zMAX micro lubricant has joined the party and we want to welcome them to the powerTV family. Getting the wheels in motion, or just starting an engine, is a tough proposition, especially when dealing with high performance engine components. After initial start up, it can take 45 seconds to 2 minutes for lubrication to reach critical engine parts. That 2 minutes can cause a lot of wear if you don’t have protection. zMAX provides that protection. Now we can get the party started without worrying about unnecessary wear to internal engine components.

zMAX was developed in 1947 by Joe Lencki and was sold as a “speedway cocktail” within the racing industry, almost as a “racer’s secret” until it was marketed as zMAX starting in 1989.

Joe Lencki standing next to his 4 valve DOHC “Lencki Six” Indy engine, 1954. (Photo from Ed Rachanski Sr.)

Lencki had a long fascination with engines before coming up with the speedway cocktail formula. He was taken to the very first Indianapolis 500 race in 1911 by his father where they met many of the drivers, including Ralph Harroun, the first winner of the great race. Lencki was obsessed with participating in the Indy race somewhere in the future. He found work working on internal engine components, like machining and balancing Liberty engine crankshafts at the Liberty engine plant in Detroit.

Building several race cars over the years, Lencki started in 1920 with a 4 cylinder Gallivan and his own designed cylinder heads. Experimenting with a vial of  tetra Ethyl lead, he was able to raise his race engine compression from 6:1 to 10:1, giving him a dramatic advantage over his race competition. In 1923, Joe designed another cylinder head that utilized two inch intake valves and a hemispherical combustion chamber. This cylinder head has been called  the “forerunner” to the successful Chrysler Hemi. In essence, this was a hemi, 30 years before they were known as “Hemi” heads.

Lencki entered the Indianapolis 500 in 1934 after experimenting with eliminating metal to metal contact wear in race engines. The Lenckite/zMAX product was born from these field tests with Indianapolis race engines.

A young Joe Lencki sitting in his 1927 Dirt Track Champ car, “Boyle Special”. This was his second race car. (Photo from Ed Rachanski Sr.)

Lencki built a special Indy race engine, the “Lencki Double Overhead Cam Six”, to challenge the leading engines of the day. This engine became the proving ground for Lencki’s zMAX formula. As a result of the success the Lencki had with the formula, many great racers used the product in their race engines. Names like Tony Bettenhausen, Mauri Rose, Johnny Parsons and A J Foyt. According to the company, Foyt continues to use zMAX in his race cars today.

Lencki became involved in building Pratt & Whitney aircraft engines. This background lead to refining the “Speedway Cocktail” to perfection while the personal research and development Joe gained provided the information he needed to break into the aviation market with his product years later. Earning FAA approval is not easy, and the zMAX AvBlend brand earned the FAA approval for product use in piston engine aircraft.

Joe Lencki died in May of 1994 but the product had built such a strong reputation that Ed Rachanski Sr purchased the company. aMAX proudly reports that they receive numerous calls from happy consumers, confirming “this product really does work” and is the most powerful endorsement along with the “test of time”.

We are happy to have a company with a long history of performance join the powerTV family. We expect to bring our readers important technical information on the zMAX product line and maybe even some product testing from our own powerTV garage. Stay tuned because this is gonna be a horsepower party!