Is the dealer tech right in saying my car SHOULD burn oil?

[SVTHorsnake]

The oil level light comes on about every 3000 miles. The dealer is telling me the TT's burn more oil than other models. To me, this sounds like a problem. It's got 10,000 miles on it. Should I expect this much oil burning? Am I wrong?

[White987S]

That's within Porsche's spec. You are fine.

[SVTHorsnake]

That's within Porsche's spec. You are fine.

good to hear. Thanks. Where does it burn from? Is it ring compression and cylinder wall spacing?

[Loren]

The car is a flat 6 cylinder - so the cylinders (and pistons) are horizontal. It is fairly normal to have a little oil leak by the rings when the engine is not running. Then when you start the engine it burns off the oil.

[SVTHorsnake]

The car is a flat 6 cylinder - so the cylinders (and pistons) are horizontal. It is fairly normal to have a little oil leak by the rings when the engine is not running. Then when you start the engine it burns off the oil.

back in highschool I had a 2.5RS Subaru that had some piston slap on start up. My thought was if any, that car would leak oil into the cyliners. It never did. That's really why I was concerned. I would go 5 to 8K miles between oil changes and my 997 is turning oil by 3k miles, with a larger capacity at that. Just seemed wrong intuitively.

Sounds like I'm good though.

Thanks, as always...

Edited April 17, 2008 by SVTHorsnake

[Chuck Jones]

I wouldn't sweat it....most guys on the forums will tell you (including me) that we routinely add a quart of oil every 1500 to 1800 miles. Some of the cars are adding at 1000 miles. The TT's just eat a little oil....it's just the way they're designed.....they don't leak it onto the floor....they just eat it.

I keep a notebook and record every time I add a quart....and the last add was after I had gone 1600 miles. If you drive it really hard, you'll be adding more than that....especially on a track weekend. Don't sweat it.

[Danyol]

I may be an anomaly, and I'm almost afraid to say; my 996 Pcars consumed/consume very little oil :blush:

2002 C4S - Owned 2 yrs added 16k miles (6 track days), oil changes at 5k maybe added 0.5 L between changes

2003 TT - Owned 9 mths, purchased with 20k (changed oil straight away) now 25k mls (1 track day) and it has dropped 1 "bar" on the display. Always cool turbos before turning off, very occasionally see "smokescreen" at startup.

My cars are daily drivers, average commute 15 miles highway if traveling to office. After reading all the stories of what's "normal" and within specs I would have expected to use more. :unsure:

Edited April 25, 2008 by Danyol

[cnavarro]

Don't be too concerned. There are many ways these engines can consume oil normally. Sometimes the rings can position themselves to allow oil to creep by, having some smoking initially at startup. Also, with the really thin oils we run, coupled with the very low tension rings used, it's expected to have a bit more consumption.

To give you an idea what viscosity can do, I've seen in my 964, 1 qt in 700 mi using a 0w40 versus only .5 qt of usage in 4500 mi with a 20w50.

[silver arrow]

Turbo cars tend to burn more oil, increase crankcase pressure = increased blow by. Use 15-50 if it is a problem.

Edited May 15, 2008 by silver arrow

[laalves]

I bought my 996TT in Germany and drove it all the way down to Portugal in 2 and half days, 3100 km, cruise speeds of between 140 - 160 km/h with the occasional excursions at 200+, only stopping for fuel, food and sleep. The indicator didn't drop a single bar. I averaged 400 - 450 km per tankfull.

On my day to day usage, which is extremely irregular, ranging from one to three small trips of 5 to 10 km per day up to 100 km trips, it drops one bar per 1000 km or so. I average 250 - 350 km per tankfull (my diesel A3 averaged 900km, and my diesel A4 averaged 750km under the same usage profile!!!)

My conclusion is that the TT MAY consume oil, depending on usage profile. On transcontinental trips it may not, on commuting, yes it will. The good thing is that we actually renew some of the oil inbetween full changes.

Luis