Lucas Fuel Treatment

[xstuntman]

Originally Posted by CamaroBarb

I'm using Pennzoil Plat which already meets that spec according to Pennzoil.

What's the weight on the oil?

GF6 is supposed to be 0w16 and it will be in an A blend to retro all engines or B blend for modern DI engines. The American Petroleum Institute insignia will look like a chevron versus the current gear shape. 33% more cleaning ability compared to current oils. May 1 was the target date.

[tstodii]

Originally Posted by CamaroBarb

I have a idea someone may have had a tune installed in this car. Only way to find out really is to have the PCM reloaded at the dealer which they are willing to do BUT they can't save the old tune and don't know if it will solve the trouble I'm having.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure the dealer would be able to tell if it has an aftermarket tune. I'd start there and see if they can determine it's not a factory tune. Your V6 SHOULD NOT require 93 to run right, so it's sounds like a tune was done with fuel maps for premium.

My 2cents is that if the car is running like garbage and you suspect the tune then just let the dealer flash it back to stock. Or heck, take it a performance shop and let them run it on dyno and re-tune. This will probably cost more than the stock flash from Chevy, but it's an option.

Who cares about the tune if it's really problem? If it's not, well now you are back to stock which should allow that engine to live a little longer. I'd be very weary to keep a suspected aftermarket tune on a used car that you can't verify who tuned and it's running like junk.

Sounds like you know some stuff about cars, so maybe you could tear the motor down a bit and see how bad the carbon is. Or let a professional shop take a look.

Or if it's in your budget just sell it and replace it with something that makes you happy and runs good.

[ChibiBlackSheep]

Originally Posted by CamaroBarb

I have a idea someone may have had a tune installed in this car. Only way to find out really is to have the PCM reloaded at the dealer which they are willing to do BUT they can't save the old tune and don't know if it will solve the trouble I'm having.

Originally Posted by tstodii

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure the dealer would be able to tell if it has an aftermarket tune. I'd start there and see if they can determine it's not a factory tune.

Do you live anywhere near Philadelphia? I could plug in my HPTuners, save your tune, and run a compare to a stock 2014 tune file and tell you in 2 seconds if you have a tune or not.

Any performance shop should be able to do that. Doesn't cost a thing to save a tune off a car and run a compare, but it does cost money (at least with HPTuners) to save and write a tune file back to a car.

Even if you had a tune, the LFX has both a high-octane and a low-octane fuel table. Either the tuner copied the high-octane into the low (which is never advised except when dialing something in), or there is something mechanically wrong and causing knock where the higher fuel octane is helping to battle.

Lucas fuel cleaner won't help with valve deposits. The valves are above the injectors on your car. Highly recommend a mechanic who will take the manifold off and check for deposits that way, and do a walnut blast. It's safe, because you close the valve completely before you blast that valve, and vacuum out the deposits at the same time. Then rotate the crank to close the next valve and do the same thing.

How mechanically inclined are you? I would also pull the spark plugs and take a look at a few of those. They might not be sparking at the right time, and you need the higher octane to help pre-detonation, but maybe it's just bad plugs. The LFX is a very easy engine to do the plugs on.

I'm also in the camp that I don't think GF6 will fix this issue. Direct Injection engines are just dirty. The oil blow-by and PCV systems in these cars just allow too much crap back in. Catch-cans that actually catch it all before it gets back to the UIM are really the only thing you can do. The GF6 will just help the oil not breakdown so much from the excess fuel that gets back in, but most high quality fuels on the market already meet the standards that GF6 will start to enforce. I do 4,000 mile oil changes on my DI engine.

[1JEWLDSSRS]

I use the Lucas injector cleaner, have for 112k miles and also the ZMAX oil treatment every 6000 miles and after 98k on the car when we took the heads off to do the cam swap, they couldn't believe how CLEAN my pistons and valves were. If you start from the beginning and do it regularly you should be fine. Also if you want a nice kick in the pants for your Camaro try the Lucas octane booster in the red bottle, but don't use it all the time, just about maybe every 3rd or 4th tank, you will be AMAZED at how good this stuff works ! It seemed like the car picked up some more power and greater acceleration and man just kicks ass. Wow.. A friend of mine with a 2019 Z06 uses it and said with my cammed set up I should try it, and I did. All I can say is WOW...

[CamaroBarb]

Originally Posted by xstuntman

What's the weight on the oil?

GF6 is supposed to be 0w16 and it will be in an A blend to retro all engines or B blend for modern DI engines. The American Petroleum Institute insignia will look like a chevron versus the current gear shape. 33% more cleaning ability compared to current oils. May 1 was the target date.

I use 5-30 I went to the Pennzoil web site for the info.


ChibiBlackSheep

The plugs were replaced when I bought it along with trans service rear engine oil and coolant. The dealer told me there is noway to tell if someone changed the tune with their equipment. They offered to reflash the pcm with the stock tune. They also talked me out of doing that because they feel the car will not run as well as it does now or get as good fuel mileage with the stock tune. I don't think they are telling me everything though. The car runs great as long as you drive like a manic, I want to drive slow and that's where the trouble starts. If you drove it you would understand. With regular fuel it is undrivable, the throttle fights you every time you touch the pedal with hesitation. Only way to get around it is too slowly give it throttle and even then it holds back. This is while cruising and getting off and on the gas.

From a dead stop it doesn't do this but as you accelerate you can hear a noise in the engine. It doesn't ping or detonation like I've ever heard. But I'm sure it is some type of cylinder noise because it does it every time for a second accelerating in every gear using regular fuel.

Using premium stops this noise and also stops the hesitation while off and off the throttle but the car still feels touchy laggy surgy. It also can run perfectly normal at times IF I use a certain premium fuel from one gas station. Then it runs like it should. I know its a ball of fur, you would have to drive it to understand how frustrating it is to drive it like this.

I do like the car, it was a 1 owner very well taken care of with 54k miles. I also think it was really babied by the 1st owner as far as how hard it was driven. The engine is quiet and starts instantly every time. I don't think anyone except the 1st owner even sat in it.

I'm 99% sure the dealer did the intake service when I bought it because it was much snappier then but it still did the same things as it is now. That's why to me its screaming some one changed the tune.

Dealer also claims as long as the check engine light is NOT on everything is ok even ok to use regular gas. They think it maybe pulling timing on regular which they say is normal. That the car will actually run best on premium fuel. "toss my hands up"

[Greenhornet2]

You need to stop talking to that dealer. There is no reason to run higher octane fuel than what the manufacturer has designed with the stock tune. If the original owner babied that car why would they have tuned it?? If its possibly the tune, return it to stock. If the performance changed after doing an intake service and changing nothing else then again that show's me there is excess carbon buildup. Have them put the stock calibrations back in and when it changes nothing do the Seafoam or CRC cleaning multiple times over the next month while at operating temp.

[CamaroBarb]

They think its tuned because it runs too good for a stock and gets too much gas mileage for stock tune. The CRC thing scares me because some one I know had a very bad experience with it. Wasn't a 3.6 but after they used it their engine started using huge amounts of oil. I'm thinking walnut blasting if I keep it. I'm on the fence only because if I was sure all these little quirks with how it runs wouldn't cause piston damage I'd be ok with it. It still has factory war till next September. I'm used to driving a trouble free car without these quirks in how it drives. I never had a car that had so many personalities. I appreciate all your inputs and ideas.

[Greenhornet2]

Well, it shouldn't scare you, millions do it. As you said you are under warranty best case, you blow it up and you get a new engine under warranty.

[ChibiBlackSheep]

Don't know your location, but look up a local performance shop and ask them to check your tune. It might cost some money, but they should be fine doing it. Just let them know you bought the car used, and you want to see if it was tuned. I know a lot of dealers don't love doing that stuff, so I would definitely go aftermarket shop.

[CamaroBarb]

I called every shop within reasonable driving distance. Everyone said we don't do v6 Camaro's. I may take you up on your offer, I'm near your area. Going to look at a car tomorrow, see where it goes. I'm not too quick to get rid of this Camaro because I know its just how it goes when buying used cars. Next car would be used too............Plus I did get a very good buy on this Camaro.

[xstuntman]

Originally Posted by CamaroBarb

They think its tuned because it runs too good for a stock and gets too much gas mileage for stock tune.

WTF?
Lots of contradictory info.
Before it ran like crap and got horrible mileage, now it's great again, makes too much power for stock.

Dude, you meet up to help with the tune and wake up 6 hours later missing a kidney, don't say I didn't warn you.

[Avenging Orange]

I use it occasionally in the Camaro. Use it more in my high mileage vehicles with good results. Keeps things clean and running smoothly.

[christianchevell]

I use it every three months or so for my vehicles, I also run every so often some zmax, I also use oil made by Driven racing specifically for modified LS engines as I would recommend their products as many racers and parts manufacturers do. There's a big difference between modified and non modified, and really taking good care of maintenance of a vehicle.

BTW I kind of am forced to run the motorpool where I work overseeing the maintenance and repairs or all the vehicles for our little city a penitentiary while being in facility maintenance And I don't mind the change from carpentry and such while doing everything else, training inmates to fix things one way or another.

You see I work from the outside, I have the credit card and the trucks and the etc etc etc, I have used Lucas products to help clean things up on lots of things and keep it going good. For example, My boss decided to let me have some toys for the kids, I got four non running turds dropped on me by surplus we bought, two gas powered golf carts with beds for servicing golf courses... they are like 80's, and a Kawasaki Mule and a Workmaster, we rapidly went through them all, replaced some this and that like a broken timing belt and fixed the centrifugal clutches and a fuel pump here and now they all run great with valve adjustments etc....

That's nothing though compared to our changing now a old 1980 side dump international now into a flat bed from a garbage truck we just are about done with , and I got a Christmas kind of present I got rid of my 88 dodge truck for a 2006 f-350 with only 150k on it for 5 grand and its sweet now and tow's my dump trailer well...… Anyway have a nice Saturday...Murr

[CamaroBarb]

Originally Posted by xstuntman

WTF?
Lots of contradictory info.
Before it ran like crap and got horrible mileage, now it's great again, makes too much power for stock.

Dude, you meet up to help with the tune and wake up 6 hours later missing a kidney, don't say I didn't warn you.

You're funny, it runs like crap on regular. You have to read EVERYTHING not just scan through things. This is the internet not kindigarten. if you love your car is a kidney really that much?