Valvoline Restore and Protect

[ChrisD46]

I don't think the engine is especially dirty because I do know the history of the truck before I bought it. A friend of mine had it for its first 100k miles and he is pretty diligent about maintenance.

I think I may just stick with restore and protect for the life of the vehicle going forward. But if not I certainly am going to do 4 or 5 oil changes with it before I switch to a normal synthetic oil.

Run for 4K to 5K miles as an OCI for first couple of OCI’s with VRP 5W30 and then just standardize a 5K mile OCI moving forward .

 

[martinq]

I only did one VR&P 5W30 .
Went to only 2,500 klms on my Nissan 2.5L with about 233,000 klms .
I just today did changed my oil, but this time with Motomaster OE Premium synthetic 5W30.
It was on sale at $37 for the 5 liter jug.
Installed a Bosch oil filter.
The drained oil was very dark dirty, i think i seen little specks in the oil pan, but my oil pan was not sparkling clean to begin with.
I may go back to VR&P later down the road, but not till the price drops.
$59.99 in Canada, Canadian Tire. Once every 4/5 months they sell it for $47.99.

Walmart Canada in theory sells it to, rarely in stock or on sale.
When Valvoline sells it here for a more affordable price, say $34-$40 , maybe i go back to them.

I bought a 2-year supply of VRP at CT for $43 / 5 litre. Walmart has always been $50 / 5w30 but CT has had it on sale at least 3 times this year. I don't expect to be using any other engine oil in the foreseeable future and $50 for an oil change is acceptable to me.

 

[Patman]

I bought a 2-year supply of VRP at CT for $43 / 5 litre. Walmart has always been $50 / 5w30 but CT has had it on sale at least 3 times this year. I don't expect to be using any other engine oil in the foreseeable future and $50 for an oil change is acceptable to me.

And another factor that makes Canadian Tire a good place to buy oil is that pretty much every single week there are Triangle rewards that give you $4 or $5 back so if you time your purchase when it’s on sale and when there is a good cash back offer you save even more. Walmart can’t compete with CT for oil purchases up here very often (except when they have Black Friday or Boxing Day deals but it’s usually only a couple of oil choices, but not all of them on sale)

 

[Huskyguy68]

And another factor that makes Canadian Tire a good place to buy oil is that pretty much every single week there are Triangle rewards that give you $4 or $5 back so if you time your purchase when it’s on sale and when there is a good cash back offer you save even more. Walmart can’t compete with CT for oil purchases up here very often (except when they have Black Friday or Boxing Day deals but it’s usually only a couple of oil choices, but not all of them on sale)

''another factor that makes Canadian Tire a good place to buy oil''---i've been buying motor oil at my local Cnd tire for decades, as there is often a sale on it. The Valvoline R&P a very recent addition, actually I emailed Cnd Tire's head office early in 2025 asking why they did not sell it in their stores. They emailed me back that they would send my request for the Valvoline R&P to their purchasing department and they would look into it. Four months later it was being sold at my local Cnd. Tire, but at $59.99//later on sale at $43.
And eventually Walmart had it listed on their website at $50 but often low stock/no stock and it needs to be hunted down or shipped to store, etc.
Patman , do the Walmarts in the Guelph area/Ontario in general have an automotive section? Here in metro Vancouver we used to have a good size automotive section with a battery section, oil and filters/wipers/etc. One suburban location even had drive in oil change/tire service. But Walmart Canada announce at least 7 years ago (maybe 10) they were not doing any more automotive stuff , at least in Canada.... all we have now is a tiny area with 2 jugs of oil, a few wipers, some bottles of wax . Too bad, was a good place to buy my oil ....

 

[Patman]

And eventually Walmart had it listed on their website at $50 but often low stock/no stock and it needs to be hunted down or shipped to store, etc.
Patman , do the Walmarts in the Guelph area/Ontario in general have an automotive section?

The Walmarts here in Guelph and the other Walmarts I visit in other areas still have automotive sections but I have noticed a trend in some locations where they have cut the automotive section down in half.

 

[Huskyguy68]

The Walmarts here in Guelph and the other Walmarts I visit in other areas still have automotive sections but I have noticed a trend in some locations where they have cut the automotive section down in half.

I just online checked the Guelph -woodlawn Rd location and your Walmart has way more automotive items ''in store/in stock'' then the metro Vancouver Walmarts.
- car batteries/wipers/motor oils/ fuel injector cleaners/battery tenders/jumper cables/air and oil filters. . All the stuff we used to have. I did notice no vehicle tires for sale. Guessing that took up too much valuable floor space .
I guess Walmart Canada analyzes each consumer market city by city and decided over here most people will head over to Cnd tire for automotive, save the Walmart floor space for groceries/household/clothes/shoeware etc.....the big sellers.

 

[Patman]

I just online checked the Guelph -woodlawn Rd location and your Walmart has way more automotive items ''in store/in stock'' then the metro Vancouver Walmarts.
- car batteries/wipers/motor oils/ fuel injector cleaners/battery tenders/jumper cables/air and oil filters. . All the stuff we used to have. I did notice no vehicle tires for sale. Guessing that took up too much valuable floor space .
I guess Walmart Canada analyzes each consumer market city by city and decided over here most people will head over to Cnd tire for automotive, save the Walmart floor space for groceries/household/clothes/shoeware etc.....the big sellers.

We used to have a few Walmarts with Mr Lubes attached to them and they also sold tires. Before that it was Walmart Lube and tire. I don’t think any Walmarts around here carry tires or do oil changes anymore

 

[Huskyguy68]

C

We used to have a few Walmarts with Mr Lubes attached to them and they also sold tires. Before that it was Walmart Lube and tire. I don’t think any Walmarts around here carry tires or do oil changes anymore

CAn you imagine if Walmart Canada partnered up with Rockauto? Bunch of Rockauto stores across Canada...id go often.
As long as they dont pull a Target, sell unwanted crap at inflated prices.

 

[CANADADIY]

I got some VRP 5w30 from Walmart for $40-something as well when they had a sale a month or two ago. It was an in-store price, online still showed $50.

 

[f355spider]

''another factor that makes Canadian Tire a good place to buy oil''---i've been buying motor oil at my local Cnd tire for decades, as there is often a sale on it. The Valvoline R&P a very recent addition, actually I emailed Cnd Tire's head office early in 2025 asking why they did not sell it in their stores. They emailed me back that they would send my request for the Valvoline R&P to their purchasing department and they would look into it. Four months later it was being sold at my local Cnd. Tire, but at $59.99//later on sale at $43.
And eventually Walmart had it listed on their website at $50 but often low stock/no stock and it needs to be hunted down or shipped to store, etc.
Patman , do the Walmarts in the Guelph area/Ontario in general have an automotive section? Here in metro Vancouver we used to have a good size automotive section with a battery section, oil and filters/wipers/etc. One suburban location even had drive in oil change/tire service. But Walmart Canada announce at least 7 years ago (maybe 10) they were not doing any more automotive stuff , at least in Canada.... all we have now is a tiny area with 2 jugs of oil, a few wipers, some bottles of wax . Too bad, was a good place to buy my oil ....

Time for a Walmart run to Bellingham, WA USA...just check stock first...otherwise its another 25 minutes further south to the Mount Vernon Walmart.

 

[Huskyguy68]

Time for a Walmart run to Bellingham, WA USA...just check stock first...otherwise its another 25 minutes further south to the Mount Vernon Walmart.

it's been at least ( I was going to type ten years!) 2009 since the last time I crossed the canada/USA border by vehicle. That was the year Canadians could no longer just show a valid driver's license as proof of entry. USA border guards demanded a passport or refused entrance. I think I last went to Washington state in 2008, to Point Roberts , where many metro Vancouver shoppers would drive over for cheaper groceries, milk, gasoline....and the taverns.
I never bothered to get a passport, so I cannot travel to the USA .
Otherwise i'd drive down to Bellingham, like I did at least 4-5 times between 1987 to 2005 .
Something refreshing about visiting Bellingham.
I just looked up the stats: in 2008 the population was nearing 80,000.
In 2023 : 94,720.
My city of Vancouver Canada is about 3.3 million population.

It was a nice change for me, to go to a small American city with friendlier people, way less traffic , lots of variety, very nice downtown that was walkable, lots of free or cheap parking, plenty of places to eat, lots of greenery, heritage homes.....more, but i've forgotten.
I recently saw a travel YouTube video on Bellingham. Lots of new low rise developments, the city seems even nicer then in 2005.
Happy to see they have not gotten over run by high rise apartment towers, such as my city and the suburbs. Or by gang violence/by homelessness /junkies, street disorder.
In fact, after watching that YouTube video, I'd consider getting my passports and revisiting Bellingham. But for now I doubt I will, the Canada -usa dollar exchange sucks for Canadians. Makes everything too pricey for us.
But I tell you, of all the places I might consider relocating to in the USA, might just be Bellingham.
Of course, never having lived there, I could be fantasizing about some utopia / grass is always greener fantasy land.
What are your thoughts on Bellingham?

 

[Huskyguy68]

I got some VRP 5w30 from Walmart for $40-something as well when they had a sale a month or two ago. It was an in-store price, online still showed $50.

I was just at the Vancouver Walmart about 3 minutes away from my home the other day.
It is a Walmart Super Center.......but the automotive section is like a ghost town.
My Walmarts sells a few oil brands: Castrol/Mobil/Super tech.

"oil filter" is not available at this store. Try another store or we can ship it to your door!

Now I online checked Walmarts out in the suburbs, at least 30 minute drives in any direction from me, and the show stock in a lot more of the motor oils/oil filters.
They even stock in store the car batteries. Whatever battery you wish to buy..as long as it is a Ever Start..lol.

They even stock the Valvoline Restore and Protect...at $49.99. But 5W20...I take 5W30

 

[tired]

Time for a Walmart run to Bellingham, WA USA...just check stock first...otherwise its another 25 minutes further south to the Mount Vernon Walmart.

Agree. This story was making me remember the statistic of how many Canadians live within 50 miles of the border... Just drive over the border lol

 

[Patman]

Agree. This story was making me remember the statistic of how many Canadians live within 50 miles of the border... Just drive over the border lol

Approximately 90% of Canadians live within 100 miles of the US border

 

[tired]

Approximately 90% of Canadians live within 100 miles of the US border

That's the one!