Drinking Oil

[martziniuk]

The running in process and high oil consumption would certainly make sense on mine, it's an ex company car which had covered 79k in 2.5 years, I presume most of this was motorway driving and hence not thrashed. I want the old way of honeing back  

[Nick S]

Whats the top up light?  When my light has come on its been ridiculously low i.e MIN on the dipstick.  I wouldn't wait for this to come on to top up

[Saint Steve]

Not helpfull i know but i neer had to top the Edition 30 up

proberly diluted with Super unleaded mixture then  

I must have a very sick pup,  but normally good on the dyno,  not lacking in power ( if the maps installed of course  ) but will drink 2 litres between annual services.

My cars running in, i wasnt responcible for, but i do know it lived on the motorway for its 1st 17k in 12 months.

[vRStu]

Don't top it right up, as long as it is between the max and min it's fine.

I can't really agree with that.  OK, your method may be fine for trundling up and down straightish roads, but if you are inclined in giving it the beans in the twisties, then endeavoring to keep it topped up to the max is strongly advised.

I don't follow your logic TT.  The Max is a maximum not a target, likewise the Min is the minimum - Anywhere in between is fair game.

[Teutonic_Tamer]

the car has done around 32k miles so easily run in,

Not necessarily so.  If it has been driven like a granny, never going above 4,000rpm for those 32k miles - then it still needs running in.

it's a 57 plate, oil used is castrol edge long life, and it's last service was at 30k, think that's the third service? Like gazbuts3 I always warm the car up for a good 10-15 minutes before I give it a boot, that's if I do that is and also run the car down too. I topped it up with a litre today so gonna keep a good eye on it.

OK, sounds like you know how to treat a car correctly, and sounds like it has been on T&D, but with LL blood.

[Teutonic_Tamer]

Whats the top up light?  When my light has come on its been ridiculously low i.e MIN on the dipstick.  I wouldn't wait for this to come on to top up

Exactly - when it reaches the min, you have effectively lost at least 20% of your lubricant - not good.

[Teutonic_Tamer]

Don't top it right up, as long as it is between the max and min it's fine.

I can't really agree with that.  OK, your method may be fine for trundling up and down straightish roads, but if you are inclined in giving it the beans in the twisties, then endeavoring to keep it topped up to the max is strongly advised.

I don't follow your logic TT.  The Max is a maximum not a target, likewise the Min is the minimum - Anywhere in between is fair game.

Strange logic!  I certainly can not agree that it is 'fair game'.

The engine was specifically designed to run with 4.6 litres in the sump - which is the max on the dipstick.  At the minimum level on the dipstick, there will only be 3.6 litres in the sump - that is a loss of more than 20%!!!  Would you agree that loosing 20% of your engines coolant was acceptable?  Or how about super unleaded, but with a 20% loss of octane rating.  Maybe you like running your tyres with 20% less pressure?  Or maybe how about buying a 200bhp GTI, but with 20% of the power missing.

I'm not questioning the fact that an engine has a dipstick with minimum and maximum levels (usually for lazy sh!ts who CBA to open the bonnet every weekend) - but the minimum (nor anywhere near it) should NEVER be an acceptable way to manage your oil level.


You could ask any professional mech/tech, any race team tech, any engine builder - and they should all state that the oil level needs keeping as close to the max as possible.  I personally get annoyed with myself if I ever need to add more than 250ml to top up.

[vRStu]

I still don't agree TT.  If that engine was designed to run with 4.6 litres in the sump and nothing less, you wouldn't have a max min level would you - You'd just have a level.

I am a professional engineer, so you ask me and I'll tell you I think you're wrong.

[martziniuk]

To be fair TT we're talking within the manufacturers tolerance as far as min/max is concerned. If you're within min/max of the antifreeze, oil etc then it's fine, we're not percentages.

[Pablos007]

I bought mine at around 47k miles and I had to top up with 0.5 litres every 1,500 miles until it hit around 53k - 54k miles.  Since then it hasn't needed topping up!! 

I always warm it up before giving it full throttle, but after that it gets well used on the lanes between home & work, with regular motorway runs most weeks....

[Blake-R]

Ok back onto the old oil thread. So i wanted to see how long it took to drink another litre of oil so again, maybe very stupid but i waited for the oil light to come on (for test purposes) to get an idea of how long it has lasted. So after topping up with a 1ltr bottle of Castrol Edge, i've covered around 1150 miles and the oil light has come on again, this is with a mixture of driving, and always being warmed up and down.

Does this sound normal?.

[MAT ED30]

simple answer no and you should never ever wait for the light to come on as thats telling you its empty and you might end up burning your engine up from oil starvation   

[TonyZed]

simple answer no and you should never ever wait for the light to come on as thats telling you its empty and you might end up burning your engine up from oil starvation   

The oil light is not telling you that it is empty, although it could be. 

It is not an oil level light, it is an oil pressure warning light, which could come on if the oil level was low, but it could come on if the oil was full but the pressure was lost for another reason. It does mean stop driving until you have found the reason it came on. This could be low oil, blocked filter, faulty oil pump or anything else.

Driving without oil pressure can be terminal!!

TonyZ

[MAT ED30]

i would be checking the oil filter is on tight first as i have noticed on some of the cars i have bought in the past they are not tight at all ie crazy loose  

[Pablos007]

i would be checking the oil filter is on tight first as i have noticed on some of the cars i have bought in the past they are not tight at all ie crazy loose  

Mine has stopped using oil since the last service, they noticed that the old filter wasn't fully tightened up!!