Recommend an Xw40 equivalent to Valvoline Restore and Protect

I can’t comment on this at the molecular level, but I think we can all agree that HPL’s Premium Plus oil almost certainly exceeds anything available on shelves, and it diluted out of grade just the same as anything else in my Ascent.

Personally, I think I may have found the culprit for many Ascents going out of grade so quickly; in addition to only direct injection, the oil cooler on the Ascent is the same one as on the WRX and is massively oversized, as even at 80mph on 85* days the oil does not reach 212* or higher. The last OCI was almost the same mileage, but I purposely went out of my way to get the oil temps way up at least once per week, and… the car turned in its best fuel % reading so far (all GCMS).

All I know is, for the severe service profile my wife does on this thing, 7k+ OCIs, and 5%+ fuel dilution every test so far, HPL is holding up great in everything even if it is falling out of grade, which is absolutely expected with this much fuel.
I have a problem getting temps up that high in my Impreza in the winter. Sometimes in the more mild summers, also. I use the paddles often, especially in the winter to get temps up to at least 180. My drive to work is only 5 miles and more often than not, temps would hit around 160 so I try to get them up to at least 180.
 
What would it cost to import a couple gallons from Australia? Contra HPL/Amsoil?
I have seen a few on reddit that have imported 5W30 to Europe.
 
If you really want to run Valvoline Restore and Protect 5w30 to clean it up, this what I'd do and run 5qts of Valvoline Restore and Protect and a pint of Schaeffer EP Moly and top the other .5qt with whatever you have around. The EP Moly will raise the grade to a 40 at minimum and be fine. The EP Moly is what I'd do if I ever run it in my 460. I run Xw40 in it (and every truck I've used for towing our camper) to lessen burning while towing. Only time I burn in the truck is when towing otherwise loss is minimal.
I've ran 5/10w40 with the EP Moly in my 350 sbc for several years and even when close to 0°f , she fires right up.
That’s a good data point. I wonder what the EP Moly does to the winter rating. I live where we sometimes see single digits but uncommonly, so I’ve thought about running a 10W-30 or -40 to take advantage of my otherwise temperate climate. I wouldn’t do oil additives but it’s good to know the 10W still works fine down to 0 (as it’s rated).
 
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What would it cost to import a couple gallons from Australia? Contra HPL/Amsoil?
I have seen a few on reddit that have imported 5W30 to Europe.
Here's an idea that might help import some 10w40 Valvoline Restore and Protect.

There's mechanisms in place that (if you know about them) facilitate importing goods from foreign nations.

I've done this buying goods from Western Europe, especially Britain, Germany, Turkey, and Japan so I could buy goods that are unavailable in USA.

Join a foreign shopping/shipping service, such as Forward2Me.com which provides you with a shipping address in Britain, Germany, Turkey, and Japan.

Then you use a VPN with your location set to the nation where you want to shop online. Then your Google searches for goods will display goods in that country, including from all websites in that nation, including Amazon.

Most foreign websites are in English or have clickable option to view them in English. If not, then use Google translate.

You can then buy from almost any website in a foreign nation, including websites that don't ship to USA. You give the selling website your Forward2Me.com physical shipping address in that country, which is a PO Box or storage locker in that country. The selling website ships your goods to your Forward2Me.com address in that country.
Forward2Me.com receives it and then forwards it (ships it) to your address in USA.

I have purchased goods from UK & Germany this way.

The cost of shipping from seller to your Forward2Me.com address is often free or cheap. The cost of reshipping from your Forward2Me.com address to your USA home address is usually about the same as the cost of the item you're buying. So you're paying double cost, but you get what you want from a foreign nation in a reasonably convenient matter.

Buying from Germany there is sometimes a language barrier because not all Germans can read and write English, especially warehouse workers. But it's not much of a problem because Google Translate is adequate.

Forward2Me.com has been saying they're going to expand their service into more nations. I don't know if Australia or New Zealand are included yet.

As for reliability... I bought 6 very awesome mobility scooter upgrade tires from Germany this way. The tires I wanted are only available in Western Europe and Germany had the lowest price. I think maybe Germany has lower VAT tax (sales tax) than some other EU nations. 5 of the 6 tires arrived without hassles. The 6th tire was missing. I received refund from FORWARD2ME.COM, but not from the seller. So buying from a website in a foreign nation is ⅚ reliable, IME.

I'm aware that Americans are supposed to be legally except from VAT tax. That would be the case if the seller was shipping directly to a USA address, but in this case the seller did not ship outside their own nation. So I had the seller ship to my Forward2Me.com PO Box/locker in Germany. So I had to pay VAT tax. Then Forward2Me.com forwarded (reshipped it) to my address in USA.

If you can find an EU online seller that ships directly to USA, then no VAT tax.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm not aware of Australia or New Zealand having VAT (sales) tax. I don't know if Forward2Me.com service is available in AU or NZ. If not, maybe some other similar service is?

P.S. - For people living outside the USA who want to buy goods from a USA seller who does not ship to other nations, you can use a VPN to shop on USA websites. The seller will ship to your Forward2Me.com address PO box/locker in USA. Then Forward2Me.com will forward (reship) your goods to your home address anywhere in the world.

There may be other ways to import goods. Possibly better ways than I know of. If anyone knows of better ways, I'd like to learn.
 
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I won't run this in summer, as I run 5w-40. My late fall and winter, early summer oil brew is 1 Qt of HPL Engine Cleaner 40wt and 4 Qts Valvoline Restore and Protect. That should get my HTHS to 3.5^ target for my turbo car. I am done. My other thought would be add a QT of 5w-40 Valvoline Euro. I just so happen to have 5 qts of HPL 40wt EC on hand. It would be cheaper getting a jug of Valvoline Euro 5w-40 for my winter brew 1 qt addition.
 
I didn’t realize they made a 10W-40 in the XL. Wonder why they don’t make an SS 10W-40.
Unknown...but the XL10w-40 is nearly as stout in additives as SS, so maybe close enough?

The XL has shown some great results in our 2.0 turbo Jeep. [to the yabut guys: yes I know the factory specification is 5w-30]

In a mild climate or summer I see no reason to use anything else.
 
My point is that not many people run 10w-40 anymore. Even on here you will find very few people using it. They have so many great choices in 5w-40 and 0w-40 that it renders 10w-40 somewhat obsolete. What car in the last 20-30 years even mentions 10w-40 in its owners manual?
Good point but it's tough to beat a 5.2 Noack.
 
Unknown...but the XL10w-40 is nearly as stout in additives as SS, so maybe close enough?

The XL has shown some great results in our 2.0 turbo Jeep. [to the yabut guys: yes I know the factory specification is 5w-30]

In a mild climate or summer I see no reason to use anything else.
I would consider running it. I don't have super high mileage so I don't think I could maximize the SS benefits.
 
Hey follow up on this, the other piston slap thread reminded me.

Few hundred miles with 0w40 Mobil Euro and although I wasn't expecting it at all, piston slap is definitely quieter.

Beyond that my hot oil pressure has stayed steady and where I want it, oil consumption hasn't changed(still zero), and my engine hasn't blown up.

Works for me. (y)
 
but expressively not 10w40.
That makes absolutely no sense to me

All the 10w40 I've seen in the wild has been gas engine oil. That might be the reasoning behind specifically prohibiting it, even though a 10w40 that otherwise met specs is obviously just fine.
I was going to say the same thing. The manual in my 1986 Chey says the same thing. No 10w40. I too think they were trying to remove issues with folks using a 10w40 because they were only S rated as opposed to C rated. The only two 10w40s that I know of that are S&C rated are Amsoil 10w40 "High Zinc", HPL and Royal Purple HPS
 
Since you may not mind mixing oil grades; If the engine holds 7 qts, another idea is mixing 6 qts Valvoline Restore and Protect 5w30 + 1 qt of Valvoline Advanced Full Synthetic 20w50. Starting visc: cSt@100*C approx. 12.2 (or 5 qts + 2 qts gives approx. 13.7 cSt).
This is exactly what I would do and have contemplated doing.

Staying withing a brand and base oil type (grp III) goes a long way toward avoiding much of the potential additive clash that often makes blending some-optimal.

Tune your ratio of Advanced 20w-50 to Restore and Protect based on whatever viscosity target you have in mind. In an extreme case where you need lots more viscosity, you might bias heavily toward the 20w-50.

This is why I have a lot of 20w-50 Advanced on hand at the moment.
 
I was going to say the same thing. The manual in my 1986 Chey says the same thing. No 10w40. I too think they were trying to remove issues with folks using a 10w40 because they were only S rated as opposed to C rated. The only two 10w40s that I know of that are S&C rated are Amsoil 10w40 "High Zinc", HPL and Royal Purple HPS
I think it has more to do with the early days of "energy conserving" ratings in the context of the mid 1980s. THe 1980s were the first time lube recommendations and formulations considered fuel economy.
 
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