HPL Engine Cleaner 30 (My impressions after use).

[High Performance Lubricants]

If you intend to run the EC30 at a 1 quart to 5 quarts of oil. Not stronger.

The EC30 does utilize a combination diesel/gasoline ad pack which will have higher detergent/dispersant concentration over a commodity on the shelf PCMO.

And yes the EC30 is a straight 30 in the sense that it contains no VII. My guess is it would probably make it as a 15w30. Since it is not intended as a permanent solution (that’s what the oil does) I have not bothered running MRV or CCS as it is pretty irrelevant because I have no idea what the end user is going to mix it with.

We have addressed the cold side with the different series oils we make and those have impressive cold temperature properties while cleaning even better than XX mixed with EC30

David

 

[demarpaint]

If you intend to run the EC30 at a 1 quart to 5 quarts of oil. Not stronger.

The EC30 does utilize a combination diesel/gasoline ad pack which will have higher detergent/dispersant concentration over a commodity on the shelf PCMO.

And yes the EC30 is a straight 30 in the sense that it contains no VII. My guess is it would probably make it as a 15w30. Since it is not intended as a permanent solution (that’s what the oil does) I have not bothered running MRV or CCS as it is pretty irrelevant because I have no idea what the end user is going to mix it with.

We have addressed the cold side with the different series oils we make and those have impressive cold temperature properties while cleaning even better than XX mixed with EC30

David

I've run the EC30 three times now, however not over the winter. Is there any downside running it with TDT 5W40 though a Long Island winter? I have 5 quarts of TDT 5W40 mixed with 1 quart of the EC30 in a six quart sump. Thanks!

 

[loneryder]

I don't understand why well treated engines with premium oils are getting dirty. Is it engine design? I have always used Mobil 1 or Valvoline full syn oils. All my engines have been spotless(mostly oil fill hole visual). I even had a 23 yr old MB with 100k on it with no oil change history that was clean as a new engine when the valve covers were off. I couldn't believe it. I posted a pic on here. I even had a MB diesel with over 100k that was spotless. I used the EC in a new to me 2015 MB 3.5 for 2k miles and there was nothing in the filter. I have it currently in my 01 Ford 150 with 165k on it. Bought it with 130k and no OC records. There's maybe 1k on the oil and EC and it doesn't appear any darker than usual. So why are people who change their oil and use good oil getting dirty engines?

 

[Bill7]

I don't understand why well treated engines with premium oils are getting dirty. Is it engine design? I have always used Mobil 1 or Valvoline full syn oils. All my engines have been spotless(mostly oil fill hole visual). I even had a 23 yr old MB with 100k on it with no oil change history that was clean as a new engine when the valve covers were off. I couldn't believe it. I posted a pic on here. I even had a MB diesel with over 100k that was spotless. I used the EC in a new to me 2015 MB 3.5 for 2k miles and there was nothing in the filter. I have it currently in my 01 Ford 150 with 165k on it. Bought it with 130k and no OC records. There's maybe 1k on the oil and EC and it doesn't appear any darker than usual. So why are people who change their oil and use good oil

I think the GM Dexos 1 Gen 3 certification is a move in the right direction, as it puts stricter limits on sludge/varnish accumulation than API SP. I think any low priced full synthetic with that Dexos 1 Gen 3 certification can handle 10k OCI's and keep the engine clean.
For those of us that have engines that are hard on the oil (with extreme high temps in certain parts of the engine), it's best to shorten the OCI to 4k-5k for an added level of safety to prevent sludge/varnish.

But for added cleanliness, HPL in my opinion is the best engine oil you can buy at any price due to it's high doses of Ester+AN and some of their oils have a PAO base oil as well.

 

[Astro14]

I just wanted to share my impressions after using the HPL Engine Cleaner 30.

I have 4 2006-2007 Honda Odysseys with the J35A7 with VCM enabled.
Since these engines are prone to sludge, I have been doing solvent based engine flushes with each of the last 3 oil changes.
I've used 3 different brands of engine flush: LiquiMoly Proline engine flush, STP Concentrated engine cleaner, and BG EPR 109.
Oil drain after the solvent based engine flush comes out medium brown (same color if no flush was done).
It lead me to believe the engines are already clean inside, and the reason the oil came out clean looking during the oil change was that there was no sludge/varnish in the engine to clean.

I then tried 1 quart EC30 + 3.5 quarts of low priced full synthetic 5W-30 and ran it for 4,000 miles. The oil after about 3,000 miles was dark and gritty looking on the dipstick, and when it was drained at 4,000 miles, the oil looked very dark (almost black). This has never happened before in any of the 4 Odysseys, to have oil almost black in color to drain out.

My experience seems to indicate that solvent based engine flushes are limited in what they can do, and don't do very much.
But the HPL EC30 may have actually done some serious cleaning in places that the solvent based engine flushes had no effect on.

An economical way to really clean out your engine might be to use 1 quart HPL EC 30 + 3.5 quarts low priced synthetic with every oil change.
The Ester in the HP EC 30 could also act like a high mileage oil, swelling your oil seals to prevent leaks.

Would anyone know if there is some long term reason not to run 1 quart HPL EC 30 with every oil change (like damage to seals or abrasive or more engine wear)?

Talk with HPL directly, but the EC was specifically formulated to be seal compatible. I don't think there are any issues with long term use.

The reason it cleans so well is the slight polarity of the base stocks. They loosen and dissolve the accumulated sludge/carbon left behind by other oils.

Now that you’ve run it - you can switch over to regular HPL, 4.5 quarts of which ever formulation you like, or keep your mix above.

But check with them directly to be certain.

 

[DavidJones]

I don't understand why well treated engines with premium oils are getting dirty. Is it engine design? I have always used Mobil 1 or Valvoline full syn oils. All my engines have been spotless(mostly oil fill hole visual). I even had a 23 yr old MB with 100k on it with no oil change history that was clean as a new engine when the valve covers were off. I couldn't believe it. I posted a pic on here. I even had a MB diesel with over 100k that was spotless. I used the EC in a new to me 2015 MB 3.5 for 2k miles and there was nothing in the filter. I have it currently in my 01 Ford 150 with 165k on it. Bought it with 130k and no OC records. There's maybe 1k on the oil and EC and it doesn't appear any darker than usual. So why are people who change their oil and use good oil getting dirty engines?

What constitutes a "dirty" engine? I can't imagine that an engine with a small, immeasurable, amount of varnish would ever have an oil related issue.....unless any varnish is considered an issue?

 

[Drew7a]

As long as you’re under the 20% EC-to-oil ratio advised by HPL… I’m sure they made that number known for a reason.

It think it is a 20% EC to oil Ratio, It is 1 qt EC to 5 QTS oil, which is slightly less than 20% (20% would be 4qts oil, 1 qt EC.)

 

[kevperro]

I didn't pull the valve cover but ran EC30 in my Dodge Caravan (Pentastar 3.6) with about 75,000 miles and kept it in there for 8 months on a standard OCI (for me..around 5000-7500 miles). It came out looking like any other oil change and the filter showed no signs of plugging or holding gunk.

Being an oil weenie, I've always changed it under 10,000 miles but I've never used anything exotic unless you count Mobil/Penzoil products as exotic. Mostly it gets Kirkland and SuperTech. I have five bottles of the EC30 in the garage though so I'll keep using it for peace of mind.

 

[pbm]

I bought a case (6) of EC-30 and plan to run it for my regular 6 to 7K OCI with PP, M1, QSFS etc...in all of our vehicles. I'm not expecting it to do any serious cleaning from looking in the oil fill holes but who knows. I figure the 'esters' will do some good for the seals and may run it every 50K or so for that reason alone. I'll be cutting the oil filters afterwards to check.

Does anybody see an issue running the EC-30 @ the 20% ratio for the full oil change interval (6 to 7K) with an ST or Fram TG filter in a well maintained (since new) vehicle?

 

[kevperro]

I bought a case (6) of EC-30 and plan to run it for my regular 6 to 7K OCI with PP, M1, QSFS etc...in all of our vehicles. I'm not expecting it to do any serious cleaning from looking in the oil fill holes but who knows. I figure the 'esters' will do some good for the seals and may run it every 50K or so for that reason alone. I'll be cutting the oil filters afterwards to check.

Does anybody see an issue running the EC-30 @ the 20% ratio for the full oil change interval (6 to 7K) with an ST or Fram TG filter in a well maintained (since new) vehicle?

I've done it in all of our vehicles. I didn't experience any loading of the filter in any of them. They all look like normal oil changes. My fleet uses mostly Kirkland 5W-30 and I've mixed in some M1, Penz, and ST over the years.

 

[pbm]

I've done it in all of our vehicles. I didn't experience any loading of the filter in any of them. They all look like normal oil changes. My fleet uses mostly Kirkland 5W-30 and I've mixed in some M1, Penz, and ST over the years.

The only one of our (family) vehicles that darken the oil is my 2014 Focus which has GDI. It still looks spotless through the oil fill hole but I do shorten the OCI because of it. I had ran synthetics as far as 6 or 6.5K in it a few times but lately I've been running 4 to 5K OCIs using whatever I have in the stash....Valvoline dino with 1/3 Valvoline synthetic, Mobil dino with 1/3 Mobil synthetic etc...It works out to 3 quarts dino 1 1/2 quarts synthetic. I do this to use up oil I bought at sales, clearances etc...I figure they'll be fine for shorter OCIs especially since Ford spec'd. semi-syn Motorcraft for longer OCIs than I'm running.

PS: I do believe the long highway runs (an hour or more at 70ish mph we regularly make) contribute to engine
cleanliness.