How much oil use is too much ?

[ledfoot]

I seem to be topping off my oil a lot----05 stock except for Corsa/ High flow--no racing--18 k........Thanks, Dave

 

[Fast Viper]

I use 11.5 quarts during an oil change (every 3,000 miles), and I add a quart after 1,500 miles of hard driving.

 

[Tabs1]

How much oil do you add for how many miles driven?

 

[ulllose]

I use about 1 quart every 1000 miles...........seems like alot if you ask me but....
This is normal street driving, well maybe not normal but not track events

 

[ledfoot]

I'm doing about a quart every 1000 m also----Thats having some fun, but not alot of 5k driving........

 

[kwiksilver]

For a 500 HP engine with 10 cylinders that is NOT using too much oil.

 

[Tabs1]

I agree, sounds within limits. I wonder what Dodge considers the normal range for these cars. Vette engines its 1qt every 1000 miles.

 

[Martin]

That sounds like a lot to me - in my old '97 GTS engine, I don't think it uses more than a few drops of oil between changes. I think the way the car was broken in has a big effect on oil usage later on - is there a thread somewhere from the experts (Mark, Dan and Chuck) that outlines the "best" way to break-in the engine and what might happen if the car isn't broken-in correctly? I did a quick look and didn't see anything for the newest engines.

 

[dave6666]

Is that a Gen 3 thing? My 33K GTS is like the post above - a few drops every 3K miles.

 

[Dom426h]

1qt every 1000miles?? this does not make sense.

It would leave you 5qts low every 5K mile oil change.(aka a Blown up motor)
I dont think many viper/vette owners even check their oil level inbetween changes. Just drop off at the dealership...

 

[dave6666]

1qt every 1000miles?? this does not make sense.

It would leave you 5qts low every 5K mile oil change.(aka a Blown up motor)
I dont think many viper/vette owners even check their oil level inbetween changes. Just drop off at the dealership...

And you think the dealership checks it before they pull the plug?

That does sound weird.

Bringing the high carbon footprint owners out of the shadows with this thread...

 

[Tabs1]

Normal and Normal use for Dodge are 2 different things. I'm used to cars using hardly any oil at all, while on forums you always hear of high oil use threads.

I agree that proper break in is important, you have to vary speed, and rev/decelerate for proper break in. Thankfully I just hit 500 miles on mine and now can enjoy it.

I think oil consumption can also be caused by high revs while the engine is not fully warmed up, It would make sense if the pistons and rings arent expanded a little in those iron liners for there to be some blow bye.. maybe..

 

[Socrates]

My 08' has used very little oil -- I believe I've only added 3/4 of a quart in 6,000 miles.

 

[Newport Viper]

'04 here 1/2 qt. every 3,000 miles

 

[ShadowLight]

I agree, sounds within limits. I wonder what Dodge considers the normal range for these cars. Vette engines its 1qt every 1000 miles.

Not true...some do use oil, but the majority won't use a drop in 3k.

 

[ulllose]

Like I said before I use about 1 quart evey 1000 miles. My car is a 03 and i bought it used with 3k miles on it in 04, so i did not break the car in................

 

[gb66gth]

That does sound like alot. In my '05 I never actually had to add oil between changes, and I put 36K miles on that car in three years. I even checked it fairly often because I tracked the car about every two or three months.

 

[bluesrt]

its just the way it is,no fault in the motors,keeps the rings cool when u run it like a scalded dog,or peterpuffn it,its gona use more than your minivan.all last gen zr-1 corvettes used oil too,they were built to use oil.

 

[Shandon]

In between changes I add about .3572Qrts of oil give or take about .024 or so. I try not to get too detailed about it since the barometric pressure can change the weight at times.

 

[Bandit3]

My 06 uses practically no oil tween changes.

 

[Martin]

Maybe it's within 'the norm' but I'd be pretty upset if my engine was using that much oil... I'm having a hard time counting all the cars I've owned over the years, but I can count on one finger the one that used a quart of oil every thousand miles. That engine had 350k miles on it, and I beat on it pretty bad... And, the oil use was because of shot valve guide seals. I'll tell you this - if my brand new Viper used a quart of oil every thousand miles I'd be pissed... If that much oil is getting past the rings, something just isn't right and I'd be asking for answers. I don't think the EPA would consider that much oil burning to be normal, either.

 

[bluesrt]

this is what dodge will tell yousounds like its runnin right!

 

[SCLSSRT10]

I have been known to use a quart a weekend during the racing weekend so I wouldn't think a qt/1,000 miles is too much. The moral of the story is check your oil on a regular basis. It is also not a bad idea to slightly over fill(1/2 qt)if you are tracking the car while you are at the track.

 

[adamlotus]

maybe try using 15/50 synthic oil than 10/30 it may help a bit.

 

[plumcrazy]

before mine got built and S/C'd (at 48k miles) it never used a drop. now its using a quart in 3000 miles.

and its been driven HARDER than most since i got it with 8500 miles.

 

[ledfoot]

Wow, Were getting a lot of different views...........Help Mr. Wizard

 

[GR8_ASP]

The old 1000 miles per quart has been a reference for eons as a maximum to infer if something is mechanically wrong. It should not be the expected amount any more than you should expect your income to be the minimum wage (I hope you don't).

For my personal reference none of my Vipers has ever used more than 1 qt / 3000 miles unless I was doing track time. Track use increases consumption from by the rings and valve guides and through the PCV system as you should expect. You are going through massive swings in inlet pressures (from WOT accels to high speed closed throttle decels and max G's in every way possible).

 

[Speedfreak]

The old 1000 miles per quart has been a reference for eons as a maximum to infer if something is mechanically wrong. It should not be the expected amount any more than you should expect your income to be the minimum wage (I hope you don't).

For my personal reference none of my Vipers has ever used more than 1 qt / 3000 miles unless I was doing track time. Track use increases consumption from by the rings and valve guides and through the PCV system as you should expect. You are going through massive swings in inlet pressures (from WOT accels to high speed closed throttle decels and max G's in every way possible).

Same here. I have never added oil between changes. Doesn't appear to use any and that is will quite a bit of drag racing too.

 

[Tom F&L GoR]

The OEMs could not tolerate vehicles consuming 1 quart every 1000 miles for two reasons.

Ford was one of the first OEMs to specify 5W20 engine oil. People would run out of oil because they didn't check the dipstick before the normal oil change interval on their new car and this led to warranty costs. The reason they ran out of oil was due to volatility - hot, thin oil evaporated. It wasn't really "consumed." Now there are bench tests for volatility and it has led to partial synthetics or what are called "Group III" base oils that are thinner, yet not volatile. 5W20 oils are "safe" to use. The point is that OEMs don't want

Second is emissions - the EPA isn't that dumb that they allow car companies to cherry pick a new engine for the qualification tests. The engines used have miles/hours on them and high oil consumption will negatively affect the test result.

If you let your Grandma or Grandpa borrow your Viper for 3000 miles, should you have to tell them to check the oil? I don't think so.

 

[KenH]

39K miles and about 15K of those with a SC on my '01 and the oil has never moved from the full mark.