I put one on my 2013 3.5eco after it was suggested by Ford mechanic while having some TSB work done. He claimed they did not come with them from the factory due to the potential for damage from clueless people not emptying them. I put a JLT 6oz version on my passenger side and it is nearly full of brown syrup like liquid by 1000mi. The Gen-1s (pre-2017 I think) only have single direct port injection and nothing gets sprayed on the back of the valves. The Gen-2s however went to dual port injection which was supposed to resolve the issue. Whether it did completely or not is debatable. See video below.

 

But perhaps that "brown syrup" is formulated to clean the backside of your intake valves?

The carbon which forms on the backside of intake valves is exhaust burped out the intake during valve timing overlap. It is not due to oil vapor coming through the PCV system. This oil vapor could very well be what is needed to keep valves clean. In the wording used to announce new API/SAE gasoline grades they mention DI engines. Oil can not get to the intake valves any other way than through the PCV system.

 

If you watch the video I posted, it is obvious that nothing is cleaning the backside of the valves on Gen 1s. All I know is that I put one on mine at around 37K miles and am about to roll 120K with no issues. To each his own however. It's my truck and I do what I want! Do the same with yours.

 

It seems like more of a marketing piece but I’m sure other brands put out similar so the takeaway for me is just that these oil brands acknowledge what their product might do.

https://team.valvolineglobal.com/diy...carbon-buildup