Why is M1 so noisy?

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Nacho_Z71

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Aug 9, 2006
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Dallas TX
I changed the oil in my Honda a few hours ago. It has 92K miles and has been maintained with M1 synthetic for its entire life. I have always heard valvetrain noise. Specifically, I could hear my lifters clacking away when the car is idling. I always assumed I just needed to get them tightened.

Anyway, I am using Havoline for the first time. I asked on this board a few days ago what ya'll thought of it and it received very favorable reviews. Why did the Havoline quiet my motor so much????
 
I think the Havoline uses Skippy™ smooth PB as a base - which quiets things
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Hard to say, there's some threads here about M1 "noise" but they kinda died out.

Scott
 
If there was something wrong with M-1, then it wouldn't of survived the past quarter century. Some feel the Group IV/III blend has a lesser built-in natural sound barrier. It shouldn't be a big deal to you - since you made a switch to another brand & are happy with it. Or is the louder engine sound a concern to you because you want to return to M-1 at your next oil change???
 
I've never been a real big fan of M1 and haven't used it much. I don't know that it is louder exactly, but I have notice that because it is typically thinner than a similar labled oil, the "other" oil seems to quite the engine down. It doesn't seem to hurt anything as the UOA's with M1 are fine.

And, just because....it must be the GPIII
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Havoline has a lot of moly in it! I have added moly and ZDDP additive to M1 before and they always got quiter. So I suspect it has more to do withthe additive chemistry if the oil's viscosities are about the same.
 
I have had the same problem every once in awhile with M1. My Toyota has the noise sometimes, my wife's Caravan never, and my Ram Hemi rarely.

Just changed to a new batch of M1 5W20 in my Dodge Hemi v8. These are notorious for a "Hemi tick" sound. Immediately after the change, on a hot engine, I noticed the ticking sound fairly clearly. It wasn't there on the previous load of M1. Then I pushed the accelerator to 2,000 rpm and and the ticking went away. Hasn't come back.

I assume the ticking was the hydraulic valve lifter not fully pressurized due to the low pressure of the thin M1. Once I increased the rpm, the pressure increased and filled the lifters.

My speculation is that M1 being kind of thinner than dino oil at low-to-moderate temperature, doesn't pressurize the lifters at low rpm. Hence a lot of valve noise. Some vehicles may be more sensitive to this phenomena due to wider clearances, reduced flow/pressure, etc.

One time added a quart of 5W40 Turbo Truck Diesel to thicken up the M1 5W20 a bit. Seemed to help sometimes.
 
Since only syns can keep an engine clean
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and Halvoline is conventional oil it must be the sludge being created right away making the engine quieter!
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Ok, I have run Mobil 1 and did also notice that every engine I've run it in they did make more noise. Esp with the DOHC motors.

Now, when I have run Castrol Syntec (non GC) in the same weights as mobil 1, the Castrol was quieter.
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And the UOAs did not show Mobil 1 doing anything more than any other oils, so I don't run it. Plus the co$t.

Take care, Bill
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Yep, Same as me.

I used Mobil 1 10w30 Synthetic.. I switched to Castrol Syntec and now my valvetrain is quieter.
 
When I used Mobil1, the City came out and re-zoned my driveway a Class2 industrial enterprise zone because it got so noisy when my car was running....The noise was so bad it upset the garden and the grass in the front lawn too..My azaleas needed headphones the noise was so bad!

THAT'S noisy!
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HAHAHA that post was funny! Anyway, I started my car up this morning for my usual commute and sure enough, the motor sounds so much quieter. Someone here mentioned that maybe it's because of the Grp III switch but I doubt that since I have always heard the valvetrain noise for years. I bought my Honda brand new in 2000 and it has always used M1.

The person that had the Dodge that also noticed the noise sounds very similar to my issue. From idle all the way to about 1,800 RPM the clickity clacking exists. Once I give her some gas and rev it up, it disappears. Anyway, my car has always performed great for years so I don't think that noise has harmed me at all.

I did also plan on going M1 in my Tahoe but I haven't decided yet.Maybe I'll stick to Havoline. As an aside, the GM dealership filled it with Valvoline so I am confused again. Why do they deliver Corvettes with M1 in the crankcase but the Service Dept. uses Valvoline.

Hmmmm. The plot thickens....

Quote:

When I used Mobil1, the City came out and re-zoned my driveway a Class2 industrial enterprise zone because it got so noisy when my car was running....The noise was so bad it upset the garden and the grass in the front lawn too..My azaleas needed headphones the noise was so bad!

THAT'S noisy!
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Click to expand...
 
Here is a post from Terry Dyson on this subject (from 2002):
Quote:

Simple answer for this thread is that M1 is a thinner viscosity in each of the SAE ranges.

The "thickness" and/or density of the fluid directly impacts the sound propagation or transmittance of engine operation to the user.

Moly and other EP adds also quiet things down by stopping metal to metal contact.

Most of the very early OTC syns like M1 were very thin weights relatively speaking ( remember 5w-20 M1) and thus the increased noise levels.

A thick oil or oil made more dense by add levels ( slick 50 with milled PTFE ) really absorb the engine noises and give the incorrect impression of reduced wear and improved or smoother operation.

Another variable is materials used in construction of the engine it self. Roller cams are quieter than a pushrod engine. Thin aluminum oil pan alloys transmit more sound than a thick steel oil pan. Etc.

Click to expand...

Here is the message thread:
http://theoildrop.server101.com/forums/s...=true#Post51836
 
I remember switching from redline to mobil 1 back in '95 and the guy in the stall next to me(Auto Hobby shop in Great Lakes) asked if I forgot the oil when I started it up. It was that much louder. I was used to the noise from regular oil but all he knew was that it was whisper quiet then it rattled.

I guess polyol ester base stocks with all that moly made that 4cyl. quiet.

Also changed a 3cyl Geo Metro to redline and it went from normal cantankerous little thing to dead quiet only really hear the belts whirr. Even my sister in law noticed the noise change.
 
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