Cold engine noisier with PP 5w30

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Scout1

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After cruising BITOG for a few months, I couldn't wait to swap out the GTX 5w30 in my Accord with a nice synthetic. PP 5w30 was my choice since it was on sale and folks around here seem to think fairly highly of it! I carefully listened to how the 2.4L ran on the GTX dino before the change-over in order to see if I could tell any difference.

Now that I've switched to the PP, what I notice is the engine is a bit noisier till it warms up... more valve tick and generally a little more raspy. Once the oil heats up, it quiets down and runs smooth as silk.

So what's going on here? Why would the motor be a little noisier on synthetic when cold? This is the first synth I've had in the car since new (34k miles).
 
Quote:

After cruising BITOG for a few months, I couldn't wait to swap out the GTX 5w30 in my Accord with a nice synthetic. PP 5w30 was my choice since it was on sale and folks around here seem to think fairly highly of it! I carefully listened to how the 2.4L ran on the GTX dino before the change-over in order to see if I could tell any difference.

Now that I've switched to the PP, what I notice is the engine is a bit noisier till it warms up... more valve tick and generally a little more raspy. Once the oil heats up, it quiets down and runs smooth as silk.

So what's going on here? Why would the motor be a little noisier on synthetic when cold? This is the first synth I've had in the car since new (34k miles).

Click to expand...


the synthetic oil is thinner than the GTX when cold. Thicker oils tend to attenuate noise better. When the oils are fully warmed up, the viscosity is basically the same, so that is why it sounds the same after warming.

Hammer
 
The Pour Point Test determines the lowest temperature at which a lubricant
will flow. The lower a lubricant’s pour point, the better protection it
provides in low temperature service.

Unlike conventional oils that solidify in cold temperatures,
Some Synthetic Motor oil's remain fluid down to -58° F.
Only a few brands of Synthetic Motor oil have
this low pour point wich helps engines turn over easier and flows quickly to engine parts for
critical start-up protection. Engines start faster and wear is greatly
reduced for extended engine life.
compare pour points and you will find less noise during cold startup.
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These noise complaints with PP are starting to stack up, but at a much slower pace than M1. I imagine PP 5W-40 would be much quieter with no discernible difference in fuel mileage.
 
First thing that came to mind for me also.
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Most forgot about item that can influence start up noise.
 
So is there a direct correlation between engine noise and engine wear? It seems that the noise means more wear, but I could be wrong....anyone?
 
Yes, I switched from a Fram ToughGard to a Purolator PureONE filter... (See, I been doing my homework!!!
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)
 
Quote:

I think some of the noise complaints are a little OCD IMHO.
tongue.gif


Click to expand...


Ha ha... I thought it was mandatory to be OCD about oil in order to join this forum!
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In all seriousness, I tried really hard to carefully listen to the "before" and "after" sounds when I switched. If anything I was expecting it to sound quieter... I donno, maybe that disappointment was psyching me into thinking, "hey, that's a little noisier".
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Update; The ticky valves till warmed up was bugging me, so I switched back to GTX 5w30 to see if that made any difference. It quieted some, but I could still hear 'em.

So I adjusted the valves and really found none out of spec. Carefully set everything to the tightest recommended tolerance (.008 on the intakes and .011 on the exhausts). Didn't really make much difference.

So in summary, the PP make a slightly noticeable valve tick slightly more noticeable than the GTX dino!

On the plus side, this V-Tech Honda looks very clean under the valve cover and I see I have nice rollers on those rocker arms!
 
I suspect the Honda engine will outlast the rest of the car regardless of what kind of oil you are using. Unless you are going for extended oil change intervals I would just use Exxon Superflo 5w30. It's inexpensive, good quality, and very similar (If not the same) as the OEM Honda oil available at dealers. Changed regularly, there is no reason the superflo would not get you at least 300,000+ miles out of the engine.

If superflo is not available in your area, regular old yellow bottle Pennzoil or green bottle quakerstate 5w30 would also be excellent in that engine.

I have nothing against castrol or valvoline, but from what i've read and seen it appears that Honda engines seem to do well on oils with moly in them. They probably do well on anything, but all the very high mileage Hondas i've seen were either run on honda oil (exxon dino) or pennzoil/quakerstate dino products.
 
I recently went from regular Pennzoil 5w-20 dino to Amsoil 0w-20 and came across the same increase in noise while warming up. Just a little bit of ticking, but it is of no consequence to me. You can only hear it with all vents off, inside the garage, radio off, dead silence, and only when it first started in the morning with a temp of 10F-20F or thereabouts.

Oh, engine is Honda 3.5L in a Saturn VUE with 58,xxx and using a Pure One filter.
 
Just a thought.... Some ticking that is blamed on valves could also be an engine so quiet that you are hearing the fuel injectors more than you did prior when using another oil which resulted in a louder engine thus drowning out the injector noise.

Injectors can be really 'clacky' at times.
 
Originally Posted By: hominid7
Just a thought.... Some ticking that is blamed on valves could also be an engine so quiet that you are hearing the fuel injectors more than you did prior when using another oil which resulted in a louder engine thus drowning out the injector noise.

Injectors can be really 'clacky' at times.


Good point. The ticking never whips me into a frenzy like it does with some in BITOG land. Didn't think about injector noise, but that sounds reasonable.
 
That's an interesting idea... I did notice a subjective difference on the PP but never thought about absolute volume of engine noise. Maybe that's what's happening
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I've heard injector noise before (I own a Chrysler!) and this doesn't really sound like that.

But as I was putting my head down close on each end of the motor I noticed some louder ticking on the driver's end that seemed to be coming from some sort of solonoid. . I was going to study my manual to see if there's any reason for something like that to be linear to engine speed during warm-up.
 
I guess it really is overkill to run synthetic in my Honda. I'm not going for extended intervals. I feel there is too much risk in extending your interval on a V-Tech engine anyway since I hear most of the problems in a V-tech system come from plugging up the oil passages and screen that feeds the V-Tech valve gear.

I'm just a bit OCD though and want to try the synthetics, especially when I can find them on sale like this PP I got for 99 cents a qt. on rebate!

My last two Hondas were sold at around 120k and were running flawlessly. Whoever buys my used cars always get a really nice motor in the deal
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