Exactly. And if an engine is getting that much crud…what’s the consumption like; if it’s even present? That’s where threads like @Glenda W. ’s has so much value being put together in detail to the point it was obvious to have gotten cleaning done directly related to the oil control rings.
Valvoline Restore & Protect
- Thread starter Scott S
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I don't recall if you said this engine used much oil before starting the VRP regime. If it was, did the oil consumption go down noticeably?
322 miles into my first VRP cycle, the oil level has maintained quite nicely.
I’m wondering if what we’re seeing in these plugged filters is quick sludge clean up? Or varnish?
Valvoline mentioned in the LSJR video that R&P slowly dissolves piston deposits which seemed to be the case in my test. I never saw anything in my filters like this.
I'm thinking that too. If it's dissolving, then it shouldn't be that visible IMO.
You can tell that the piston deposits are pretty tough.
No noticeable change because it never used oil previously. I can’t explain the coexistence of near-zero observable oil consumption with terrible varnish in the overhead.
That said, I do perceive smoother running and a bit more power and have actually measured MPG improvements since the VRP cleaning regimen began. That’s at least an empirical improvement with some merit beyond the intangible subjective butt-dyno type improvements.
There’s no doubt in my mind that VRP is cleaning my pistons and such also. It’s just that my dirty pistons still had fairly functional oil control and had not generated enough wear to trigger oil consumption.
I suspect that as VRP cleans, both sludge AND varnish get turned into carbonaceous powder that ends up in the filter media. I’m seeing a lot of varnish removal in the overhead and in the filters, it’s always the same almost graphite-powder-like accumulation.
I think the best description I can offer of the filter residue is charcoal dust at the bottom of a bag of briquets. It’s a jet black soft powder. When suspended in oil, it resembles sludge. Wick away the oil and only the cake-like powder remains.
From me? Or from anyone?
OVERKILL
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There's definitely some lighting play happening in this picture, lol.
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
Yeah, so you can clearly see in the last two full piston pictures that the left side is shadowed, so combining the left side from the darker one with the right side of the lighter one definitely over-dramatizes the results. I remember Mobil and Shell both doing this exposure game with some of their pics.
Looks identical to me. There is less dark reflection. Bright metal will reflect more light.
Additionally, the pictures in the LSJ video were looked at in real time in the lab. No lighting. Nothing to hide.
Before/after - 4 miles.
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It's unusual you ever see piston photos from any manufacture. Only Amsoil, Mobil 1, Valvoline and VRP have ever shown piston photos. VRP has been the only brand to demonstrate a reversal of carbon while all the others showed resistance to deposit formation.
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
For this photo:
They've combined your last two full piston photos (as can easily be determined by the witness marks in the carbon when looking at this photo and the one below).
Look at these two by themselves, you can clearly see there's more shadowing on the left side in BOTH of these photos:
Before and after photos From anyone using VRP on an engine that needs cleaning!
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Valvoline historically has always been about the OEM drain interval.
Roger England said they have all the engine testing capability, the chemical lab, chemical analytics. Working with the lab in India, it's synthesized and scaled up to production.
I wish people applied the same level of skepticism to other brands. It's interesting how selective people are in their criticism. You can clearly see the bias and selective criticism on display.
The before/after shot of the piston was only 4k miles and it cleaned up quite well for just one OCI IMO.
View attachment 221552
Here we are almost a year later, posting the same pics, saying the same thing. This thread has restarted itself, but nothing new. Is this probono marketing from members on this forum? Did you make a template for these, or is it just cut and paste?
I realize not everyone is going to go back and read all the pages of the thread, but I have. And it's disappointing.
It took me literally about a minute using Snip & Sketch. It is disappointing. Still an unknown what makes it work...
Unfortunately, people are going to believe what they want. 124 pages deep and people still think sludge is just as easy to remove as piston deposits. And this is despite article after article, some who even interviewed a lead Chemist/Formulator with 16 years experience with Infineum. But hey, everyone's an expert....
I have no interest in Valvoline. I don't use VRP and probably won't. I'm sure it bothers some that it's a Saudi owned company now. I get it. It is what it is. It was still discovered, tested and validated in a US Lab.
Between Valvoline and LSJ, there has been more than enough information provided that it works. The market is speaking regardless with I'd say 9/10 people noticing some positive attribute.
Can it clean varnish and clean as well as Valvoline Premium Blue Restore? No idea. PBR was 50% group V.
I'm not aware of any other oils that can clean piston deposits. My guess is HPL, Amsoil SS maybe can, especially HPL. But no company has even attempted to validate this other than VRP, hence why Valvoline is calling it a "first". I'm not saying they can or can't. It's certainly possible.
*This thread has been updated regularly with periodic updates from various YouTube videos as seen above, it's not all a waste of time.
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Thank you for posting this. I was wondering how things were progressing since his earlier video. Love his informational format.
By the way, I have that oil funnel set he uses and absolutely love it. I’ve had it for about 10 years and have used the various adapters several times. It’s the:
Lisle 19912 Multi-Application Oil Funnel Set
I do not have a "before and after", I have "during" pictures on interval #2 of a heavily oil burning subaru. I will hopefully have an after picture in time. This is one of the cars I take care of. What strikes me is how the deposits are cleaned in blotches. There are small sections where heavy deposits are removed to complete clean in blotches. I would expect to see more of a gradual transition. This is through the wrist pin access hole on a subaru ej253. Cylinders 1 and 2. Cylinder 1 oil ring contacting wall however jam packed with crud. Cylinder 2 seized oil ring not contacting wall.
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