I will be interested to know more about your experience with it. I'm currently using Valvoline's MaxLife synthetic blend in 5W-20 or 5W-30 (it varies) to keep what I presume is a slow rear main seal leak in our 2005 MDX at bay. If I use non-high mileage oil, it'll seep and drip an oil drop or two over night. With any high mileage oil (I've used both Valvoline's and Pennzoil's high mileage variants), the engine is dry.

I can only imagine, without any other information, that Valvoline's new R&P product would sort of work the opposite of MaxLife, wherein it could potentially clean up deposits and potentially let the leaks come back on a high mileage engine. My hunch there may be very misinformed, and I'd be happy to know otherwise. I'm interested in trying it in our older vehicles, and may try it on our MDX at the next change just to see how it does.

It would probably be great in a newer engine... If it can clean and restore older engines, one might think it wouldn't allow those deposits to build in the first place if not already there in a much newer engine.

 

I decided to use VRP on my 2018 because of the Pilot’s history. 58,500 miles with VCM active means a real possibility of oil coked rings on the VCM cylinders. If VRP can clean up sticking oil control rings, then I am going to give it a good shot. I plan to use this oil for at least the next 20 k miles, at 5k oil change intervals.

 

I share your concern about VRP maybe causing seal leaks. At this time, nobody knows what is doing the cleaning. Valvoline is not telling anybody about what the magic juice in their RP oil is. Lots of interest in VRP, just look on BITOG. Not much detailed information from Valvoline. Trade Secrets, I guess.

 

Pennzoil claims "unbeatable wear- and sludge- protection as well as unbeatable cleanliness" for its Ultra Platinum oil.
I'd like to see a comparison test between it and Valvoline R&P.

 

I like how they and other companies word this. Like "nothing cleans better" but others can clean just as good is what they are not saying 🤣

But that's not what I'm saying about this oil, just the statement. I'm sure it has higher amount of detergents in it and hopefully seal sweller like high mileage oil has - that's why leaks slow or stop when using high mileage oils. I said hopefully because they should know people with "leaking" engines would try using this oil.

 

Lots of discussion on BITOG as noted. All of the top tier seem to be great at keeping things clean in all the rest of the motor, unknown on exactly how much around ring areas like that. All have good detergents that keep junk in suspension but maybe not as active cleaning.

HPL EC30/40 work for that. The HPL oils also from what all say. Difference is boutique prices that if not running extended OCI may not be cost effective. If you do UOA's and can show that you are good with extended then maybe a lot better. Also depends on your warranty status and documentation concerns for possible bearing recalls. The VR&P is less expensive and commercially available so good for the normal DIY group that wants to try and has latest SP ratings.

I am reducing the OCI on my Pilot to 5k due to fuel dilution on the very short trips. Currently it has a Euro oil in it and a bit thicker. Next rounds might be the VR&P since my VCM is currently active so if it can help keep the ring areas clean, that is a good thing IMO.

On the HPL's I have my own results on what it cleaned from vehicles that had good maintenance records at MM or earlier with whatever dealers were using.

 

Difference is boutique prices that if not running extended OCI may not be cost effective.

From what I've read and watched about R&P, depending on the severity of the coking/carbon buildup, you are better running that oil for long intervals--many hint at 7500 to 10,000 miles--as the magic elixir is designed to very gradually soften, dissolve, break loose deposits. Further, for the oil to have an impact on intake valve deposits, it needs many thousands of miles, as it depends on the PCV systems "normal" circulation of oil mist.

For my '20, with now ~54k on the clock, although I hadn't borescoped the intake valves, my assumption is that they now have some deposits, along with whatever deposits/carbon have also built up on the low tension piston rings, even though VCM has been disabled since 11k mi. I put R&P 5w-30 in there at about 53k mi, so about 1000 mi on it. The Pilot isn't my daily driver, with sometimes two weeks between my observations. It may be my imagination, but this past Sunday the throttle response seemed just slightly better since I drove it, prior. Time will tell whether there is any "sensible" benefit. I plan to keep R&P in there for the duration of my normal interval; 10k mi., with maybe an filter change at 5k point, as a number note heavier than normal filter debris.

 

I was going to run VRP in my Traverse at the next oil change. It's DI and the PCV systems are known to be a little finicky with the carbon buildup so I figured if it meets the Dexos spec it's worth trying at 150k miles. Right now I burn 1/2-3/4 quart between oil changes, and I do follow the oil life monitor which I think does straight 7,500 miles in the Traverse.

 

I don’t think that VRP is Dexos rated, based on BITOG discussions.

 

I am using Valvoline R&P in a bad oil burning Toyota Rav4. It was burning a quart every 300 miles on the highway at 70mph, and every 600 miles around town.

I did the B12 Chemtool piston soak and this did amazing things. I'd absolutely consider the B12 Chemtool piston soak on any J35 that saw VCM time. However with the slanted cylinders in a V6 it might not be as effective. Then, IF Valvoline Restore and Protect really can remove piston deposits from an oil ring area, that's a bonus. There are a LOT of interesting stories on different forums and YouTube about this oil right now.

Here is my story:

2006 Toyota RAV4 with 2.4L 2AZ-FE engine. Purchased at 131,000 miles.
This vehicle had a Carfax with documented oil changes (most at dealerships) every 5000-6000 miles for its entire life.
It burns oil. A LOT of oil. 1 QT of oil every 300 miles on the highway at 75mph and 1 QT every ~600 miles around town driving.
After watching the YouTube videos on some success using B12 Chemtool, I decided to give it a shot.

Here is what I did:

6/2/24 - 135832 miles
B12 Chemtool piston soak, then oil change.

6/30/24 - 135860 miles
Changed oil again to remove any residual Chemtool and any debris that might have come loose from the Chemtool circulating in the system
Valvoline Restore and Protect 5W-30 with a Wix XP filter
Installed new spark plugs NGK irridiums

7/23/24 - 136149 miles
Checked oil, no movement, still touching full mark - 289 miles since oil change, all around town local driving.

8/3/2024 - 136314 miles
Started 819 mile highway trip. oil level still touching full mark.

8/3/2024 - 137133 miles
Completed 819 mile highway trip. Oil is 3/4 full between the marks, it consumed 1/4 quart on the trip.

8/20/2024
Checked oil. After daily driving of 15-30 miles per day, the level has not moved since last check. It is still 3/4 full if not a little higher.

12/20/24 - 139819 miles.
3959 miles since last oil change just after piston soak. This mileage includes two highway trips around 1000 miles each. It has consumed very close to 1 quart of oil (see picture).

I did another oil change with Valvoline Restore and Protect 5W-30 and this one is going back to college after the Christmas holidays.
Right now it looks like ~1qt every 4000 miles. I'm very happy with that.

Previously, it would have consumed between 7 to 13 quarts of oil.
The B12 Chemtool piston soak made a HUGE difference in this engine.

I am hoping if the Valvoline Restore and Protect does its job over time - hoping it will at least keep the problem from returning and might even see some improvement on consumption after 4 OCI's.

This result is WAY better than I was even hoping to see.

B12 Piston Soak procedure I used

• Remove spark plugs
• Get a small wooden dowel rod to use as a piston positioning gauge to help when rotating cylinders. You need it about 16" long. You can get 1/4" dowel rod for $1 at Lowes/Home Depot
• Use a socket with extensions and connect to the crankshaft bolt. Rotate clockwise. Get all pistons to relatively the same depth so the dowel rod is close to the same depth in each.
• I poured in a little less than 2 ounces (I used a shot glass to measure) in each cylinder. Use a funnel, Chemtool is a STRONG solvent and you dont want spills.
• With chemtool in each cylinder, rotate the engine 3-4 times, VERY slowly. If you rotate too quickly you will spit out your chemtool. Stop with the cylinders relatively even.
• Loosely thread in each spark plug back in (just a few threads is fine) to control evaporation.
• Wait 4 hours.
• Repeat this step every 4-6 hours, until all Chemtool is consumed from two 15 ounce cans (4 soaks). I did two soaks in the evening, a long overnight soak, then two more the next day.
• After the final soak, remove loose spark plugs, and vaccuum out any residual chemtool. I used an air powered brake bleeder tool with some stiff tubing to get it all out, but a shop vac taped into small tubing would be fine.
• Blow out the cylinders with compressed air. I have an air gun with a 20" extended tip, helps to stick it down into the cylinder and blow out the carbon chunks that the chemtool lifts off the piston and rings.
• Pour in 2 ounces of motor oil into each cylinder, and manually rotate the engine 4 times. This is to lube the cylinder wall and rings so they can get compression, or it will be very hard to start.
• Vaccuum out the exceess oil from the cylinder.
• Reinstall spark plugs.
• Oil level will be a little high at this point, due to having the non-evaporated remnants of 15 ounces of Chemtool in the crankcase.
• Start engine and let idle for 5 minutes, shut off engine and drain oil. Do not drive or put any load on the engine with chemtool in it. It will smoke badly at first, as it is burning off the residual oil on the pistons, and any loose carbon left behind.
• After 5 minutes shut off engine, drain oil, and install new filter and cheap 5W-30 synthetic oil, for a short OCI. In less than 100 miles, change this oil and filter, just in case there is contamination from Chemtool or sludge broken loose.
• Change oil and filter with Valvoline Restore and Protect 5W-30 and Wix XP filter.

 

I am using Valvoline R&P in a bad oil burning Toyota Rav4. It was burning a quart every 300 miles on the highway at 70mph, and every 600 miles around town.

I did the B12 Chemtool piston soak and this did amazing things. I'd absolutely consider the B12 Chemtool piston soak on any J35 that saw VCM time. However with the slanted cylinders in a V6 it might not be as effective. Then, IF Valvoline Restore and Protect really can remove piston deposits from an oil ring area, that's a bonus. There are a LOT of interesting stories on different forums and YouTube about this oil right now.

Here is my story:

2006 Toyota RAV4 with 2.4L 2AZ-FE engine. Purchased at 131,000 miles.
This vehicle had a Carfax with documented oil changes (most at dealerships) every 5000-6000 miles for its entire life.
It burns oil. A LOT of oil. 1 QT of oil every 300 miles on the highway at 75mph and 1 QT every ~600 miles around town driving.
After watching the YouTube videos on some success using B12 Chemtool, I decided to give it a shot.

Here is what I did:

6/2/24 - 135832 miles
B12 Chemtool piston soak, then oil change.

6/30/24 - 135860 miles
Changed oil again to remove any residual Chemtool and any debris that might have come loose from the Chemtool circulating in the system
Valvoline Restore and Protect 5W-30 with a Wix XP filter
Installed new spark plugs NGK irridiums

7/23/24 - 136149 miles
Checked oil, no movement, still touching full mark - 289 miles since oil change, all around town local driving.

8/3/2024 - 136314 miles
Started 819 mile highway trip. oil level still touching full mark.

8/3/2024 - 137133 miles
Completed 819 mile highway trip. Oil is 3/4 full between the marks, it consumed 1/4 quart on the trip.

8/20/2024
Checked oil. After daily driving of 15-30 miles per day, the level has not moved since last check. It is still 3/4 full if not a little higher.


So 819 miles on this highway trip, and a total of 1273 miles since last OC.
It is exactly 1/4 QT low. Since it was still touching the full mark at the start of this trip, that's 1/4 QT burned over 819 miles at highway speeds.
Previously, it would have consumed 2.75 quarts of oil on that trip.
The B12 Chemtool piston soak made a HUGE difference in this engine. Using 800 miles per 1/4th QT, that's 3200 miles per quart of oil, which is totally acceptable to me.


I am hoping if the Valvoline Restore and Protect does its job over time - it will at least keep the problem from returning and might even see some improvement on consumption after 4 OCI's.

This result is WAY better than I was even hoping to see.

B12 Piston Soak procedure I used

• Remove spark plugs
• Get a small wooden dowel rod to use as a piston positioning gauge to help when rotating cylinders. You need it about 16" long. You can get 1/4" dowel rod for $1 at Lowes/Home Depot
• Use a socket with extensions and connect to the crankshaft bolt. Rotate clockwise. Get all pistons to relatively the same depth so the dowel rod is close to the same depth in each.
• I poured in a little less than 2 ounces (I used a shot glass to measure) in each cylinder. Use a funnel, Chemtool is a STRONG solvent and you dont want spills.
• With chemtool in each cylinder, rotate the engine 3-4 times, VERY slowly. If you rotate too quickly you will spit out your chemtool. Stop with the cylinders relatively even.
• Loosely thread in each spark plug back in (just a few threads is fine) to control evaporation.
• Wait 4 hours.
• Repeat this step every 4-6 hours, until all Chemtool is consumed from two 15 ounce cans (4 soaks). I did two soaks in the evening, a long overnight soak, then two more the next day.
• After the final soak, remove loose spark plugs, and vaccuum out any residual chemtool. I used an air powered brake bleeder tool with some stiff tubing to get it all out, but a shop vac taped into small tubing would be fine.
• Blow out the cylinders with compressed air. I have an air gun with a 20" extended tip, helps to stick it down into the cylinder and blow out the carbon chunks that the chemtool lifts off the piston and rings.
• Pour in 2 ounces of motor oil into each cylinder, and manually rotate the engine 4 times. This is to lube the cylinder wall and rings so they can get compression, or it will be very hard to start.
• Vaccuum out the exceess oil from the cylinder.
• Reinstall spark plugs.
• Oil level will be a little high at this point, due to having the non-evaporated remnants of 15 ounces of Chemtool in the crankcase.
• Start engine and let idle for 5 minutes, shut off engine and drain oil. Do not drive or put any load on the engine with chemtool in it. It will smoke badly at first, as it is burning off the residual oil on the pistons, and any loose carbon left behind.
• After 5 minutes shut off engine, drain oil, and install new filter and cheap 5W-30 synthetic oil, for a short OCI. In less than 100 miles, change this oil and filter, just in case there is contamination from Chemtool or sludge broken loose.
• Change oil and filter with Valvoline Restore and Protect 5W-30 and Wix XP filter.

There's another guy on YouTube with a high-mileage Corolla, who used B12 as a piston soak, and noted it decreased oil consumption for period of time. Haven't checked back to his channel to see if R&P is on his radar.

 

I don’t think that VRP is Dexos rated, based on BITOG discussions.

I'll give the certs a check before taking the dive. It wouldn't be the first time the engine saw non-Dexos oil (M1 High Mileage wasn't for a long time).

I like how they and other companies word this. Like "nothing cleans better" but others can clean just as good is what they are not saying 🤣

But that's not what I'm saying about this oil, just the statement. I'm sure it has higher amount of detergents in it and hopefully seal sweller like high mileage oil has - that's why leaks slow or stop when using high mileage oils. I said hopefully because they should know people with "leaking" engines would try using this oil.

I thought Lake Speed's review mentioned seal conditioners and that this is a good replacement for other high mileage oils. I'll have to rewatch his video for sure, he's one of the few I trust in this space.

 

I thought Lake Speed's review mentioned seal conditioners and that this is a good replacement for other high mileage oils.

That's encouraging, though Valvoline aren't marketing it as such. Perhaps they just want to keep the distinction in purpose separate between the two products (R&P and their traditional MaxLife), even if the true benefits or performance metrics overlap to some degree.

I'll use it in our 2022 Pilot in another few weeks (at its 35k mile oil change) and then also in our 2005 MDX later this fall (at its semi-annual oil change). I'll certainly report any issues experienced.

 

I do go to Valvoline for my oil changes, next time around I'll be specifically requesting the RP w/the frame filter. I'll keep ya posted

 

I'd be leery of these instant oil change places. Better off finding a trusted mechanic.

 

I just received the oil analysis from Blackstone on my first VRP oil change. The VRP had 3100 miles on it. The report also shows a previous UOA that I had them do in 2022. The earlier UOA was on Mobil 1 with about 5300 miles on it. It is interesting to compare the two reports side-by-side. The VRP shows a reduction in wear metals. VRP's additive package is different from Mobil 1 in showing more Molybdenum and Boron, which provide anti-friction and anti-wear respectively. I'm no tribologist, so there may be other things to look at in this comparison.

 

Looks good but remember that the VRP has about 2200 miles LESS than the Mobil 1 had which is about 42% fewer miles. Would those wear numbers tend to climb higher with those additional miles? Can't really say. Were there other oil changes in between these two reports?

I do like what I have been reading about the VRP and there is a $5.00 almost instant rebate on Valvoline oils right now. I had just done an oil change a couple of months ago on my 2019 at 55000 miles and will use VRP at 60000 miles for my next change.

 

I suspect there are "active ingredients" in that oil (and all oil) that doesn't necessarily appear on a relatively simple chem panel like this. Regardless, the stuff that we look for (like the results, in wear metals) look really good. Thank you for posting!

 

Honestly, if it is dissolving sludge and deposits, I'd expect things to look much worse. But I don't know the chemical makeup of sludge and deposits.

I just did an R&P oil change in a Toyota Tundra I just bought with 128k miles on it. That R&P 0W-20 sure smells foul fresh out of the container.

 

Valvoline says it is a slow process of cleaning and actually recommends 4 normal oil change intervals to obtain the best or maximum cleaning. This is not a flush type of oil which you run for a limited amount of miles and get big chunks of carbon or sludge. This is supposedly cleaning slowly and the particles are captured in the oil filter without clogging the filter. This is what I have been reading on Bob Is The Oil Guy anyhow. YMMV!

 

Nice numbers on the report.
The numbers don't lie on the R&P.

 

I'd like to know how mrobinson118 shows 0 posts?

I ran it neighbors 4Runner, didn't notice any odd smells going in or coming out and it was in for about 12k miles. I'll have to check closer next time. It's in there currently also.

I have it in my FIL's Renegade that will be at 4k OCI in about 1000 miles I think. I'll need to check the open jug in garage. I also have it my John Deere lawn tractor with Briggs 18hp.

No smoking that I recall opening.

For smells- after changing out future DIL's Tucson with 6k on Kendal GT1 syn blend I don't think anything could smell worse. The fuel dilution smell was absolutely revolting as it was coming out from the pan. She's now on a 3k/6 month interval due to all the short trips she does. Currently running Mobil Full Synthetic but when case is done will probably be Restore and Protect also.

 

I ran it neighbors 4Runner, didn't notice any odd smells going in or coming out and it was in for about 12k miles. I'll have to check closer next time. It's in there currently also.

I didn't notice the smell on the first vehicle, with 5W30.
But I sure noticed it in the 0W20 that went in my Tundra.

 

I have used Motul Eco-Lite 0W-20 since new and changed with the maintenance minder.

2018 Pilot. Average change interval 6,212 miles. Here is a pic of the valve train at 100,000 miles.

 

I have used Motul Eco-Lite 0W-20 since new and changed with the maintenance minder. Here is a pic of the valve train at 100,000 miles.

That's incredibly clean. Especially at those intervals. Especially on the spark plug tubes. I changed valve cover gaskets on a 2012 Odyssey with 167k changed mostly with Mobil1 and it was WAY, WAY worse.... the spark plug tubes were black below the seals, and there was certainly varnish buildup on the heads. The inside of the valve covers had mostly heavy varnish buildup, and a little sludge layer. I wish I would have taken a pic of the top of the heads.