Can a brand of oil have an effect on engine noise?

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I have read on numerous occasions, posts that state a certain brand they use in their vehicle has led to an engine being "more quiet".

Assuming the grade of oil used is the same throughout, can a different brand of oil have an effect on the engine noise and if so, what is it in the oil that aids in decresed noise?
 
The difference is probably three things.

First, for any weight there is a range. So a thicker oil may sound better than a thinner one that are both marketed as a xw-xx. The "thicker" an oil is the better it sounds, apparently.

Second, fresh oil will probably be a bit thicker.

Third, and probably the largest factor, is that human beings are suckers for the placebo effect.
 
I think there is a placebo effect but there are times when you can easily tell the difference. For instance, my Toyota has a "tick" in the motor that most Toyota Tacoma owners have as well. There are oils that make this tick go away or make it less noisy. I have used Delo 15w40 which quieted it down and I've used a thin 30 weight that virtually eliminated the tick. There were brands that worked better than others for sure. For my application, Motorcraft 5w20, Havoline DS 5w30 and Castrol Edge 5w30 have all eliminated the tick. Is was more pronounced with NAPA Syn, German Castrol and others.
 
Originally Posted By: StevieC
It's not the brand, but the characteristics of the oils makeup and/or viscosity.



Ding, ding, ding. Now, while I suspect this is mostly a function of viscosity, I don't doubt that a particular brand's add pack formulation may also have a major impact on how an engine sounds when run on that oil.
 
This is an interesting thread and I hope people will participate. I've also noticed that some oils tend to be quieter than others. I realize that this is subjective, but we should be able to identify trends. If nothing else, we learn about another facet of an oils ability.

My observation: Mobil 1 0w-40 noisy.
Royal purple 10w-40 extremely quiet.
Mobil 1 15w-50 quiet (but thicker)
Castrol Edge 10w-30 quiet.

Others didn't vary enough for me to notice.
 
If you want oil that makes the motor run quietly, you gotta try this R.L.I. Bio-Syn oil from RenewableLube . The 0w-30 BioSyn is the quietest oil I've ever had in my car. Even after 5,200 miles on the oil, the motor is still so quiet--sounds as quiet as the day I put it in 7 months ago.

I'm looking forward to comparing it to Amsoil, but I got a feeling this RenewableLube oil will be the quietest I'll ever have in the car.
 
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I've also got a "tick" in my jeep's 3.8v6, which I hear is pretty common in the minivans. Anyways, I had it with the factory fill, PP 5w-20, and got slightly better with Castrol Syntec 5w-20. Next I tryed Q.S. T.P. 5w-30, and it all but eliminated it. Now I'm running Rotella T syn. 5w-40 and thought it would quiet things down more than any of them, but its actually just as noisy as the PP. I have some G.C., Valvoline Synpower 5w-30, and some Mobil Clean 5000 5w-30 to try yet, we'll see how they do. I also wanna try Valvoline Maxlife 5w-30 to see how it does, but if none of these quiet it down more, I think I'm gonna switch to dino oil, stick with it, and just live with the noise.
 
I have heard it said that a lot of ticking actually comes from fuel injectors.

But if the ticking is affected by the oil, then it is most likely a function of the viscosity, rather than the brand. Just keep in mind that two different 5W-30 viscosity oils may not have the same viscosity, which might make it appear that one brand is "better" than the other, when in fact they are only a different viscosity, not one better than the other.
 
Mine is definately lifter related. I can hear the injectors ticking, but they sound normal. This "ticking" is definately more metalic sounding in nature. This ticking didn't start till I had about 500miles on the vehicle and got done using it hard climbing some pretty descent mountains. Hasn't hurt performance or fuel mileage any so I'm not to concerned about it.
 
Noise is probably less related to brand but is more dependent upon viscosity. Ask anyone with one of those earlier Cadillac 4.1-4.5-4.9 engines. Many of them have a built-in front main knock. 10w-30 is noisy, 15w-50 is quiet (on mine anyway) John--Las Vegas
 
I have definitely experienced changes in engine noise with a change in oil brand( same weight ). I have seen different brands of synthetic make an engine quieter than others and I have seen that with conventional oil as well( again same weight ). Not a placebo effect but an honest change in the noise level.
 
So some of you put an oil in, listen to the sound. 5000 miles later, you still remember how that sounded so you can compare to a fresh fill of a different oil?

You've got me beat, that's for sure.
 
Most of the "ticks" I've had on all my cars disappear as soon as I replace the flange gaskets in my exhaust systems. After 150k miles most of the gasket I've seen have leaked.
 
Originally Posted By: bepperb
The difference is probably three things.

First, for any weight there is a range. So a thicker oil may sound better than a thinner one that are both marketed as a xw-xx. The "thicker" an oil is the better it sounds, apparently.

Second, fresh oil will probably be a bit thicker.

Third, and probably the largest factor, is that human beings are suckers for the placebo effect.


i would agree, i know the piston slap in my truck is less heard with rotella 15-40 or 5-40, but any 5-30 synthetic or conventional or 10-30 its the same noise, alos fresher oil does makes a sound diff.
 
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