Loud vs Quiet Oils

[irv]

Originally Posted by bbhero
Great picture irv.


Thanks!

That pic was taken about 12-13 years ago. He's a much bigger kid now, and smart as a whip too!

 

[ChemLabNL]

"Most people don't own a sound level meter so ranking most to least noisy is subjective"

It's not "subjective", it's a hearing test.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted by irv
Originally Posted by bbhero
Great picture irv.


Thanks!

That pic was taken about 12-13 years ago. He's a much bigger kid now, and smart as a whip too!

 

[kschachn]

Originally Posted by ChemLabNL
"Most people don't own a sound level meter so ranking most to least noisy is subjective"
It's not "subjective", it's a hearing test.

Sound/hearing is the most subjective of all our senses. It is extremely dependent on acoustics and upon the individual.

What I don't get is how everyone is comparing their most recent OCI to the beginning of the previous one. For my cars, all of them seem the most quiet when I have just changed the oil. But there's no way I can remember what it sounded like 7500 or 10,000 miles ago when I last changed the oil and may have used a different brand. If I'm lucky I might take note of how it sounded 30 minutes ago just before I changed it, but what good is that? Old oil is always louder than new oil.

 

[330indy]

It's an App !!

Originally Posted by ChemLabNL
"Most people don't own a sound level meter so ranking most to least noisy is subjective"

It's not "subjective", it's a hearing test.

 

[kschachn]

Originally Posted by 330indy
It's an App !!

Perhaps, but taking accurate and repeatable acoustic pressure measurements is extremely difficult.

 

[irv]

Originally Posted by kschachn
Originally Posted by ChemLabNL
"Most people don't own a sound level meter so ranking most to least noisy is subjective"
It's not "subjective", it's a hearing test.

Sound/hearing is the most subjective of all our senses. It is extremely dependent on acoustics and upon the individual.

What I don't get is how everyone is comparing their most recent OCI to the beginning of the previous one. For my cars, all of them seem the most quiet when I have just changed the oil. But there's no way I can remember what it sounded like 7500 or 10,000 miles ago when I last changed the oil and may have used a different brand. If I'm lucky I might take note of how it sounded 30 minutes ago just before I changed it, but what good is that? Old oil is always louder than new oil.


There are far too many similar stories to write this off as bunk. My son's car, when he got it, had a recent oil change based on the receipt he received and the sticker on the inside of the windshield. That mileage was around 1500 kms only. When we changed the oil and added Pennzoil, the sound difference was very noticeable. This is my son's first car, just got his license, and who has practically no experience with engines/oil or much of anything else mechanical, commented right away how much quieter his engine ran.

I doubt in 1500 kms that the oil would have been spent in this engine and was already making noise compared to a fresh fill, but I will add, the likelihood of the oil that was in there was more than likely cheap type bulk oil.

People, who are passionate about their vehicles like BITOG people, get to know their vehicles so I don't find it unreasonable people notice things like this, especially some who have been around a while.

 

[dave1251]

Originally Posted by irv
Originally Posted by kschachn
Originally Posted by ChemLabNL
"Most people don't own a sound level meter so ranking most to least noisy is subjective"
It's not "subjective", it's a hearing test.

Sound/hearing is the most subjective of all our senses. It is extremely dependent on acoustics and upon the individual.

What I don't get is how everyone is comparing their most recent OCI to the beginning of the previous one. For my cars, all of them seem the most quiet when I have just changed the oil. But there's no way I can remember what it sounded like 7500 or 10,000 miles ago when I last changed the oil and may have used a different brand. If I'm lucky I might take note of how it sounded 30 minutes ago just before I changed it, but what good is that? Old oil is always louder than new oil.


There are far too many similar stories to write this off as bunk. My son's car, when he got it, had a recent oil change based on the receipt he received and the sticker on the inside of the windshield. That mileage was around 1500 kms only. When we changed the oil and added Pennzoil, the sound difference was very noticeable. This is my son's first car, just got his license, and who has practically no experience with engines/oil or much of anything else mechanical, commented right away how much quieter his engine ran.

I doubt in 1500 kms that the oil would have been spent in this engine and was already making noise compared to a fresh fill, but I will add, the likelihood of the oil that was in there was more than likely cheap type bulk oil.

People, who are passionate about their vehicles like BITOG people, get to know their vehicles so I don't find it unreasonable people notice things like this, especially some who have been around a while.




Well I believe because of our passion it skews any objective perception.

 

[irv]

Originally Posted by dave1251
Originally Posted by irv
Originally Posted by kschachn
Originally Posted by ChemLabNL
"Most people don't own a sound level meter so ranking most to least noisy is subjective"
It's not "subjective", it's a hearing test.

Sound/hearing is the most subjective of all our senses. It is extremely dependent on acoustics and upon the individual.

What I don't get is how everyone is comparing their most recent OCI to the beginning of the previous one. For my cars, all of them seem the most quiet when I have just changed the oil. But there's no way I can remember what it sounded like 7500 or 10,000 miles ago when I last changed the oil and may have used a different brand. If I'm lucky I might take note of how it sounded 30 minutes ago just before I changed it, but what good is that? Old oil is always louder than new oil.


There are far too many similar stories to write this off as bunk. My son's car, when he got it, had a recent oil change based on the receipt he received and the sticker on the inside of the windshield. That mileage was around 1500 kms only. When we changed the oil and added Pennzoil, the sound difference was very noticeable. This is my son's first car, just got his license, and who has practically no experience with engines/oil or much of anything else mechanical, commented right away how much quieter his engine ran.

I doubt in 1500 kms that the oil would have been spent in this engine and was already making noise compared to a fresh fill, but I will add, the likelihood of the oil that was in there was more than likely cheap type bulk oil.

People, who are passionate about their vehicles like BITOG people, get to know their vehicles so I don't find it unreasonable people notice things like this, especially some who have been around a while.




Well I believe because of our passion it skews any objective perception.


I respectfully disagree.

Personally, I think if anyone type of person is going to notice such things such as what is being discussed here, it will be those that are the most passionate about their vehicles and not those who just take their cars to quick lube types of places every 6 months or so. I highly doubt 90-95% of the population even cares much about oil let alone how it sounds in their engines. Maybe my number is wrong (I hope so) but I bet I am close.

 

[ChrisD46]

*0W20 / 0W30 M1 AFE oils are the most quiet of the M1 oils ...
Originally Posted by MPosey
So I know this doesn't really mean much in terms of oil performance but for me noisy oils just bother me. Super subjective too, I have never taken decibel measurements or anything like that...

I have a 2004 LS430 that has about 125k on it, I've put the last 12K on it since I bought it, it is an amazing car. But it has perhaps the most sensitive/oil dependent tappet-y sound of any car I've ever had (I've had A LOT of cars) but it got me thinking over my past cars and what oils I've tended to notice are nosier than other oils.

I've also been playing with oils to see what is really quiet in this particular car since it has seemed to be the most different from oil to oil. I've only done a few oil changes on this particular car but I've thought back on some of these oils I've run in other cars that also have been somewhat noisy on certain oils (S2000, Miata, Z06) and once I thought about it, these have proven true in most of my cars, so I figured I would share to see if anyone else has kind of landed where I have on these.

So these are the loudest to the quietest i've used (mostly 10w30 or 5w30):

- Mobil 1
- Castrol GTX
- Ford Motorcraft synthblend
- Amsoil (I only ran it in a 1.8T passat but it was pretty loud compared to whatever came out of it I recall firing it up and really noticing it)
- QSUD
- Redline
- Pennzoil Ultra (it was super quiet in our Honda Fit)
- Pennzoil Platinum

Now I don't know if there are specific things in these that make them quieter or if its car specific but its something I've always seemed to notice.

 

[IndyFan]

I've run all kinds of synthetic oils and a few runs of PYB, in weights ranging from 0w20 to 0w40 and everything in between. I can't tell a difference in any of them, and I've got a pretty sensitive ear for diagnosing various car noises. I'm not saying anyone here can't tell, just me. I wish I could, but I can't.

 

[Snagglefoot]

I'm surprised how many posters made claims on oil brand with no discussion of oil weight. Some did discuss the range of viscosity for a particular SAE weight and how each brand selected a particular viscosity. That is what is most relevant in my humble opinion.

 

[4WD]

Originally Posted by turnbowm
Engine noise was quite noticeable with Mobil 1, which is one of several reasons why I stopped using it. I'm quite happy with PZ Platinum D1G2 and found it to be even quieter than Ultra Platinum. No experience with the boutique oils.


For me... same Ford engine tested with a dB meter … 40's did best
Best to worst
M1 0w40
M1 5w40
PUP 5w30 and M1 5w30 were same and last … 2015 ecoboost
Now my e3 5.3L's are quieter on M1 0w20 than the Ford on anything … to my ears and wife's ears PUP was louder but not on the meter under my shop roof. Alongside a cinder block wall PUP was fine … so that's just ears and pitch …
Will wait until warranty is out before 5w30 …

 

[Snagglefoot]

One other effect of a higher viscosity oil is that many overhead cam engines such as the Ford 3.5 liter V-6 use a mini hydraulic cylinder to apply a force to the plastic slider that tensions the main timing chain. Not sure if there is leak-by on that cylinder but if there was, theoretically viscosity would alter the timing chain tension.

 

[Triple_Se7en]

Originally Posted by ChrisD46
*0W20 / 0W30 M1 AFE oils are the most quiet of the M1 oils ...
Originally Posted by MPosey
So I know this doesn't really mean much in terms of oil performance but for me noisy oils just bother me. Super subjective too, I have never taken decibel measurements or anything like that...

I have a 2004 LS430 that has about 125k on it, I've put the last 12K on it since I bought it, it is an amazing car. But it has perhaps the most sensitive/oil dependent tappet-y sound of any car I've ever had (I've had A LOT of cars) but it got me thinking over my past cars and what oils I've tended to notice are nosier than other oils.

I've also been playing with oils to see what is really quiet in this particular car since it has seemed to be the most different from oil to oil. I've only done a few oil changes on this particular car but I've thought back on some of these oils I've run in other cars that also have been somewhat noisy on certain oils (S2000, Miata, Z06) and once I thought about it, these have proven true in most of my cars, so I figured I would share to see if anyone else has kind of landed where I have on these.

So these are the loudest to the quietest i've used (mostly 10w30 or 5w30):

- Mobil 1
- Castrol GTX
- Ford Motorcraft synthblend
- Amsoil (I only ran it in a 1.8T passat but it was pretty loud compared to whatever came out of it I recall firing it up and really noticing it)
- QSUD
- Redline
- Pennzoil Ultra (it was super quiet in our Honda Fit)
- Pennzoil Platinum

Now I don't know if there are specific things in these that make them quieter or if its car specific but its something I've always seemed to notice.




Chris
Never give the answer, prior to the question.
In-other-words, put your reply below the quote please.

 

[ChemLabNL]

"It's not "subjective", it's a hearing test"
"Sound/hearing is the most subjective of all our senses. It is extremely dependent on acoustics and upon the individual"

I was being light hearted with my statement. I should have put a

at the end.

You should be able to hear the difference between a high Moly 10w30 and a low Moly 0w20 in a higher friction engine.

 

[Whimsey]

The 2.3 EB in our Explorer sounds the same on the factory fill, the dealer conventional 5W-30 fill, Mobil1 5W-30 and Motorcraft 5W-30. I noticed that ours and others EB engines have a lot of mechanical noise, like an old singer cast iron sewing machine when the hood is open. Close the hood it's less noticeable even standing next to the vehicle. With our Explorer once inside there is no engine noise, it's quiet, good sound insulation I guess.

Whimsey

 

[live_to_hunt]

I have a 2010 Tundra with the 4.6l I have Run Valvoline, Quacker State, Mobil1 and Supertech all 0w20. The Quacke State was noticeably louder. Than the rest Mobil 1 is what I usually use but with my 5000 mile OCI.. I might just stick with Supertech it's quiet and the truck has run the same as the other oils.

 

[PimTac]

I would not buy Quacker State oil.

 

[wtd]

This is why I no longer run Mobil 1. I was a fanboy of it back in the late 90's and early 2000's but it was very noisy in my 98 chevy truck and the ex-wife's 98 Grand Prix GT. I ran 5W-30 in the truck and 10W-30 a few times and always ran 10W-30 in the GP. I finally had enough of the noise and switched to Chevron Supreme and both engines were very quiet.

I have never tried Mobil 1 since and I still hear many people saying the same thing these days so I have no desire to try it again.