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

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Lots of reports here of it cleaning up areas of the engine visible through the fill hole.
Yes, I saw that video, and mentioned it in my original post. I'm not going to watch it again ... I dont recall anything in that video indicating that VRP cleans varnish. Can you point out where it shows that varnish is being/has been cleaned? I'll be happy to check it out.
 
Yes, I saw that video, and mentioned it in my original post. I'm not going to watch it again ... I dont recall anything in that video indicating that VRP cleans varnish. Can you point out where it shows that varnish is being/has been cleaned? I'll be happy to check it out.
Well, a big part of the video was him showing how it completely removed the varnish off the dipstick in one OCI. That is the part I'm referring to.

Here is just one report of many, of VRP cleaning varnish.
 
In general, doesn’t petroleum product do some sort of cleaning?

If you get gum in your hair, what do you do? Peanut butter. I also use peanut butter to remove a sticky label.

Your open bottle of oil, with oil running over the label. Leave it long enough and the label easily pulls off.

I may be using the wrong word, it dissolves the adhesive. What is the adjective of the above chemical reaction?
 
Quaker State Ultimate Protection Full Synthetic would be my 1st choice if you have no oil leaks. $20 for 5 qt jug.

Quaker State High Mileage Full Synthetic would be my 1st choice if you have oil leaks. $20 for 5 qt jug.

Castrol Edge High Mileage (full syn) (but go up one higher/thicker grade) would be my 2nd choice if you have oil leaks. Last I saw, it was $25 for 5 qt jug.

Quaker State High Mileage Blend would be my 3rd choice if you have oil leaks. Less than $20 for 5 qt jug.

Valvoline Maxlife Blend would be my 3rd choice if you have oil leaks. $20 for 5 qt jug.

Those are Walmart prices.
 
Quaker State Ultimate Protection Full Synthetic would be my 1st choice if you have no oil leaks. $20 for 5 qt jug.

Quaker State High Mileage Full Synthetic would be my 1st choice if you have oil leaks. $20 for 5 qt jug.

Castrol Edge High Mileage (full syn) (but go up one higher/thicker grade) would be my 2nd choice if you have oil leaks. Last I saw, it was $25 for 5 qt jug.

Quaker State High Mileage Blend would be my 3rd choice if you have oil leaks. Less than $20 for 5 qt jug.

Valvoline Maxlife Blend would be my 3rd choice if you have oil leaks. $20 for 5 qt jug.

Those are Walmart prices.
None of those oils are likely to remove any varnish, nor are they advertised to.
 
Any detergent oil will remove more sludge (and possibly varnish) if you change oil more often. Another thing, if the engine functions well then there's either not much varnish, or it's not hurting anything.

So with a good functioning engine, I wouldn't worry about removing varnish. I'd only worry about not letting it increase. Any oil does that if you change it often enough.

Evenso, the oils I mentioned are good at keeping engines clean (prevention), removing sludge, and might remove some varnish. They're also good at lubricating and preventing or reducing leaks. In some cases even stopping leaks.

IMO don't obsess about removing varnish from a good functioning engine.
 
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None of those oils are likely to remove any varnish, nor are they advertised to.
They're advertised to remove/reduce sludge and keep engine clean. I've personally experienced that Maxlife is quite good at that. The others are advertised good at that, but I haven't personally used the others (yet).
 
They're advertised to remove/reduce sludge. I've personally experienced that Maxlife is quite good at that.
Sludge is quite easy to remove, since it's not bound to anything. All the major oils claim to be able to remove sludge. Varnish/lacquer are a whole other ballgame and require either a solvent or similar, that can actually dissolve the compound, or is polar and can displace it from the surface, pulling it into suspension.
 
This is not exactly your criteria, if you don't want to stick with the R & P forever, which is fine, by the way, pick an oil you like that meets the proper API= ILSAC specs for your car off the shelf and add a bottle of Rislone Engine Treatment, product part # 4102. That will clean your engine and rings quite well and you can use that forever too. It is all on the Walmart shelf. Change your oil and filter often.
 
My one year experiment with VRP is over and I have to say it was a smashing success. The varnish visible on the rocker arm through the oil fill is basically entirely removed. The filter loading has declined to something more typical of a regular oil change.

My odyssey is running fantastically. Having proven that VRP works and works amazingly well, I’m confident in its ability to clean to a degree never before seen in a wal-mart aisle kind of oil.

I’ll grab my “final” pics when I do the next OCI. VRP is a fantastic product whose ability to clean and protect is thoroughly well-documented at this point. If anyone remains skeptical of it, it’s because they have consciously chosen to ignore the large number of impressive UOAs, filter C&Ps, youtube video demonstrations, and other evidence showing this quite conclusively to be true.

The only reason I’m moving away from VRP for my van is because 1) I’m wanting to save my VRP for a couple other vehicles I maintain for friends that might need it more 2) I have a lot of non-VRP oil to use up, 3) having learned from my prior mistakes, I’m confident I can keep my van happy with non-VRP oils, and 4) I’m a relentless tinkerer and experimenter whose ADHD rarely lets him sit still when there’s new things to try.

VRP works by any measure of “work” for an engine oil that doesn’t include far extended OCIs. That’s beyond any reasonable doubt at this point for me. It’s not a 20k oil and not intended to be. If you want that, run a VRP regimen and switch to your preferred EP kind of oil like HPL once your filter loading dies off so you aren’t prematurely draining your EP oil. (That’s what I’m doing). HPL cleans well, but using it to clean when there’s a cheaper oil that cleans as well or better to me is a waste of money. Use the cheaper oil to clean, then switch to the HPL to enjoy an engine that stays clean AND goes much longer on an OCI.
 
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