High Performance Lubricants Engine Cleaner

This is why we need engine cleaner. I took these borescope pictures from the CRV at about 75k miles. It's not too bad yet (and given the fact that it does not burn any oil), but I am sure if it was still on dealers brown and slippery diet it would have become a perpetual oil burner by 100k.
Just added the EC30 this weekend, crossing finger that it will clean the soot/deposit/etc that is causing these grooves.
By the way, engine is clean sludge-wise, I need the thing that causes the lines to go away. And I have no way to check that!
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Not sure I'd this has been answered before. Why does a VOA of EC show and elevated amount of contaminants like Silicone, Aluminum etc..

What causes these elevated readings?
A VOA shows no contaminants unless the sample bottle has been contaminated.

It has been answered before but for those just joining:

The few PPM of Iron and Aluminum are part of the organic chemistry known as metal inhibitors.

A search using

Inhibitors of Metal Interactions with Lubricants

from the STLE has a nice article on that chemistry.

The low ppm of Silicon in a new lubricant is a "Defoamer" and is usually composed of polymethylsiloxanes or can exist as one of two chemical compositions: methyl silicone (polymethylsiloxane) and or polymethacrylate. They are blended in oil at different concentrations based on the viscosity and other physical properties of the lubricant in which they are designed to work.

As oil is churned in an engine or transmission, it picks up air and creates bubbles. Defoamants break up (burst) those bubbles.

From the search engine:

https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/air-bubbles-in-engine-oil.208694/#post-3212736

https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/bubbles-in-the-oil.41000/#post-528861

https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/gear-tribology-and-lubrication-part-i.57856/
 
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Thanks for the filter post. Did/does the CRV burn oil? David advised me to keep a top-off mixture of oil/EC in mine throughout the OCI.

Based on these photos, I would love to hear someone's take on how well it appears the HPL EC broke up carbon over 3,000 miles.
So daughter came home yesterday. I did her snows, had to get TPMS service kits done for leaking seals but that's another thread. Motor was nice and warm, sun was out, ground wet but leaf blower and cardboard took care of that. Oil change time before she goes back.

My take is that the HPL EC30 did well and broke up some carbon over the 3,000 miles from last filter. Now the oil/EC30 has (had) 4600 miles of time to work, it broke up more. 1600 miles on this filter. I just wrapped the media but here is the bottom of the XG7317. Looks like the one from the Forte. New fill of oil and a QT of EC30 went in. No clue what the staining is on the bottom edge of filter, maybe excess glue they wiped off? It's on there pretty good.
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About to drain my oil tonight around 4830 miles. I just sniffed the dipstick and notice a sweet and somewhat fruity smell on the oil.20240110_202538.webp
 
I looked through the HPL website and don't see any "engine cleaner" or EC30 products. The closest things I see are automotive lubricants: Euro passenger car oil, Passenger car / Premium passenger car / Premium plus passenger car engine oils.

About to drain my oil tonight around 4830 miles. I just sniffed the dipstick and notice a sweet and somewhat fruity smell on the oil.View attachment 197774
What does it taste like?
 
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How long has this sniffing thing been going on ? 👀
I normally sniff motor oil for gasoline smell sometimes when checking the dipstick. Probably isn't normal for most people. I'm no druggie lol.

Anyways I even sniff the new HPL motor oil I put in yesterday night and it has a faint sweet fruity smell as well.
 
I normally sniff motor oil for gasoline smell sometimes when checking the dipstick. Probably isn't normal for most people. I'm no druggie lol.

Anyways I even sniff the new HPL motor oil I put in yesterday night and it has a faint sweet fruity smell as well.
Just playing with you - have definitely smelled gasoline in oil … 😵‍💫
 
Maybe I should try some on my the truck:
The sludged up valve cover was replaced already (PCV plugged up) but there was sludge laying in the head too. I put cheap Castrol GTX and a cheap filter for maybe 25-40 hours of run time (like a week) then I plan on putting m1 0w40 back in with another cheap filter and back to a Fram ultra or Wix XP after another 50 hours in case the sludge I disturbed plugs it up.
26 months since I posted this after finding all this sludge in my engine. It honestly looks worse than I even remember it. However the engine is at 254k miles now (40k miles more than when I replaced the valve cover. It uses maybe half a qt in 5k miles and runs like new still. Unfortunately I wasn't able to try HPL because of the cost of shipping it to Canada.
 
26 months since I posted this after finding all this sludge in my engine. It honestly looks worse than I even remember it. However the engine is at 254k miles now (40k miles more than when I replaced the valve cover. It uses maybe half a qt in 5k miles and runs like new still. Unfortunately I wasn't able to try HPL because of the cost of shipping it to Canada.
Can you get BG products up there? BG Dynamic You could also try some of the other engine flush versions that you add right before an oil change like BG EPR, LiquiMoly, Amsoil and others.

For me after using the HPL EC30 it will be my first recommendation for others as well as their oil.

The new Valvoline Restore and Protect might be available by you and might clean a bunch of that up better also.
 
And now smell has been added as new metric for oil performance.

Sometimes the oil I drained from cars smelled strongly like soot (like egr valves and intake manifolds can smell on a diesel). If the smell comes at you from feet away it can be a valuable metric imo.... It's not like soot is volatile like fuel, which is much easier to smell.
 
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Can you get BG products up there? BG Dynamic You could also try some of the other engine flush versions that you add right before an oil change like BG EPR, LiquiMoly, Amsoil and others.

For me after using the HPL EC30 it will be my first recommendation for others as well as their oil.

The new Valvoline Restore and Protect might be available by you and might clean a bunch of that up better also.
I can probably get them somewhere (though not over the counter at typical stores like Canadian Tire/Walmart) but I would want to wait until I get a chance to check the same drivers side head for current cleanliness. I could probably stick my borescope down down there there, or up the oil drain plug to get a look but I imagine it's cleaner than it was with the now functioning PCV (it was completely clogged in the old valve cover) and I'm doing 5k or less m1 0w40 oil changes.
If I try another product I want to see if I actually have any remaining sludge first. I don't believe the the rings are plugged up based on oil consumption and leak down test and compression test results even before that PCV issue was fixed. Leakddown test was right before I pulled that valve cover.
 
Esters has a sweet smell, some stronger than others depending on the feedstock.

Thank you. I figured something was in it to make it smell so good, It was pretty noticeable when I drained the oil.
I took a quick whiff out of the HPL PCMO 5w-30 bottles and the smell is certainly sweet and fruit like. I stained a shop towel with a bit of it and over night my workbench linger a pleasant odor from the oil.

Just don't get idea of using motor oil as a cologne substitute lol.
 
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