line.
You know, now that I think about it this dude is saving the planet. By doing the tests he's making our engines last longer. So we don't have to hurt the planet more by producing more engine. He's Captain Planet.
You also have to think he's running these with zero oil in it. He's not saying to ever do that, there will always be wear on parts no matter the fluid. These tests however show a great "if worst comes to worst scenario". Still, it wont really matter what you use, if you choose to use an additive. These tests show the viewers more on what product you may want to stop wasting your money on.
I agree! Destructive testing is a part of every industry. The fact that he doesn't work for any of these companies is a large plus. Keep up the destruction!
Project Farm hey bro thanks for the video im glad i recommend you to do a video on zmax oh boy am glad you did this i won't buy zmax maybe lucas syntetic oil in the future thanks and what a great video brother.
Just remember to not use the lucas as directed. Once you start using it full the strength, the engine becomes dependent on it. If you're engine is getting a little rougher and older, try just a few ounces. I really made a difference for me when I was in a dessert and I needed a little more viscosity protection. When I got out of the dessert, I didn't keep using it and the engine was okay with that. When my engine is more worn, I'll use a little all the time if it ever comes to that. This way, as the engine wear gets worse you can increase how much you use. If you go straight to 20% of the volume being Lucas long enough, you'll never be able to stop using it. @@joeg.1119 I've tested some Lucas products and more on my channel if you'd like to check it out.
I love the no-nonsense nature of this channel. There isn't any sponsorship, any gags, or any show, just straight up testing and comparing. And I love it
You my good friend are way to good for RU-vid... your a special kind of guy that we need more of lol, the compassion for your viewers is OFF THE CHAIN haha, and you show it every video , you have great content and your out to not cheat the consumer by doing your testing
It would be really cool to see him get the recognition he deserves in the form of some sort of award for being such an outstanding example of what it takes, not just to be a great RU-vidr, but also just a great person.
This is simply an amazing channel with very scientific but yet real world research and situations. It is very clear that a lot of work goes into the making of these videos.
They are both useless in a well-designed engine with no obstructions in the oil circulation system. They are only useful in badly-designed engines or badly-maintained engines. Lucas is oil premixed with a "climbing agent" that makes the oil stick to moving parts (gears, crankshaft counterweights, etc.) so it will get flung into neglected spots the oil doesn't normally reach. Lucas doesn't add any lubricity to normal engine oil, but because it's premixed with oil already, it's still a decent lubricant on its own. It's a BAD idea to run 100% Lucas though, because too much climbing agent will prevent the piston rings from scavenging oil properly and the engine will smoke like a chimney. As for the Z-Max, it's basically a "pour-point depressant" that reduces the viscosity of cold oil so it circulates better -- hopefully without reducing the hot-viscosity of the oil once it's heated up. That should be completely unnecessary in a modern car because the oil they use is so thin already. However, I'd be interested to see a repeat of the initial viscosity and lubricity tests with the oil+additive mixture cooled in the freezer overnight.
It's always a bit of a cringe to watch brand new products being damaged but this is no way a waste at all. It is a case study to help prevent waste on a much larger scale. You're doing big favors for people and in my opinion helping create less waste in the long run. Thank you again for another informative video and thank you for devoting your time for all of these.
Note taken Kevin, but this is no different than auto manufacturers building their products to sellable specs to perform crash tests for safety purposes 🙂💪🏽
Being donated to a school afterwards is a great idea. The crankshaft may be too far gone to go back in for a rebuild. Probably not too expensive to replace it,along with the other parts. I'm a bit curious about the collective wear in some of the other areas of the machine. I wonder what the valve lash gap was like after running with basically no lubrication.
The label at 10:23 says check the oil every 8-hours, it must have leaked out after the initial fill (LOL).. Horrible Freight guys said their air compressors were returned seized up and no oil in them, perhaps the reason oil-free pumps replaced their products.
@@codyaaron2129 Harbor Freight is alright. I go in on sidewalk sale days - $5 for this and $10 for that - ring it all up at the cash register and the total is $500.00, WTF!!! I saved so much I went broke, LMAO!!!
Z-Maxx sucks lol. I remember seeing their ads on TV years ago. Never thought is was good though because it looks like water offering no protection. I would like a comparative with Dura-Lube additive oil against a competitor such as Lucas. Dura-lube was also seen on TV comercials in the 90's, and made then astronomical promises. Thanks for the great work, and your time. Very well explained!
BNA Since 1988. I remember those ads, I started using Zmax because I believed them . Fast forward a few years and I received a settlement from a lawsuit about Zmax making false claims lol.
I had a old piece of shit bronco II with noisy lifters... Like a sewing machine was getting fucked by a post driver. Added zmax and it quieted up. Even my dad was a skeptic, until I added the zmax.
Your tests are dispelling some really old myths. Good stuff! You should do an amsoil vs royal purple shootout! I know there are tons of guys that would love to see that one!
Amsoil is difficult to test under these kinds of conditions to reveal its major shortcomings. The two largest drawbacks to that brand is its longevity: base number and thermal breakdown. The base number of an oil is its alkalinity, which enables the oil to neutralize acids produced during operation that would otherwise corrode components. Despite being advertised as a 15000-25000-mile oil, the base number has been demonstrated to drop to zero by only *8000* miles, and even sooner under severe conditions. Any miles driven with that oil beyond that, and the engine is eating itself. The other disadvantage is that as the oil breaks down, the viscosity actually increases, as much as 50% at operating temperature by 10000 miles, so a 5w30 Amsoil will be similar to a 20w50 after only half of its advertised endurance.
I hate seeing the engines destroyed but I think you should keep doing them. You have the best videos in this class. I'd love to have a beer with you haha
seriously I watch your channel like a TV show - most of those products are not even in Europe but your testing methodology is on the point and you do not make it boring to watch! Keep up!
I've recently watched nearly all of your videos and I have to say that your channel is VERY underrated and I'm confident you will soon get many new subscribers and gain popularity rapidly. Keep up the great work, greetings from Prague!
Well, you were completely right. I wish I had the time and energy to make videos as well as him, but if people don't mind a lower production value, but great information, I do tests on some of these "snake oils" and I've found some things that have proven value as well.
Zmax uses ZDDF additive, which is zinc based, and not as effective as modern day nanolubricants, such as borate. With that said, I'm not surprised Lucas lasted longer seeing how the oil additive is way thicker than Zmax, and when drained leaves behind more oil residue for lubrication, than the thinner Zmax+oil. Great video and keep up the awesome work! I can't wait for the Archoil (potassium borate) based oil additive test. Finally don't worry about the haters, nothing is learned in science without destruction!
Sir, what you do for the RU-vid community is amazing! You are the gold standard of testing products many of us use or want to use and I always check your channel before buying something just in case you covered it. I have made several purchases based off your findings and from the bottom of my heart: Thank You so much for taking the time and money to provide all of us professionally made comparison videos, for free none the less! Your one of the best RU-vid creators on here and I have shown coworkers and friends your channel so they to can learn from your videos. I hope you never stop making them, have a wonderful day man!
Best testing on youtube as you go out of your way to be fair, and have no stake in the outcome. Must admit do cringe watching a fine new engine destroyed but it does prove the point, and I just hope the schools can get some connecting rods and other needed parts to get those destroyed engines back to usable ones, perhaps Predator would work out a advertising deal w/them? 'Look what was done to the engine, and with just a few provided parts these students were able to get them running again" etc..
I don’t know about you guys, but I fucking love this guy. Mechanic work is a lost art. So many guys my age don’t even know how to put air in their tires.
I was at a gas station by the college in my town and a young man asked me to fill his tires for him while I was doing mine. His gf was in the car shaking her head from embarrassment. Taught him how to do it though. He was very grateful.
I went to york county school of technology for small engines and it was always awesome when someone donated engines or small equipment. Those students (and us viewers) thank you.
It's actually a cheap parafin oil. The kind that's like $30 a barrel. Very cheap stuff. They got sued, I heard, sorry I didn't confirm, all the way up to the Supreme court for selling something so cheap that does so very little. When I have a customer insist on using Zmax, I tell them we can use just a little. Why? Because then it won't do any harm, lol. Don't get me wrong, I used it as described in 2000 on my 1994 Ford Escort. It made it fast and it also wore the engine out very quickly. I got 10-20% better gas mileage for months just to get a permanent 10-20% loss in gas mileage from engine damage until I got sick of it enough to get rid of it. Sure, they have an engine safety promise, but since it was only enough engine damage to lower gas mileage, I'm sure I couldn't have won the case. @Google User
@@LTVoyager those were the varying real numbers. Gas mileage is a range. If someone is sure it's always the same, while possible, then the information may be suspect.
DE Nichols My point is that you can’t possibly get even 10% better mileage due to a change in the oil used. Frictional loss ranges from 3-9% in most IC engines based on percentage of load. The 9% value would be at idle under no load and 3% would be at maximum power output. So, if we say the average friction during normal driving is 5-6%, then even if you found a magic oil that completely eliminates friction, you would at most get 5-6% more fuel mileage. The reality is you might reduce friction 20-25% which corresponds to a 1-1.5% change in overall engine efficiency and thus fuel mileage. So, whenever I see a claim of more than 2% better fuel mileage due to changing to some magic elixir oil, I know the claims are bogus. x-engineer.org/automotive-engineering/internal-combustion-engines/performance/mechanical-efficiency-friction-mean-effective-pressure-fmep/
You are the working man's keeper my friend. Thank you for helping us save on what we can and helping us avoid getting taken advantage off by these jerk companies.
More content from you a day early! Detonating these engines for the sake of understanding what works and doesn't work is not a waste at all! I love the fact you're donating these engines after the fact. Keep up the great work on these videos!! I can't give you enough compliments on the quality of your work and everyone you are educating!
Easily the most upfront likable person here on RU-vid I remeber when u were a small channel now I come back to millions. It’s awesome I love your content!
Still waiting on the prolong test! :) And these are not a waste. The amount of money end users save by not buying a product that is junk adds up to make these projects worthwhile and worth every dime you spend. Keep up the good work and keep the awesome content coming!
Jason B I had an engine that I had prolong in that should have seized multiple times but kept going strong so I would love to believe that it was because I put prolong in it. When he does the Prolong test depending on the results will have found my answer. Plus I've always hated recommending products to friends without seeing independent testing done like this.
mute8s Well use it in a 2010 Mack truck with Mack/Volvo 6 cyl. The in dash computer allows me to monitor dozens of operations of the vehicle. Like when a low friction additive is added to the oil. I can see the engine load go from 12% to 8% at low idle (650) or 4% at high idle (1000). I can watch the turbo pressure go up and down and etc. It's a fun way to test these products.
Dearest Farm Boy: You handle constructive criticism with admirable grace and humility! I'm so impressed with how you listen to - and actually implement - viewer suggestions. Your openness to new ideas (plus your innate creativity, charm, and work ethic) has resulted in videos that keep improving in a quality arc over the years. They're an addictive joy to watch. As for my two cents...keep the charts coming and don't be stingy with the awesome drone footage, The Farmabago, and your Manne-cousins : ) Wishing you all the best for years to come xoxo
Milton Moore He soaked a bearing in Zmax for 24 hrs and heat cycled it 10 times to test your proposal and it made no difference. The wear was the same. Zmax is useless, apples to apples.
I would like to see royal purple vs amsoil preformed in the same manner as this video. My guess it going to be royal purple, in fact i would go as far as to say royal purple will polish the bearings vs do any damage. Both are good oils and both will protect the engines in extreme conditions.
i am a diesel tech by trade and i have see countless people use lucas in there engines every oil changes and the damage it causes in the long run. i personally run 10w30 gtx in my engine. at 320k when the intake gasket started leaking coolant, i dissembled the top end and found no build up. goes to show its not just the oil but maintenance also. also another idea is 75w90 or rearend oil in general vs 10w30. see if the thicker oils causes more friction or if there is no change. its a idea
Jetmech0417 never heard of amsoil in a large diesel. I know of a guy that runs it in his 5.9 cummins and swears by it. But i agree that it would be a good comparison.
Todd- Keep up the good work my friend. You don't need to explain to people what you do. I feel you are doing the world a service with all the testing. I've learnt so much from your channel, and looking forward to what you come up with next.
You do have to keep in mind some cars or motorcycle say not to use any adetives because the clutch is wet by the motor oil that would cause slippage or wear of the clutch
Lucas synthetic does say on the bottle to change the mixture in such instances as a motorcycle with a wet clutch. So it does show that you can use it in such situations without damage.
I'm glad I used Lucas oil in my old car an seeing theses test of new engines being put to death first hand has show me that Lucas is the better protection after all, GO LUCAS OILS... an thanks for the neat video as well too...
As a Chemical Engineer for Valvoline, I can tell you that there are better products across the board than any Lucas product. I'm not here to "plug" Valvoline so I'll leave it at that. C@@TheRealZJE313
Thank you. I had a mechanic friend swear up and down about z max and I’ve used it 3 times for three oil changes before I got to see this video. You legitimately saved vehicle.
Loved these videos! It would be nice to see some royal purple, i heard some good stories and some horror stories. Back a few years ago in college, we managed to get a Briggs intek for some experiments on how to increase rpm stock. First it revved to about 5-5500rpms, then we removed the spark arrestor on the exhaust, then air box, filters, slowly getting it higher and higher, the breaking point was when I think we used some bigger valve springs, I swear to god the tachometer showed 8200rpms just by removing all restrictions. The connecting rod let go and later found that it had failed due to lack of lubrication, not of stress. I'm surprise the flywheel didn't go! I'll find the video some day. Greetings from Canada.
You should try and run an engine on just transmission fluid. People say it is a good engine flush but some say it hurts the engine. I think it would be a good braking in engine oil.
Thank you very much for another unbiased testing of 2 oil additive products! I do appreciate how you went about the tests particularly how you independently tested the engines & the additives & seen how long it took until they failed. This is real life reality of what the truth is about these additives! And I was VERY surprised about the poor protection of ZMax! Their advertisements & claims are not genuine as far as I'm concerned! Thank you Sir. P.S. What you do on your channel is a wonderful source of education & learning for the general public, especially young teenagers who are in their critical learning years!
Love your channel. Would really like to see a video on the differences between the 3 Lucas oil stabilizers (regular, synthetic, and high mileage). Keep up the great work!
Great vidio,i have a 06 Tacoma and have been using Lucas with Mobil one after it reached 50,000 miles,it now has 230+ miles and doesn't use or leak a drop of oil,and runs as good as a new one.i believe in friction reducing additives.
I said it once and I’ll say it again! Put those engines on a counter weighted rotating mechanism so you don’t have to pick them up and tip them over while supporting all their weight laterally You can secure the engines to a platform that tilts along the front to back of the engine where the oil drain is, so you can tilt the engines and pour out the oil with one hand!
Congrats on another fantastic video. And great idea to donate the engines to be rebuilt I used to run my old diesel on recycled vegetable oil, 100% during the summer and 50/50 during the colder months (uk) Interested to see if one of those engines would run on it
I admire your work, because your work saves us time and money from purchasing products that claims to do a lot but in reality it's quite the opposite. Keep on doing what u do. Thanks amigo
Love these tests, I've used zmax and Lucas in the past. I will never get zmax again and as much as I like Lucas, I watched the test you did with motorkote, I will be going with that for a while. Also watched the one with the graphite and I gotta say I'm kind of intrigued by the increase in compression.
I second the enthusiasm and interest in motorkote. I was more impressed with Motorkotes protective abilities than with the STP vs. Lucas video that he did.... And another clip on the top of the line is the one comparing the different types of Pennzoil motor oils. And he stated from findings that the Pennzoil was second place to Amisol Which is a top of the line oil and is really expensive.. I wish he would do cream of the crop test with additives like Lucas, motorkote, along with synthetic and non synthetic oils like Pennzoil max, Castrol Titanium, Mobil 6000, Amisol along with a random oil like Valvoline 10w40 all with the additives... I personally am thinking of going with motorkote and Castrol Titanium (which claims 12k mile change intervals) Or Motorkote and Pennzoil max. Pennzoil max is a 3mo. Inervals. I don't know if you put the motorkote in with every change.. of if it's a one time thing like slick 50..
I used oil with graphite in the 80s in a new chevy impala. By 60,000 miles the valve lifters were clicking. Oil was changed regularly. I blamed it on the graphite. Still do.
I think Project Farm deserves billions of views for this episode and his hard work on making it possible to show us the real comparison between the 2. Thank you Project Farm for showing me something new to learn today!
I think it is important that people like Mr. Project Farm do these types of test. So many manufacturers make inflated claims about their products. Project Farm tries as best is possible, to make fair comparisons, in real life demonstrations, of the abilities of these comparable products without bias, and I feel it is helpful in choosing which brand or type of product I would choose to help me with my related situation. I would think it is better to destroy a lawn mower, than for me to destroy a working vehicle. Certainly there is a lot more waste if I damage my truck engine than to destroy a lawn mower in testing! So I believe there is a net benefit for the environment if through these tests I can keep my truck out of the scrap yard! Thank you Project Farm!
Another great video. The zmax was the worst you’ve tried yet. Maybe next time try vegetable oil compared to regular 10w30? With no stabilizers in either.
Great video. Thanks for doing these it really helps the rest of us make informed decisions. Also donating the engines to schools is a great idea and contributes to the future generations of mechanics. 👍
I wonder- which product would perform better, IN PLACE OF oil (100% strength) running, then dry. You remember when Slick-50 first came out? The guy had an old inline 6, valve cover off, no oil, and with a water hose- would douse the engine, even the distributor? No trickery there, huh? It's all so much snake oil. Imagine- cold winter morning- crankcase full of Lucas? Bye bye, engine! Another awesome video, thank you so much.
This is a great point regarding 100% strength and I'm really curious of this too. I might test this if there is enough interest. Thanks for the positive comment.
Serveck agreed it's a very good cleaner but doesn't really add any performance to the oil other than bringing the detergent package up a little bit you know?
When Carroll Shelby did the TV ads " endorsing " ZMax it really turned me off. Ol' Shel sank to an all-time low when he did that. Mineral oil as an engine lube supplement? NO THANKS! Thanks for another objective test.
I really love how you clearly don't like wasting good stuff, even in the name of science, but do it anyway knowing that the results will provide very valuable information to many many people. In a sense, they are being used and destroyed for a good reason so they really aren't being wasted, but you still just don't like destroying them. I feel the same way. I hate waste and something like that would be hard for me to do also but you've no doubt helped so many people with this video....1:26 absolutely amazing. Not only are they providing valuable information but they're further being put to good use to teach students!!!! :D
No problems destroying a new engine. It seriously hurts my feelings to see rare or antique engines destroyed for the sake of destruction. Even if its for knowledge. You do lots of things that educate. And i learn a lot from your tests. I respect the fact that you do your best to maintain the scientific method throughout every video you do. Respect 100 percent.
destroyed all the time by ppl that cannot CHECK THE OIL BEFORE EACH RUN OF THE DAY!!!! and change the oil every 25 hours, more often under dusty conditions. i get mower engines to refurbish... first thing... check the oil... low or no oil in them??? WOW. FIRST THING... CHECK THE OIL!!!!! have oil on hand, stock up on qts when at wm, oil is oil, some is better than none. dont need MOBIL 1 synthetic for mower but if it is $3/qt sure why not. at $6/qt???? at $10/qt NO WAY. since oil will be replaced in 25 hours on small engine anyway. 15-40 diesel oil is good as any.
A good idea here, I was wondering if you could try different engine assembly lubes specifically Lucas assembly oil and white lithium grease. No oil, which engine self destructs first. I do a lot of engine rebuilds and this would help me a lot. You have some of the most unbiased opinions and test strategies on RU-vid keep up the good work!
I love this idea. I just bought some of the lucas product because it was the only thing I could procure locally in time. Not what I normally use but would love to see some comparisons done as well. Always the most thorough testing I see of any product.
Put in Greece as it is running and see if you can put in enough to stall it or at least reduce engine speed you should also try what they call Corn head Grease and get it from your local John Deere dealer it's basically a real thin grease or a real heavy oil
Renewable Oilcan Rim I doubt it would do much. Petrolatum, which is basically petroleum jelly, is used in the aerospace industry to lubricate o-rings when installing parts to prevent cutting them. It's not usually used in the oil system, but there are times when it's better than straight oil. The oil and fuel just break it down and it cycles through the system as normal. Granted, it's a fraction of a percent of the total, but it's still there.
I think the Z Max is designed to remove carbon deposits in an engine. It also comes with a gas additive as part of the kit. I did notice the piston head was clean on z max, but Lucas had a bit of carbon build-up. I use z max and sea foam they both remove carbon very well, but I'm not sure if it's intended to aid in lubrication. Cool test, thank you.
@@ProjectFarm I have been using Lucas for more than a decade in all my engines. They run quieter, and the oil looks like it is in better condition when I change the oil. I have no idea if the fuel economy is improved in any way. Differences in driving habits likely make way more difference as far as fuel economy goes.
Love the content of your videos. I have a suggestion. It is a costly one but I was left wondering about what type of protection was really added. Maybe next time you could provide a control sample. An engine which was just run on oil to determine what if any protection was added. Again I love the videos. Keep them coming.
Oh yeah, that would be awesome! I would even go further and suggest using same brand, like for example Mobil 1 for synthetic and Mobil 1000 for conventional.
I'd like to see you run this test using Royal Purple vs. Another quality synthetic oil of the same viscosity such as mobile 1 vs. A lower grade synthetic oil. Or even just mobile 1 vs. Royal Purple to see if it's really worth the extra $2- $3 per quart.
Glad to see a real test that Lucas actually works! I used to work at an auto parts store so I’ve heard both ways whether is does or doesn’t work. I’m curious about the Lucas transmission sealer/leak stop, if you’ve already tested that then I’d love to see the video.
These two products are designed to do really different things. ZMax is designed to remove build up over time, decrease carbon deposits, etc. It is proven to increase gas mileage, extend engine life, reduce heat, etc... Lucas claims to reduce friction, eliminate dry starts, etc... so Lucas is supposed to coat the internal parts and reduce friction like bacon grease in a drain, Zmax would be more like Draino, it gets into the tiny cracks and reduces the carbon build up or prevents it in the first place so everything flows better. So you got exactly the results you should have on this test. Try testing older engines with similar build up and see which one runs better or has less build up after treatment would be a better way to see how ZMax works.
I know this video is 4 years old but while watching it a couple things came to mind. One was the thing about breaking in the engines. It USED to be that you needed to use a non detergent oil for this but nowadays, manufacturers say to break it in with what you’re going to use in it normally. The non detergent helped seat the rings in older vehicles, not anymore. Secondly, have you ever heard of a lubricant manufacturer called Lubrication Engineers? I used to work in auto parts. We would order this stuff specifically for a few customers. One was a Ferrari owner that swore by it and used only it. The second was a drag boat owner/ operator that was amazed at how much it cut down on wear. He had to tear the engines apart between passes and was used to having to replace bearings. With the LE, he didn’t have to as often. I wonder how these tests here would fare. Love the videos.
They aren’t meant to run alone, they are stabilizers. Meant to carry the oil across the entire engine evenly. Prevents scavenging. Also I don’t know about the new formula, I always ran the old stuff.
my friend said driving around with engine flush in his engine oil would not be bad for the car, I told him it would be bad as it makes the oil lose it's lubricity and burn up. Maybe you can put some engine flush in a lawn mower engine and run it and see what it does to the oil!
Those students who will get their hands on those engines will learn a great deal! That is a great idea for recycling and educating our youth in practical matters! Well done again, sir!
Thanks for doing the Zmax test. Before he passed away Carroll Shelby was a spokesman for Zmax. I always wonder if it was any good or just more snake oil
We tested the Rotax 2 stroke engine (6400 rpm cruise) in an ultralight and normally we pull the engine down at 300 hours for a top end overhaul, but when we pulled the engine down with Lucas Full Synthetic Racing 2 stroke oil, we found NO wear. So we put it back together and ran it until it would fail. We ended up running it for another 1000 hours and it never failed. We pulled it down and found very little wear and only changed the plugs 3 times. Lucas is REALLY GOOD STUFF.
