They certainly can
Can Engines Run Quiet With Thin Oil ?
- Thread starter Merkava_4
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Yes they can.
2005 Honda Civic - 230k miles - Pennzoil conventional 5w20
2003 Acura 3.2TL - 130k miles - Napa Synthetic 5w20
2011 Honda Fit - 70k miles - Pennzoil Platinum 0w20
2006 Honda Civic - 220k miles - Pennzoil conventional 5w20
2008 Honda Civic - 120k miles - Napa 5w20
2009 Ford Escape - 90k miles - Supertech 5w20
These are all family/friends vehicles I service that require a 20 weight oil, they are all very quiet.
2005 Honda Civic - 230k miles - Pennzoil conventional 5w20
2003 Acura 3.2TL - 130k miles - Napa Synthetic 5w20
2011 Honda Fit - 70k miles - Pennzoil Platinum 0w20
2006 Honda Civic - 220k miles - Pennzoil conventional 5w20
2008 Honda Civic - 120k miles - Napa 5w20
2009 Ford Escape - 90k miles - Supertech 5w20
These are all family/friends vehicles I service that require a 20 weight oil, they are all very quiet.
My Canyon 2.5 is super quiet with the Magnatec 0w20 in it.
Really just depends on the motor. Older Volvo we had hated everything but 20w50 (don't skin me car had 290k miles and motor was warn) but it was dead silent and I mean dead silent. More then a few times I would run into a buddy at the gas station and we sat on the hood and talked while it was running then I would shut it off after a few mins and almost always got a comment along the lines of "never even knew it was running".
01 Silverado could have ran on dish soap and not died but it was a loud trunk. Regal likes thin oil which is a first for me.
01 Silverado could have ran on dish soap and not died but it was a loud trunk. Regal likes thin oil which is a first for me.
My old Ford has valvetrain noise with any oil, even on goopy dino 20w50
I had a friend when I was a teenager. He had an old Galaxie with the 390. He knew when to add oil when the valvetrain was ticking!
I also remember seeing another 390 in a demolition derby. The guy got hit and pushed up against a wall. He didn't have a workeable reverse, so he just floored the accelerator until the engine got so hot it caught fire and seized. By the end of the "contest", he had been knocked away from the wall. He tried the starter. The engine started smoothly, immediately, and he drove out of the arena, like he was going to work. I don't know what this means, but I was impressed enough to remember it 40 years later!
I also remember seeing another 390 in a demolition derby. The guy got hit and pushed up against a wall. He didn't have a workeable reverse, so he just floored the accelerator until the engine got so hot it caught fire and seized. By the end of the "contest", he had been knocked away from the wall. He tried the starter. The engine started smoothly, immediately, and he drove out of the arena, like he was going to work. I don't know what this means, but I was impressed enough to remember it 40 years later!
I noticed my 98 Camry with 200 K being very quiet with 10 W 40 Valvoline HM semi synthetic. My 08 V6 Camry is very quiet on Mobil 1 5 W 30.
My 2002 F150 is quiet with whatever 5w-20 is in it. I had a little bit of start up noise when using Valvoline Maxlife 5w-20, but after startup it was quiet. With the Havoline 5w-20 HM in it now, no startup noise and idles quietly. The A/C compressor makes more noise than the motor.
My Scion is also quiet with xw-20 (Toyota, Pennzoil Platinum, Auto Zone Syn).
My sisters Kia has the same noise (almost none) with 5w-20 and 5w-30.
My brother in laws '04 F150 makes noise with 5w-20, but his is a 5.4 that have noise issues (and I think is is due for phasers, VCT and timing chain replacement).
My Scion is also quiet with xw-20 (Toyota, Pennzoil Platinum, Auto Zone Syn).
My sisters Kia has the same noise (almost none) with 5w-20 and 5w-30.
My brother in laws '04 F150 makes noise with 5w-20, but his is a 5.4 that have noise issues (and I think is is due for phasers, VCT and timing chain replacement).
I think M1 changed its brew again, the last few OCIs no more noisy startups.
My sienna that is spec'd for 5w30 runs noticeably smoother and quieter on 0w20. Switched it to 5w40 and it runs a bit more sluggish and about the same noise.
+1
It's more the sound insulation and the engine mounts that make an engine seem smooth and quiet than it is any oil.
Merc and I share '12 K24 Accords with, IIRC, similar miles on them.
The engine is virtually silent from inside the car unless you really crank it hard.
Standing outside the car with the engine idling is a different story. Our old 1.5 Civics were smoother and quieter.
The same is true for our pair of Subarus, although the '09 is currently running the high HTHS M1 HM 10W-30 which does calm it down.
The '17 sounds pretty much like any 2.5 Subie and not really any different from the earlier timing belt 2.5s.
The old 2.2s were much smoother, just as our old 2.2 and 2.3 Accords were noticeably smoother than the 2.4.
It's more the sound insulation and the engine mounts that make an engine seem smooth and quiet than it is any oil.
Merc and I share '12 K24 Accords with, IIRC, similar miles on them.
The engine is virtually silent from inside the car unless you really crank it hard.
Standing outside the car with the engine idling is a different story. Our old 1.5 Civics were smoother and quieter.
The same is true for our pair of Subarus, although the '09 is currently running the high HTHS M1 HM 10W-30 which does calm it down.
The '17 sounds pretty much like any 2.5 Subie and not really any different from the earlier timing belt 2.5s.
The old 2.2s were much smoother, just as our old 2.2 and 2.3 Accords were noticeably smoother than the 2.4.
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Originally Posted By: LeakySeals
I think M1 changed its brew again, the last few OCIs no more noisy startups.
And the current uoa's are also better. No more high iron #s.
I think M1 changed its brew again, the last few OCIs no more noisy startups.
And the current uoa's are also better. No more high iron #s.
Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
Originally Posted By: LeakySeals
I think M1 changed its brew again, the last few OCIs no more noisy startups.
And the current uoa's are also better. No more high iron #s.
I never noticed High iron with M1 0-20.
Originally Posted By: LeakySeals
I think M1 changed its brew again, the last few OCIs no more noisy startups.
And the current uoa's are also better. No more high iron #s.
I never noticed High iron with M1 0-20.
Originally Posted By: fdcg27
+1
It's more the sound insulation and the engine mounts that make an engine seem smooth and quiet than it is any oil.
Merc and I share '12 K24 Accords with, IIRC, similar miles on them.
The engine is virtually silent from inside the car unless you really crank it hard.
Standing outside the car with the engine idling is a different story. Our old 1.5 Civics were smoother and quieter.
The same is true for our pair of Subarus, although the '09 is currently running the high HTHS M1 HM 10W-30 which does calm it down.
The '17 sounds pretty much like any 2.5 Subie and not really any different from the earlier timing belt 2.5s.
The old 2.2s were much smoother, just as our old 2.2 and 2.3 Accords were noticeably smoother than the 2.4.
My wife and I had the same basic engine in our vehicles for quite a while, 3.5l V6 in her Avalon and my RAV4, and I was always amazed by the difference in sound between the two.
Her car always seemed to be humming to me...maybe a pretty loud hum when I really got on it (which she never did), but always very muted. The RAV4 would roar pretty good when I took off, certainly not like an American V8 but a totally different sound than the Avalon. I know that the transmissions were different as she had a manual shift option that I really wish I had in the RAV4 (that thing would sometimes refuse to shift down going up hills), but I don't think that was really contributing to the noise difference. The Avalon was marketed as sort of an entry level luxury car and I suspect Toyota went to some pains to keep it quiet. Her car also had totally numb steering that I really didn't like, but the wife thought it was great because it was almost zero effort. There was nothing luxury about the RAV4 and I'm not even sure that they marketed the V6 option at all, not many people knew that there was a performance version of that little SUV. I know that the "RAV6" was unpopular with many dealers as they felt it stole sales away from the Lexus RX350 and the V6 option was eliminated with the RAV4 redesign a few years ago.
+1
It's more the sound insulation and the engine mounts that make an engine seem smooth and quiet than it is any oil.
Merc and I share '12 K24 Accords with, IIRC, similar miles on them.
The engine is virtually silent from inside the car unless you really crank it hard.
Standing outside the car with the engine idling is a different story. Our old 1.5 Civics were smoother and quieter.
The same is true for our pair of Subarus, although the '09 is currently running the high HTHS M1 HM 10W-30 which does calm it down.
The '17 sounds pretty much like any 2.5 Subie and not really any different from the earlier timing belt 2.5s.
The old 2.2s were much smoother, just as our old 2.2 and 2.3 Accords were noticeably smoother than the 2.4.
My wife and I had the same basic engine in our vehicles for quite a while, 3.5l V6 in her Avalon and my RAV4, and I was always amazed by the difference in sound between the two.
Her car always seemed to be humming to me...maybe a pretty loud hum when I really got on it (which she never did), but always very muted. The RAV4 would roar pretty good when I took off, certainly not like an American V8 but a totally different sound than the Avalon. I know that the transmissions were different as she had a manual shift option that I really wish I had in the RAV4 (that thing would sometimes refuse to shift down going up hills), but I don't think that was really contributing to the noise difference. The Avalon was marketed as sort of an entry level luxury car and I suspect Toyota went to some pains to keep it quiet. Her car also had totally numb steering that I really didn't like, but the wife thought it was great because it was almost zero effort. There was nothing luxury about the RAV4 and I'm not even sure that they marketed the V6 option at all, not many people knew that there was a performance version of that little SUV. I know that the "RAV6" was unpopular with many dealers as they felt it stole sales away from the Lexus RX350 and the V6 option was eliminated with the RAV4 redesign a few years ago.
Yes. I ran my '02 Mustang on 5W-30 when I first got it. I moved to 5W-20 and it's noticeably quieter at idle. Now the exhaust is louder, so I guess it doesn't matter.
I also have that V6 RAV4 and it's fun to drive. It has some cold engine noise though, probably piston slap. i tried different oils and could not detect a difference. the noise is worse on fresh oil, though. I did find a reference some time ago showing 10W30 oil better for piston slap noise compared to 5W20 and 20W50, and this is what I'm using in that car. So, thicker is not always better.
Design and materials. I've seen thicker oil quiet a noisy valve train, I've never seen a thin oil quiet down an engine. It's design, block material, and sound damping with different materials in the engine bay.
Another big factor is that new vehicles have the engine bay closed off underneath for airflow and mpg. That blocks sound that would otherwise reflect off pavement
Another big factor is that new vehicles have the engine bay closed off underneath for airflow and mpg. That blocks sound that would otherwise reflect off pavement
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