Valvoline Restore and Protect + HPL EC30?? Anyone try it?

[AdmiralYoda]

New to us 2018 Equinox with the 1.5L turbo LYX engine. We've had the car for about 5-6k miles now. Dumped the commodity GM oil at 1k and am now on the 2nd OCI of Valvoline Restore and Protect 5W-30.

Didn't burn oil at first but has been burning a bit on Valvoline Restore and Protect. Might be loosening some stuff up making it a bit worse before it gets better. Filters have been cut up and are pretty clean.

Anyone do anything crazy like add a quart of HPL's EC30 to an OCI of Valvoline Restore and Protect? Seems like it might do a little more cleaning....or maybe not. I know HPL's varieties of PCMO clean very well but I'm not ready to make the jump on this car just yet?

Any thoughts on a Valvoline Restore and Protect/EC30 combo? Bad idea? A waste? Genius? Thanks!

 

[rijndael]

It seems like R&P is trying to drag out the cleaning process over a few oil changes to avoid loading up the filter. If that's the case, you seem to be deliberately trying to undo that design aspect.

I don't know if it's a good idea or not, I guess part of it would depend on how much cleaning your engine needs in the first place. If it doesn't need a lot the filter won't get clogged, but then it seems like adding the EC30 may be a waste anyway.

 

[GW.]

Complete the four R&P oci’s before trying anything different. I didn’t notice any improvements until the 3rd oci.

 

[Sequoiasoon]

At least 1 person did IIRC from the threads. I'd say let the Valvoline Restore and Protect as do as designed without backyard chemistry class.

The devils advocate side. If you were running Valvoline Restore and Protect as your regular oil and decided to add EC30 it would be recommended at a 20% ratio same as adding to any other oil you would normally run.

 

[OilStainedNapkin]

Don’t even waste time on the HPL stuff. I’ve seen way more evidence on here for Valvoline Restore and Protect cleaning up engines

 

[Astro_Guy]

Personally I wouldn't combine two cleaners without knowing their individual chemistries. Just pick one and be happy...

 

[facility1]

just use the Valvoline Restore and Protect as directed by them, playing back yard chemist may not be a good idea, the results can vary though and not for the results you expect.

 

[Sequoiasoon]

Don’t even waste time on the HPL stuff. I’ve seen way more evidence on here for Valvoline Restore and Protect cleaning up engines

The EC30 put stuff in the filters of my sons Forte and daughters CRV I have never seen prior and I almost always cut the filters open. Neither one was burning oil prior and don't now either. CRV has 250k, Forte 196k+. Both are now on Valvoline Restore and Protect because I want to keep cleaning and I'm out of EC30.

CRV

Forte

 

[K20FA5]

R&P is the only oil I’ve tried that has actually slowed down the oil drinking in my kiddos 2.4L Kia. I ran a few doses of EC30 before R&P and never noticed a difference.

 

[melk]

I believe EC containers either (or both?) PAO and AN so how those interact with the Valvoline Restore and Protect secret sauce is still unknown.

 

[trd1zz]

Didn't burn oil at first but has been burning a bit on Valvoline Restore and Protect.

This seems to be a bit of a growing trend around here lately.

Hopefully if you stick with the Valvoline Restore and Protect it eventually subsides.

 

[Ride_Red]

I purchased two quarts of EC30 last year for my 150K mile 2010 Honda CRV because I was having to add over a quart of top up oil between changes. The first bottle went in last year with Pennzoil Platinum 0W-20. I topped up with Valvoline Restore and Protect 5W-20 throughout the oil interval. I just changed the oil last weekend and used up the second quart of EC30 along with the remainder of the jug of Valvoline Restore and Protect 5W-20 for a full fill. I plan to run this mix for a full oil change interval 7K miles-ish (20% on the MM) and top up with Valvoline Restore and Protect as needed, then use only Valvoline Restore and Protect for the next few oil changes.

The EC30/PP oil mix was dark when draining out, but not noticeably different from usual. The dipstick was still stained as well, no noticeable change. I also still used about 1 quart of top up oil during the interval (7000 miles by the MM). I'm interested to see what Valvoline Restore and Protect will do this oil change. Maybe the EC30 will dilute the cleaning power of Valvoline Restore and Protect? Not sure. I'm not worried about it. I paid for the EC30 and I wanted to use it up. The engine runs great and does not look dirty (other than a slight gold patina) when looking in the fill hole.

 

[melk]

I’m hoping to pull the valve cover on my 07 CRV soon. It’s been sitting for another year now and we might finally be close to putting it back on the road. With the HPL sale I’ve been very tempted to buy a case of EC30 since I have a pretty good range of engines to test with, and they all run Valvoline Restore and Protect

 

[Four Rings]

New to us 2018 Equinox with the 1.5L turbo LYX engine. We've had the car for about 5-6k miles now. Dumped the commodity GM oil at 1k and am now on the 2nd OCI of Valvoline Restore and Protect 5W-30.

Didn't burn oil at first but has been burning a bit on Valvoline Restore and Protect. Might be loosening some stuff up making it a bit worse before it gets better. Filters have been cut up and are pretty clean.

Anyone do anything crazy like add a quart of HPL's EC30 to an OCI of Valvoline Restore and Protect? Seems like it might do a little more cleaning....or maybe not. I know HPL's varieties of PCMO clean very well but I'm not ready to make the jump on this car just yet?

Any thoughts on a Valvoline Restore and Protect/EC30 combo? Bad idea? A waste? Genius? Thanks!

FWIW, I use HPL Engine Cleaner 40 (or 30) with 5W-30 Valvoline Restore and Protect in three of my Audis and my 2018 Toyota Sienna AWD. I use a mix ratio of 5:1, R&P:EC.

No problems.

 

[thetricky]

New to us 2018 Equinox with the 1.5L turbo LYX engine. We've had the car for about 5-6k miles now. Dumped the commodity GM oil at 1k and am now on the 2nd OCI of Valvoline Restore and Protect 5W-30.

Didn't burn oil at first but has been burning a bit on Valvoline Restore and Protect. Might be loosening some stuff up making it a bit worse before it gets better. Filters have been cut up and are pretty clean.

Anyone do anything crazy like add a quart of HPL's EC30 to an OCI of Valvoline Restore and Protect? Seems like it might do a little more cleaning....or maybe not. I know HPL's varieties of PCMO clean very well but I'm not ready to make the jump on this car just yet?

Any thoughts on a Valvoline Restore and Protect/EC30 combo? Bad idea? A waste? Genius? Thanks!

Go all-in on either one, no point in mixing. If longer changes and cleaning are your goal, HPL is great. If you want shorter changes use the Valvoline Restore and Protect. Plenty of evidence on here of both oils cleaning well.

 

[OttoB]

I'm on third OCI of Valvoline Restore and Protect + HPL Engine Cleaner 30 in my old commuter car. 1st filter was loaded, with the 2nd filter the valleys between the pleats were loaded, but the ridges were still clear. 2,000 - 2,500 miles each. Plan to pop off valve cover after 4th OCI to check results.

 

[Mainia]

I run HPL 40w EC 1Qt and 4 Qts of Valvoline Restore and Protect to increase HTHS to get a 3.5^ for a turbo car for winter use. I use straight 0/5w-40 oil for summer use. I am thinking about switching out the 1 Qt of HPL 40w EC to a Qt Valvoline 5w-40 Euro to get the 3.5^ I need buy buying a 5Qt jug of Valvoline Euro. The problem is, I am playing oil chemist and I don't really want to, but I am going to roll the dice on this one.

 

[CleanSump]

Guys in the BMW and Volvo forums are running straight 5W-30 Valvoline Restore and Protect for 3k - 5k without seeing any problems. One guy had #1 Main eat itself, but that was because he had loose VANOS bolts and that's known to starve #1 Main bearing anyway. He was going to lose #1 with an LL-01 oil, just a matter of time.
Otherwise, the 3.3x HTHS vice 3.5 doesn't seem to be a problem over short OCIs.

 

[altaylar]

Don’t even waste time on the HPL stuff. I’ve seen way more evidence on here for Valvoline Restore and Protect cleaning up engines

Exactly. We have a product that is absurdly cheap for a cleaning we did not think possible with an engine oil untill recently. Valvoline Restore and Protect seems to be the best choice for cleaning at the moment

 

[AdmiralYoda]

OP here...thanks for the responses! I'll stick with the Valvoline Restore and Protect for 4 total OCI's (just started the 2nd OCI a week ago) and then decide which direction to go. I'm keeping the OCI with Valvoline Restore and Protect at 3k miles.

I like trying new things so maybe the first non-Valvoline Restore and Protect OCI will be full HPL to see if it cleans anything that Valvoline Restore and Protect "missed" since HPL is known for exceptional cleaning. After the 1st non-Valvoline Restore and Protect OCI I'll just stick with a forever oil. Probably Valvoline Restore and Protect 5W-30 or ESP 0W-30.

This engine (GM 1.5L Turbo LYX) and my wife's driving habits need an oil that will continuously clean so that it doesn't have a chance to have piston ring or engine deposits. GM calls for 0W-20 for just to meet cafe standards. This engine gets worked hard and that turbo keeps things plenty hot so whatever oil I go with it will be an 0W-30 or 5W-30 moving forward.

Combined with my wife's excessive short trips I want an oil with a good HTHS and some cleaning ability to make sure things stay clean.

Valvoline Restore and Protect 5W-30 has an HTHS of 3.24 and the ESP 0W-30 is 3.5. Those are pretty good numbers for an xW-30. To be fair Valvoline Restore and Protect doesn't list HTHS on their datasheet, but someone asked Valvoline directly and posted the response here.

For reference, here are some of HPL's HTHS for their 5W-30's:
- Premium Plus: 3.161
- Euro Passenger: 3.597
- No-VII (Euro): 3.566
- No-VII (PCMO): 3.399