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- Aug 27, 2020
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I don't see any downside to using VRP. Even if the engine doesn't need to be restored, it definitely needs to be protected.
Not another Valvoline R&P thread
- Thread starter Decreppo
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- May 28, 2025
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- 183
I hope Valvoline starts to put that chemistry in their motorcycle oils in the near future.
At 5k OCI, buy the top shelf at WM and carry on. Oil isn’t going to be the limiting factor even with a terrible engine design under those conditions.
I agree. Unless you have some stringent certification/approval requirements for warranty, I would definitely use either VRP or a boutique (for longer drain intervals and other nerdy reasons) in almost any normie car out there. Like you, I can't reconcile why one would use VRP to fix a piston/ring deposit issue then "go back" to whatever they were using that presumably contributed to said deposits. VRP is widely available at almost any Walmart (in the USA) for under $30.
4WD
$50 site donor 2025
It’s bcs on the 5th OCI - the VRP still gotta eat - and with CBU gone
In my case, I have a bunch of oil I had already bought for my cars that I want to get through; M1 EP, PP, Kirkland and Castrol Edge. So, when I am done with the VRP I will use that stuff up. Where I go from there, who knows. Maybe back to VRP, Amsoil HPL, etc... I have a few years to decide that.
I doubt my Impreza has any kind of deposits since my oil changes are usually less than 3k miles and more frequently less than 2k but I can't be sure of that. Though, I did use VRP once in that car I have no plans to use it again in the near future. It's my other 2 cars that get a majority of the miles. Legacy gets 6k miles every 6 months and the CRV gets anywhere from 6-7.5k every 6-8 months.
I would use Valvoline R&P 5W-30 and change it at 3,000+ to no later than 3,500 or so miles. I don't think these motors are all that inherently bad (I've been wrong before FWIW), but a lot of people don't check oil often enough and they're known for consuming and diluting oil. Also, a lot of people don't stay on top of their maintenance. Combine all that and you have a high chance of something breaking.
The 2019-2021 Kia Sedona is a reliable vehicle. Head bolt problems of 2016-2017 were fixed. Use something like Techron before every oil change, top tier fuel, (to reduce injector spray pattern issues and resulting carbon in combustion chamber) and severe service schedule (3,750 mi OCI). Use only Kia/Hyundai OEM oil filters. 2019 manual says you can run 10-30 in warmer climates if you wish. Any top oil should be fine. The manual says ACEA A5/B5, which would be Pennzoil Ultra Plat or Castrol Edge Ex P etc.
Patman
Staff member
In my case I’m switching to ESP 0w20 after my current interval with VRP. I believe ESP is a better oil and now that my engine is cleaner I am confident that ESP will keep it that way. And VRP is still not sold in Canada (except at NAPA in bulk amounts) Prior to VRP I used a few different oils and I’m pretty sure that the original owner just had the Honda dealer do changes with their bulk oil. So that’s the reason why it had a little bit of consumption. If it had been fed a diet of only ESP then I don’t think it would have even needed the help of VRP in the first place …
It’s because on the fifth oil change interval, the Valvoline Restore & Protect will continue to clean - and with all the carbon build gone. Well…
I guess what you are saying is that the oil will somehow start eating at the metal parts of the engine once the Carbon Build Up is gone?
I can’t see how this oil could start doing anything bad to an engine once it is clean. Parts of the engine are going to clean at different rates. It’s not as if Valvoline knows how dirty Your engine is when you start. It could be done cleaning in one oil change or it could take all 4. In either case they aren’t worried about it hurting the engine.
Whatever the secret sauce is, I can easily imagine it interacting with deposits and varnish and not interacting with metal parts. Thus the “protect” part of the name.
I can’t see how this oil could start doing anything bad to an engine once it is clean. Parts of the engine are going to clean at different rates. It’s not as if Valvoline knows how dirty Your engine is when you start. It could be done cleaning in one oil change or it could take all 4. In either case they aren’t worried about it hurting the engine.
Whatever the secret sauce is, I can easily imagine it interacting with deposits and varnish and not interacting with metal parts. Thus the “protect” part of the name.
Just to share that I switched from M1 0W30 ESP in my ‘21 Kia 2.0L PFI engine (no oil used over a 4K mile OCI) to VRP 5W30 and am now down 1/2 qrt approx 2K miles into the OCI . Prior to that I ran mainly M1 5W30 EP for 4K mile / 6 month OCI’s with no oil loss over thd OCI either . I decided to try VRP to do some cleaning that maybe M1 oils had missed. I will try a 2nd OCI with VRP and if I still get some oil burning - it’s back to M1 0W30 ESP.
Why do you think ESP is a better oil? Earnest question.
The common answer here it has more stringent certifications/approvals. In ESP 0W-20, it has Mercedes Benz 229.71 which is one of the tougher approvals for a 20wt. Plus, in some recent VOAs, it (ESP 0W-30) has shown to still use some quality PAO base oils. I'm sure there is more to it, but that's what is mainly cited. Folks love to utilize VRP for cleaning as it does exceptional in that regard, but no one really wants to put faith in it for the "Protect" part. While plenty of folks here can get into the weeds of technical details, if it were me and I had a car with even the slightest consumption issue, I would use VRP until the end of time or a high quality boutique - Redline/Amsoil/HPL - and nothing else.
Yeah that is kind of what I've gathered as well. ESP seems to have a higher quality base oil. VRP seems like a standard group III synthetic with the magic cleaning potion added. In addition to the PAO, appears to have ester as well.
Once I finish the longer drain (7500 miles....a cake walk) on my wife's SUV with HPL and UOA just for fun, I'll switch over to ESP 0W-20 for her vehicle.
Patman
Staff member
As was already mentioned, it has a better blend of base oils as well as having many good manufacturers approvals. Plus I feel more confident about its ability to do 10k intervals. Valvoline has never come right out and said what VRP can do mileage wise
I think it’s a sound decision. Low tension rings are said to allow carbon build up to slip in between the rings easier and they get stuck. It only makes sense to try and prevent that from happening. If a product like VRP is capable of cleaning stuck ring packs there’s no reason to believe it won’t be cleaning when the rings aren’t carbon up yet. This would of course help to minimize or prevent it in the first place.
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