I suppose this is the right place for such a question....
What is the highest detergent motor oil?
Would it something like Rotella?
I am finalizing a refresh of a nice "barn find". The engine hasn't been running in.... maybe 6 years. I want the first fill to be an oil that will clean things up as best as possible.
And yes... the engine turns over and all ports appear to be clear and allow lubricant to flow. Once I fill the sump.... I am ready to fire her up.
???? Highest Detergent Motor Oil
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Probably Redline or Valvoline Premium Blue Restore.
No modern API SN/SN+ or CJ-4/CK-4 rated oil has a lot of detergent anymore. The last high detergent HDEO was CI-4.
That said, it's not detergents that you really need here. You need solvents. Oils that are high ester would be preferable. Valvoline Premium Blue Restore (VPBR) would be ideal, but it's expensive. What kind of barn find are we talking about here? Is it an older classic with flat tappet lifters?
Detergents is somewhat of a misnomer as they are really acid neutralizers. They exist to keep the oil clean, not clean up the engine.
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Valvoline Premium Blue Restore - but its not all that cheap.
Yeah "detergents" prevent deposits from attaching to metal surfaces by attaching themselves forming a barrier.
Detergents and antioxidants will keep an engine clean but won't clean it.
Another good option is Mobil 1 0w40 FS with higher levels of SAPS and a good dose of esters with historically claimed cleaning ability.
PUP has always been touted as an excellent cleaning motor oil.
Pennzoil has touted the cleaning ability of their oil - but a detergent in a motor oil is a dispersant that also helps neutralize acid. Calcium sulfonate was the long time pick for that. Since LSPI is an issue, there's less Ca content in a modern motor oil.
VPBR is a freak of nature in that fact it has an ester-rich blend of base oils with a conventional diesel add pack that meets CJ-4 specs. Their reasoning for ester is the inherent solvent-like qualities and polarity. Red Line is also ester-heavy(if you don't buy the "OEM series" which is really re-bottled Kendall).
First several run should be some cheap SuperTech that you can quickly flush, you can't substitute volume of oil replacement, sort of like you should rinse your dirty dishes with plain water before being picky about what dish soap you should use to clean them best.
Barring your engine being some kind of sludge monster prone to sludging up, just make sure you change whatever oil you're using on time, since sludge is the byproduct of oil breakdown.
But fwiw, i thought diesel HDEO's were better at controlling particles and contaminants since they're designed to be used over longer drain intervals and have higher levels of antioxidants & dispersants to control soot and acids. As far as a PCMO goes, I'd think an long drain interval oils like a M1 EP/AP or Castrol EP would do an equally good job of controlling oil breakdown and particle control. And if you believe Valvoline and M1's marketing on MaxLife and M1 HiMi, they supposedly have added detergents and dispersants to control sludge and help clean out an engine. Here's a clip of M1's EP HiMi on an Accord with +100k miles that they ran for another +100k miles doing 15k mile oci's using M1 EP HiMi.. I'm not a fan of extended drain intervals but i gotta say the engine looked pretty darn good after the testing.
https://mobiloil.com/en/article/why...age-guide/honda-accord-motor-oil-results
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The highest detergent motor oil will have the highest TBN, as the detergents main job is to neutralise acids. It's the dispersants that do most of the cleaning and help stop stuff deposit formation. Get a HDEO or a Euro A3/B4 oil and you probably get plenty of both.
I would get a cheap HDEO like SuperTech and change it more frequently for a bit.
If it were mine i would probably do whatever oil you have on the shelf plus a bottle of Rislone Engine Treatment.
If you dont have anything on the shelf I would pick the cheapest oil with a starburst when i picked up the Rislone.
How does Rislone Engine Treatment work?
Rislone Engine Treatment gradually dissolves and removes harmful deposits of varnish, sludge and gum from the internal metal parts without plugging oil passages. These deposits form within engines and can alter tolerances, stick valves and rings, cause noisy valves and lifters, and plug oil screens and passages. Regular use of Rislone Engine Treatment, with oil and filter changes at the proper intervals, will keep such deposits to a minimum.
https://rislone.com/product/engine-treatment-100qr/
Originally Posted by PandaBear
First several run should be some cheap SuperTech that you can quickly flush, you can't substitute volume of oil replacement, sort of like you should rinse your dirty dishes with plain water before being picky about what dish soap you should use to clean them best.
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Originally Posted by eljefino
Originally Posted by PandaBear
First several run should be some cheap SuperTech that you can quickly flush, you can't substitute volume of oil replacement, sort of like you should rinse your dirty dishes with plain water before being picky about what dish soap you should use to clean them best.
An hdeo with kreen. Perhaps rotella t-6, or if its not cold, a good 15w40 with kreen.
Originally Posted by BigJohn
If I can find some.... Sound like VPBR is my huckleberry.
But it also sounds like a good idea to run some SuperTech whatever is the cheapest (example: clearance) for the first 100 miles, dump it and then pour in the VPBR.
.........
Edit: Thanks for the inspiration for my new sig! 
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