Valvoline Premium Blue Restore

[Rat407]

Originally Posted by Lignums
I am currently using this oil in my 2006 Gmc Envoy 5.3. It has 190,000 miles on it and has been eating some oil between OCIs. I talked to a GM mechanic about the prospect of doing ring job on this motor, because the vehicle is in really great condition body and drivetrain wise, except for the oil consumption. After talking to the mechanic, and JAG here, I decided to give this oil a whirl before dropping some major coin on rings, and see if this stuff will remove enough carbon so as not have to do the rings.

So far I have 300 miles on this experiment, from long highway miles, to short trips to the grocery store with the wife. Fram Ultra filter also. I was going to do a filter cut and post at 500 miles just to see how well this oil works on aged carbon buildup.



Your oil consumption might not be a ring issue. At least mine wasn't. My 2002 Silverado with 188k on it with the 5.3 was using a qt of oil in 5k miles. Turns out the intake gasket was bad and it was sucking oil in that way. When I changed out the intake gasket and lifter valley gasket my oil consumption went away. It is easy to do and not that expensive. Worth a shot.

 

[Olas]

Originally Posted by G-MAN
I just called the local Cummins service center about this oil. They have it in stock and it's $73.00 a gallon.

Premium Blue is manufactured in the US and you pay 73/gallon. In England we pay 33 pounds or 40 dollars per gallon.
http://promarineukshop.com/epages/e...-52da-4060-89d7-da74ea0ff665/Products/43

 

[Bailes1992]

Originally Posted by Olas
Originally Posted by G-MAN
I just called the local Cummins service center about this oil. They have it in stock and it's $73.00 a gallon.

Premium Blue is manufactured in the US and you pay 73/gallon. In England we pay 33 pounds or 40 dollars per gallon.
http://promarineukshop.com/epages/e...-52da-4060-89d7-da74ea0ff665/Products/43


They're different oils. You've linked to standard Premium Blue, not the Restore.

The only way to get restore in the UK is to get hold of Ryder Fleet in the US. 2 Gallons can be delivered to the UK for £230 inc delivery. Too much for me.

 

[Olas]

its an ester/pao blend, same is redline. around 73/gal, same as redline. people say redline is very good at cleaning which is what VPBR is designed to do.
does anybody on here with more knowledge want to comment on the likely similarities and differences between them? assuming redline has more zn/p, what other differences might we see between these oils?

 

[RDY4WAR]

Originally Posted by Olas
its an ester/pao blend, same is redline. around 73/gal, same as redline. people say redline is very good at cleaning which is what VPBR is designed to do.
does anybody on here with more knowledge want to comment on the likely similarities and differences between them? assuming redline has more zn/p, what other differences might we see between these oils?


VPBR and RL are quite different from each other in their ester content. VPBR is ~60% ester where as RL is cleaning ability and is most likely trimellitate or adipate ester, as opposed to polyol ester, since 1) you're not as concerned about high temperature protection, 2) they have better cold temperature performance than polyol ester with higher viscosity indexes, and 3) they are much cheaper. RL on the other hand is using ester primarily for high temperature protection. The 15-25% content is more than sufficient for this while being far more than needed for additive solubility. They are using polyol ester for the better high temperature protection.

 

[1978elcamino]

is it 460% better than t4 @ 73 bucks a gallon?

 

[RDY4WAR]

Originally Posted by 1978elcamino
is it 460% better than t4 @ 73 bucks a gallon?


Not really comparable. VPBR isn't meant to be a regular service oil. It's meant to be used after several oil changes to clean up sludge and varnish. Think of it as a flush oil. You're paying for the cleaning power of the ester.

 

[Gokhan]

Here is the Valvoline Premium Blue Restore formulation.

Formula #4 is what is sold commercially.

It's unlike any other oil. Valvoline Premium Blue Restore has:

• Base oil composition: 62.5% POE (ester), 25.0% PAO, and 12.5% AN (alkylated naphthalene)
• No viscosity-index improver (VII) at all -- a monograde oil
• Standard Valvoline Premium Blue HDEO additive package (20% of the finished oil)

The commercially available oil with the highest ester content is probably Red Line High-Performance, which has about 15% ester in its base oil. Valvoline Premium Blue Restore has four times the ester content of that.

Esters are very expensive base stocks, and this is the reason for the high cost. However, they have extremely powerful cleaning properties.

Note that this is a deep-cleaning oil, and it's meant to be use for only one OCI in 120,000 - 150,000 miles.

 

[CleverUserName]

Originally Posted by Gokhan
Here is the Valvoline Premium Blue Restore formulation.

Formula #4 is what is sold commercially.

It's unlike any other oil. Valvoline Premium Blue Restore has:

• Base oil composition: 62.5% POE (ester), 25.0% PAO, and 12.5% AN (alkylated naphthalene)
• No viscosity-index improver (VII) at all -- a monograde oil
• Standard Valvoline Premium Blue HDEO additive package (20% of the finished oil)

The commercially available oil with the highest ester content is probably Red Line High-Performance, which has about 15% ester in its base oil. Valvoline Premium Blue Restore has four times the ester content of that.

Esters are very expensive base stocks, and this is the reason for the high cost. However, they have extremely powerful cleaning properties.

Note that this is a deep-cleaning oil, and it's meant to be use for only one OCI in 120,000 - 150,000 miles.


That's really interesting...

Do the Veggie Esters like found in the RLI formulas have the same cleaning properties as this VPB Restore stuff?

 

[RDY4WAR]

Originally Posted by CleverUserName
Originally Posted by Gokhan
Here is the Valvoline Premium Blue Restore formulation.

Formula #4 is what is sold commercially.

It's unlike any other oil. Valvoline Premium Blue Restore has:

• Base oil composition: 62.5% POE (ester), 25.0% PAO, and 12.5% AN (alkylated naphthalene)
• No viscosity-index improver (VII) at all -- a monograde oil
• Standard Valvoline Premium Blue HDEO additive package (20% of the finished oil)

The commercially available oil with the highest ester content is probably Red Line High-Performance, which has about 15% ester in its base oil. Valvoline Premium Blue Restore has four times the ester content of that.

Esters are very expensive base stocks, and this is the reason for the high cost. However, they have extremely powerful cleaning properties.

Note that this is a deep-cleaning oil, and it's meant to be use for only one OCI in 120,000 - 150,000 miles.


That's really interesting...

Do the Veggie Esters like found in the RLI formulas have the same cleaning properties as this VPB Restore stuff?


Adipate and tremillitate esters have better solvency for better cleaning ability. This is what's found in VPBR and High Performance Lubricant's flush oils. Polyol esters have more oxidative stability and thermal stability and are about 6x more expensive.

 

[Gokhan]

The ester used in Valvoline Premium Blue Restore -- Priolubeâ„¢ 1973 -- is a polyol ester (POE). Polyol esters are the esters most commonly used in motor oil.

Croda Lubricants Priolubeâ„¢ 1973

Polyol esters have excellent cleaning properties, with some of the lowest aniline points. Better cleaning and solvency correlates with a lower aniline point. Within a given type of base stock, usually thinner base stocks have lower aniline points, but you're constrained by the SAE viscosity grade.

See the following brochure by ExxonMobil for various types of Group IV and Group V base stocks, including different types of esters.

ExxonMobil advanced synthetic base stocks (PDF)

 

[nthach]

Originally Posted by Gokhan


It's unlike any other oil. Valvoline Premium Blue Restore has:

• Base oil composition: 62.5% POE (ester), 25.0% PAO, and 12.5% AN (alkylated naphthalene)
• No viscosity-index improver (VII) at all -- a monograde oil
• Standard Valvoline Premium Blue HDEO additive package (20% of the finished oil)

Same reason why Red Line claims they don't use VII in their white bottle oil - POE has better fluidity and stability at a wider temperature range. I'm running it in an effort to unstick my rings.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted by nthach
Originally Posted by Gokhan


It's unlike any other oil. Valvoline Premium Blue Restore has:

• Base oil composition: 62.5% POE (ester), 25.0% PAO, and 12.5% AN (alkylated naphthalene)
• No viscosity-index improver (VII) at all -- a monograde oil
• Standard Valvoline Premium Blue HDEO additive package (20% of the finished oil)

Same reason why Red Line claims they don't use VII in their white bottle oil - POE has better fluidity and stability at a wider temperature range. I'm running it in an effort to unstick my rings.


I don't think they make that claim. IIRC, it was the 5w-30 that was stated to not have VII's, the 0w-40 and the like definitely do.

 

[RDY4WAR]

Originally Posted by Gokhan
The ester used in Valvoline Premium Blue Restore -- Priolubeâ„¢ 1973 -- is a polyol ester (POE). Polyol esters are the esters most commonly used in motor oil.

Croda Lubricants Priolubeâ„¢ 1973

Polyol esters have excellent cleaning properties, with some of the lowest aniline points. Better cleaning and solvency correlates with a lower aniline point. Within a given type of base stock, usually thinner base stocks have lower aniline points, but you're constrained by the SAE viscosity grade.

See the following brochure by ExxonMobil for various types of Group IV and Group V base stocks, including different types of esters.

ExxonMobil advanced synthetic base stocks (PDF)


With the cost of POE, I doubt that. Adipate ester is far cheaper than POE and has more solvency so it would be a better fit for VPBR anyway.

 

[Gokhan]

Originally Posted by RDY4WAR
With the cost of POE, I doubt that. Adipate ester is far cheaper than POE and has more solvency so it would be a better fit for VPBR anyway.

Valvoline tells you exactly what's in the Valvoline Premium Blue Restore in its patent. It's a very expensive oil ($73 a gallon) because of the high POE content.

The problem with the other esters you suggested is that it's likely that their viscosity and/or viscosity index don't allow to formulate a 10W-30 without a VII, which is what Valvoline Premium Blue Restore is. They may also have other problems making them undesirable for engine-oil formulations.

In any case it's a moot issue because the Valvoline patent eliminates any speculation.

 

[Jackson_Slugger]

Originally Posted by Gokhan
Originally Posted by RDY4WAR
With the cost of POE, I doubt that. Adipate ester is far cheaper than POE and has more solvency so it would be a better fit for VPBR anyway.

Valvoline tells you exactly what's in the Valvoline Premium Blue Restore in its patent. It's a very expensive oil ($73 a gallon) because of the high POE content.
....


I suspect it is not only the formulation that makes it so expensive but the low volume of formulation and the tightly controlled distribution through only (Kenworth?) commercial truck dealership parts depts...

*Correction, Ryder Fleet products...

 

[nthach]

Cummins themselves have tight distribution - most Cummins distributors are company-owned. Unlike the model Volvo, PACCAR and Detroit Diesel(Daimler) uses which is closer to a car dealership. There are 3rd-party Cummins service providers such as truck dealerships but Cummins Sales & Service is 100% company owned.

I got my stuff from Cummins Pacific, who also happens to be the main service outlet for Allison, Voith bus transmissions and BAE Systems HybriDrive.

 

[Bailes1992]

I'm sure I've said this before but I would love to try extended intervals with this in my Volvo with a suitable bypass filter.

High TBN, no VII's, a reasonable level of saps not to cause any issues with the DPF/SCR and excellent cleaning ability. Almost seems perfect.

Factory intervals on the Volvo are 18k miles or 1 year although I change around 9k/6months. I reckon with this and my driving style I could just do filters and top ups and never have to change the oil.

 

[ruSSrt]

How do you guys feel about using this once in 05 Passat TDI with 190k miles? Vehicle is new to me and I don't know it much yet, but maybe on the next oil change I should try for a good measure?

 

[Imp4]

Originally Posted by Jackson_Slugger
Originally Posted by Gokhan
Originally Posted by RDY4WAR
With the cost of POE, I doubt that. Adipate ester is far cheaper than POE and has more solvency so it would be a better fit for VPBR anyway.

Valvoline tells you exactly what's in the Valvoline Premium Blue Restore in its patent. It's a very expensive oil ($73 a gallon) because of the high POE content.
....


I suspect it is not only the formulation that makes it so expensive but the low volume of formulation and the tightly controlled distribution through only (Kenworth?) commercial truck dealership parts depts...

*Correction, Ryder Fleet products...

Its expensive for two reasons only.
1. It's patented.
2. It works.
This enables Valvoline to set the price quite high in relation to other oils meeting similar industry standards for viscosity grade and OEM approvals and the market will still bear the cost.

With FY 2019 revenue of $2.4B, distribution channel access and volume derived efficiencies are not limiting their pricing model.