Did a change in oil make a significant difference?

[Oro_O]

Fsharp, it may not be your imagination.

Several people have commented that switching from an HDEO 15w40 to a synthetic makes a noticeable difference. I've seen it myself. There's always the placebo effect, but if you consider yourself an objective enough observer (and I do so myself), don't dismiss it.

 

[TFB1]

Originally Posted By: Chris B.
Originally Posted By: Toaster_Jer
I use to use Castrol's 5w-50 in my 98' Ranger. May be in my head (Or my foot) but the OE 0w-20 Amsoil made a big difference to me.


I'd expect so! A 5w50 to a 0w20 is a missive change!


Agreed... A drop from a oil that's over twice as thick will be noticeable, especially in a small engine... A friend blessed me with some 20W-50 Amsoil, was verified at track my car lost approx .15 sec in 1/8mi vs the 5w30 I was using...

I've heard FOS statements like my car is sluggish on 5w30 vs 5W-20, feels like I'm pulling a 1500Lb utility trailer.. Obviously only a idiot or out and out liar can post something like that....

 

[Branson304]

Originally Posted By: PandaBear
Performance? No. Noise level? Yes.


+1

 

[BlueOvalFitter]

Back in the day when I used to race and build engines I bought an old beat up 72 Biscayne for $200 just for the small block 400 in it.
I had a bunch of racing decals stored in my tool box. I stuck an STP sticker on the window of the Biscayne and it ran low 10's in the 1/4!

J/K, but that 400 turned out to be a 425 HP beast!

 

[aquariuscsm]

Originally Posted By: tig1
In 1978 I switched from the factory spec 10-40 in my Dodge Slant 6 to Mobil 1 5w20. Made a huge difference in cold temp starts, in both cranking RPM and engine noise on start.


I wonder if there would've been any negative effects if the same scenario would've been replicated in a place that had an ambient constant temp of 110F or so? I bet that M1 from back then formula wise was superior over the 10W40. What kind've 10W40 was it? It'd be awesome if you had a still sealed container of that M1

!!

 

[TFB1]

Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
The biggest change I've ever experienced was going from Valvoline 10w30 to Exxon Superflo 20W-50 in a 7.0L Cadillac V8. I got huge gains in torque and horsepower when switching to 20W-50. And as and added benefit, fuel mileage had increased by 5mpg and the engine got super quiet at idle. It was a win win win.


We all know you're FOS and loosing more creditably every day...

 

[69GTX]

Not in performance or noise....but oil usage.

After 20K miles on 5 OCI's with 5w-20 Formula Shell Synthetic and increasing oil usage, decided to try something new....was up to around 1 to 1-1/2 qts in 4K miles. The car had been on 5w-20 conventional "Quick Lube" oils for the previous 20K miles and I can't recall what the usage was. I think there was some though. This last OCI was 3K on Valvoline 5w20 conventional so that gets a "check." No high mileage oils used on this car yet. There was no obvious usage last OCI....at most 2-6 oz.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
The biggest change I've ever experienced was going from Valvoline 10w30 to Exxon Superflo 20W-50 in a 7.0L Cadillac V8. I got huge gains in torque and horsepower when switching to 20W-50. And as and added benefit, fuel mileage had increased by 5mpg and the engine got super quiet at idle. It was a win win win.


I bet the 20W50 gave you better ring seal thus giving your engine better compression making it perform better.

 

[Rolla07]

Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
The biggest change I've ever experienced was going from Valvoline 10w30 to Exxon Superflo 20W-50 in a 7.0L Cadillac V8. I got huge gains in torque and horsepower when switching to 20W-50. And as and added benefit, fuel mileage had increased by 5mpg and the engine got super quiet at idle. It was a win win win.



Bahahahaha...i think this should be moved to the humor section.

 

[KingCake]

Originally Posted By: AirgunSavant
Must be in my head than.
I know guys that can not discern smoothness or noise. For one they are numb and deaf!
I disagree. I can feel-notice the difference of a small amount of oil loss in an engine.


riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight

 

[tig1]

Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
The biggest change I've ever experienced was going from Valvoline 10w30 to Exxon Superflo 20W-50 in a 7.0L Cadillac V8. I got huge gains in torque and horsepower when switching to 20W-50. And as and added benefit, fuel mileage had increased by 5mpg and the engine got super quiet at idle. It was a win win win.

 

[tig1]

Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
The biggest change I've ever experienced was going from Valvoline 10w30 to Exxon Superflo 20W-50 in a 7.0L Cadillac V8. I got huge gains in torque and horsepower when switching to 20W-50. And as and added benefit, fuel mileage had increased by 5mpg and the engine got super quiet at idle. It was a win win win.

 

[tig1]

Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
Originally Posted By: tig1
In 1978 I switched from the factory spec 10-40 in my Dodge Slant 6 to Mobil 1 5w20. Made a huge difference in cold temp starts, in both cranking RPM and engine noise on start.


I wonder if there would've been any negative effects if the same scenario would've been replicated in a place that had an ambient constant temp of 110F or so? I bet that M1 from back then formula wise was superior over the 10W40. What kind've 10W40 was it? It'd be awesome if you had a still sealed container of that M1

!!


I used Valvoline 10-40, which made extreme cold cranking difficult in Maine with temps down to 15-25 below. Then the only M1 was 5-20 and it came in a silver steel can. Back then Mobil 1 5w20 was $5 a qt compared to 35 cents for Valvo.

 

[AirgunSavant]

I agree with that Sir!

Originally Posted By: Xrs2zz
Originally Posted By: AirgunSavant
Must be in my head than.
I know guys that can not discern smoothness or noise. For one they are numb and deaf!
I disagree. I can feel-notice the difference of a small amount of oil loss in an engine.


Maybe it's like how some people are better food or wine tasters than others? I'm not one to notice a difference, but I won't tell someone else they can't.

Just because most of us can't tell a difference doesn't mean everyone can't?

 

[AirgunSavant]

We know what camp you're in.........

 

[Ifixyawata]

Originally Posted By: Rolla07
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
The biggest change I've ever experienced was going from Valvoline 10w30 to Exxon Superflo 20W-50 in a 7.0L Cadillac V8. I got huge gains in torque and horsepower when switching to 20W-50. And as and added benefit, fuel mileage had increased by 5mpg and the engine got super quiet at idle. It was a win win win.



Bahahahaha...i think this should be moved to the humor section.


Don't encourage him. At least he usually adds a smiley, somewhat indicating that his comments are tongue-in-cheek.

 

[DoubleWasp]

Engine was rattling and banging like it had a rabid steel dog in it. Switching to 15w40 cleared that right up.

That is definitely due to poor engineering of the oil pump, and not the oil.

 

[deven]

FSharp, you may have recovered from Royal Purple but I have not. Ever since I first tried it my car ran smoother and quieter. I now just started using Royal Purple HPS 5w30 once I ran out of Royal Purple 5w40 and it actually runs quieter than ever before. Love the Synerlec in Royal Purple.

 

[RazorsEdge]

Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
The biggest change I've ever experienced was going from Valvoline 10w30 to Exxon Superflo 20W-50 in a 7.0L Cadillac V8. I got huge gains in torque and horsepower when switching to 20W-50. And as and added benefit, fuel mileage had increased by 5mpg and the engine got super quiet at idle. It was a win win win.


I bet the 20W50 gave you better ring seal thus giving your engine better compression making it perform better.


Using a thick oil will not increase compression.

 

[Gasbuggy]

I say this hesitantly, but I swear my Cadillac sewing machine ran smoother and got slightly better MPG with the old 5w30 G-Oil. It did consume less oil than anything else I've tried, only 1/3 quart in 5000 miles. True ester oil benefits I guess. By 5000 miles the noise would pick back up and I felt it was ready to be changed. I took a sample but never sent it in to Blackstone. I still have enough to do another change. Maybe sometime in the future.