2 quarts in 5500 miles?

[omniphil]

I know these engines like to burn oil. But 2 quarts in 5500 miles seems a little excessive? This is a daily driver, no track days. I'm not running the car that high up the rpms 99% of the time. Commuting duties have me between 2000 and 3000 rpms most of the time. Car is always run very lightly until its fully warm. I am running the thinner 0W-40 as well.

I don't see anything in the engine bay that appears to be leaking oil, it looks pretty clean and there certainly isn't anything leaking when parked...

My dyno numbers were about 30-35whp low compared to what I have seen so it gets you thinking

[420hp]

Normal, stock up on TWS

[redpriest]

How long does it take you do get to 5500 miles? When I was doing 15k between oil changes (every 4 months), I would usually burn an additional quart to 2 quarts of oil in between.

[omniphil]

Originally Posted by redpriest

How long does it take you do get to 5500 miles? When I was doing 15k between oil changes (every 4 months), I would usually burn an additional quart to 2 quarts of oil in between.

Its almost 3 months of driving... Sep-Nov

My previous oil change Jun-Sep (also with 0W-40) was 6500 miles and I only used 1 quart. Maybe the colder weather?

Its too cold up here for 10W-60, and since I don't track it i'm on 0W-40

[nholmes]

I burned 1qt driving 1900 miles FWIW

[E90M]

Join the club!

[JEllis]

Normal, and I personally believe that part of the issue is the finicky electronic dipstick.

[Groundpilot]

I dont think its normal at all. I track my car and oil level doesnt change between oil changes. I owned e46m3, 135i, e92m3 all since new and non of them needed to add oil . Of course some engines burn more oil than others, but 2quarts in 5,500miles is way too much for these engines

" Oil consumption has many reasons. Let’s go through the most common ones quickly:
•Engine design. Some engines consume oil by design. From day 1. The consumption can be as high as 1 liter per 1000 kms (cca. 1.7 quarts per mile). This depends on the make and model of the engine so if oil consumption matters to you a lot then you are better off asking questions on the forums about it.
•Driving style. RPM affects oil consumption. The higher your usual RPM is the more oil will be consumed. That’s because you put extra pressure on the seals and gaskets and some of the oil finds its way around and gets burned away in the combustion chamber.
•Seal and gasket condition. The more worn they are the more oil will be consumed. What happens is the same thing that I mentioned in the previous section: the oil finds its way around the seals and it gets burned away in the combustion chamber or it simply leaks out.
•Higher-than-normal engine temperature. The hotter your engine runs the thinner your oil will be. Once again it will be simpler for a thin oil to reach the combustion chamber and get mixed and burned with the fuel.
•Too-low viscosity motor oil. If you use an oil with a viscosity below the recommended by the engine manufacturer than you will experience oil consumption for the same reason as presented in the previous section. By viscosity I do not mean SAE viscosity only. The HTHS viscosity also counts. For example you could experience higher oil consumption with a lower HTHS viscosity ACEA A1/B1 oil than with a higher HTHS viscosity ACEA A3/B3 oil.
•Low quality motor oil with high volatility. I mention this as the last one because this is the least common reason. If the oil’s volatility is very high than it could be noticeable in the oil consumption rate.
•There are also numerous other reasons including but not limited to high oil level, the damage or clogging of different engine parts and the fuel contamination of the oil."

[gobuffs]

Standard spec for M engines is burning a whole lot more oil than that. I can't recall exactly but 1 quart/1k miles isn't far from the spec.

You aren't doing your motor any favors by not driving it hard some of the time. An Italian tune up is never bad thing.

[JEllis]

Originally Posted by gobuffs

Standard spec for M engines is burning a whole lot more oil than that. I can't recall exactly but 1 quart/1k miles isn't far from the spec.

You aren't doing your motor any favors by not driving it hard some of the time. An Italian tune up is never bad thing.

Not sure the spec but I think its more like 1qt in 3k miles. Either way, your right, BMWs like to eat oil. At least all the bimmers I own. My 175K mile E36 M3 has eaten oil like crazy since it was basically new.... runs strong though.

[m3spirit]

My experience has been similar to OP. Owned the car since Feb of this year and have run through 2 liters of tws over 5k mi.

[wheatpaste]

It's strange. I find that my car burns a little more oil when I'm doing lots of highway miles and more cruising in medium-low RPM. Never seems to burn oil at or returning from the track, however.

Whether a car burns oil or not is usually based on how well the rings seal in the cylinder bore. This is usually established very early in the initial break-in period (within the first 100 miles or less). Variations in break in procedures help account for the wide variation you see where some cars burn more oil than others.

[omniphil]

Originally Posted by Theodore

OP- What's your experience when you run your car in the higher RPMs for an extended period of time?

It certainly burns even more oil when I do that..

I've had a couple of cars that "Are supposed to burn oil", I guess I just don't understand why they have to ?

All the other modern cars I have had burn next to zero oil even when pushed hard. My lancer evolution was making 400+hp and saw 7000+ rpms on a regular basis with 28 psi of boost, that's got to put a lot of cylinder pressure on the rings. It never burned much oil. Maybe a 1/2 quart over 10,000 miles

I just don't buy into the whole "It's a race engine, it supposed to burn oil" Most cars have engines derived from race cars.

[vsix]

Originally Posted by JEllis

Normal, and I personally believe that part of the issue is the finicky electronic dipstick.

Even though the electronic dipstick isn't that accurate unless it's broken, it at least show's you if your engine is almost empty on oil or not.
As for OP's oil consumption:
I'd say in the range of normal.
But I think what David said, is in some cases correct.
Gasket/Seal condition & low viscosity oil is where to look for when the oil consumption start's to raise significantly.

[Doc Oc]

I have read (and posted) several articles that talked about how using too thin of an oil in high rpm hydraulic lifter engines can cause lifter bleed down which leads to loss of oil and power. I was immediately corrected by the experts here saying it can't happen in the s65 but who knows? Might be worth looking into? 2 qrts in 5500 miles may be acceptable, but its a lot more than my car burns, that's for sure...and I am in the mountains running pretty hard at least once a month.

[omniphil]

Originally Posted by Doc Oc

I have read (and posted) several articles that talked about how using too thin of an oil in high rpm hydraulic lifter engines can cause lifter bleed down which leads to loss of oil and power. I was immediately corrected by the experts here saying it can't happen in the s65 but who knows? Might be worth looking into? 2 qrts in 5500 miles may be acceptable, but its a lot more than my car burns, that's for sure...and I am in the mountains running pretty hard at least once a month.

I can certainly switch to 10-60W on the next oil change. If i get back 30whp from it I would certainly stay on 10W-60

[vsix]

Originally Posted by omniphil

I can certainly switch to 10-60W on the next oil change. If i get back 30whp from it I would certainly stay on 10W-60

Castrol Edge Syth 10W-60 and call it a day

[omniphil]

Originally Posted by vsix

Castrol Edge Syth 10W-60 and call it a day

Until my rod bearings fail from all the cold starts in zero degree weather...

[vsix]

Originally Posted by omniphil

Until my rod bearings fail from all the cold starts in zero degree weather...

drive more, think less

[Dave07997S]

According to BMW acceptable oil loss is 1ltr per 750 miles. I know because my 2011 M3 was going through oil 1ltr @1500 miles and I complained they told me it was in the acceptable range.

[omniphil]

Originally Posted by Dave07997S

According to BMW acceptable oil loss is 1ltr per 750 miles. I know because my 2011 M3 was going through oil 1ltr @1500 miles and I complained they told me it was in the acceptable range.

So does BMW make the rings not seal well intentionally?
Reduces friction at high piston speeds?

[Doc Oc]

Originally Posted by omniphil

I can certainly switch to 10-60W on the next oil change. If i get back 30whp from it I would certainly stay on 10W-60

http://speedtalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=19295

Here's a few people talking about it. Not s65 related, just food for thought. If you Google something like "thin oil and hydraulic lifters" you can find some other sources. Curious to see if you notice any difference!