The 2022 Accord I bought early this year is a car I plan to keep for a long, long time. The 2.0T turbo and 10speed really feels like a special setup, and is no longer available in an Accord.
I currently have VRP in it while I figured out my longer term oil plan. I have posted about perhaps an HPL Supercar 5w40. I have highlighted the Valvoline Euro oil which seems to get very little love.
After spending a LOT more time than I should have endlessly internally debating which HPL oil to use or whether use to use M1 ESP 0w-30, I finally made up my mind: Valvoline European Vehicle Full Synthetic XL 3 (VEVFS-XL3). It just rolls right off the tongue, doesn't it? When even the acronym needs an abbreviation..... VE3? VEVFS3? I digress.
Why this oil? Why not something like M1 ESP 0w-30 or ESP 5w30, those BITOG darlings that they are? It's a combination of minor technical differences plus some emotional/sentimental/philosophical reasons.
--C30/504/507 *and* API SP. Not a ""meet or exceed requirements" (ESP 5w30) or a "meets engine test requirements" (ESP 0w30) but a no-kidding actual SP license coexisting with C30. My Accord can hit 15psi of boost at 1500 rpm and LSPI is a potential (not saying likely) issue.
--I will not be doing extended drains at first (sorta kills HPL). I want something I can dump at 5k and not cry about wasting liquid gold. I expect that I will at some point work my way up to HPL and 10k intervals, but even then that's simply the break-even cost on HPL Euro relative to VEVFS.
--Slightly higher Kv100 in the Valvoline vs M1 ESPs.
-- I like this Valvoline bag-in-a-box packaging. It basically a keg, and we all know good things come in kegs.
-- I can get this from NAPA and support a small locally-owned retailer for a reasonable price ($35/gal). My local mega-mart has the ESP in plastic jugs for $28. I'll pay the premium to support the smaller oil company and the smaller retailer.
-- I'm a bit of a homer for Valvoline since I've made my living professionally dependent on Premium Blue (all USA Cummins engine development is performed on Valvoline Premium Blue and several of us gray-hairs here still remember or are even friends with Roger England).
-- I don't need a 0w oil and I prefer a thicker base oil. Base oils matter for MOFT and 5w is the balance between as thick as I wish and unquestionably capable for Indiana winters. This oil is a PP of -36C, that's plenty.
-- I really wanted a Euro add pack and the >3.5 HTHS. This is the primary reason to prefer this oil to regular VRP 5w30. The VRP has both lower KV100 and VI. IMO the Euro oils are the perfect middle ground between the marginally low HTHS of a regular SP 5w30 (~3.1-3.2) and a 40 grade. While I might eventually work up to a 40 grade, I wanted to baby step my way to the thicker oil and see how it goes. The low operating temp of this engine likely put the oil closer to effective 40 grade range anyway (coolant temps run 170°F-175°F and I've yet to see over 180F.
I've been very pleased with VRP so far and I cannot complain. I'd pull a sample when I drain my current VRP, but I wouldn't be honest to pull single sample from 20k-25k of engine life and compare to 25k-30k or so. And mostly I really prefer the "stronger" oil that is a Euro oil-- the stronger add pack and the stouter viscometrics.
Now, give me VRP with the Euro viscometrics and add pack and I'd probably faint. For now, though, I'm satisfied that this oil will work very well for me for a couple years (there are 5 OCIs in this box).
I currently have VRP in it while I figured out my longer term oil plan. I have posted about perhaps an HPL Supercar 5w40. I have highlighted the Valvoline Euro oil which seems to get very little love.
After spending a LOT more time than I should have endlessly internally debating which HPL oil to use or whether use to use M1 ESP 0w-30, I finally made up my mind: Valvoline European Vehicle Full Synthetic XL 3 (VEVFS-XL3). It just rolls right off the tongue, doesn't it? When even the acronym needs an abbreviation..... VE3? VEVFS3? I digress.
Why this oil? Why not something like M1 ESP 0w-30 or ESP 5w30, those BITOG darlings that they are? It's a combination of minor technical differences plus some emotional/sentimental/philosophical reasons.
--C30/504/507 *and* API SP. Not a ""meet or exceed requirements" (ESP 5w30) or a "meets engine test requirements" (ESP 0w30) but a no-kidding actual SP license coexisting with C30. My Accord can hit 15psi of boost at 1500 rpm and LSPI is a potential (not saying likely) issue.
--I will not be doing extended drains at first (sorta kills HPL). I want something I can dump at 5k and not cry about wasting liquid gold. I expect that I will at some point work my way up to HPL and 10k intervals, but even then that's simply the break-even cost on HPL Euro relative to VEVFS.
--Slightly higher Kv100 in the Valvoline vs M1 ESPs.
-- I like this Valvoline bag-in-a-box packaging. It basically a keg, and we all know good things come in kegs.
-- I can get this from NAPA and support a small locally-owned retailer for a reasonable price ($35/gal). My local mega-mart has the ESP in plastic jugs for $28. I'll pay the premium to support the smaller oil company and the smaller retailer.
-- I'm a bit of a homer for Valvoline since I've made my living professionally dependent on Premium Blue (all USA Cummins engine development is performed on Valvoline Premium Blue and several of us gray-hairs here still remember or are even friends with Roger England).
-- I don't need a 0w oil and I prefer a thicker base oil. Base oils matter for MOFT and 5w is the balance between as thick as I wish and unquestionably capable for Indiana winters. This oil is a PP of -36C, that's plenty.
-- I really wanted a Euro add pack and the >3.5 HTHS. This is the primary reason to prefer this oil to regular VRP 5w30. The VRP has both lower KV100 and VI. IMO the Euro oils are the perfect middle ground between the marginally low HTHS of a regular SP 5w30 (~3.1-3.2) and a 40 grade. While I might eventually work up to a 40 grade, I wanted to baby step my way to the thicker oil and see how it goes. The low operating temp of this engine likely put the oil closer to effective 40 grade range anyway (coolant temps run 170°F-175°F and I've yet to see over 180F.
I've been very pleased with VRP so far and I cannot complain. I'd pull a sample when I drain my current VRP, but I wouldn't be honest to pull single sample from 20k-25k of engine life and compare to 25k-30k or so. And mostly I really prefer the "stronger" oil that is a Euro oil-- the stronger add pack and the stouter viscometrics.
Now, give me VRP with the Euro viscometrics and add pack and I'd probably faint. For now, though, I'm satisfied that this oil will work very well for me for a couple years (there are 5 OCIs in this box).
