R u guys burning oil?

[mgrych]

I changed the oil about 3 months ago, put on about 1000 miles and check it about every week. I know it doesn't leak, but it has went from the full end of good, to the middle, to the +1qt in that time.

Can anyone throw out some input?

[Sfvalley135i]

check your coolant reservoir and report back what color fluid you see.

[mgrych]

Coolant is a pale transparent green, nothing weird there..

[mgrych]

mileage is 68k... No smoke that I know of

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by Ian///M

Some cars use oil others don't .... Quart in 1000 miles is excessive. What is your car's mileage? Does it smoke?

Actually that is not excessive oil consumption.

BMW says using up to 1L in 1,000 kms is normal. (or 1qt in 600 miles)

IF you drive your car hard, your engine will use oil. IF your cruising around and low rev-ing the engine, you will go longer without needing oil.

[Groundpilot]

In all my bmw cars, e46m3, and now 135i and e92m3, i never have to add oil at all after oil change(i change it myself). All 3 cars are driven hard on the track(e46m3 in the past). But again, all of them were new when i got them, and i was very carefull during brake in period. I think how you brake in the brand new engine makes the difference.

[Sfvalley135i]

if your coolant is fine, Id bet your turbo is leaking but cats are cleaning the air... so you dont see any smoke...

[Zombie1]

Car never burns oil for me thankfully.

[dcaron9999]

Originally Posted by mgrych

I changed the oil about 3 months ago, put on about 1000 miles and check it about every week. I know it doesn't leak, but it has went from the full end of good, to the middle, to the +1qt in that time.

Can anyone throw out some input?

What brand of oil are you using? What viscosity do you use?
N54 or N55 engine?

I track my N55 a lot, use Castrol 0W40 European Formula, and have noticed a pattern.

When the oil starts breaking down after several hard days at the track, I noticed that the viscosity tends to get thinner. The oil gauge may then start indicating 1/4 - 1/2 liter missing. If I top off the oil to indicate a full condition again, I may get another low oil condition again soon thereafter (1-3 weeks of errands).

This pattern starts happening maybe after 5000 Kms on the same oil refill. When I replace my engine oil, the slight consumption stops completely.

I noticed the old oil is thinner than the new oil. I never ran a UOA to truly determine whether my older oil was still good for more mileage...

Food for thought ....

Thanks to our wonderful e-dipstick, their is no way to monitor precise consumption of oil.

[mgrych]

It's a 2008 N54 has all the mods I have listed below, I drive very spiritedly, use Mobil 1---0W-40 European formula

[cheshirecat79]

Originally Posted by Dackelone

Actually that is not excessive oil consumption.
BMW says using up to 1L in 1,000 kms is normal. (or 1qt in 600 miles)
IF you drive your car hard, your engine will use oil. IF your cruising around and low rev-ing the engine, you will go longer without needing oil.

I don't see how this would be the case, as the oil could be depleted before the recommended change interval. 1qt per 600 mi is pretty insane.

Just seems like those two things would be at odds with one another.

[PeteA]

ALL cars burn some oil especially in the upper RPM range. You just need to guage how much is 'normal' for your engine. My 135i burns next to a neglidgeable amount but I change the oil every 5000kms and I don't exactly measure it to the milliliter. 1L every 1000kms sounds a bit off to me as well.

[Biggs07]

I just added 1 quart to mine. 5k miles into this oil change. I run amsoil 5-40.

[Freon]

My car ate about a quart over 1500-2000 miles during a stretch when I went to several autocrosses in a row.

However, when I'm not racing at all I use no oil that I can tell. I still get on the car occasionally, but I almost never go over 4500rpm or so.

[mgrych]

I put her to the floor almost daily...

[TJ710]

I just had to put a quart in mine. The car hasn't had an oil change since December. I'm guessing about 6,000 miles ago. I bough the car in March with 42,000. Now I'm at 46,600.

[JS135]

Same happened to me. Dealer just replaced oil level sensor last week for me under warranty.

[dcaron9999]

I changed my oil again yesterday. I track my Cobb Stage 1 agressive tuned N55 a lot, use Castrol 0W40 European Formula, and have confirmed a pattern.

When the oil starts breaking down or subjected to overheating after several hard days at the track, I noticed that the viscosity tends to get thinner. The engine starts to consume oil. The digital oil gauge may then start indicating 1/4 - 1/2 pint/liter missing. If I top off the oil to reach a "full" condition again, I get another low oil condition again soon thereafter (5 days of errands).

This pattern starts happening maybe after 3000 Kms on the same oil refill. When I replace my engine oil, the slight consumption stops completely.

I noticed the old oil is water thin when I drain it. I think that the N55 gets so hot at the track that it breaks down the oil more quickly.

[cbl117]

You may want to check your spark plug sockets or around your valve cover for oil. I was comsuming oil and it turned out to be a cracked valve cover.

[Kabnine]

My friend was using a considerable amount of oil. He was using Castrol. I told him I didn't use any between my 5000km changes (I don't care what the condition based servicing says, I change at 5000km).

He switched over to Liqui Moly Toptec 4100 as well, and hasn't moved off of High.

I also contacted the manufacturer to make sure it was suitable for E85 applications.

[2kredz3]

Iv seen a pattern with mobil 1 0w40 and burning oil...might try a 5w40 ;-)

[ShocknAwe]

I have some oil consumption in the hot months and none at all when it's cooler out (sub 85 degrees). Rate of consumption seems to be ~1L/2000-3000 miles.