Man I really wish I was able to respond to.this thread from somewhere other than my phone...
I must admit that I am a Royal Purple fan, have been for years after seeing how nasty my EXTREMELY well maintained BMW engines looked after 3x,xxx to ~80,xxx miles running exclusively on German Castrol, BMW Synthetic, and MobilONE oils. Taking the valve cover off and dropping the oil pan on my 328 with est40k miles (Just after I had gotten it, back in 2006 I think), and having the entire service history showing that the original owner had the oil changed every 4.5-5.5k miles with GC at the dealership (and OE Mahle filters), I could not believe how awful the inside looked. Everything I could see.was coated in varnish and there were literal clumps of sludge all over the place. I cleaned both off as best I could, ran a few very short (500-800) OCI's with some having Seafoam added for the last 100 or so miles, and with two I did full flushes (Amsoil flush, followed by a fill of cheap oil run for 25mi, drain, run a gallon of M1 I had through the engine, then filled with oil for use). After that point, the car has seen exclusively Royal Purple and Redline oils, RP about 2/3 oil changes with the third being RL. My engine looks incredibly clean, and my mechanic/friend couldnt believe how clean everything was while helping with the cooling system overhaul and with the supercharger/intercooler/cams install and tune.
I have never used any other engine oil additives since, but I have used Seafoam twice (1/3 for throttle body cleaning, 1/2 in brake booster line + PCV line, and the rest in gas tank), the Amsoil "Power Foam" once for intake cleaning and a very mild piston soak, but neither was introduced directly into the oil.
I use Redline SI-1 about 3x per OCI or every 1500mi, I use Techron Concentrate whenever I feel like it, and occasionally will add a few ounces of Seafoam to the 15+gal tank. I also will sometimes add a xylene/toluene blend to the gas at a 15-25% concentration as it ups the 94 octane significantly, allowing an extra 2.5psi of boost easily. I run 100oct and 105oct race gas maybe one in ten to twelve fill ups over the summer, and sometimes blend 2-4gal of 105 to the rest 93 before a big track day to mess with af ratios, timing, etc.
Point being, while I do baby my car, I also.drive the snot out of it. Still, with a heavily modified engine making more than double the factory bhp, it is in great shape, which I attribute to diligent (overzealous?) maintenance and very high quality fluids.
I dont understand the RP bashing I see on here, especially from people who have never tried it?
Also, as a man of science (Biochemical Engineering, in fact, though focused on Psychopharmacology), I understand the need of some people for evidence vs proof, etc. But you will never get that, and it only comes across as holier-than-thou when you ask someone to "prove" something you state that is unfalsifiable, and then use the fact that they can't "prove" that RP is/did better as your own "proof" that it is worse!
I know I'm new here, but that exact attitude is one of the most grating things in the entire field of science. In this case, an anecdotal report, or perhaps a small sample size case study, the OP did a thorough and unbiased documentation of why he believes RP performs better than M1 in his application, backing it up with many photographs, measurements, and observations. He even went out of his way to add to his sampling. And still, people say things like "interesting maybe, but it has no meaning".
Well, thats wrong. Be a HEALTHY SKEPTIC, not a fanboy! Appreciate good results, dont look for reasons why the oil you dislike "has no merit" and then try to prove that the oil.you do like, which by all accounts performed poorly, is not really to blame.
Is this forum really so jaded? I hope not...
2k05GT: wonderful job, man! I sincerely applaud the amount of.work you.put into.this! Very refreshing, and also, very nice Mustang
not a big domestic car guy myself, but.the new 'stangs are pretty wicked!
I apologize.if this.comes.across as harsh, thats not the intent. I just think that the middle ground, between opinion and undisputed fact, is the reason we are all here. To constantly put people down for exploring tbis seems backwards, and will only serve to keep people from speaking up about their experiences for.fear of being "bashed". I really like this forum, so please try to understand where im coming from...
Thank you everyone, and have a happy New Year!
Sincerely,
nleksan