Which average priced synthetic oil would you run to tackle varnish?

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May 27, 2023
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hey all, i completely understand that the goal of motor oil is not to clean, it is to prevent deposits and i assume minimally clean as otherwise if it was cleaning too much filters would get clogged and etc etc

i also understand that it may seem as if this thread is always being asked but i did some searchs and i can't seem to find a perfectly helpful thread that is recent in 2023 or 2024 that could help with this

i want to take upon a experiment to tackle the varnish in my engine however my goal is to not run an engine cleaner or any other product like that. i want to see if i can get it cleaned by using normal off the shelf motor oils. I assume I will fail but it doesn't hurt to try.

First and foremost, i assume most people will say VRP as a first oil that comes to mind for this and luckily I am already running which I believe should be my 2nd OCI of VRP. I will do the full 4 oci's, however i want to prepare for the future and wondering what oil you think / would run / have run to tackle varnish.

I strictly want to use oil that can be bought off a walmart shelf and or auto part store shelf, budget between 30-40 usd max for a 5 quart. I understand this probably kicks off HPL, Redline, Amsoil off my list but thats essentially my goal as those products are in a tier of there own just based on price alone

I heard m1 fs 0w40 is a good cleaner but then I assumed M1 ESP 0W30 would be better since it has esters unless its reformulated. I don't think there is enough love on this forum for Castrol products so I doubt anyone would vouch for them, moving then to pennzoil i assume it would have to be between the Ultra Platinum or the Platinum Euro. Further down the list comes royal purple, quaker state, and etc etc but not sure enough love on this forum for people to have tested or vouched for those products in this usage scenario


essentially TL;DR - what oil to use to clean varnish that is fair priced
 
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This is a fun experiment as varnish may be the hardest to clean. If your criteria is Walmart products I’d try these in no particular order if R&P doesn’t work.

M1 EP
M1 EP HM
M1 ESP 0w30
Rislone engine treatment mixed with an oil of your choice. According to Rislone this can be run at each oci.
 
hey all, i completely understand that the goal of motor oil is not to clean, it is to prevent deposits and i assume minimally clean as otherwise if it was cleaning too much filters would get clogged and etc etc

i also understand that it may seem as if this thread is always being asked but i did some searchs and i can't seem to find a perfectly helpful thread that is recent in 2023 or 2024 that could help with this

i want to take upon a experiment to tackle the varnish in my engine however my goal is to not run an engine cleaner or any other product like that. i want to see if i can get it cleaned by using normal off the shelf motor oils. I assume I will fail but it doesn't hurt to try.

First and foremost, i assume most people will say VRP as a first oil that comes to mind for this and luckily I am already running which I believe should be my 2nd OCI of VRP. I will do the full 4 oci's, however i want to prepare for the future and wondering what oil you think / would run / have run to tackle varnish.

I strictly want to use oil that can be bought off a walmart shelf and or auto part store shelf, budget between 30-40 usd max for a 5 quart. I understand this probably kicks off HPL, Redline, Amsoil off my list but thats essentially my goal as those products are in a tier of there own just based on price alone

I heard m1 fs 0w40 is a good cleaner but then I assumed M1 ESP 0W30 would be better since it has esters unless its reformulated. I don't think there is enough love on this forum for Castrol products so I doubt anyone would vouch for them, moving then to pennzoil i assume it would have to be between the Ultra Platinum or the Platinum Euro. Further down the list comes royal purple, quaker state, and etc etc but not sure enough love on this forum for people to have tested or vouched for those products in this usage scenario


essentially TL;DR - what oil to use to clean varnish that is fair priced

By varnish do you mean varnish that's on surfaces or varnish that would be on/inbetween the rings?
 
I’ll probably get roasted for this but in that price range, I’d go with royal purple. My nephew bought a 2013 Jetta strictly for work and the dipstick and what we could see was pretty varnished. He ran a low mileage oil change and then a full 5k and he changed out the valve cover gasket and I was actually impressed how well it had cleaned. I pulled the dipstick and any varnish was gone. He decided on Royal purple on all his cars after the union outfit he works for had been using it for years. He’s only 21, but he may have taught me something.
 
Varnish is relatively harmless for the most part though. I’d be more concerned about sludge and about carbon buildup on the rings.

Totally agree, it doesn’t burn and doesn’t seem like it has any sludge so I hope the rings are fine

Regardless I hope VRP cleans anything if present on those rings
 
Totally agree, it doesn’t burn and doesn’t seem like it has any sludge so I hope the rings are fine

Regardless I hope VRP cleans anything if present on those rings
Another oil you might want to try after giving VRP a shot would be M1 EP High Mileage. It claims to remove sludge, while VRP is more focused on removing the carbon from the rings. So if you suspect that the engine might have sludge and carbon in it then the use of both of these oils for a few intervals might just be the ticket to really clean it up.
 
I don’t think any oil is going to clean varnish. I used to run my Toyota 4 Runner on every single synthetic oil I could find on sale. M1 Turbodiesel truck, M1, Pennzoil Platinum, Castrol, all of them. 5,000 mile intervals.

Still had varnish.

You’re looking for a miracle in a can, and it doesn’t exist.

The only products that might clear it up are the Valvoline and the HPL.

But the bigger question is this - does it need to be cleaned up?

If you have stopped the deposit formation, and the engine is running good oil, I would forget about the varnish and move on to the myriad of other issues with your 200,000 mile SUV.
 
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