Cold start clatter...which oil?

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Unspooled

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Car is a 1994 Acura Integra GS-R, 129k.

After the car has sat for a couple hours (or overnight)the valvetrain runs dry for the first 2-3 seconds of running....It sounds terrible and i'm sure it's not good for it.My roomates 95 GS-R does the same thing, however my old 99 Civic (similar dohc vtec motor) was dead silent on start up.After initial cold start, motor runs great...nice,smooth and quiet.

Currently running Mobile 1 10-30 and a Wix oil filter...have tried Lucas additive in the past and it quieted it down considerably, but seemed to kill engine response so i never put it back in.

I guess my question is which oil/filter combination can i use that will keep lubrication on the top end better, or circulate faster.
 
That's odd. My '95 LS doesn't do that. I do have a bit of what I believe is piston slap in the cold weather though until the engine warms up. Even with the Amsoil filter I had that took a little longer to build up oil pressure, I never had any start-up clatter. Have you always used Wix filters? I'm assuming you're using the 1334, right? You could try the 1356 that's recommended for the RSX and other newer Honda vehicles. It has the same thread and they're interchangeable and it might help with the oil pressure situation.
 
maybe a 5W30 or a 0W30 might help on startup. When I ran 10W40 in my explorer, I noticed a chatter when I was starting up occasionally. Switched back to a 5w30 and its gone.
 
Don't use Lucas, and try a 5w30 or 0w30 oil to improve cold-start flow (not that M1 10w30 is 'bad' in that area).
 
Originally Posted By: ThirdeYe
That's odd. My '95 LS doesn't do that. I do have a bit of what I believe is piston slap in the cold weather though until the engine warms up. Even with the Amsoil filter I had that took a little longer to build up oil pressure, I never had any start-up clatter. Have you always used Wix filters? I'm assuming you're using the 1334, right? You could try the 1356 that's recommended for the RSX and other newer Honda vehicles. It has the same thread and they're interchangeable and it might help with the oil pressure situation.


51334 is the one i think..whatever the Wix book lists...And yeah, iv'e had LS Integra's in the past, and they were silent as well...but these early GS-R's all seem to do it for some reason.....sounds aweful.
 
Originally Posted By: addyguy
Don't use Lucas, and try a 5w30 or 0w30 oil to improve cold-start flow (not that M1 10w30 is 'bad' in that area).


That's the weird part....Lucas is the only thing that has seemed to make it go away...in any case i won't be putting it back in..Heard some bad things about it and it seemingly robs power.
 
Hi,
unspooled - Welome to BITOG - enjoy your stay!

You said this:
"After the car has sat for a couple hours (or overnight)the valvetrain runs dry for the first 2-3 seconds of running....It sounds terrible and i'm sure it's not good for it."

Modern lubricants have more than enough additives to ensure that the valve train is not "dry" in the real terms of this Forum and your question. Wear rates are acceptable across all Brands in this regard if they meet API and or ACEA Quality standards

Some lubricants appear to make the sounds more audible than others and M1 is one of them - there are a number!

Some noises are present because of wear in certain components and some lubricants may "mask" this! The type and location of any noise should be determined!

Many modern valve trains are prone to noise for a few seconds after start up and much attention is given by engine design teams and component suppliers to erradicate it. It appears to be almost impossible in some engine families. This noise does not indicate wear - I must admit though that it is annoying!

Both my Benz and Porsche are noisy at startup and I live in the Tropics - a cold winter start here is around 15C - at present in our summer a "cold" start is around 27C - and the noise persists - its all a case of the technologies involved!!
 
Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
Refill with Valvoline wb and an oem oil filter and I bet your start up noise will go bye-bye.

oem honda filters are Honeywell (fram) now...not too sure it'll be better than a Wix based on what iv'e read on this site...What is valvoline wb?
 
Originally Posted By: Unspooled
Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
Refill with Valvoline wb and an oem oil filter and I bet your start up noise will go bye-bye.

oem honda filters are Honeywell (fram) now...not too sure it'll be better than a Wix based on what iv'e read on this site...What is valvoline wb?


Valvoline wb is just a BITOG psuedonym for Valvoline conventional :^) Wonder if AC Delco makes an oil filter for your car? I`ve always liked those as well.
 
The Wifes GTP has valve train clatter upon start up if I am not using Maxlife. I tried several different oils and weights so if maxlife works, thats what I will use. I do not use Maxlife in anything else.
 
Unspooled,
Although I have a different noise than yourself, my wifes Lexus RX makes a constant ticking noise(like fuel injector ticking) with M-1 5W30(winters only). With any other 5W30 everything is fine. Last year I added for the winter, 2qts of Castrol GTX 5W20 along with my 5W30 and I experienced the same noise. This winter, I used no M-1 and no 5W20 in my mix, only 5W30's(2 PP and 3 dino). No noise at start up nor is there any ticking/tapping of any kind and it's 10-15 deg F in the mornings here lately. I used to experience the noise on the oils mentioned above, at around 50 deg F and below. Needles to say, our 3.0 V6 likes 5W30 & 10W30.
 
It sounds to me that you may have some kind of valve lash adjuster problem. I saw this with a Ford Probe my daughter once had. Only one adjuster was weak.
 
On the engine noise w/certain oils thing,I still had my $12 jug of M1 (rebate jug) laying around so I decided to use it. Upon startup my engine was making kind`ve a metallic banging sound when idling. Engine didn`t wanna rev smoothly over 2500 rpms and was loud as all getout. Didn`t have the intense powerband it always had,so freaking out,I drained it (back into the original jug to use it in all my lawn equipment) and refilled with the leftover Valvoline dino oils I had (various half quarts and such). Engine was purring like a kitten once again :^)

Soooooooo smooth and silent all you hear is the exhaust. No engine noise whatsoever. I was like,what the ****??????? Anyway,no more M1 for me.
 
Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
On the engine noise w/certain oils thing,I still had my $12 jug of M1 (rebate jug) laying around so I decided to use it. Upon startup my engine was making kind`ve a metallic banging sound when idling. Engine didn`t wanna rev smoothly over 2500 rpms and was loud as all getout. Didn`t have the intense powerband it always had,so freaking out,I drained it (back into the original jug to use it in all my lawn equipment) and refilled with the leftover Valvoline dino oils I had (various half quarts and such). Engine was purring like a kitten once again :^)

Soooooooo smooth and silent all you hear is the exhaust. No engine noise whatsoever. I was like,what the ****??????? Anyway,no more M1 for me.


I was gonna add........Syntec 10W30 did that very same thing when I tried it in my 3000GT. Replaced it with a dino 10W30 and everything was back to normal.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: tig1
It sounds to me that you may have some kind of valve lash adjuster problem. I saw this with a Ford Probe my daughter once had. Only one adjuster was weak.


I'll second that. This is a B18C DOHC VTEC Honda engine with manually adjustable valves. I'm guessing it's seen it's fair share of 8,000+ rpm romping!

Before trying to fix things with oil, get the valve lash looked at and corrected if necessary.
 
A different oil filter may solve this. One that has a better anti drainback valve.
I'd use a 5-30, though. It will pump better/faster when cold/cool because it is thinner when cold.
Don't worry about it being thinner - it is still 10-20 times thicker than when hot!
 
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