Quite a lot / few --- AmericanEng

Hi, do these examples mean the same?

• There were quite a lot of girls.


• There were quite a few girls.

The Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary says: "Quite a lot = a large number or amount," "Quite a few = a fairly large number or amount."

The Longman Advanced Learner's Dictionary says they are exactly the same, a fairly large number or amount.

I read some threads in this forum about quite, and it seems American speakers see quite a lot as more than a lot, a really large amount. So I feel there's some difference between the two examples I wrote. I see quite a lot as a really large number or amount, and quite a few as a fairly large amount.

This is what I think. Do native American speakers feel any differences?

Thank you in advance.