Gulf Oil Powertrac 4T Synthetic engine oil review for Hero Xpulse 200: Tested

Gallery Introduction So what has changed?Conclusion

Introduction

It’s been a thousand kilometres since we started running the Hero Xpulse 200 with the Gulf Oil Powertrac 4T Synthetic engine oil. And the differences compared to the stock oil are clear as day.

Now, being fully synthetic in nature, the Powertrac is more expensive than the stock oil Xpulse comes with. But, as far as synthetic oils go, Gulf Oil has priced the Powertrac a lot lower; making it both accessible and tempting.

So what has changed?

The cold start performance of the Xpulse with the Powertrac is much better compared to the stock oil. The engine runs quieter now, and it sounds smoother at idle too. The vibrations have come down at idle as well. Plus, the gear shifts are now lighter and more precise. We are not getting false neutrals anymore, which though not frequent, was still a sporadic occurrence with the stock engine oil.

There’s an improvement even post the warm-up phase. The engine has a smooth run to 5,500rpm now, which was earlier sort of capped at 4,000rpm. What’s more, the engine note is smoother and more refined; the gear shifts remain crisp and light; and even though the vibrations are clearly present higher up in the rev range, these are subdued compared to before.

Finally, we also noticed an improvement in fuel efficiency on our commute. With the stock oil on the same route, the same shift patterns, the same time of the day, and with the same rider, the Xpulse was returning between 37-39kmpl. With Powertrac, that figure jumped to 42-43kmpl. Of the things that haven’t changed with the synthetic oil is the effort in clutch pull or smoothness in engagement. We also haven’t seen a significant difference in top-end performance.

Conclusion

Overall though, it’s certainly been a worthy upgrade. After all, we have seen improvements in various areas, and the cost of the oil isn’t anywhere near unaffordable. Agreed, one can’t perceive the jump in performance if any, the other tangibles - reduced noise, harshness, and vibrations, lighter and crisper gear shifts, and smoother running overall - more than make up for it.

Photography by Kapil Angane and Kaustubh Gandhi