synthetics and conventionals (engine sound)

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wemay

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Does synthetic make an engine more noisy than an equal viscosity conventional? I always thought that if they were of equal viscosity, there would be no appreciable difference. Just wondering.
 
Sometimes, synthetics may make an engine louder, but you would really need a decibel reader for that one. In any case, it shouldn't make a huge difference IMO.
 
Originally Posted By: lawman1909
Sometimes.


Exactly. Firstly, 'synthetic' vs 'conventional', I still assert, is a poor distinction to base anything on courtesy of marketing wizards rendering the terminology useless.

Beyond that, the answer is truly "sometimes"
 
Depends, I think additives play a role as well in acoustics. To be completely honest most oils sound the same in my Honda K24. TGMO I think has been the quietest. The Honda Syn Blend in it now seems to keep racket to a minimum as well, but it has a nice slug of boron. The Honda Blend is the first oil I have used that is not full synthetic. M1 AFE 0w20 is up next, and I have heard good things about it keeping the K24 quiet.
 
All over the site people talk about oils making the engine sound different. Mobil 1 seems to be the big noisemaker. Still a good oil but I've had valve train noise on the past using it so I lean away from it on my car.
 
People often speak of a particular oil making their engine sound louder. In my opinion more engine noise is not a good thing. On this forum people find it acceptable as long as it is their favorite oil causing the noise.

Example, 'yes Mobil 1 makes my engine seem much louder, but its a synthetic which tells me it should be better oil, so this clanging metal to metal grind I am hearing is really just the superior addictive package protecting my engine better.' That isn't a direct quote, but a paraphrasing of what I read here.
 
Originally Posted By: wemay
Does synthetic make an engine more noisy than an equal viscosity conventional?


Not SuperTech!! Quite the opposite!!
 
SuperTech is a fake syn, Merk.
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Ask Arco if you don't believe me.
 
Originally Posted By: CHARLIEBRONSON21
All over the site people talk about oils making the engine sound different. Mobil 1 seems to be the big noisemaker. Still a good oil but I've had valve train noise on the past using it so I lean away from it on my car.


Thats a great screen name you have there. RIP Charles Bronson, total legend.
 
Originally Posted By: Garak
SuperTech is a fake syn, Merk.
wink.gif
Ask Arco if you don't believe me.


Which is why it is quiet
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Saturated HCs "Synthetic" can make an engine noisy due to poor lubricity, polarity, and solvency.
 
I've found sometimes oils of the same grade affect how loud the valvetrain is but I really can't say that synthetics were louder than conventionals. Each oil is different.
Some syns are loud while using others can be less noisy than conventionals,and some conventionals may lend to there being more noise. I don't think the additive package has a whole lot to do with sound absorption but if we have a sound engineer here perhaps they might know.

I think sound absorption is completely dependent on the base oils and the quantity of viscosity index improvers.
If many are used it doesn't take long for them to shear and once permanently sheared more noise is transferred
 
Originally Posted By: Clevy
I don't think the additive package has a whole lot to do with sound absorption but if we have a sound engineer here perhaps they might know.

I would think that a sound engineer and a psychiatrist would be our best resources on this matter.
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Originally Posted By: Garak

I would think that a sound engineer and a psychiatrist would be our best resources on this matter.
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Best line of the day.Lol
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Originally Posted By: lawman1909
Sometimes, synthetics may make an engine louder, but you would really need a decibel reader for that one. In any case, it shouldn't make a huge difference IMO.

Or a wave form analyzer... I'd bet it's really more a matter of sound quality than of overall pressure level.
 
I think a FULL sump makes an engine quieter than when down a quart....though I don't doubt some oils (conventional OR syn) will have some impact as well.
 
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Originally Posted By: route66mike
My engine sounded like Katy Perry after switching to a high HTHS oil. I don't understand it either. Lyrics and all.

If the engine began to look like Katy Perry, you should post pics.
 
Originally Posted By: Benzadmiral
Originally Posted By: route66mike
My engine sounded like Katy Perry after switching to a high HTHS oil. I don't understand it either. Lyrics and all.

If the engine began to look like Katy Perry, you should post pics.

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