As one of just a handful of licensed lubrication specialists in America, it’s little wonder Lubrication Specialties, Inc. founder and president Chris Gabrelcik has lots of ideas about how to make engines run smoother. What’s perhaps surprising is his company’s record of continual innovation, even in its relatively short lifespan; building on the success of its diesel engine injector-saving oil additive Hot Shot’s Secret Stiction Eliminator, Gabrelcik’s operation grew from a shoestring budget into a growing concern in 36 months, boasting a dozen employees and a 22,000 square-foot facility that – as Gabrelcik put it – “got the delivery trucks out of our driveway and made my wife happier.”
“We’ve had huge success so far,” said Gabrelcik, adding the company just signed to place its products on shelves with industry stalwart AutoZone in March. “We’re shipping product all over and constantly moving forward.”
Lubrication Specialties’ flagship product tackled the problem of ‘stiction’ – essentially burnt oil – that caused failures inside the injectors of diesel engines. A $50 bottle of oil additive that solved the problem 9 out of 10 times and saved thousands of dollars in injector replacement cost sold well; Gabrelcik’s engineers looked further.
“We started looking at the diesel fuel side of things,” said Gabrelcik. “Specifically something called an internal diesel injector deposit.”
The problem happens, according to Gabrelcik, because when fuel companies took the sulfur out, they began adding lubricity at the refiner – and some of the additives used there were incompatible with additives downstream.
“The result was a film left on the inside of the fuel injector,” said Gabrelcik, “as well as the tank, the line, and the fuel filter. Once we figured out what it was, we designed an additive to treat it.”
Then Lubrication Specialties researchers came up with a super-strong once-a-year formulation that’s become very popular with truck owners. “Used with the Stiction Eliminator, you can really make a truck run like brand-new after just a few hundred miles,” said Gabrelcik. “We literally have thousands of testimonials; people that buy it are completely dumbfounded because it works.”
For someone who needs their truck to run and can’t shell out $3,000-$4,000 for new injectors – and shouldn’t, according to Gabrelcik, if they don’t have to – his company’s products are a great deal. And, he adds, if there’s a problem with diesel injectors Hot Shot’s Secret Stiction Eliminator can’t solve, he’ll refund your money.
“It’s an exciting time,” said Gabrelcik. “You should see the things we’re working on!”