Oil usage-fixed for 7$

As you guys know, my car has used a qt every thousand miles( no smoke/no drops) like clockwork. Took it to the dealer three times, they said it was 'normal', I said it may be common, but it ain't normal. I made them put it in my service record every time. A couple of months ago I was fed up with the oil usage, so I dumped in a can of STP oil treatment, can't hurt, right? Well, I'm only down 1 bar after about 2k miles and counting, I always ran 5w30, maybe I should just run a heavier weight all together. FWIW, my significant oil usage has seemed to stop. Fingers crossed.

Your oil might be too viscous to pump up your lifters in the winter.

Ya think?

In NY especailly you want the 0W oil. Any reason why you haven't been running the 0W-40 Chris? That very well might fix your problem.

I hate to brag, but between my first oil change at 9000 miles and yesterday when I brought it in for the 15K service I have used excatly 1 (one) quart of oil. During the break-in period I used 1 quart per 1000 miles.

Curious why you're running 5-30 as well...I know it's more common, but why not stick with the recommended grade?

I hear the AMSOIL synthetics have "anti-frothing" properties that cause it to burn less oil...

I don't understand how anti-frothing properties cause an engine to burn less oil. You certainly don't want your oil to froth since its lubricating capabilities will be diminished. Also I don't understand how burning a quart of oil every thousand miles can be conssidered to be normal. Yet I hear the comment being made by SAs all the time. Hell I had a Toyota Corolla with 275K miles that burned about a quart every 700 miles, but at least the mechanic told me that I needed to either do an engine rebuild or to use STP oil treatment. He din't tell me that it was normal.

All high grade synthetics have all kinds of additives including anti frothing. I would run 0w40 and if you want run 10w50 in the summer. All STP did was kick you up to to probablly 10w40. I would not mix brands of anything reguarding oil in the off chance that the additives are incompatable.

so your saying a using a thicker grade oil will burn less?

A thicker grade will burn less since less will seep past the rings (and any other sources of leakage).

i have afeeling that this topic is getting out of the way..... we do not decide the viscocity of the oil..... wheather and engine conditions does.... i.e. very hot temperatures (as well as worn engines) ....means thicher oil and cold weathers and new engines means thicker oils.... you reccomended oils for the car you are using, at the appropriate climate conditions and then check the oil consumption of the car.... an extra litre or 2 of oil used more between oil changes is not a big deal.....a badly maintained engine is....of course that's my opinion..... to keep the topic on though i would say something else..... personally i insist on grades of the oil and try to use the excact oil grade needed.... although oil make is a very big issue for me.... on my 964 C2 92 I started using 10W-40 Mobil 1, oil when the car had 35.000 kilometers.....I ended up usind 15W-50 Torco Oil @ 425.000 klms on the clock....I am totally happy with the Torco... now on my 996 C2 01 using 0W-40 Mobil 1.....will try Torco again.....

I live in NY and use 0w40 Mobil 1 all year round and change the oil every 5k. Never added any oil yet at 16k.

My 02 uses almost no oil too. But, a day on the track....that's a different story. Like many 996's when driven hard they do burn oil and I have been told that is normal. Under certain conditions mine will smoke upon start up after very hard driving and return to almost zero oil consumption under normal driving.

Dave, I concer exactly with your take on the oil usage. I have have about the same experience. I think that if you take the necessary cool down lap(s), try not to use your brakes, then the "puffer" is much less likely to smoke and/or use oil. But I'm still in the "investigation" phase on this and only time will tell. But tell me, have you ever used a product like an oil additive such as STP?

I have used no additives in the oil. Also I am not sure if the cool down lap really helps much for the "puffing" on restart. I'm not saying the cool down won't work, it might, I am just not sure. For a while I thought the problem was too much off throttle (ie engine braking) at high rpm but I am now leaning toward wot in the 4000-5000 rpm range as being the culprit. This is just a thought and I have not tested it out enough to draw any conclusions. But it is unsettling to restart the car and have it blow smoke and I do have a problem accepting the common wisdom that "it's normal". My son says gee dad my VW doesn't do that. How much did you pay for your car again?

C4S Surgeon, you might try Mobil1 5w40 Truck & SUV. It's significantly thicker than 0w40 and is Porsche approved for temps over -12�F. The viscosity at 100�F is 102 vs. 80 for 0w40.

ebaker... thx for posting that info on 5W40.... I think that is what we need up here in Canada; I wonder how thick it is compared to 10w40.?

My 2002 C2 also burns 1 quart every 1,000 to 1,200 miles. There is no leaking. I drive the car almost exclusively on canyon roads running between 4000 to 5000 rpm. I have always assumed that this was normal for this type of engine? Maybe one day, I will take it out for a long drive at low rpm and see what it does. Porsche says that 1 quart in 600 miles is the maximum oil consumption? Go figure, my old 71 MGB can do less then a quart in 3000 miles running very hard. That engine has well over 75,000 miles since rebuild, where as the Porsche has only 27k on it. Tom L

Hmmm... I was thinking about this... The Porsche engine is horizontal, so it is different than the MG in that there can be some oil resting behind the piston when the engine is stationary. Different driving conditions will produce different temperatures, and different ambient temperatures will affect cooling rates. Not all components will expand/contract at the same rate. It seems to me that under some of those conditions the seal between the piston ring and the cylinder wall will be less than perfect, and some oil will make its way into the combustion process. The gap in the ring can be near the bottom on some cylinders too, also contributing to leakage. Just my musings on the topic.

Lee, already hitting the bottle? Or just bored?

Tom, what type of oil are you using....? You should try something like AMSOIL 10W40 and see if you still have the same burn rate... I've heard that AMSOIL doesn't burn as fast as mobil 1 but I have yet to put this theory to the test.

The MG/Porsche thing was only a shot at old technology vs. new. Yes, they are completely different engines. Just thought that the German engineering might have come a little further since WWII. I run 0/40 wt Mobil One. Seems kind of odd that the owners manual calls for something different? Seems kind of stupid that I carry an extra quart of oil in my 2002 P-car. The only other vehicle that burns more oil is my 1939 Ford 9N Tractor. However, the 9N, unlike the P-car, is great for mosquito abatement. Tom L

When did 0w40 hit the market? Can it be that the owners manual recommends 10w40 on for the 2000 models just because 0w40 was not out then? But... 5w40 was available then, why not recommend it? Actually I think it might... for ambient temps below 40. I'd have to read it again to remember. Porsche has created a lot of confusion with it's blanket recommendation for 0w40. Wish they would take a minute to clarify.

Mobil One 0/40wt is not in my 2002 owners manual. All the dealers here in SoCal use 0/40wt. I quess this is probably a good recomendation in case we encounter another ice age??? By the way, just so we don't lose track of the original thread, I would not even put STP in my 1939 9N Tractor. Tom L

I have to agree with Tom on using STP additives specifically with synthetic oil.... even though Mobil does not state it on their website AMSOIL specifically advises *against* using oil additives....

Mobil 1 makes a 15w-50, you could run in the summer, It might slow down oil consumption, and you would not have to add STP to you Porsche.