LSJr. The TRUTH About Valvoline's BOLD Engine Cleaning Claims

[TiGeo]

You're naive to think that his channel isn't monetized and that there isn't mutual agreement of benefit for both parties involved there.

I'm not naive and I understand how it works. My YT channel is close to monetization...it doesn't mean all of a sudden the value of the content will be zero.

 

[Glenda W.]

As for the R&P cleaning the varnish off the dipstick, it’s certainly not scientific. But it is an indication as dipstick varnish is rather stubborn to clean.

 

[buster]

Someone on another group ran the first OCI to 6k miles and filter was really black. One thing the lead Valvoline guy said in a recent video is it's a gradual cleanup. It's not a service type product. You do have to run it at least 4 OCI. It's really meant for continued use as well.

Someone on here ran it for 2k miles and gave up.

 

[Glenda W.]

Someone on another group ran the first OCI to 6k miles and filter was really black. One thing the lead Valvoline guy said in a recent video is it's a gradual cleanup. It's not a service type product. You do have to run it at least 4 OCI. It's really meant for continued use as well.

Someone on here ran it for 2k miles and gave up.

All I can say for now is I didn’t notice one thing until my 3rd oci.

 

[buster]

All I can say for now is I didn’t notice one thing until my 3rd oci.

That's interesting and good to know.

 

[CarlB]

Which part are you referring to, exactly?

That I'm:

A - A BITOG member, that buys oil at Walmart
B - A BITOG member, that buys new cars
C - A BITOG member, that services his own car
D - A BITOG member, that buys oil at Walmart, and buys new cars
E - A BITOG member, that buys new cars, and that services his own car
F - A BITOG member, that buys oil at Walmart, and that services his own car
G - A BITOG member, that buys oil at Walmart, and buys new cars, and that services his own car

Or is it more of this last one:

H - A Human Being, that buys new cars, and that services his own car, and that just happens to buy their oil at Walmart?

Going with just the number of new cars sold every year, I bet the last one is fairly common, when you take into mind that thread a couple weeks back about the different types of generations, and their willingness to perform their own services on their vehicles.

If you're capable of changing the oil on your car, and you buy new vehicles, and you're doing your own servicing to save money, save time, or to ensure the job is done right (all three apply to me), then yeah, I would imagine there are probably tens of thousands of people like me, who buy new cars, or low mileage cars, and then will buy the engine oil and even oil filters, at Walmart, and then service the cars themselves.

Sure, there are WAY more people who buy mid to higher mileage used cars (30k to 90k miles), service it themselves, and buy the oil they need at Walmart, but that's just because of total numbers of used cars versus new cars on the market.

I would say that there's less people who buy really high mileage cars (I'm talking over 200k+ miles when they first buy it), who buy oil at Walmart, and then service it themselves, than the first two groups combined. This group of people tend to buy cheap, heavily used vehicles near the end of its lifespan, and don't care about maintenance in the first place. They just care about getting from point A to point B, as cheaply as possible, and tend to send cars to the junkyard after the neglected repairs and maintenance items pile up.

I would say the number of people who have bought new and low to mid mileage cars, serviced the vehicles themselves, bought oil at Walmart for those services, and then driven the cars to high mileage are higher in number than the number of people who buy high mileage used cars, and then start self servicing those cars, and buy their oil at Walmart.

People are smarter and more thrifty in this country than you give them credit for.

Or maybe I really am that cheap, and that I'm not willing to pay many hundreds of dollars for an oil change at a dealership when I can do that same work for well under $100. Feel free to call up a Porsche, Alfa Romeo, or Ducati dealer in the Denver area, and ask them how much they charge for a typical oil and filter service. I'm also not going to custom order HPL or Amsoil products, because Mobil 1, Pennzoil, and Valvoline offer great oils at the nearby Walmarts and random nearby auto parts stores that I can put my hands on today, for less.

Think of how many vehicles are in my signature, and how much it would cost me to pay someone else to service all these vehicles once or twice a year.

Then again, you are right.
I am unique.

Not that many people in this country buy as many vehicles as I have new, service them themselves, and buy their oil at Walmart, because there just aren't that many people who have their **** together in this country, and do things that make sense, and allow them to have nice things.

Thank you for the compliment.

My comment was about the average person buying oil in the Walmart aisle. Do you think you represent that demographic?

 

[4WD]

The varnish would indicate that the oil is not in fact capable of 10,000 mile intervals.

Or at least how that one is driven - to this day - OLM’s also vary brand by brand …

 

[SimpleSyrup]

Or at least how that one is driven - to this day - OLM’s also vary brand by brand …

Toyota for some reason has eschewed oil life monitors and opted for a mileage recommendation. I guess you can't really dispute their track record with that. Valve cover leaks and "manufacturing debris" notwithstanding.

 

[4WD]

Toyota for some reason has eschewed oil life monitors and opted for a mileage recommendation. I guess you can't really dispute their track record with that. Valve cover leaks and "manufacturing debris" notwithstanding.

For me, being a former LT and now SUV owner - I find our Lexus a pain to change oil in - so it normally gets EP and a longer run than the 4WD’s … Going to dual port injection helps …
(don’t remove a panel on the other 3 either)

 

[pghvolvo]

Instead of the dip stick I would have rather seen a picture of the rockers through the oil fill hole. You can wipe a dip stick to make it look good but that's not so easy with the rocker assembly under the oil cap. I've seen videos from BMW guys raving about how Royal Purple cleaned all the varnish and any slight sludge out of their engines in one or two oil changes. BTW so far the M1 I've been using for over 15 years hasn't cleaned the varnish off the rockers and cams in my 3.0liter I6 Volvo with 146,000 miles on her. I might have to try the Valvoline R&P and see if it does anything different.

 

[cheesepuffs2]

My YT channel is close to monetization...it doesn't mean all of a sudden the value of the content will be zero.

Are you being granted special access to employees and restricted areas at an internationally known brand's facilities to record on camera for the benefit of your channel?

 

[Jetronic]

As a GDI engine owner other specifications would be of interest such as NOACK and amount of VII’s used in the oil (with lower being better to prevent intake valve deposits) . I do not believe R&P is D1/Gen 3 approved either , so just a SP rated oil as of now for normal (no long drain) intervals . Perceived cleaning aside , how would R&P stack up against close in price oils like M1 5W30 EP or M1 5W30 ESP ? Probably nothing short of a before and after tear down will give us the information we want to see.

I don't even think a teardown after 1 oci will show anything conclusive. You'd have to do a test like the 250k mile test Valvoline did, and that takes years.

 

[Jetronic]

The varnish would indicate that the oil is not in fact capable of 10,000 mile intervals.

Agreed.

 

[TiGeo]

Are you being granted special access to employees and restricted areas at an internationally known brand's facilities to record on camera for the benefit of your channel?

The issue you are after is simply - does LSJR promote products just b/c he is sponsored by them/no other reason? The answer based on my watching at least is no. There are many examples of this. Take Engineering Explained's YT channel, I posted a great video of him testing old vs. new tire tech a few weeks ago in the tire sub. This was all sponsored by Continental...he had access to their testing facility. It doesn't invalidate his findings. This site has sponsors which doesn't invalidate opinions by those that own/run this site. It's about integrity. If LSJR was promoting a snake oil/crappy brand of oil as the end all be all only b/c he received sponsor dollar, sure that would be an issue worth fussing about.

 

[OVERKILL]

Varnish in an ICE that’s a daily driven mom wagon….meh, I wouldn’t bat an eye

Varnish means the additive package of the oil is no longer keeping contaminants in suspension and allowing them to plate-out; the dispersant and detergent package has reached its saturation point and is no longer able to do its job effectively.

Whether that bothers you or not is separate from the mechanism by which the varnish appears, and accumulates.

One thing I've seen in my (admittedly limited) teardowns of engines that are heavily varnished, are coked up oil control rings and ring sticking, with, not surprisingly, varnish/lacquer. Of course this is the condition that Valvoline R&P is supposed to address.

If there's nothing to clean, then there's no point in running R&P. And if the oil was capable of the OCI's being used, it wouldn't have the varnish and there'd be nothing to clean. The use of this product is predicated on the use of a lubricant that has left considerable deposits in the ring land area that require cleaning up (to the point where there are oil control problems), and an oil that's doing that means you are either using it too long, it isn't a very good oil, or some combination of the two.

 

[OVERKILL]

Or at least how that one is driven - to this day - OLM’s also vary brand by brand …

Toyota's don't have IOLM's, it's just a mileage counter, so that's certainly a factor.

 

[4WD]

Toyota's don't have IOLM's, it's just a mileage counter, so that's certainly a factor.

I’m aware of what they have (you have gone pretty simple) - but dare not compare my Lexus system to my GM’s on this site …

 

[OVERKILL]

I’m aware of what they have (you have gone pretty simple) - but dare not compare my Lexus system to my GM’s on this site …

Yeah, the GM has a true iOLM, as do the Stellantis vehicles and most others. Still baffles me why Toyota continues on with something that doesn't take the operating conditions into account in any way, shape or form, just miles driven.

 

[4WD]

Yeah, the GM has a true iOLM, as do the Stellantis vehicles and most others. Still baffles me why Toyota continues on with something that doesn't take the operating conditions into account in any way, shape or form, just miles driven.

Wonder myself - the cost to implement would be pretty low now with so much groundwork … It’s actually the one I’d want since it has a large shield to remove - 3 others don’t …

 

[SimpleSyrup]

Wonder myself - the cost to implement would be pretty low now with so much groundwork … It’s actually the one I’d want since it has a large shield to remove - 3 others don’t …

I've always thought that was odd especially with Toyota being so data driven. I've never owned a Ford, but in the Hondas the OLM seems to max out at about 10,000 miles, though I usually get 7000-8000 miles until it hits 15%. These are older cars, from 2005-2012.

I never bothered with a UOA because the price of oil and filter is still less than a UOA. I'm coming up on 200k on them, and when I did the valve clearances some time ago, it was pristine with just random 5w-20 and 0w-20 oils over the years. People on the Honda forum, and maybe here, ran their cars down to 0% and sent off a UOA and found the OLM was fairly accurate, and conservative. The only one I ever saw any varnish in was a used Honda we got with the K24 engine, so who knows what kind of sad life that poor thing had from the previous owners.