Valvoline Premium Blue Restore 10W-30 in a Honda 2.4L

Interesting. Will be good to see if it really reduces consumption long term and allows you to switch back to regular oil without issue.
 
Its good that we have oils which can help to unstick rings, but prevention is better than cure. How can we make sure the rings dont get stuck in the first place?

is it the fuel?
is it the oil?
is it the rings or lands?

what actually causes the problem?
 
Originally Posted by Olas
...prevention is better than cure. How can we make sure the rings dont get stuck in the first place?
is it the fuel?
is it the oil?
is it the rings or lands?
what actually causes the problem?
Very good question. I'm concerned about that myself, owning a reportedly susceptible engine.

Low-tension rings are commonly rumored to be a factor (apparently not by leaking when new, but by allowing carbon to build up gradually). So are piston designs that put the rings near the top of the piston to minimize emissions; they run hotter there.

Other guesses I've seen range from high-Noack oil to excessive VII to too much low-speed, low-power operation to the exact opposite (habitually driving at high speed, towing, etc.).
 
The issue is the 2nd ring. The 2nd ring is the main oil control ring that wipes the cylinder walls and keeps excessive amounts of oil from going into the chamber. A lot of people thing the "oil ring" does that job, and it does to an extent, but it's the 2nd ring that seals the crankcase from the chamber. Some designs with the 2nd ring place it too close to the top ring or too lose to the piston or too little of gap. Either way, excessive heat gets to the 2nd ring and causes oil coking which eventually sticks the ring, causing excessive blow-by from above to go into the crankcase and excessive oil to flow past it from below into the chamber.

Oils like VPBR fight that with esters which try to dissolve those coked deposits and free up the 2nd ring.
 
Originally Posted by ctechbob
Should be nearing the 5k mark on the change, any updates?

Getting close, but not quite.

As of 1/28/20:

Odo: 143,017
Miles on Oil: 3,680

Added another 1/2 qt.

Total oil added is about 1.1 qt.
 
Originally Posted by SatinSilver
Any updates on the Prius?

The Prius did not consume any oil with 0w-20 and has not consumed any oil with the Premium Blue Restore.
 
Appears 5w-20 is the recommended oil grade. Under similar conditions, after Restore treatment, I might try Helix 10w-30 and top off w\Helix 10w-60 each time it dropped to 1\4qt low. If you used only the grades as references and blended 4qt 10w-30 & 1qt 10w-60 you would have a 10w-36 blend. I realize that is crude "cypherin'", but my point is a full OC of 5qt 10w-30 topped off at 1\4qt consumption intervals w\10w-60 should not drastically change the crankcase fill on the whole. Or a 5w-30 topped off w\ 5w-40\50.

After 140+K on the clock it would seem you'd have a bit of room for a thicker oil. You're already using 10w-30 now to appreciable improvement in oil consumption. Whether cleaning carbon, unsticking rings, dredging sludge, being higher viscosity and\or combo platter of any the aforementioned.

After reading the thread again I see you're into the sixth month at close to 5K. Considering your starting point, 90K, you're only using twice the amount of oil after 1.5X the mileage. That would seem about right to me.

Not to dampen your spiirts though some of the oil "savings" could partially be sludge, broken down by Restore solvent, in essence being added to the crankcase from within. I blend 0w-40 w\0w-30 &\or 0w-50 & have tried 0w-16 in the mix to thin a mite. Since some of my blend is racing oil I top off w\0w-40 for the detergent & TBN. My CVVT actuates both camshafts hydraulically. I pay a performance penalty using a heavier grade that I'm attempting to alleviate somewhat w\blend.

I use a little oil and around 90K started blending whilst dropping from 5K OCI to 3K. I'm on my third blended OC & it appears promising. Maybe just wishful thinking though nothing ventured nothing gained. Your journey inspired me to purchase two jugs of Restore for potential future use.
Good luck.
 
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Originally Posted by The Critic
Originally Posted by ctechbob
Should be nearing the 5k mark on the change, any updates?

Getting close, but not quite.

As of 1/28/20:

Odo: 143,017
Miles on Oil: 3,680

Added another 1/2 qt.

Total oil added is about 1.1 qt.


Just sharing my experience, on both of my Accords K24 engines, @ 3000 miles, using 5w-20 Full Synthetic, it had never used more than 1 quart of oil. Both vehicles are over 200k miles.

This is only my speculation, since you are using a 10w30, it will only slow down the consumption, but when you go back to the regular spec'd oil 5w20 or 5w30, it will still burn oil, and will burn faster than the 10w30.
 
Originally Posted by The Critic
Originally Posted by ctechbob
Should be nearing the 5k mark on the change, any updates?

Getting close, but not quite.

As of 1/28/20:

Odo: 143,017
Miles on Oil: 3,680

Added another 1/2 qt.

Total oil added is about 1.1 qt.

As of 4/11/20:

Odo: 144,211
Miles on oil: 4,874

Currently, the oil level is 1/2 qt low. I did not add any additional oil.

To date, the amount of oil added is 1.1 qt.

Should I continue or should I halt the experiment?
 
Stick with your original plan of 6000 to 8000 miles with this oil. In the big rigs this oil is run a lot longer. You are close to your goal. Don'tr give up !!!

Nuff said

xtell
 
I'm not familiar with Mister Nuff though I'll throw in my two cents; that are not necessarily valued at 2% of current dollar.
--
UPDATE #1:

1,645 miles since the oil change - vehicle is at 140,975.

I added .6 qt to bring the level up to full mark.

I think previously, I needed to add a full quart by the 2K mark ...[Then you would've needed at least a 2nd qt by 4k & another half by 5K ]


Update #2:

909 miles since the oil was topped off to full.

2,554 miles since the oil was installed.

Total oil added so far: 2/3qt.

Oil level as of today:[appears about 1\4qt low]
--
Odo: 143,017
Miles on Oil: 3,680

Added another 1/2 qt.

Total oil added is about 1.1 qt.
--
Odo: 144,211
Miles on oil: 4,874

Currently, the oil level is 1/2 qt low. I did not add any additional oil.

To date, the amount of oil added is 1.1 qt.
--
You've dropped from at least 2.5qt to perhaps 1.75qt give or take. You've saved 3\4qt over 5K which is around a third of the original loss. Plus, that early burned oil would not have experienced any cleaning advantage as latter added oil could. It's possible that with a fresh fill you might see additional savings. You've replenished enough oil to continue if you are so of mind. If you wished to save the rest of your Restore, for another project, you could add Valvoline 10w-30 and carry on.

However, 0.6 at 1645 is 1.8qt at 4,935mi. Current claim is 4874mi at 1.6qt. I changed your 1.6 value to 1.75, leaving a 0.15qt buffer of sorts\err on the conservative side, yet you seem to burn consistently since adding 0.6qt oil at 1645mi. My verdict whilst sipping java & crunching numbers is:

Six of one, half a dozen of the other.

Your the one that dropped the coins on the Restore, so it is your call to stop or carry on. I'm not sure how much you would help your cause by topping off with more Restore and running more miles. At this pace of burn\add you might have discovered the sweet spot of 1645mi\0.6qt 10w-30 Restore. Who's to say?

When & if you return to using 5W-20 is the only way to gauge any perceived savings. Since this treatment was designed to be used at 100K and you started at 139K it may be prudent to continue your experiment at least to 6580mi on the clock.

Top it off, run another 1645-1706mi and see if it needs another 0.6qts.

Or not, whatever ...

One thing is certain. You will never be at this juncture again.
 
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Crazy, out of nowhere this morning I was just thinking -- where is the update on this thread. Personally, I say you just have an oil burner/user. Keep it topped off and motor on.
 
Wow, thought with all the interest in this thread that there would be more replies.

Change the oil filter, top it off and let 'er ride.

For 1645mi.

What might you lose, 0.6qt 10W-30?

Can you actually stay away from the dipstick for 1645mi.?

The suspense is killing me thinking about your tortured soul for 1645mi wondering what the dipstick is reading without checking until 1645mi. have elapsed.

I'm feeling less than a half perhaps merely 0.4qt.

Don't peek!

You'll only spoil the surprise.
 
Sayo
After 51 years of checking dipsticks, there aren't any more surprises. I've seen it-all. I'll bet the Critic has also.

The best one was in 1970. I had a 1962 Ford Falcon. I opened the hood to give the battery water. Went inside the vehicle - turned the key and heard a loud boom as the vehicle shook. I found the oil dipstick one house away, in the middle of the street. Talk about fuel dilution.....
 
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