Lucas Xtra vs #2 Red N' Tacky

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I haven't tried Lucas Xtra I noticed it was polyurea vs Red N' Tacky which is lithium complex.

I know both will probably work for bearing applications but I'm wondering what the differences are going with the different chemistries.

There are 2 applications I would like to use them on:

1. The Idler pulley on the car's belt (which is currently using Red N' Tacky) this is a highspeed high heat application as it's mounted on the engine and tends to run at high RPM. The Red N' Tacky seems to be working sufficiently however most of the grease seems to be flung out by the end of a 2 year interval.

2. Bicycle wheel hub bearings. These spin at a far slower RPM generally aren't subjected to high heat but might experience slight impact loads from the road surface. Also a requirement must withstand winter riding conditions so -15C (5F) -> 35C (95F) operating range is about normal right. Also might be some riding in the rain so slight water resistance would be a plus however riding while in the rain and slush is generally avoided so this might not be a big deal. Not a racer so a tiny bit of additional drag by grease won't really affect daily riding.


I'm mostly looking for durability in people's experiments how do the two do in terms of durability? Currently the bicycle also runs red N tacky on the wheel hubs only would it be worth it to overhaul and replace with polyurea based grease? In terms of technical specs from lucas they list the following relevant differences.

Oil separation:
Red N Tacky: 10%
Xtra HD: 5%

Water washout:
Red N Tacky: 5%
Xtra HD: 10%
 
Im a fan of mystik for everything other than my utv that sees alot of water and creeks.

There was a show on the history channel a few yrs back that showed that the Navy used barrels of grease every week and they used mystik.

Ive never heard anything bad about mystik either.


For heavy water applications i like Green grease.
 
Application nr.1 will definitely benifit with polyurea grease...

Nr.2...about anything will work out...usually lithium/calcium grease (due to better water washout resistance)... Could be even normal lithium grease with added anti water washout characheristics
 
Originally Posted By: vortex
I haven't tried Lucas Xtra I noticed it was polyurea vs Red N' Tacky which is lithium complex.

I know both will probably work for bearing applications but I'm wondering what the differences are going with the different chemistries.

There are 2 applications I would like to use them on:

1. The Idler pulley on the car's belt (which is currently using Red N' Tacky) this is a highspeed high heat application as it's mounted on the engine and tends to run at high RPM. The Red N' Tacky seems to be working sufficiently however most of the grease seems to be flung out by the end of a 2 year interval.

2. Bicycle wheel hub bearings. These spin at a far slower RPM generally aren't subjected to high heat but might experience slight impact loads from the road surface. Also a requirement must withstand winter riding conditions so -15C (5F) -> 35C (95F) operating range is about normal right. Also might be some riding in the rain so slight water resistance would be a plus however riding while in the rain and slush is generally avoided so this might not be a big deal. Not a racer so a tiny bit of additional drag by grease won't really affect daily riding.


I'm mostly looking for durability in people's experiments how do the two do in terms of durability? Currently the bicycle also runs red N tacky on the wheel hubs only would it be worth it to overhaul and replace with polyurea based grease? In terms of technical specs from lucas they list the following relevant differences.

Oil separation:
Red N Tacky: 10%
Xtra HD: 5%

Water washout:
Red N Tacky: 5%
Xtra HD: 10%



Those separation and washout numbers aren't very impressive, I'd look at other greases.

For your bike in the cold, I'd test the grease in a freezer first. I just tried a tube of Amalie grease that says -40 on the tube. Put a blob of it in the freezer [-10] overnight and it was like a solid piece of soft rubber, couldn't even stir it with a kinife. No way I'd want to ride a bike with that stuff in the bearings. I had three other greases with the Amalie and they all did much better even though they were not rated as low.
 
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Those separation and washout numbers aren't very impressive, I'd look at other greases. [/quote]

I've never found any Lucas product that I thought was impressive, or even very good. I do like the Lucas Off Road Racing Series though.
 
Ok well after hearing the opinions from you guys here I'm going to go grab a tube of Mobil Polyrex EM for my ball bearing applications and probably other applications since I'd imagine it's high quality enough for most of my bearing repack applications.

I wonder if Polyrex EM is good enough for sliding surfaces as well or will I need another type of grease.

I'd imagine with a water washout rate of only 1.4% according to the data sheet these will be good on bicycle hubs as well (currently still running lucas red n tacky it's messy stuff)
 
Originally Posted By: krismoriah72
Im a fan of mystik for everything other than my utv that sees alot of water and creeks.

There was a show on the history channel a few yrs back that showed that the Navy used barrels of grease every week and they used mystik.

Ive never heard anything bad about mystik either.


For heavy water applications i like Green grease.



Don't show the synthetic blend stuff a picture of water. It will separate and mix with the water and turn the thickener into cottage cheese.

Don't use polyrex em on anything other than bearings.
 
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the base oil thickness of mystik and green grease is thicker than stp oil treatment not good for high speed bearings. when I worked in power plants and oil refineries they use a grease called corrosion block is has a long wheel bearing life and can be used in sealed for life bearings it is very good in wet and salt water marine check it out .corrosion block. you can buy it at www.blockcorrosion.com
 
Originally Posted By: jhellwig
Originally Posted By: krismoriah72

For heavy water applications i like Green grease.



Don't use polyrex em on anything other than bearings.


Why not? what properties of polyrex em makes it unsuitable for anything else?
 
To clarify I'd imagine they have some sliding element capability but are probably not EP.

I guess I can always continue using the red n tacky on sliding elements or occilating elements. And keep the polyrex for ball bearings. I can't imagine the ball bearings in my idler pully are any different than the electric motor ball bearings so I think that application is suitable I put in some plain no name polyurea green grease into it but once the polyrex arrives I think I'll flush it out and replace with the more appropriate grease.

Beyond that I can always use it in some experiments like the garage door sled rail see how it holds up exposed it might do better than lucas who knows.
 
I purchased a tube of Lucas "Red-N-Tacky" to use as a gun grease on auto pistol slides and bolt lugs. It does tend to stay put a little better. But other than that I found it to be no different than most other automotive type greases. The price on it was good.
 
"There was a show on the history channel a few yrs back that showed that the Navy used barrels of grease every week and they used mystik."



That show about the Navy ships was on about a month ago...it said they use Bel-Ray grease. They mentioned the name and showed the drum also.
 
Well now that my tube of Polyrex EM has arrived I have a few observations.

1. It does not have a distinct odor in fact it's mostly odorless.
2. The oil doesn't separate like lucas red and tacky does over time.
3. The texture about as creamy as lucas red n tacky without the smell in high speed ball bearing applications it does a much better job of not getting flung out of the bearing under load and in general seems to be a more durable grease.
4. Comes in a nice plastic tube so no more worries about leaks unlike most cardboard tubes that eventually soak through.
5. Seems to be reasonable for general sleeve bearings put them in a miniature computer fan to check for drag and the fan did not slow down when compared to other grease.

Have not tested it on sliding elements but I have no reason to believe it's not up to the task.

Probably will redo all my bike bearings with this when I get the chance it seems to be better than the lucas red n tacky stuff I probably should run some water washout tests to be sure.
 
I wonder if Polyrex EM is food safe apparently they make a Polyrex SHC which is food safe but this stuff doesn't have the info. The MSDS says there should not be first aid required if it's ingested so potentionally that means non toxic.
 
It looks like four Polyrex SHC greases have NSF H1 ratings. Polyrex EM is not listed as either H1 or H2. This information comes from the NSF White Book.
 
So it's finally the season I regreased my bike hub with the polyrex EM first I cleaned out as much of the Lucas Red N Tacky #2 as I could.

I didn't expect to be able to feel a difference but I'm pretty sure it's noticeable the polyrex is a lot smoother and even though it's not EP I swear it feels like it cushions the balls a bit more. Now Polyrex EM as others have mentioned is specifically rated for ball bearings vs Lucas which is more for roller bearings.

In terms of starting force the polyrex EM seems much lower starting up on the bike now is mostly effortless also bearing drag is lower on the Polyrex EM I notice that I have to use the brake more as the bike glides a seemingly further distance before slowing down.

All in all I'm pretty satisfied with the results I was skeptical there was going to be any difference replacing the hub grease with Polyrex EM from lucas I mainly did it because well I had it and polyrex is specifically designed for ball bearing applications and after using it in a few places I can tell Polyrex EM tends to stay put a lot longer than Lucas when subjected to spinning and flinging inside the bearings (I usually open up the bearings to inspect how much grease is left after a few days).

Long story short I guess Polyrex EM earns it's reputation if you're using it for ball bearings it probably will beat generic all purpose grease and will perform better in that application.
 
Polyrex em is designed for electric motor bearings. Staying put is a very desireable property for that. Most all greases and most any lubricant ment for electric motor bearings are not good for much else other than boring old bearings. It is not ment for sliding or impact forces. Ideal applications are constant speed and tempature non extream environments.
 
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Bought new Tie Down Engineering hubs for the boat trailer … They come pre packed with Lucas RNT … it would have been a foolish endeavor to attempt removal so I bought two tubes to top up via the spindle port …
The hubs fit perfectly …

Has anyone here used it on boat trailers ?

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