Smoother engine with oil brand change? FYI

[Keith_Stone]

I started my 05 colorado on a diet of mobil 1 after the first oil change. Shortly after that I switched to amsoil entirely until I recently tried some PU 5w30 I had picked up a while back and thought I'd give it a try. I never thought a brand change would smooth a engine at idle like the PU did. I was quite amazed and may even switch to Pennzoil.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Are you comparing used oil to new oil?

 

[Donald]

I would guess subjective. However some people say some brands allow more metallic engine sounds to come through.

 

[MONKEYMAN]

I was running PP 5w30 in 2001 RX300. This oil change switched to PU. It was the same price as PP with Autozone oil change special. To me engine has never sounded smoother.

 

[fdcg27]

Fresh oil always produces smoother running in any car I've ever touched.
The PU may be a little thicker than either the Amsoil or the M1, which usually makes an engine sound smoother.
Ultra is a good choice in oil, although there's nothing wrong with either M1 or Amsoil.
Which Amsoil did you use?
Which M1 flavor?

 

[Keith_Stone]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Are you comparing used oil to new oil?
New to new. The PU made me comment as to "this motors' never been this smooth at idle"

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: Keith_Stone
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Are you comparing used oil to new oil?
New to new. The PU made me comment as to "this motors' never been this smooth at idle"

So you drained brand new Amsoil and poured in brand new PU in order to compare the sound "back to back"?

 

[Keith_Stone]

Originally Posted By: fdcg27
Fresh oil always produces smoother running in any car I've ever touched.
The PU may be a little thicker than either the Amsoil or the M1, which usually makes an engine sound smoother.
Ultra is a good choice in oil, although there's nothing wrong with either M1 or Amsoil.
Which Amsoil did you use?
Which M1 flavor?

Std M1, ASL both 5w30

 

[skyship]

I can also hear the difference in engine rattle after an oil change. My Synthoil 5/40 is in the middle of the 40 range, but after 10K km it has sheared down to just inside the top of the 30 range, which is still OK for the engine.

 

[Keith_Stone]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: Keith_Stone
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Are you comparing used oil to new oil?
New to new. The PU made me comment as to "this motors' never been this smooth at idle"

So you drained brand new Amsoil and poured in brand new PU in order to compare the sound "back to back"?

No. Just comparison notations between the two oils after a oil change i.e, new ASL compared to new PU

 

[Keith_Stone]

Granted I like both Mobil 1 and Amsoil. But I noticed the smoother idle when I dumped in the PU compared to the other two. No biggie, just a $.02 type of thread. I've just never experienced this before in the Chevy I5.

 

[1999nick]

Can a different oil really make an engine idle noticeably smoother?

 

[KCJeep]

I've learned first hand engine noise is not a good predictor of wear, but I still prefer an oil that runs smooth and quiet throughout the whole OCI. Yes oils can make a difference, in the noise department PYB and Castrol HM have been head and shoulders above anything else in my Jeep.

To my disappointment Valvoline is very clangy in it, which is odd since the add pack on paper anyway is quite similar to Castrol.

 

[fdcg27]

Enough folks have reported smoother, quieter running with various oils that I assume there must be something to it.
I've found PP 5w30 to be very smooth in my older Accords, but enough folks here have reported PP 0W-20 to be noisy in the K24 that I think this must have some validity.
M1 AFE seems to be the popular local favorite for the K24.
Since your engine seems happy on Ultra, you may have found an oil to stick with.

 

[tig1]

I can't detect any differance in my engines noise or smoothness between new oil and oil with 10K on it.

 

[LeakySeals]

If your engine(s) never get anything else, always the same brand, how can you determine what quiet really is?

 

[buster]

The Honda 2.4 is known to be a bit loud on cold starts. Only two oils have ever silenced it among all the oils I have used: Mobil 1 AFE 0w20/30 and Valvoline MaxLife.

 

[kr_bitog]

I also noticed the same with certain oil, my guess the oil with more zinc and P will quieten a bit the noise. I find Mobil 1 HM did that, and my recent cocktail did that (Amsoil 10w-40 MC oil+PU 5w20+AMsoil SSO+ Mobil 1 HM)

 

[CharBaby]

I too have noticed the differences between OCI's.
Some oil changes seem quieter than the oil that I had removed and other oils seem to make the engine run a bit louder, or as I call it, "audiable"!

I have had oil/filter in for 5K and the engine was quiet(er) the whole time until I changed to another brand, where the engines sounds were now more noticable.

Lately, I have been very happy in regards to quiet engine performance(idle/cruising) with Quaker State Oils...QSUD, DEFY & QSGB, all 5W30.

Quaker State Oils seem to allow the engines(3 different vehicles) to startup, idle & criuse quietely right from the start of an OCI, to when I do my next OCI.

I have been happy with other oil brands/grades as well and I have been neither Pro nor Con of QS oils till lately...I like'em!

 

[artificialist]

I have read numerous posts in the past saying their car did not run well with SL or older Castrol Syntec 10w30 and 5w30 grades.

I never used Castrol Syntec from back then, so I can't comment.