Valvoline Restore & Protect cons?

[Hohn]

For years I thought when I saw engine internals looking clean all was fine. Clearly not the case as you've stated. The rings are what take a beating and get deposit buildup over time.

It's an oil designed to specifically remove that type of carbon deposit.

Indeed, the the "I do cars" teardown of a pristine Honda K20c4 caught my attention because the engine was immaculate all the way through the teardown-- until he actually got the pistons out and found the stuck oil rings-in less than 100k miles. Seriously, it took physically removing the pistons to identify any potential reason the engine was removed from service. The rest of the engine was utterly immaculate with zero deposit residue anywhere.

The evidence is strongly suggesting to me that cleanliness of the ring pack is perhaps the single most important property of an oil in terms of how it affects the engine's life. Because if you Pareto out the reason why engines leave service, the first and largest factor BY FAR is "oil consumption". And what's the largest cause of oil consumption? Piston/ring deposits.

VRP is the right product at the right time, notwithstanding the naysayers.

 

[Pablo]

No gummy or sticky rings in 25 years

Let me see. Nope don’t need VRP.

 

[buster]

Indeed, the the "I do cars" teardown of a pristine Honda K20c4 caught my attention because the engine was immaculate all the way through the teardown-- until he actually got the pistons out and found the stuck oil rings-in less than 100k miles. Seriously, it took physically removing the pistons to identify any potential reason the engine was removed from service. The rest of the engine was utterly immaculate with zero deposit residue anywhere.

The evidence is strongly suggesting to me that cleanliness of the ring pack is perhaps the single most important property of an oil in terms of how it affects the engine's life. Because if you Pareto out the reason why engines leave service, the first and largest factor BY FAR is "oil consumption". And what's the largest cause of oil consumption? Piston/ring deposits.

VRP is the right product at the right time, notwithstanding the naysayers.

I think so too. It's also what leads to oil consumption down the road. The temperature in the ring area is very hot so it's a prime area for deposit buildup, especially in lesser quality oils.

VRP in a way is a game changer. It's lived up to the hype and does something few oils can do.

 

[buster]

No gummy or sticky rings in 25 years

Let me see. Nope don’t need VRP.

Amsoil has extremely good piston deposit control as they've shown. Main reason why I'm using Amsoil SS.

 

[Glenda W.]

No gummy or sticky rings in 25 years

Let me see. Nope don’t need VRP.

25 years with Amsoil. Coincidence I think not!

 

[buster]

Weighted Piston Deposit average:

 

[Pablo]

Amsoil has extremely good piston deposit control as they've shown. Main reason why I'm using Amsoil SS.

Funny and I know. My cars years ago would consume oil, more and more as they aged. Now, none. And people say cars now are more prone to ring issues (most likely true)

Also yes we have read the stories of people changing to Amsoil in older cars and oil consumption goes up. Seems like this indicates existing ring issues, but then after 2-4 OCI's consumption at least slows.

25 years with Amsoil. Coincidence I think not!

I sorta couldn't resist posting in a "CON" thread, if not needing a product is somewhat of a CON for the Valvoline

 

[trd1zz]

Must be motor dependent to a large extent?

There's no gummy or sticky rings in either of my 20 year old Toyota motors (afaik?). Zero oil consumption at 5k intervals. And they've seen all kinds of cheap bulk oils over their lifetime, before I started changing it myself years ago. Always changed on time though.

 

[buster]

Must be motor dependent to a large extent?

Plays a big role. GDI too. Interval length and oil quality as well.

 

[buster]

Update on why it doesn't meet dexos:

Valvoline rep said it contains additives above and what are allowed by dexos. He said if out of warranty (2017<) they recommend VRP and he did confirm it's their top tier oil.

 

[KnappAttak]

Update on why it doesn't meet dexos:

Valvoline rep said it contains additives above and what are allowed by dexos. He said if out of warranty (2017<) they recommend VRP and he did confirm it's their top tier oil.

It meets all the specs, the reason it doesn’t have dexos label on the jug is with dexos, all ingredients must be spelled out and Valvoline was in no way going to show their hand on the special sauce ingredient. Had they done that their competition would have the ingredients for their oils. So they did not even apply for the dexos approval for that reason alone.

I’m running it in my Chevy truck and both of our Audis now. All engines are running smoother idles and getting better fuel mileage. The Q7 is still consuming zero oil, a far cry better than the quart per 400 miles it was doing before I did the piston soak, EPR flush and the VR&P.

Myself, I could care less about approvals. Some people are followers and sheep, and some are rule breakers that will blaze their own path and not need permissions. Common sense can go a long ways for those people that have it, dive into the research and think it thru.

 

[kschachn]

Myself, I could care less about approvals. Some people are followers and sheep, and some are rule breakers that will blaze their own path and not need permissions. Common sense can go a long ways for those people that have it, dive into the research and think it thru.

Yeah you’re way out ahead of everyone there.

 

[wlk]

Good point - but in my case having a DI engine I will be changing the VRP oil at 3,500 to 4,000 miles max . It probably isn’t a good idea to run VRP much longer without an OCI .

In my Element k24 it would burn after 4k miles, my Element did not burn prior to use either. Like it would be visible smoke which even when it did burn it never was visible. I got the rings freed prior to VRP coming out and was only using it for heavy varnish on my cam lobe removal. I am not the only one that noticed this either. I would not run it for more than 3k miles intervals personally bc of this.

 

[tired]

Funny and I know. My cars years ago would consume oil, more and more as they aged. Now, none. And people say cars now are more prone to ring issues (most likely true)

Also yes we have read the stories of people changing to Amsoil in older cars and oil consumption goes up. Seems like this indicates existing ring issues, but then after 2-4 OCI's consumption at least slows.


I sorta couldn't resist posting in a "CON" thread, if not needing a product is somewhat of a CON for the Valvoline

What do you suppose the mechanism is behind this? I presume Amsoil's Noack is quite good.

 

[Pablo]

What do you suppose the mechanism is behind this? I presume Amsoil's Noack is quite good.

Combo of base oils and additives

 

[tired]

Combo of base oils and additives

Their base oils and additives increase oil consumption? That's what I was curious about. Why the consumption increased first.

 

[Pablo]

Their base oils and additives increase oil consumption?

Huh? Not sure what you are asking. Noack volatility not really involved.

You are asking why the rings got cleaned up and the consumption slowed after a period of time. This is almost always is a property of the oil formulation.

 

[tired]

Huh? Not sure what you are asking. Noack volatility not really involved.

You are asking why the rings got cleaned up and the consumption slowed after a period of time. This is almost always is a property of the oil formulation.

You mentioned that consumption got worse, before it improved. I'm asking why it got worse first.

 

[Pablo]

You mentioned that consumption got worse, before it improved. I'm asking why it got worse first.

OK that is more clear. This is not always the case, so don't run that. It happens from time to time.

Engine is using oil, piston rings and grooves are not clean. Not a NEW car/engine as I noted, but not a worn out engine either.

Owner switches to XYZ synthetic oil (not just Amsoil BTW), maybe a bit lower operating viscosity than the more viscous conventional oil they switched to possibly help with their consumption problem.

As the rings (and other areas) begin to clean, clear, and partially unstick oil escapes the rings and burns, the oil may be carrying some of the deposits as well. This may continue until the rings are fully free, then consumption drops finally.

Of course it won't drop if the oil consumption is caused by a worn engine.

 

[jimmyjamesndt]

No gummy or sticky rings in 25 years

Let me see. Nope don’t need VRP.