A while back I did volatility tests of Amsoil SS 10w30 and Quaker State Ultimate Durability 10w30. The oils ended up forming soft insoluble particles, as oils do when subjected to such temperatures for long enough. Today I decided to determine if Valvoline Restore and Protect would resolubize the insolubles.
I first mixed those two insoluble-containing oils in a metal cup, poured off the excess oil, and kept as many of the insolubles as possible in the cup. The first picture shows that. Then I added fresh Valvoline Restore and Protect 5W-20, and heated the oil for around 5 minutes above 200 F. I swirled the oil around while doing that.
I let the oil cool with the cup tilted far to pool the oil to one side to get the insolubles, if present, on one side. Then I slowly started tilting it to the other side to separate the oil from the insolubles as much as possible. The second picture shows that. Yes, there is a small fabric fiber present. In this test, Valvoline Restore and Protect was not able to significantly resolubize the original insolubles. I didn’t expect them to based on all of my past experience but I still did hold out some hope. An oil that cleans an engine with deposits can do it by at least two mechanisms: solubizing particles and dislodging particles attached to engine surfaces, which get transported to and caught by the oil filter.
From all of the experiences I’ve seen on the internet, I do believe the evidence for Valvoline Restore and Protect’s ability to clean is convincing, but we still have much to learn. In this test, it didn’t achieve what I hoped. Yes, perhaps it needed to be heated for hours, days, or weeks but I wasn’t up to doing that. I just wanted to do a quick test instead of just disposing of the oils from the prior volatility test. I will likely do other, different cleaning tests of Valvoline Restore and Protect in the future. I did different Valvoline Restore and Protect vs other oil cleaning tests in the past but the results were too inconclusive, though they were positive, for me to post about them.
I first mixed those two insoluble-containing oils in a metal cup, poured off the excess oil, and kept as many of the insolubles as possible in the cup. The first picture shows that. Then I added fresh Valvoline Restore and Protect 5W-20, and heated the oil for around 5 minutes above 200 F. I swirled the oil around while doing that.
I let the oil cool with the cup tilted far to pool the oil to one side to get the insolubles, if present, on one side. Then I slowly started tilting it to the other side to separate the oil from the insolubles as much as possible. The second picture shows that. Yes, there is a small fabric fiber present. In this test, Valvoline Restore and Protect was not able to significantly resolubize the original insolubles. I didn’t expect them to based on all of my past experience but I still did hold out some hope. An oil that cleans an engine with deposits can do it by at least two mechanisms: solubizing particles and dislodging particles attached to engine surfaces, which get transported to and caught by the oil filter.
From all of the experiences I’ve seen on the internet, I do believe the evidence for Valvoline Restore and Protect’s ability to clean is convincing, but we still have much to learn. In this test, it didn’t achieve what I hoped. Yes, perhaps it needed to be heated for hours, days, or weeks but I wasn’t up to doing that. I just wanted to do a quick test instead of just disposing of the oils from the prior volatility test. I will likely do other, different cleaning tests of Valvoline Restore and Protect in the future. I did different Valvoline Restore and Protect vs other oil cleaning tests in the past but the results were too inconclusive, though they were positive, for me to post about them.
