Valvoline Restore & Protect

It is. And it ran the first 185k miles or so with it enabled and no issues. Then I had issues and disabled the VCM.
Good to hear its still going. My pilot ran with VCM for the first 120k or so but never developed the oil burning or worn out engine mounts. I'm running R&P to see if I can relieve any potential buildup from that time period although it was well maintained previously. My accord burns about a quart every 5k and am looking to see if that changes as well.
 
Their Q&A, videos they’ve put out talking about their additives on YouTube, as well as on each page in their product descriptions. “Specifically designed for older engine designs” is stated here for MoS2. You can also email and in about 2hrs you’ll get a response where they’ll write you directly and explain it to you.

I suggest searching google, YouTube, their website, or asking them directly.

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What constitutes an “older engine”? What design has changed that would affect the usefulness of MoS2? Especially since it is a common additive for regular bottled engine oils?
 
Valvoline does state a high prevention for wear with the Restore & Protect oils.
They also states it is a “Premium” oil. So it’s not like it is Plan Jane oil with just a novel cleaner only. It is the cleanest running oil I have ever run in my Hyundai, as far getting black at 3,000 miles. And that’s going up against boutique's too. Not that blacker oil mean bad or degraded.
 
What constitutes an “older engine”? What design has changed that would affect the usefulness of MoS2? Especially since it is a common additive for regular bottled engine oils?
Note they don't say it is inappropriate for newer engines. If that were the case then they better make the wording a bit more dire.

A little like the marketing for high mileage oils, they are targeting older engines and gear their language towards that use but that doesn't make it harmful or inappropriate for new engines. Assuming the license and grade are proper.
 
It's been 4 days since I put Valvoline restore and protect in
I picked this quote to segue into my preview.

I put VRP into my car a bit over 2,000 miles ago. I'm guilty of the BITOG crime of using a product to fix something the condition of which I do not know.
However, I can change the VRP and element filter @ 3,000 and easily see if any bits were caught.
The anticipation is palpable.
 
Found this blurb while researching base oils.

HiTEC® 11188 is a proprietary performance additive developed by Afton Chemical Corporation. It is specifically designed for use in lubricating oil formulations, aiming to enhance engine cleanliness and protection. Notably, this additive is a key component in Valvoline’s Restore & Protect motor oil, contributing to its deposit-removal and prevention capabilities.

🤔🤔


https://smsrail.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/HiTEC-11188-Performance-Additive.pdf
 
Would anyone have hesitations on running VRP in an engine that has a rear main seal that leaks very slowly? About the only way it could make the leak worse is if it’s currently slowed by a layer of crud and that gets cleaned up, right? At least, that’s how I picture it possibly going. I guess if any cleaning is going to cause a seal to leak, then it could happen on any oil; not just VRP.
 
My Pentastar Jeep GC is like that. The oil seems to creep up the stick as it sits.
I have had a couple of vehicles that did that. I attributed it to suction being applied to the crankcase, and the seal on the dipstick being too good. So when you shut off the engine, oil is sucked up the tube.
 
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Would anyone have hesitations on running VRP in an engine that has a rear main seal that leaks very slowly? About the only way it could make the leak worse is if it’s currently slowed by a layer of crud and that gets cleaned up, right? At least, that’s how I picture it possibly going. I guess if any cleaning is going to cause a seal to leak, then it could happen on any oil; not just VRP.
great question.
 
Would anyone have hesitations on running VRP in an engine that has a rear main seal that leaks very slowly? About the only way it could make the leak worse is if it’s currently slowed by a layer of crud and that gets cleaned up, right? At least, that’s how I picture it possibly going. I guess if any cleaning is going to cause a seal to leak, then it could happen on any oil; not just VRP.
I put VRP in my daughters junker Ford Fusion. It had a small leak that did get worse with VRP. I'll be putting some Blue Devil in it to see if I can slow it down a bit.
 
My guess is VRP would expose/clean seals and leaks could get worse. It's the seal conditioner component that would help swell/condition seals back to normal. But the leak would not be caused by VRP, just cleaned to the point it would expose the leak.
 
My guess is VRP would expose/clean seals and leaks could get worse. It's the seal conditioner component that would help swell/condition seals back to normal. But the leak would not be caused by VRP, just cleaned to the point it would expose the leak.
Yes, an important, but clear distinction.

I believe the question for me is how likely mine is dirty or just a leaky seal that’s fairly clean. I know we typically say looking at the valve train with covers removed can be indicative of general engine cleanliness; which mine has, but the pistons/combustion chamber are another matter. Would a rear main fall in the category of likely clean if under the valve cover is spotless?
 
Yes, an important, but clear distinction.

I believe the question for me is how likely mine is dirty or just a leaky seal that’s fairly clean. I know we typically say looking at the valve train with covers removed can be indicative of general engine cleanliness; which mine has, but the pistons/combustion chamber are another matter. Would a rear main fall in the category of likely clean if under the valve cover is spotless?
A distinction that has been necessary to repeat since the first synthetics got a reputation for "causing" leaks. Before the seal swell effect was dialed in, it's fair to say some early Amsoil/M1s probably did "cause" leaks, but by the 1980s this was understood and remedied. Yet the myth somewhat persists that synthetics cause leaks.
 
A distinction that has been necessary to repeat since the first synthetics got a reputation for "causing" leaks. Before the seal swell effect was dialed in, it's fair to say some early Amsoil/M1s probably did "cause" leaks, but by the 1980s this was understood and remedied. Yet the myth somewhat persists that synthetics cause leaks.
Yep. Some esters cause seal swell, while PAO causes seals to shrink. Balancing those two traits to prevent PAO from shrinking seals, was originally not as dialed-in, as you note, but didn't take long to get sorted. However, the concern this created, coupled with the fact that esters can be effective cleaners, revealing existing blocked leaks (my own experience with M1), likely caused the myth to persist.
 
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