Valvoline Restore and Protect - 2017 Hyundai 3.3 V6

[goblin]

Hi All,
Occasional lurker, first post here. Was planning on crashing @Avery4 's excellent thread about the two VRP tests, because I don't have that much info to share to justify yet another thread, but well, maybe it's not polite to crash other people's threads.

Anyway. I'm an oil snob. There's no other word for it. I'm like that British gentleman who got stuck on a desert island and built three identical huts. When he was eventually found he was asked "Why three huts ?", and he said "Well, the first hut is my house. The second hut is my club. And the third hut - that one is the club where I will NEVER set foot in !"

So I'm a Maxima Oil guy for bikes, Amsoil for cars if I could change my oil myself (Amsoil saved my WRX'es manual transmission 15+ years ago, but that's another story), a Motul or Elf guy in non-Amsoil land (in Europe) and a mostly happy Royal Purple user because my local car wash has it. All this to say that for some reason Valvoline has never been too high on my "wow" list. Not as meh as Castrol but well. You get the picture. A SNOB, I tell ya.

So, my beloved 2017 Santa Fe (and the 2013 mostly identical one before it) - 3.3 V6 engine - has never seen the inside of a dealership except for warranty work. It has always been fed with Royal Purple, whatever full synthetic 5w30 they have. 5k mile OCI, always.

It has throughout the years, and since the tender age of say - 70k-ish miles, developped a thirst for oil. No issues, no leaks, no smoke, no nothing. But it loves its drink. Lately (127k now, and for the last at least 30k miles if not more), it's about 1qt / 1000m, with Swiss-like precision.

A Blackstone Labs test found causes for concern at 100k miles (it was done on 4k-old Royal Purple, +1 qt of freshly added one, then 500 miles driven). They reported all was good and within specs. By that time, the car was already going through 1qt/1000m.

So I did my usual oil change with Royal Purple at 122k, and literally the next day got the VRP review suggested in Youtube (the oil guy with the glasses that is NOT the Project Farm guy ). And what hit me was the way his oil dipstick got clean with that oil.

I might write a whole new chapter here, but my oil dipstick has forever looked like every single type of chocolate and its sister got cooked while pole dancing on it. All possible shades of cooked. Has always been like that. Might I add - getting the oil level on this engine is a good sanity test - one can measure 20 times - it will give 20 different results, from bone dry to a thin sliver of oil all along the full length of the stick. When it eventually shows something, it blends with the cooked colors. A pure joy.

Anyway - I had my engine filled with fresh RP, and just decided to re-fill with VRP going further, mixing it with the existing RP as it goes away. Then do a full change with VRP the next time. And there we went.

Just like in the Youtube test - my oil dipstick went shiny literally within 500 miles. Like new. That's mostly with 5-ish qts of RP remaining, plus the 1qt of VRP that I added at 123k miles.

Then on I went. Clean dipstick or not - no further improvement - I kept adding my 1qt every 1000 miles, and engine kept drinking it.

I did add my 1qt at 126k. We got on a trip, about 1000 miles in a few days. And then a few days ago Valvoline Restore and Protect showed up on Woot's site. Not at insanely discounted prices all things considered - it showed 1qt bottles priced basically at the price per qt of a 5qt jug, mostly. So I went on and ordered 10 bottles, because hey. Why not. Then it sold out.

Then I went out to add my pound of flesh to pour in the engine (I have another few bottles of VRP ready), checked the oil first and hey - what do you know, from 126k to 127k, the oil level remained on maximum. Didn't go down one bit. I didn't have to add any.

So it's too early to rejoice, and I am just cautiously optimistic. It could have been a freak event. I'll keep checking. But any way I look at it - I didn't overfill by a quart at 126k, and even if I had - I doubt the engine would have gently kept it, would it ?

Anyway. The definition of pure oil snobbery ? I wish - errr - that Amsoil had released it

Joke or not - I have a Valvoline center a couple of miles away from my place, so no matter how much of a snob I am - I see visits there in my future. For both the Santa Fe and my 295k 3rd Gen 4Runner. That one I feed with whatever I can find, including stale gas from my generator at the end of the winter. Doesn't complain.

Will keep this here thread updated. Cheers.

 

[JavierH19]

Just like in the Youtube test - my oil dipstick went shiny literally within 500 miles. Like new. That's mostly with 5-ish qts of RP remaining, plus the 1qt of VRP that I added at 123k miles.

Then on I went. Clean dipstick or not - no further improvement - I kept adding my 1qt every 1000 miles, and engine kept drinking it.

I did add my 1qt at 126k. We got on a trip, about 1000 miles in a few days. And then a few days ago Valvoline Restore and Protect showed up on Woot's site. Not at insanely discounted prices all things considered - it showed 1qt bottles priced basically at the price per qt of a 5qt jug, mostly. So I went on and ordered 10 bottles, because hey. Why not. Then it sold out.

Then I went out to add my pound of flesh to pour in the engine (I have another few bottles of VRP ready), checked the oil first and hey - what do you know, from 126k to 127k, the oil level remained on maximum. Didn't go down one bit. I didn't have to add any.

So it's too early to rejoice, and I am just cautiously optimistic. It could have been a freak event. I'll keep checking. But any way I look at it - I didn't overfill by a quart at 126k, and even if I had - I doubt the engine would have gently kept it, would it ?

Welcome aboard. It's great to hear it had that much effect in just 4k miles. I think it's safe to say it will remain there. If anything driving at highway speeds for a long time on a trip especially with headwinds will make engines not known to burn suddenly start to burn.

 

[lakestone]

That engine has low tension rings, and they get easily clogged with carbon buildup. Another oddity is that it has tiny rod bearing, so a 5W-40 should be used, but then again, because of the low tension rings, it tends to drink it. Combine VRP with a quart of Techron Concentrate for a couple, or maybe more fillups, and it should unstick the rings. VRP seems pretty awesome.

 

[doublebase]

I’ve got say, all this restore and protect talk has made me want to try it…only thing, I use Mobil1 on all my engines and none of them consume oil. Zero. I might run some regular Valvoline for a year…start to get some coked up rings and then try Valvoline Restore and Protect.

 

[goblin]

...A Blackstone Labs test found causes for concern at 100k miles...

Blast, fat fingers...
The above is of course to be read "...Blackstone Labs test found NO causes for concern at 100k miles..."
Thanks

 

[AdmiralYoda]

I'm surprised you got ring deposits after using Royal Purple for the entirety of the engines life. Doesn't RP use an Ester/PAO blend? I thought much of the cleaning goodness was because of that?

 

[buster]

I'm surprised you got ring deposits after using Royal Purple for the entirety of the engines life. Doesn't RP use an Ester/PAO blend? I thought much of the cleaning goodness was because of that?

Only their top line I believe. HPS.

 

[goblin]

Yep, this ^^^

Car has been on Royal Purple full synthetic since new, 5k or less OCI, and the one before it as well (that one we leased so I never had the chance to track long term, but I know it's still alive somewhere in Pennsylvania, I know it because - Carfax).

The attached one, but in 5w30 (the new 5w30 shows some green label across for some reason).

Not HPS, for sure.

That's why it took me so long to consider it could be coked up rings in the first place.
Well, technically I'm still not sure it's that
I'll know if the trend sticks.

 

[JavierH19]

Yep, this ^^^

Car has been on Royal Purple full synthetic since new, 5k or less OCI, and the one before it as well (that one we leased so I never had the chance to track long term, but I know it's still alive somewhere in Pennsylvania, I know it because - Carfax).

The attached one, but in 5w30 (the new 5w30 shows some green label across for some reason).

Not HPS, for sure.

That's why it took me so long to consider it could be coked up rings in the first place.
Well, technically I'm still not sure it's that
I'll know if the trend sticks.

View attachment 265415

I swear this purple colored scam is just purple dyed bottom barrel oil that scraped minimum requirements. Pay more than twice the price to have your rings cake up when doing 5k intervals on your naturally aspirated engine. Wonderful, might as well buy kirkland or supertech.

 

[goblin]

I remember (it was more than 10 yrs ago) I went for it because after deep diving in many rabbit holes it ended up on the small list of products where "Synthetic" meant "Synthetic", not Syntec, Synthis, Synthat and so on SynBlends. And it was the only one available at an oil change place locally, and listed as fully synthetic in their "menu".

Never knew the brand otherwise, neither cared for the color. Hey, the Liqui Moly in my Bimmer is green, but I use it because it supposedly has UV dye in it already, and well - it's a Bimmer. It leaks.

PS: NOTHING from Kirkland has ever disappointed me
If their oil is half as good as their cashews, I'm in.

 

[Glenda W.]

Keep us updated on your journey with R&P.

 

[goblin]

Well, what do you know - it turns out that Valvoline oil changing shops do not carry VRP. Not only they don't, but the guy was clear - they will not see it any time soon, they told me.

Went there Tuesday, paid my $60 to have my oil changed with my own case of VRP, OEM filter from Hyundai (probably the very first time the car will see a filter with its own brand after the original one ). Got the old one in a bag, will cut it although I don't think it will show much.

What surprised me big time was how excellent the service was. Most of them were borderline kids, late teens or early twenties. Not the most reassuring type to have working on your car, but guess what - they worked in pairs, basically going through a quizz card, and at ALL steps there were two independent sets of eyes that were checking every step, verbally enumerating the procedure.

Like - Kid 1: "Drain plug tight, crush washer on !", Kid 2: "Drain plug tight". "Coolant tank cap tight !" - "Coolant cap tight !". "Oil in !" - "Oil in !".

And they counted what got in. I got them a half full 5qt plus four 1qt bottles - again, two people counted them separately.

Not sure if this is the normal procedure, or if one of the guys was in training, but it was absolutely top notch. Like they were working on an airplane engine, not on a close to 130k miles SantaFe.

Valvoline oil changing place on Jericho Turnpike in Long Island, NY. Shout out big time, as far as I'm concerned.

So now I'm on my first full VRP only oil change, we'll see how it goes from there.

 

[Patman]

Well, what do you know - it turns out that Valvoline oil changing shops do not carry VRP. Not only they don't, but the guy was clear - they will not see it any time soon, they told me.

The odd thing is that up here in Canada you can’t find jugs of VRP in Walmart or Canadian Tire, but the Valvoline oil change location near my house has been offering it for a while now and I assume other locations are the same

 

[Triple_Se7en]

If I had a Valvoline Oil Change Shop franchise, I would not carry VRP either, for liability reasons.
Some customers bring in their vehicles with engines loaded with gunk, sludge and over-carbonation.

 

[Patman]

If I had a Valvoline Oil Change Shop franchise, I would not carry VRP either, for liability reasons.
Some customers bring in their vehicles with engines loaded with gunk, sludge and over-carbonation.

It’s a good thing that you don’t own one then VRP would help those engines, not hurt them. It’s certainly better than mixing two different oils

 

[jkasch]

Well, what do you know - it turns out that Valvoline oil changing shops do not carry VRP. Not only they don't, but the guy was clear - they will not see it any time soon, they told me.

Went there Tuesday, paid my $60 to have my oil changed with my own case of VRP, OEM filter from Hyundai (probably the very first time the car will see a filter with its own brand after the original one ). Got the old one in a bag, will cut it although I don't think it will show much.

What surprised me big time was how excellent the service was. Most of them were borderline kids, late teens or early twenties. Not the most reassuring type to have working on your car, but guess what - they worked in pairs, basically going through a quizz card, and at ALL steps there were two independent sets of eyes that were checking every step, verbally enumerating the procedure.

Like - Kid 1: "Drain plug tight, crush washer on !", Kid 2: "Drain plug tight". "Coolant tank cap tight !" - "Coolant cap tight !". "Oil in !" - "Oil in !".

And they counted what got in. I got them a half full 5qt plus four 1qt bottles - again, two people counted them separately.

Not sure if this is the normal procedure, or if one of the guys was in training, but it was absolutely top notch. Like they were working on an airplane engine, not on a close to 130k miles SantaFe.

Valvoline oil changing place on Jericho Turnpike in Long Island, NY. Shout out big time, as far as I'm concerned.

So now I'm on my first full VRP only oil change, we'll see how it goes from there.

I haven't used a VIOC since I was working full time and had 5 vehicles to maintain, but the shop I used was exactly like that. Well-trained and thorough personnel. Got to know the manager who was always very helpful. That was 20 years ago. Nice to hear.

 

[Just a civilian pilot]

I doubt anyone’s engine is going to blow up because they got a VRP oil change at a quick lube owned by Valvoline given Valvoline pushes short oil changes in those same quick lube places.

Valvoline says it cleans very gradually.

Greater liability risk not putting the oil filter on properly.

 

[robczar]

If I had a Valvoline Oil Change Shop franchise, I would not carry VRP either, for liability reasons.
Some customers bring in their vehicles with engines loaded with gunk, sludge and over-carbonation.

They're selling like hotcakes at the Valvoline Express I go to. The guys got a shipment while my car was in the air. They say the motor oil geek really got to people.

 

[Triple_Se7en]

They're selling like hotcakes at the Valvoline Express I go to. The guys got a shipment while my car was in the air. They say the motor oil geek really got to people.

That's great. The product's intentions are to reverse that carbonated engine, without damaging engines that not only contain carbonation, but also gunk / sludge.

 

[goblin]

...What proof do you have that oil change shops aren't going to face the wrath of a customer or two, that complains that their engine is damaged?...

Russel's teapot much ?

The burden of proof is on you. He doesn't have to provide proof that oil change shops aren't going to face the wrath of a customer or two - you have to provide proof that they will face that wrath, as you put the assumption that VRP is not offered there because it's higher risk.

- You assign some inherent property of VRP damaging engines (or at least - being MORE damaging, as opposed to any other new oil they release). Fair enough - maybe it does. But it's not proven. Yet you use that property as a categorical argument.
- You assign some imaginary ease on the process of suing a Valvoline shop, as opposed to the process of suing Valvoline itself, or suing any store that sells VRP. How so, and why so ?

If anyone ends up thinking that VRP damaged their engine - they'll sue Valvoline one way or the other. They'll sue Valvoline, the retailer, the amazon delivery guy and the guy's cat. If you obtain proof that your engine was damaged by VRP - will you go file a lawsuit, then suddenly remember that you didn't get it at a Valvoline oil change shop, curse and call it a day ?

So the only basis for any such theory is the current unavailability of VRP at Valvoline oil shops. With a lot of wishful thinking one could deduct from this that:
- Valvoline knows something about VRP and doesn't allow Valvoline shops to sell it to avoid trouble.
- Valvoline shops know something about VRP and don't allow Valvoline to sell them VRP, to avoid trouble.

Nice theory, except it blows to pieces with the mention above that it flies off the shelves in whatever Valvoline shop that was mentioned. Editing my post as for some reason I thought the user is in Canada, but on re-read, I don't see it mentioned anywhere. So some info might be useful on where that Valvoline oil changing place is.

I'm not stating what damages engines and what doesn't, one way or the other. Just that if your arguments and the ones you're dismissing had to tractorpull each other you might get surprised...