For decades, Seafoam and Lucas have been the go-to fuel treatment for consumer vehicles and motorcycles. They sell a variety of powerful fuel additives that significantly improves the performance of your car, with the most notable being their injector cleaners.
In this Seafoam vs Lucas comparison guide, we’ll analyze the differences and similarities between the Seafoam IC5 Fuel Injector Cleaner and the Lucas Injector Cleaner. Which is the best product for your car? Let’s find out!
Seafoam Overview
Founded in 1942, Seafoam, officially known as Seafoam International, Inc, is an American company that sells an array of automotive additives.
Fed up with fixing his outboard motor due to fuel-related problems, Fred Fandrei, founder and CEO of Seafoam, created a formula that would help his motor run better. It became quite popular in the fishing community, so much so that people began asking him to create more of that “Seafoam stuff.”
Today, Seafoam is one of the best-selling automotive additives in the US. The Seafoam Motor Treatment is the company’s most popular motor additive, but they also sell a number of other products including the IC5 Fuel Injector Cleaner, Universal Power Steering Fluid, and more.
The IC5 Fuel Injector Cleaner, which this article focuses on, is advertised to help recover lost MPG and reduce exhaust emissions, add lubricity to upper cylinders, and, of course, clean the car’s fuel inject.
Pros
- Prevents hard starts, hesitations, and rough idling
- Recovers lost fuel economy caused by dirty injector fouling
- Easy-to-pour bottle; ideal for capless tanks
- Can be used in all types of gasoline fuel injection engines
Cons
- Requires regular use to feel a difference in driving
- Incompatible with heavy-weight injector systems
Lucas Overview
Lucas, officially Lucas Oil Products, Inc., is an American manufacturer and distributor of automotive additives, oil, and lubricants.
Founded in 1989 by Forrest Lucas and his wife Charlotte, Lucas became one of the fastest-growing additive lines in the automotive industry. Today, the company produces approximately 270 formulations across 40 different countries.
In the US, Lucas Oil is sold in over 30,000 auto parts stores and truck stops.
Alongside high-performance engine oils and gear oils, Lucas produces an array of fuel treatments. This includes the Lucas Injector Cleaner, the Lucas High Mileage Fuel Treatment, the Lucas Octane Booster, the Lucas Deep Clean, and the Lucas Safeguard Ethanol Fuel Conditioner.
This comparison focuses on the Lucas Injector Cleaner.
Made with a balanced blend of additives and oils, the Lucas Injector Cleaner increases fuel mileage and power, as well as reduces exhaust emissions by complete combustion.
Since it contains no solvents, alcohol, kerosene, or anything else that may damage engine parts, this product is extremely safe to use.
Pros
- Ideal for diesel engines and gasoline engines
- Neutralizes low sulfur fuel problems
- Thoroughly lubricates and cleans the fuel system
- Increases the life of injectors and pumps
- Comes in various container sizes
Cons
- Some bottles lack a measuring system
- Doesn’t clean as well as the Lucas Deep Clean
Seafoam vs. Lucas: Head-to-Head Comparison
Let’s take a look at the biggest similarities and differences between the two injector cleaners.
Performance
When used in gasoline and diesel engines, Seafoam and Lucas both perform admirably.
Seafoam’s powerful formula dissolves and cleans fuel oil deposits and residues, leading to better fuel performance and efficiency. It’s made with 100% organic petroleum-based ingredients—naphtha, pale oil, and isopropyl alcohol—making it harmless to fuel systems and engine components.
Conversely, Lucas is formulated with a blend of oils and additives, with its main cleansing agent being polyetheramine (PEA). This nitrogen-based detergent is known to clean combustion chambers of all types, including those in TBI, GDI, and PFI engines. It dissolves stubborn carbon buildup and restores original octane requirements.
Usability
Seafoam is designed for daily maintenance and everyday usage. It’s ideal for consumer cars, bikes, snowmobiles, and home equipment like lawnmowers. However, it doesn’t work well with heavy-duty trucks and industrial machinery.
Lucas doesn’t have this liability. Unlike Seafoam, Lucas can be used in an array of motor vehicles, regardless of the size and purpose.
Since it’s a multi-purpose cleaner and made of pure petroleum, Lucas tackles more than one issue at a time. For this reason, it’s the better choice for muscularly-built trucks and vehicles with complex engines.
MPG Increase
MPG, an abbreviation of miles per gallon, shows how far your car can travel for every gallon of fuel it uses. In other words, it estimates just how fuel-efficient your car is.
Seafoam and Lucas fuel treatments both offer up to 15 MPG, significantly improving your fuel injector’s performance up to 50%.
Limitations
If used incorrectly, both products have some undesirable side effects. Thanks to the ingredients, the aforementioned injector cleaners don’t cause major harm. However, the addition of too much product may cause some clogging in the fuel system and thus reduce gas mileage rather than increasing it.
Users have observed this issue more in Seafoam rather than Lucas. When users put too much of the product, they’ve noticed a significant decrease in gas efficiency. Furthermore, some people reported that Seafoam caused some damage to their oxygen sensors.
Lucas, if used improperly, may cause a thickening in the vehicle’s oil because of the additives it contains. Thickened oil takes longer to get to the engine, which may result in the premature wear of the car’s engine.
Although exceeding the recommended dosage isn’t harmful to your vehicle once in a while, it’s best to follow the recommended dosage by the manufacturers.
For Seafoam, add only one ounce per gallon for regular system maintenance and two to three ounces per gallon for cleaning.
For Lucas, the recommended dosage is two to three ounces for every 10 gallons of diesel or gasoline fuel.
Conclusion
If we had to choose between Seafoam and Lucas, we’d pick Lucas as the winner.
Although both perform brilliantly, Lucas is much more versatile than Seafoam. It not only neutralizes low sulfur fuel problems but also increases the life of pumps and injectors. Furthermore, it replaces the lead benefits in gasoline without causing harmful emissions.