I used the Gen1 for maybe 4 or so OCI’s in a Ford Ecoboost 3.5 (1st gen), And thought it did very very well, though a bit concerned with high copper PPM. It held up well to the fuel dilution, and delivered fairly good wear numbers (except copper). No OTS Walmart oil could compare (though they did better on copper). Amsoil SS is not wowing me either, though better than any OTS oil I tried (Pennzoil, Castrol, QSUD). Maybe I’m making too much about “staying in grade.” In my Ecoboost, only the Gen1 VPBR did that, in a 7000-9000 mile OCI. The OTS’s couldn’t even in a 3000 mile OCI. VPBR was always a bit hard to source, and of course expensive. Am now trying HPL (in my Subaru, and will try in the Ecoboost) to compare.
I will say, I am a bit disappointed with the starting V100 of the Gen 2 VPBR. With fuel and/or shearing where will it end up? It MIGHT stay in grade, or it might not. Still, I might have to pay semi-local Cummins a visit to see which they have in stock. I would prefer the Gen 1, given its higher viscosity, but maybe I’m missing something on alleged improvement in the anti-wear additives. (But Dyson labs/TestOil had a “antiwear” reading, and the gen1 always scored well….not that I understood how that reading was generated.)
Careful seasonal shopping at HPL can be considerably less expensive than the VPBR….though maybe not apples to apples. I’m thinking the Gen1 VPBR is somewhat comparable to the better (premium?) HPL, probably even the Premium Plus or no-VII. Actually, I don’t know the HPL HDEO tiers, so don’t know where it really competes. So if “premium” is what you need, perhaps the VPBR is the better deal. But for gasser use, the lowly HPL PCMO might be good enough, and close to 1/2 the price. In a fuel diluter gas engine, perhaps the 1/2 price HPL PCMO is a better proposition, allowing you to justify more frequent oil changes.
PS, I mentioned I tried Amsoil SS in the Ecoboost, (as well as several Walmart OTS “full synthetics.”) It seemed the Amsoil landed somewhere in between the OTS and the VPBR, as expected. Wear was decent, but viscosity loss not so good. Still, THIS was ONLY one data point. Need more. But they’ll be selling API ST or SV oils by the time I get enough datapoints. If Amsoil made SS with a starting viscosity of 11.5, I would try it again. Their 0w40 is a bit thicker than I want, but their 5w30 dropped just below 30wt in under 4000 miles…in my fuel diluter engine. Better than OTS, but not good enough. I don’t know, maybe I’ll try their 0w40. But it’s not the cleaner the HPL and VPBR claim to be. What I didn’t say (til now) is I would really like to run some oil 8000 miles over a summer camping trip on a single oil fill…in the Ecoboost. So far, only the VPBR survived that; the plan is to see this summer if the HPL PCMO can.