See, now we’re having a discussion
No, I don’t think Valvoline is in same league, but that’s what their marketing seems to want people to think. One of Wayne’s vehicles is PI (the Dodge) but his truck is most definitely DI.
Now, I agree with the comment that the UOA costs add up quickly when one is initially seeing how far the oil can remain serviceable. Wayne certainly could have just done seven 5k OCIs with a shelf-stock oil, but the data from the UOAs shows there wouldn’t have been any benefit to it. Once he finally finds the limit in his application, he could drop back to say 5k miles fewer than condemnation for OCI and never do another UOA except maybe once a year or two.
As far as the warranty side, I get that some people “may” have concerns with certain engines, and if those engines suffer infant mortality people may want to stick with a “certified” oil until warranty is over. But there are also engines that could run HPL from day 1 (like Wayne’s truck) where there is very little risk of internal engine issues and cost being the only downside.
I also agree, and have said, HPL isn’t for everyone (just like Valvoline R&P) for various reasons, but if one wants to up the intervals with very low risk, that’s where HPL makes its value seen.
In actuality I certainly hope the VRP is a good oil and does what it claims; and if that’s the case I certainly hope people buy it. Otherwise, just like M1 AP, it will quickly disappear, and that doesn’t help consumers.
i'm in to read how this will go in the future.. I know that the M1 (adv full syn, aka normal m1 flavor) cleaned up the Civic. It wasn't sludged at all, just that castrol varnish color. After one oil change (5 months) the bits inside the filler cap (no I didn't take the valve cover off) were grey/aluminum color again! That surprised me. If I had known the marketing was not hype I would've taken before/after pictures! Something is definitely going on with the new formulations! I don't think it's the power of marketing or suggestion.
