Oil?

When I bought my 08 Cayman in August, the salesman told me I would probably need to add a quart of oil at 3000 miles. Is this the case?

Possibly, your car will burn more oil when the engine is not yet fully broken in, and it will continue to do so forever if severely abused before the break in period. This is a result of piston rings seating, and seals melding with moving parts.

Lots of discussions about this. I have 15,000 miles on mine now and I've never had to add a drop of oil. I changed my oil at 10,000 miles. I just completed a 2,500 ride to, from and around Atlanta. According to my oil level indicator, I have more oil in my engine now than when I started that ride.... (A known anomally caused by the oil level indicators temperature compensation, condensations, and so on. Nothing to worry about.)

Have had to add about 1qt in 4000 miles, but on the trip down and back from Atlanta, I haven't had to add anything.

Given no dipstick and sequence to check oil, does the Cayman have any warning if your oil gets below minimum?

Yes, it does... a red warning will come onto your display in your tach. You know, this and other even more scintillating information can be found in your owner's manual... check it out! You should remember to check your oil once a week. brad

Is the oil measurement display that shows when you turn the key on but not starting engine accurate? I check this everyday when I first go to start the car.

I've added over a quart in the first 4,500 miles. But, that includes five track days a one car control clinic. I'm sure the track events have caused some excessive oil use.

An engineer at the dealer told me that I'd better start the engine first, then turn it off again and take the measurement. Dunno if its right or not! ________________________ "Sir! We're surrounded!" - "Excellent! We can shoot in any direction!" A good car will get you from point A to point B. A great car... will just get you into trouble!

yes it is. Take the measurement before you start the car... when you start the car, much of the oil in the sump will be pumped out into the motor, and you'll have to wait a long time (sometimes as long as 30 minutes) for the oil to return to the sump to get an accurate measurement. best way to get an accurate measurement is to take a reading before you start the car for the first time on any given day, after it has been sitting all night. Make sure you're on a level surface - if its not, it can very much effect the accuracy of the reading. brad

Bad "engineer". He was wrong.

The owner's manual says that some oil consumption can be expected during the break-in period. This is absolutely normal, although the amount seems to vary from one car to another. My CS consumed 3/4 quart of oil during the first 2000 miles and another 1/4 quart during the next 2000 miles.

The usual time to check oil level is to carry out the check with the engine still warm and around 5 minutes after switching off, always on a level surface. This allows for the oil to drain down while everything is hot. Remember that both oil and metal expand with heat and your engine runs most of it's life hot. If you do the check cold it will often indicate low so if it's 1 line below the top mark don't be in too much of a hurry to top up, you may be overfilling.

My 2006 CS delivered 01-14-06 has almost 17k miles, close to 30 track days, and several autocrosses. No oil added between annual end of season oil changes.