How much oil do you burn between changes?

[phunky.buddha]

I'm used to checking my oil at every time I get gas, but that habit comes from owning an S2000 (manual actually says to check at every gas stop) since it's running over 9k and some oil death is expected plus running a high compression build in my Civic. I torch about a quart of oil every 3-5k in the S2k, but that's expected with VTEC valvetrain and bouncing off the rev limiter all the time.

 

[Jasonjames]

Yep,..all engines must burn some oil. The bore-walls are lubricated and while the oil-ring does scrape some oil back into the pan,..the oil which is above the oil-ring which lubricates the compression-rings, will be burnt to some extent. My feeling about engines which dont *seem* to burn oil [which includes my 1.8 BJII] are probably making up for the slight oil-drop with combustion-contaniments getting into the pan. That's my theory anyway Could be wrong...

JJ

 

[Robotazky]

43,000 miles...

I change my oil regularly and notice some burn. During the hot months it may burn half a quart in 5000 miles. During the winter I don't notice much, if any. FYI, I use Redline 5W-20, so I would expect to burn just a tiny bit more than regular oil, from experience.

I had two Honda Civic Sis, one an '08 and one an '11. They both burned oil. It's part of owning a 4 cylinder and running thinner and thinner oil. As long as I don't see smoke, I don't care.

 

[Old Rotor]

Well it's time to add a quart and It's still a month til it's next service. Last time I brought it in it was a quart low and they said they checked for leaks.....nothing.

 

[qcoffey]

Question for the guys who stated their car doesn't burn any oil, how do you know? Do you actually measure what you take out?

I don't actually measure it, but I do check the dipstick before I drain it and it appears to be at the same level as when I first change it.

With that being said, my wife had a '00 Protege with the 1.6 and it seemed to burn oil in between changes. We were using conventional oil at the time and changing it every 3k. We bought it with about 60k on it and it seemed to run fine. At about 85k I had to change the valve cover gasket and when I pulled that cover I saw some of the worst sludge buildup I have ever encountered. I decided to pull the pan and found a partially clogged pickup and sludge in the pan. After hours of cleaning by hand, flushing and changing the pickup, I switched to synthetic. Didn't have any issues after that.

Every car since then has had nothing but synthetic.

 

[Old Rotor]

I decided not to add oil and made an apointment for a oil&filter at the Mazda dealer on Halloween.

 

[mazdadude]

Remember to give the service writer the sample container for the Blackstone labs oil analysis!

 

[Old Rotor]

Yes I will and then see what it tells me about the health of my engine.......I need to get another one to check my RX in Jan too.

 

[Old Rotor]

I had the dealer see it was a quart down when it was in for a change. He said lets put 5W20 in and see how long it takes to go threw a qt. I had him get me the oil sample and sent it to Blackstone today.

 

[Robotazky]

I had the dealer see it was a quart down when it was in for a change. He said lets put 5W20 in and see how long it takes to go threw a qt. I had him get me the oil sample and sent it to Blackstone today.

Can't wait to hear the results of the oil analysis. I thought you were already using 5W-20. (?)

 

[Old Rotor]

I had the dealer put 10w30 the last time to see if it made any difference in consumption.

 

[Old Rotor]

It came back with no bad marks.....could have added a quart of oil and went the full 7.5K miles is what it says.

 

[thaxman]

I don't actually measure it, but I do check the dipstick before I drain it and it appears to be at the same level as when I first change it.

With that being said, my wife had a '00 Protege with the 1.6 and it seemed to burn oil in between changes. We were using conventional oil at the time and changing it every 3k. We bought it with about 60k on it and it seemed to run fine. At about 85k I had to change the valve cover gasket and when I pulled that cover I saw some of the worst sludge buildup I have ever encountered. I decided to pull the pan and found a partially clogged pickup and sludge in the pan. After hours of cleaning by hand, flushing and changing the pickup, I switched to synthetic. Didn't have any issues after that.

Every car since then has had nothing but synthetic.

There's always a risk when buying used. Hope you got the "I never changed the oil" mark down when you bought that Protege.

 

[Silentnoise713]

It came back with no bad marks.....could have added a quart of oil and went the full 7.5K miles is what it says.

Could you post the results sheet from Blackstone? You were using Mazda oil (full synthetic), correct? Thanks.