Oil Consumption?
 

So right before the track event this weekend at Sebring, I changed the oil to the point where I made sure it was filled exactly to the top notch on the dipstick.

After I cleaned off the car today, I checked the oil level, and noticed it was about 1/4 way down between the notches on the dipstick. Probably about 1/8 to 1/4 quart lower than I filled it, if I estimated the difference between the two notches correctly (seems to be a little over 1/2 qt from the bottom notch to the top notch).

Oil was checked both times in my garage on the same level surface. After the first day when I got home, and didn't really notice a difference in the oil level when I checked it, but after the second day I could tell the difference.

This weekend I ran 8 sessions total with the car across 2 days, 30 minutes each session, about 250 track miles. Car started the weekend with 998 miles on the odometer.

My question is, what kind of oil consumption are you all seeing after full track weekends?

I'm having a hard time reading the dipstick, but I'm sure mine has consumed oil in the 3500 miles since the last oil change. Can anybody provide tips on how to read a subaru dipstick? Two holes and reading somewhere in the middle is vague to me. (sorry for thread jacking)

I dont have an answer but...250 miles for a DE? Wow!

yeah... approximately 30 minute sessions, 4 times a day, 2 days over the weekend, turned out to be about 250 miles over the weekend. That's what you get with Chin Motorsports!! And heck, I skipped the 30 minute warm-up session and the hour long "happy hour" at the end of both days, so I probably would have close to 400 track miles this weekend if I ran every session.

Dunno if this helps any, but I changed out the factory fill at 2k miles and I replaced with Royal Purple 0w20. It took an entire 6 quarts of oil to reach the top notch on the dip stick. I was really surprised about that. Had no idea this motor took so much oil. It could also be accredited to the fact that 0w20's are like water. I'm now at 7k miles and due for a change. I was going to check how much oil she takes this time around to see if the first time might have been a fluke.

If you do find an answer please post up. I'm curious as to what the reason might be. Good luck.

not 100% sure on subi spec most import manufacturers stay 1qt per 1000 miles is normal oil consumption. i know it sounds like alot but it is what it is.

1/4 quart per 250 track miles is pretty good. You have to take into account that some of it is likely (most of that) being sucked through the PCV on high rpm engine braking vs. being blown past the rings like I think you are assuming. Pull your TB off (or just the accordion in front of it and push it open) and shine a light into your intake and I bet it shines back at ya!

This, these cars are giving uber hot oil temps with extended track runs. You may want an oil cooler. Mine is granny street driven and not consuming any oil, so I think the factory rings are solid in these cars, even though the manual says 1qt/600 miles is OK.

With the amount of torture the OP's engine is seeing I think it may be prudent to pull the DI injectors and inspect the O-rings, are you hearing any poping when starting cold or near redline?

great, thanks I'll check that!

Yeah an oil cooler is definitely going to help.

No popping at startup or redline at all, no CELs....yet, knock on wood!

Can you define "uber hot" and "extended track runs" and in what ambient temperature?

See the Avo testig thread they did some extensive comparison with their turbo vs NA on the track and saw 240F+ oil temps with stock cars, its a known issue. Full Blown just released a huge radiator to help the autocross community.

It could be blowby going back into your PCV line if it is hard track time. This is also assuming you dont have a leak.

Make sure you are checking oil at same temps. After you do oil swap, check at certain temp. At track check oil at same temps.

As a general rule most cars operate best when oil temp is 230F or less on the track. Perrin did testing to show the ECU cuts timing when oil gets past 221F.

The issue is two fold, once your engine oil breaks that threshold, it will not stop climbing. No amount of load reduction will drop those temps until you shut down the engine.

Second issue is coolant, as the stock radiator is small it heat soaks fast. As your oil temp climbs your coolant temps will start to climb as well. Once they starting hitting the 220 range the cooling system is maxed out and your oil temps will continue to climb.

Thats stock threshold from my testing. What I can't tell you is how hot is too hot.
I would say if your coolant is cycling from 212-220F and your oil temps have exceeded 240F its time to back off and install at the very least an oil cooler.

I will check my oil level. I did 6 sessions on track at Thundehill a couple weeks ago, two at "flat out" pace and the other 4 in driving school (slower pace)....I just changed the oil right before, so it will be interesting to see the level.

It was 108F at Thunderhill....my water temp gauge never waivered...at all..it was perfect the whole time....it did make me wonder what the oil temps would be....but even 240f isn't bad...but pulling timing above 221F seems excessive for me since its running synthetic oil.....in my Porsche racer I have seen 300F in endurance racing for extended periods....yes the car was nearly overheating, but the oil analysis came back perfect...BUT that was Amsoil 15-50 racing oil...rated for 150C or 312F...

Yeah I touched 300*f oil temps on track at Sebring, yet the water temp gauge was dead center and didn't move, and looking at my water temps on the scan gauge, they were around 212*f or so. So oil temp went sky high, but water temp was normal.

Just an update, did a 1 day event, logged about 110 miles on track with 4 - 30 min sessions, noticed it was just barely 1/8 qt low from where I filled it, so at least it is consistent!

Not to start a new thread, wanna update this.
After 250 miles of track days (in a month) and 1500 miles of daily drive, found out that car consumed like 3/4 qt of my Motul 0w30 (econrgy). Is it normal for agressive track ride in warm temperature (+10-15 C)?
P.S. Car odo 4600 miles, used on track at her maximum.

Some oil consumption especially under hard use is normal, the problem is when to draw the line at excessive.

My car consumed no oil on my first lapping day which happened with 7000km on the odometer and was around 170km of on track driving. I am at 9000km now about to change my oil for the second time and have had no oil consumption, so either I am driving it too easy or I am lucky.

There is an old mechanics opinion, that working engine dont consume oil.
With factory oil on intake I cant check if PCV is oiled with motor one. Even so, 1 qt is a lot, I think. Especially, when it get into intake system.

Catch cans, oil cooler a must for track days like that. Run a catch can on PCV, if you are collecting a ton of oil in it you know its mostly blowby. Also you should send out a UOA and see if you have any wear materials in that oil that could point to consumption.

I would run an oil with a high Moly content,namely early in in engine life as it helps to continue curing metals. Not a big deal for purely street cars but track cars why not.

I dont think my local dealer approve installing of oil can. They told me that they remove warranty for wheel hubs for my installed front aftermarket brake pads :bonk:

Wow, I thought I was running hot at 260F (Supercharged with OEM cooler and KoyoRad)

Did you check your cam plate to see if there is any leak?
what kind of oil were you running? I wouldn't run anything besides 0w-40 or 5w-40 in Florida heat (I used to live in Tampa bay with turbo cars so I know how the heat soak might be an issue) .. FYI, I've checked my oil between sessions and couldn't notice any oil consumption (at least anything noticeable) .. I have a friend who tracks his BRZ at Sebring (his name is LD) I am not sure if he ran into the same issue but I can ask..

another question: are you sure you checked the oil level between 5-20 mins after you turn off the engine? anything before and after might be misleading..

5w40 for a new engine? Isnt it too viscous? Iam using motul 0w30, no oil leaks on engine, no actually heats here. Checking 20-30 mins after engine stops.

Only 2 of us having this issue?

not for Florida since it never really gets that cold in Florida ;)
the difference between the 0w-30 and 0w-40 is the hot thickness or viscosity, it's more resistant to excessive heat which is the main reason I have been using on everything I owned/tracked for years.. I know a guy who used the same Shell Rotella T6 on everything he owned and tracked without a single problem ...cars, trucks, bikes even lawn movers :bellyroll:

Yep, no leaks from the cam plate. I tried GC 0w30, Toyota SN 0w20, and am sticking with Pennzoil Ultra 5w20 after my last UOA with it; it is holding up great for track use. I am checking the oil levels when I get back home in the garage, and the same amount of time between shut-off and checking the level both before the event and after the event, and notice a slight drop in the oil level. I've noticed as mileage goes up (I'm at 7k now), the consumption seems to have gone down...

Haha yeah I'm friends with LD.

Really? Small world :) I've known him since he had his old Wrx, and I've used to own an 07Sti :)

I wonder why you don't want to run something thicker/higher flash point than 0w-20 especially in FL heat and Sebring? Since you mentioned that you saw oil temps around 300F

It's not so much blow by but oil vapor getting recirculated into the intake mani via the pcv. I've caught quite a bit of oil in my oil catch can (inline with pcv), but no scent of fuel that I could detect.

I noticed the thicker oil will also increase temps, so I am trying to find a happy median. Probably going to go with Motul 300V next.

Yes, I heard that too but how much of an increase we are talking about, is it something barely noticeable or with a big margin?

As a comparison: mine consumed 1 quart after 4 track days (~500 track miles) and 2500 street miles. Temps on the track days were around 65F. Mine has about 4000 miles on it.

Just checked my catch can right now. There is at least a good 2-3oz of oil in there from normal driving, no track day since I last emptied it. Only did a few full throttle pulls while taking data logs. Although this time there was the distinct scent of fuel. None visible in the oil, but I certainly smell it. I guess there is some blow by after all.

I'm curious as to how many of you guys are running catch cans and how much oil is being caught compared to the amount of oil found missing at oil change.

skyfire - You might want to use Motul X-lite 0W-30 instead of the Eco-nergy 0W-30 for the track.

Eco-nergy 0W-30 is geared more towards fuel economy and is a very thin 30 grade oil at 100C at 9.95 cSt's (30 grade starts at 9.3 cst's). It also has a low High Temp High Shear of 3.0.
http://www.motul.com/system/product_...pdf?1334962658

OTOH, X-lite is a thick 30 grade oil being 11.9 cSt's at 100C (40 grade starts at 12.5) and has an HTHS of 3.6 to meet ACEA A3/B4 specs.
http://www.motul.com/system/product_...pdf?1334963012

Otherwise, Motul 300V 0W-20 is a very good track oil.

-Dennis

You shouldn't drink oil

Since a lot of talk about oil temps at the track here, I just finished a track day this past weekend. Did a complete 30min session at full throttle. Oil temp averaged 288f and peak was 296f. This is way to high for comfort. I am using Sustina 0-20.

it was about 8-10*f, nothing crazy.

Please friends,

is it normal oil consumption after 3000km about 0,6liters. And after refill about 700km 0,5liters. I need to mention that my car was not use in track, only normal trafic?
I also can see smoke from the back when I press gas pedal.

My car uses exactly 1 qt every 12,400 miles.
 

I have been carefully tracking my oil consumption on my 2017 86 Automatic by observing how many quarts of Mobil-1 I have gone through topping up over the last 2.5 years and 27K mi. My car uses exactly 1 qt every 12,400 miles.

As an aside: coolant consumption is 3.7oz every 7,500mi service interval.

I was super careful during the break-in period to watch RPM's and vary constantly, and a few strong pulls (torque'y, but not high RPM) to "seat the rings" if that really does happen. The car gets serviced per book at the dealer as it's new.

I drive it only for fun on a 90 mile route mostly on hiway-1 (Calif coast) to my fav hill climb from San Gregorio to Woodside CA. I do the 10 miles in the hills at 4,500-7K RPM quite hard, very fun. The oil temp gets to about 234 deg at it's peak when I reach the peak of the mountain. The water hits 212 at most (ambient air temperature of about 85).

Scenic driving flat along the coast the oil is 196 deg and water is 190.

I also blend my stupid 91 Calif gas in Woodside with 100 oct race gas (the 76 sells it there!) to get 93 oct and watch the ignition timing to confirm it advances properly to get the most power. I use BlueDriver to monitor.

Another aside... Starting in 2017 forward, Subaru stupidly programmed the car to let the battery discharge during acceleration and stops, doing most of the charging while decelerating only. I discovered this when I parked to listen to the radio for an hour and the car would barely crank. They said it's for "economy" B.S.! This will ruin batteries faster. You can force the car to "normal charge" at 14.2V by turning on the running lights (I drive with them all the time now). Also, if you turn the fan on it will hold at 13.3V. But drive normally and watch the voltage drop from an initial 14.4 at start to around 12.1 in just a few minutes. More on this later as I'm working up a big expose.

I'm an Engineer, I like to measure things.

Out of curiosity, what value do you read to monitor the timing advance? Can you read the IAM value with bluedriver?

My 2013 has 98k miles and >20 trackdays. My oil consumption is similar: <1qt /10k miles. Very low.