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Filling up in Hampton Roads has felt like a punch in the gut lately, and the numbers back up the feeling. So I’m doing something about it the only way I know how — I’m putting it to the test. Welcome to the 757 Biz Click Hampton Roads Gas-Savings Challenge: a head-to-head, dollar-for-dollar showdown between the fuel additive I’ve trusted for over a dozen years and the one most people already know by name.
I’ve run AutoWorks Fuel Enhancer in several different cars for more than 12 years, including nine years driving rideshare and delivery, where every mile per gallon is money in or money out. I believe it beats everything on the shelf. But “I believe” isn’t proof. So I’m hiring an independent, unbiased reviewer to run a real-world test against the popular Lucas Fuel Treatment — and I’m publishing the rules, the raw data, and the result, win or lose. That’s the 757 Biz Click way: Make Something Happen.
Heads up: some links below are affiliate or distributor links, which means 757 Biz Click may earn a small commission or credit at no extra cost to you. I only point you toward products I actually use.
[ IMAGE 1 — AutoWorks vs. Lucas, side by side — REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR IMAGE ]
Meet the Two Contenders
This isn’t a knock on Lucas. I genuinely like the Lucas product — it’s a solid, trusted name, and for years it was my go-to before I found something I think works better for less. That’s exactly why it’s the perfect measuring stick.
AutoWorks Fuel Enhancer — the long-time daily driver
This is the one I actually use. A single bottle holds 8 servings at roughly $3.25 per serving (about $26.95 a bottle before shipping and tax) — and with the discount code below it drops to right around $3.00 per serving. Over the years it’s helped my older cars with cold starts, knocked out the occasional check-engine light, and just made the car feel like it runs smoother. We’re going to find out if my wallet agrees.
👉 Get AutoWorks Fuel Enhancer here — and use code 10OFFMA for 10% off.
Lucas Fuel Treatment — the name everyone knows
The Lucas Oil LUC10020 Fuel Treatment (5.25 oz) is a one-bottle, one-treatment product, and right now it’s at $4.99 — the lowest price I’ve ever seen it. I used to grab it at the Family Dollar for around $6.99, and these days I’d only pick it up in a store like Advance Auto Parts if I ran out of AutoWorks.
👉 Lucas Oil LUC10020 Fuel Treatment on Amazon | Prefer to buy in store? Shop Advance Auto Parts and get 2% cash back.
The sticker-price math, side by side
| Product | Servings per bottle | Bottle price | Cost per treatment |
|---|---|---|---|
| AutoWorks Fuel Enhancer | 8 | ~$26.95 ($24.26 with code 10OFFMA) | ~$3.25 (~$3.00 with code) |
| Lucas Fuel Treatment (5.25 oz) | 1 | $4.99 | $4.99 |
On the sticker, AutoWorks already costs less per treatment. But sticker price isn’t the real question — cost per mile is, and that’s what the test will settle. Want a wider look at the category first? Here’s my rundown of the best fuel injector cleaners under $15.
Why This Challenge Matters Right Now
Timing is everything, and right now two forces are colliding: gas is painfully expensive, and we’re heading into the season when we drive the most. When both of those are true, even a small bump in fuel economy turns into real money.
[ IMAGE 3 — Gas price sign showing today’s prices — REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR IMAGE ]
Gas is the most expensive it’s been in years
As of late May 2026, the national average sat around $4.55 a gallon — up from about $2.98 just before the conflict with Iran began on February 28, a jump of more than 50% in a matter of weeks. AAA called it the highest Memorial Day price in four years. The driver is the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that handles roughly 20% of the world’s daily oil supply. When shipping through it is threatened, traders price in the risk instantly — and because crude is a global market, a disruption on the other side of the planet shows up at the pump here in Hampton Roads. Some analysts have even warned that $5 a gallon is possible this summer if the strait stays closed.
We drive the most in summer
This is one of the most dependable patterns in U.S. transportation data: drivers log the fewest miles in January and February and the most in the heart of summer, with the peak around July and August. The reason is simple — vacations and recreational trips. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, summer months sit at the very top of the chart every single year. For perspective, the average American driver covers roughly 13,662 miles a year — about 37 miles a day — and as a country we burn through more than 3.2 trillion miles annually. If you drive for a living, that number is a whole lot higher. (I broke down what that grind looks like for delivery drivers in my post on DoorDash gas savings from a veteran dasher.)
Summer gas costs more on purpose
Here’s a piece most people miss: gas gets pricier in summer partly by design. To cut smog, the EPA requires a special low-volatility “summer blend” from June 1 through September 15, and that fuel simply costs more to make. Cheap, easy-to-evaporate butane gets swapped out for pricier components that keep the octane up without vaporizing in the heat. According to industry group NACS, the summer blend alone can add up to 15 cents a gallon, with peak summer demand piling on another 5 to 15 cents. There’s a logistics squeeze too — refiners begin the switchover as early as February, and leftover winter gas can’t be sold, tightening supply right as demand climbs. The flip side: when stations switch back to cheaper winter blend after mid-September, prices usually ease. Fun bit of history — this whole seasonal-fuel system traces back to the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990.
Put it together: we’re paying near four-year-high prices, during the season we drive the most, with a blend that’s expensive by law. That’s the exact moment a few extra miles per gallon stops being a rounding error and starts being grocery money.
How We’ll Run a Fair, Unbiased Test
A review is only worth reading if you trust how it was done. So before a single drop of additive goes in the tank, the rules get written down and locked in — that’s called pre-registering, and it’s the difference between a real test and a sales pitch. The reviewer keeps a full log, snaps photos of pump readings and receipts, and publishes everything. Here’s the protocol.
[ IMAGE 2 — Logging miles and gallons at the pump — REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR IMAGE ]
Step 1: Establish a baseline
First, we measure what the car normally does with no additive at all — at least 3 full tanks of plain gas. Without this, you can only compare Lucas to AutoWorks. With it, you can say “this product gained X% over the car’s own normal,” which is far more convincing.
Step 2: Measure the right way (the fill-to-fill method)
Forget the dashboard MPG readout — those estimates can be off by 5 to 10%. We use the hand-calculated tank-to-tank method instead. This is also the answer to “how do you reset the miles?” Here’s the in-car routine at every fill-up:
- Fill the tank completely, same pump, letting it click off on its own, parked on level ground.
- Reset Trip A to zero.
- Drive normally until it’s time to refuel.
- Fill completely again, then write down the gallons from the pump and the miles from the trip meter.
- Do the math: MPG = miles ÷ gallons. Repeat each tank, then average.
Use the trip meter for miles only — ignore whatever MPG the car claims.
Step 3: Lock down the variables
Fuel economy is sensitive to a dozen things, so we hold them steady: same car, same driver, same gas brand, grade, and station, and a similar mix of city and highway driving (no fair running one product all highway and the other all stop-and-go). Tire pressure gets checked and kept consistent, and we log the temperature and whether the A/C was running. No oil changes, new tires, or other work happens mid-test. (Gas brand matters more than people think — here’s my take on the best gasoline brand for gas mileage.)
Step 4: Run each product long enough
Any fuel additive needs time. It often takes 2 to 3 tanks before you see the real benefit, so each product runs for at least 3 to 4 full tanks. AutoWorks has 8 servings in the bottle, so it gets a longer runway — and we keep tracking to see if the savings hold steady tank after tank.
Step 5: Handle the “order” problem
Here’s a trap most home tests fall into: a fuel-system cleaner keeps working after you switch, so whichever product runs second inherits an already-cleaner engine. To keep it honest, we run a couple of plain-gas “washout” tanks between the two products and openly disclose the order. The gold-standard version — if a second, similar car is available — is to run both products at the same time in parallel.
How we dose each product
Same method for both, every time: add the additive when the tank is near empty, then fill up, so the product mixes with all the incoming fuel and treats the whole tank. (A friend talked me out of adding it after filling — pouring it in first makes a lot more sense.)
The Data Log
Transparency means showing the work. Here’s the running log the reviewer fills in — every tank, every number, nothing hidden. This is the sheet that turns “I feel like it’s better” into “here’s the proof.”
| Tank # / Phase | Date | Trip miles | Gallons | $ / gal | MPG | Cost / mile | Notes (temp, route, A/C) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baseline 1 | |||||||
| Baseline 2 | |||||||
| Baseline 3 | |||||||
| Lucas 1 | |||||||
| Lucas 2–4 … | |||||||
| Washout 1–2 | |||||||
| AutoWorks 1–8 … |
The Scoreboard: How We Decide a Winner
We’re not crowning a champion on vibes. The winner gets decided on two questions — does it actually move the needle on mileage, and does it save money once you count what the bottle cost? Here’s the final tally sheet.
[ IMAGE 4 — Trip meter reset / results graphic — REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR IMAGE ]
| Metric | Baseline | Lucas | AutoWorks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average MPG | |||
| % change vs. baseline | — | ||
| Additive cost per tank | $0.00 | $4.99 | ~$3.00–$3.25 |
| Fuel cost per mile | |||
| Total cost per mile (incl. additive) | |||
| Cold-start feel | |||
| Check-engine behavior | |||
| Smoothness / drivability |
The bottom row — total cost per mile — is the one that matters. It rolls mileage and the price of the bottle into a single honest number. A product can post great MPG and still lose if it costs a fortune; a cheaper product can win even with a smaller mileage bump. That’s the whole ballgame.
What I Expect to See (My Honest Prediction)
I’ll put my hypothesis on the record so you can hold me to it. After 12 years and a lot of miles, I expect AutoWorks to come out ahead on cost per mile — partly on mileage, but mostly because it costs less than Lucas per treatment to begin with. I also expect the smoother cold starts and the occasional check-engine light reset I’ve seen in my own cars. But that’s exactly what this challenge exists to verify. If the numbers say otherwise, the numbers win, and you’ll read about it here.
Where This Is Headed
Gas prices are volatile and likely to stay that way as long as the Strait of Hormuz situation drags on — and even after it eases, the summer-blend cycle will keep nudging prices up every year like clockwork. We don’t control the geopolitics or the refineries. What we can control is how many miles we squeeze out of every gallon, and whether the products we spend money on actually earn their keep. This fuel challenge is one piece of a bigger, holistic push to cut costs in every corner of life — and the real lesson, whichever bottle wins, is the same: measure, don’t guess.
Once the reviewer wraps the test, I’ll publish the full results, a follow-up interview, and a video walking through the data. Bookmark this one and check back — and if you want to run your own version at home, the protocol above is yours to copy.
Get the Products
Ready to test it for yourself? Here’s where to grab both:
- AutoWorks Fuel Enhancer (8 servings, ~$3.25/serving): Order here and save 10% with code 10OFFMA.
- Lucas Oil LUC10020 Fuel Treatment ($4.99, lowest I’ve seen): Get it on Amazon.
- Buying in store? Shop Advance Auto Parts and earn 2% cash back.
Make Something Happen.
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