Fresh Oil Feeling

[ging84]

Just changed my oil, and once again i get the nice feeling of everything running smoother and better, maybe a bit more power etc.
Everything i understand about oil and engines says it should make no measurable difference to anything, best i should be able to expect is a slightly smoother noise, but it seems to make so much more difference than that.

So is it all placebo or can changing the oil really improve a car's running even when it has been maintained properly?

[Ari]

Same thing happens after giving the car a really good clean.

[Fartgalen]

Same thing happens after giving the car a really good thrash.

[Eighteeteewhy]

New tyres also.

[Ari]

Fartgalen said:

Same thing happens after giving the car a really good thrash.

To be fair, that one sometimes works in reality as it clears out some of the st.

My partner is one of the most gentle drivers I know. Whenever I drive her car (Golf diesel) once it's warmed up fully I always give it at least one full throttle run up to the red line. You should see the crap that billows out of the exhaust! After that it's fine again. Full throttle, no smoke.

I could imagine after a year of her driving with no intervention it'd be pretty gummed up and respond positively to an "Italian tune up"!

[E38Ross]

in reality it shouldn't make any difference if it's serviced regularly, but i always get a nice warm feeling when the car has had some loving

[Ari]

Sod the car, I get a nicer warmer feeling when I've had some loving!

[mollytherocker]

Total placebo effect!

[MJK 24]

mollytherocker said:

Total placebo effect!

Sort of. If you start the engine for the first time after your oil change with the door open and bonnet up, for the first second or two, it'll sound a bit rough as it builds oil pressure. As soon as it is up to pressure, they then sound much smoother than a second previously. I think this is why people say the engine sounds better after an oil change

[vit4]

Fartgalen said:

Same thing happens after giving the car a really good thrash.

When I first got my Astra it had spent its life around town & cold. Ran like a bag of nails. Spent 20 minutes caning it around the lanes, it burped and ran like new!

[FRA53R]

I'm looking forward to this phenomenon along with a new cambelt feeling, which given the price differential should feel about 7 times better

[ging84]

FRA53R said:

I'm looking forward to this phenomenon along with a new cambelt feeling, which given the price differential should feel about 7 times better

New cambelt feeling is different, you no longer feel if i rev this near the red line it may be the last time i do
Although it takes a few tries to kick in, as the first times you are feeling do i really trust those mechanics / myself to have not fked it up

[FRA53R]

ging84 said:

New cambelt feeling is different, you no longer feel if i rev this near the red line it may be the last time i do
Although it takes a few tries to kick in, as the first times you are feeling do i really trust those mechanics / myself to have not fked it up

Lol I look forward to it, hopefully should be done Monday I will be prodding the loud pedal a little gingerly at first.

[0a]

Now try putting the back seats down - it transforms the performance!

[Tc24]

I was placebo'd to high heaven after recently having a full service including new oil, filters, gearbox oil and adjusted valve clearances. Was like a new car in my head!

[Ozzie Osmond]

The more you spend - the better it feels!

[inman999]

I don't think it's a placebo. SWMBO put her car (Alfa GTV) in for the MOT and it failed on the emissions, not by much but it failed. She was given the teeth sucking, £800 for a new cat and lambda sensor. Anyway, luckily she didn't pay and Zoobeef gave it the once over air filter, oil, oil filter, plugs, redex and V power and it passed no problem, it didn't even scrape though. So for a few quids worth of service parts (which it needed anyway) its back on the road for another year.

[Si_steve]

I have the fresh timing belt/water pump/oil/filters/plugs feeling as of yesterday. I can confirm that after all that....a 1.8 astra is still slow

The saab on the other hand responds quite well to new plugs and oil every 6k.

[morgrp]

Quality, fresh oil makes a massive difference to the running of a car

[delmatt]

Fresh oil does without doubt sound better than old oil. I can tell in two of my three different cars when it needs the oil changing. K-series Caterham definitely. Volvo s80 Same. Boxster 3.2s it makes no difference at all for some reason.