oil usage question - 987 Cayman S - Page 1 - Boxster/Cayman - PistonHeads UK

Hi, Newbie owner here (well, if 4 months is counted as a newbie!). I picked up the Cayman at the end of last year after many years of Chimaera ownership (much to the chagrin of my TVR buddies!). I love it!! To date I have been relying on the automatic oil level indicator on first click ignition. I am now thinking, after 2500 miles of joyous driving (sometimes spirited, sometimes pootling around town, but always enjoyable!) that I haven't really used much oil (after Chimaera ownership the 'oil thing' is a bit of an issue as my Chim loved oil! as the indicator is still showing full. This, of course, may be completely normal and you'll all say 'nah, dont worry, that's what you'd expect'. Can anyone enlighten me or is this another case that each car will be different and I need to just get used to it? Also, if the oil was at the bottom marker of the dipstick how much oil would be required to fill it? I am aware that overfilling is a bad thing. Many thanks for any assistance from the knowledgable types here. J

Oh dear! A short search before I posted may well have saved some time! I think I have my answer....very little oil will be used! Thanks anyway chaps. Happy hooning to you all. http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=109...

Just like you!! but Cayman 2.7 and 17600 on a 2007 when purchased last August.Had a fresh Mobil 5-40 change/filter so that I knew where my history started.Now 1450 Mls covered and NO lights on of low levels--So Enjoy--

The engine may not use a lot of oil. OIl consumption varies based on usage. Lots of idling, and high RPMs can have the engine using some oil. A car used for short trips can appear to not use oil but this can be an illusion. What can happen is because the engine is not gotten hot enough long enough water builds up and this can take the place of the oil that is used. Don't laugh. I had the oil analyzed in my 02 Boxster shortly after I bought the car -- though I had put around 4K miles on it by then -- and found water content was 7%. Over a half a quart of the 9 quarts of "oil" in the engine was water. (This prompted me after some research to switch from the owners manual guideline of 15K mile oil change intervals to 5K miles.) Anyhow, the owner drives blissfully unaware of this for months and a nice sunny day takes the car out and really gets it hot and keeps it hot for a long time -- hours maybe. He checks the oil and finds the level has suddenly dropped quite a bit maybe enough to take a full quart. The engine gets the label of being an oil burner when it is not really using all that much oil averaged over all the miles and operating hours. It reads like you are using the car for more than short trips so the above probably doesn't apply to you. Thus relax. BTW, my 02 Boxster with now over 278K miles uses just 1 quart of oil in 5K miles. So taken care of and with a bit of luck these engines can really go the miles.

Johnniem said: Hi, Newbie owner here (well, if 4 months is counted as a newbie!). I picked up the Cayman at the end of last year after many years of Chimaera ownership (much to the chagrin of my TVR buddies!). I love it!! To date I have been relying on the automatic oil level indicator on first click ignition. I am now thinking, after 2500 miles of joyous driving (sometimes spirited, sometimes pootling around town, but always enjoyable!) that I haven't really used much oil (after Chimaera ownership the 'oil thing' is a bit of an issue as my Chim loved oil! as the indicator is still showing full. This, of course, may be completely normal and you'll all say 'nah, dont worry, that's what you'd expect'. Can anyone enlighten me or is this another case that each car will be different and I need to just get used to it? Also, if the oil was at the bottom marker of the dipstick how much oil would be required to fill it? I am aware that overfilling is a bad thing. Many thanks for any assistance from the knowledgable types here. J Hi Johnniem Like you - I dumped my Chimaera last July after 15 years of enjoyment, and got a 987.2 Boxster. After the crude Tiv, the Boxster is fabulous; and a much better drive than the TVR - I don't feel as though it's trying to kill me every time I boot it. Also like you - I was used to carrying a 5 litre can of oil with me in the TVR and dipping it before every journey, but the Porker comes with a special bag for a 1 litre can in the front; which I have not needed to use so far. Clocked up 3K miles without needing oil, before it's latest service. Enjoy Paul

Well Paul, I miss the Chim like mad (it's the noise of those straight thro' exhausts that can never be beaten really!) but in my view the porsche is easier to drive well, rather than a better drive. Everything takes less effort. I can't say that the Cayman is quicker than my tiv (until one gets to about 90 mph - on the autobahns of course!) but it certainly is more usable power (despite the dramatic drop in low end torque - steepest of hills were easy in 4th in the Tiv but 2nd is a necessity in the Cayman). It really is nice not having to check all levels on every trip tho'! Enjoy the Boxster fella! And get a sports exhaust for it if you don't have one already. I have no idea what sports exhaust I have but it is a loud one and always gives me pleasure to hear it cranking up! J

in 8k miles, my 2007 cayman S dropped one bar on the indicator. (55k miles total)

Johnniem said: Well Paul, I miss the Chim like mad (it's the noise of those straight thro' exhausts that can never be beaten really!) but in my view the porsche is easier to drive well, rather than a better drive. Everything takes less effort. I can't say that the Cayman is quicker than my tiv (until one gets to about 90 mph - on the autobahns of course!) but it certainly is more usable power (despite the dramatic drop in low end torque - steepest of hills were easy in 4th in the Tiv but 2nd is a necessity in the Cayman). It really is nice not having to check all levels on every trip tho'! I agree with all that. I have a Boxster S and a Chimaera at the moment and I'm alternating them at the moment. The Boxster uses no oil and is a doddle to drive quickly, even from relatively cold, no waiting 5 mins for it to warm up a bit. But still, it is an 'event' if you know what I mean to drive the TVR. I actually look forward to taking it out, the torque is tremendous and the noise is gorgeous. One of them will have to give at the end of the year I suppose and I'm still undecided after 5 months!