PARTNER PROFILE
MAXIMA RACING OILS
R&D in motorcycle world
leads to superior lubricants
for drag racing
BY JOSH HACHAT
W
hen Dick Lechien founded
Maxima Racing Oils, he did
so because he noticed a lack of
quality options when it came to
high-performance lubricants.
In this case, he had motorcycles in mind, and
though that later shifted to include drag racing
as well, Maxima’s approach never changed.
“Our intent was to build oils that were supe-
rior to what was on the market, oils that were
dependable and oils that would help you finish a
race that you normally wouldn’t finish,” Lechien
says. “That’s where my thinking was and that’s
how we developed our reputation.”
Four decades later, Maxima has firmly es-
tablished that reputation and prides itself as a
premier company when it comes to oils, lubes
and cleaners.
Located in Santee, California, Maxima’s rac-
ing heritage remains as strong as ever, relying
on many of the same principles and beliefs that
were important to Lechien when he started the
company in 1979.
Lechien always had a knack for anything
mechanical, making his first drag car with a
’34 Plymouth. He started drag racing in 1955,
running a drag strip and competing on a high
level before entering the motorcycle world. It
was there where he realized a number of prob-
lems with castor oil.
He started Maxima out of a small
1,000-square-foot building, but it was early on
where Lechien put together an important devel-
opment. Noticing dirt in one of the initial runs
they were bottling, he built a quad-mount filter
with a pump. All the oil was pumped through
the filter, and the difference was significant,
so much so that a focus on quality materials,
processes and controls are firmly in place to-
day. “That was one of the things that got me in-
spired,” Lechien says. “It was a learning process.”
Lechien knew he was developing a technology
that was a possible gamechanger and that soon
proved to be true, both in motorcycles and in
the jet ski world.
Maxima’s high-performance 4-cycle and 2-cy-
cle oils were adding significant horsepower to
engines, which meant Lechien continued to de-
vote more time into research and development.
From its popular Castor 927 2-cycle oil to a
full complement of engine oils, break-in prod-
ucts, drivetrain fluids, suspension oils and mar-
ket-leading aerosols, Maxima has now devel-
oped a full range of high-quality products. In
short, it’s a company with a true racing heritage
dedicated to supreme product integrity.
“We develop, own, blend and package all of
our products,” says Danny Massie, President of
Maxima Racing Oils. “We are deeply entrenched
in racing.”
That includes drag racing, a market the
company eventually moved into after its initial
successful foray into motorcycles and jet-skis.
They’ve worked closely with multi-time Pro
Stock world champion Jason Line, and Lechien
believed his first experience in the sport paid
dividends, as did his time developing racing
oils for motorcycles.
“The thing about drag racing, I learned what
we could do with oil in the motorcycle industry
and I knew where it would fit in when it comes
to the drag racing industry because of my past
experience in the sport,” Lechien says. “But not
only did you get better performance, but you
also got better engine life, so it was a win-win
situation.”
Like it did with motorcycles, using Maxima
Racing Oils led to ample performance and
horsepower gains during dyno testing.
Lechien was never afraid to go to extensive
lengths to find advantages for the Maxima line
of products, a mindset the company holds to
this day. If that means something like spending
more for added research and development, it’s
something the company isn’t afraid to do if it
makes the end product better.
Lechien believed that was the only way to
find a distinctive advantage in a crowded mar-
ketplace, and it’s a mindset that has continued
to make a difference in Maxima Racing Oil’s
40-year run of success.
“The only way to make a market was find a
way to create demand in the high-performance
market,” Lechien says. “When you get into Pro
Stock and some of the other classes, that’s where
something like that makes a difference.”
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I l l u s t r a t e d | DragIllustrated.com
Issue 147