Has anyone seen any credible tests of Valvoline Modern Engine oil on intake valve carbon build-up? I know Valvoline "advanced" full syn was already one of the lower volatility synthetics out there and, in theory, was one of the better choices for helping prevent carbon build up. Supposedly they've taken that even further with Modern Engine. But without GF-6 oils and more testing we're kind of at the mercy of the marketing departments.
My theory is an extra $10/jug for Modern Engine is relatively cheap if it prevents, or even significantly delays, a labor intensive walnut shell clean of the intake valves as all the magic potions (Seafoam, etc.) don't seem to do much once you have enough carbon build-up to know you have a problem. Ford, Toyota, and a few others, are starting to finally get the right idea by adding port injection back in addition to direct injection. But for the millions of the rest of us with GDI cars carbon build-up can be a very real problem.
Adding a catch can likely voids your warranty if they want to be picky but is probably wise if you're already out of warranty. And, most manufactures consider ripping the entire intake system off the engine for a very expensive valve cleaning to be "normal maintenance" not a warranty issue. Some of the earlier VW and Audi D.I. turbo models foul their valves every 20K to 30K.
So many here love to debate all sorts of aspects of motor oil, and if you have an older non-DI vehicle, that's fine. But for those of us with D.I. vehicles helping prevent carbon build up on the intake valves is probably the single most important quality in an oil. At least Valvoline appears to be trying to do something about it which is more than I've seen from any of the other oil brands. i'm sure the other big players will follow Valvoline's lead. What we really need are objective independent tests.
My theory is an extra $10/jug for Modern Engine is relatively cheap if it prevents, or even significantly delays, a labor intensive walnut shell clean of the intake valves as all the magic potions (Seafoam, etc.) don't seem to do much once you have enough carbon build-up to know you have a problem. Ford, Toyota, and a few others, are starting to finally get the right idea by adding port injection back in addition to direct injection. But for the millions of the rest of us with GDI cars carbon build-up can be a very real problem.
Adding a catch can likely voids your warranty if they want to be picky but is probably wise if you're already out of warranty. And, most manufactures consider ripping the entire intake system off the engine for a very expensive valve cleaning to be "normal maintenance" not a warranty issue. Some of the earlier VW and Audi D.I. turbo models foul their valves every 20K to 30K.
So many here love to debate all sorts of aspects of motor oil, and if you have an older non-DI vehicle, that's fine. But for those of us with D.I. vehicles helping prevent carbon build up on the intake valves is probably the single most important quality in an oil. At least Valvoline appears to be trying to do something about it which is more than I've seen from any of the other oil brands. i'm sure the other big players will follow Valvoline's lead. What we really need are objective independent tests.