bhamg

I'm a little surprised at how much more oil I'm using after changing to M1 0W-40 from Motul 8100 X-cess 5W-40. Not worried about it and will continue to use M1 but not finding a ready explanation for this drastic increase.

Motul - The last two fills I averaged 3/4 L consumption per 5k miles.
Mobil - On my first M1 fill I've already used 1 L in 2.3k miles.

BLKROKT

That seems excessive. How many miles on your car? Do you have the tools handy to do a leakdown test (or compression)?

Critter

bhamg, do you have a catch can?
The Motul oil you were using you state x-cess is this a high mileage blend or just a fancy trade name?
Have you done stop and go driving , highway, sport driving or has the car use been similar.

bhamg

Car is excellent condition all around, moderate mileage @ 8k miles per year. Def nothing mechanical, just the change in oil. On this change I will say that I've driven perhaps 20% harder overall than normal "sport" so I might expect a nominal increase in oil consumption but not like this. This level is a cat-killer if it continues. I do have a Weistec CC in the box (still)...

Critter

They do look good in the box, but really I believe this is the best mod you can do for your 63, especially if you increase your sport driving 20%

Critter

Spend one hour on a cold engine and put the CC in. Just sayin.
Also the 63 likes long highway drives, with the occasion ***wiping on a overzealous BMW.
Everyone seems to have the M on the trunk but not in front where it counts
Or maybe they do???

Critter

You are doing pan drains and not the suck method ( not a fan).
I like to drain pan and cooler into a rad collection pan then replace with two 4.55 liter ( magic marker the level of the new oil) jugs + fleece filter.
When filled back up drain the pan into the two jugs to see what consumption actually is. So far no issues 1/2 liter at best is the usage, not including what is dripping from the filter, have not checked the CC lately but after 2000km nothing but the crankcase smell. Hibernation is upon us here in Canada, hurry up spring, today -20C

bhamg

The Motul I liken to Total Quartz, Pennzoil Ultra Euro et al formulations of 5W-40's. Carries MB 229.3, 229.5, Porsche A40, BMW LL-01 approvals that are the important ones to me.

xxaarraa

I have the same experience with Mobil 1 0-40. Car would prompt me to "check oil level during next fill up" every month or so. I had major oil consumption issues with Mobil 1 0-40 on my 911 as well, as did other people I know.

I switched from Mobil 1 for that reason. Not a believer anymore.

Kid Dynamite

iTrader: (1)

Change your oil to mobil 1 5w50 and it should be reduce the consumption.


Im running 5w50 all the time because its the better Oil and has better additives.

Ive done many top speed runs in the Autobahn without any issues

BLKROKT

I'm really not starting an oil war here, but it's pretty settled that M1 0w40 is the rec'd oil, and had the best properties - hot or cold - and best additive package. Like, it's proven. With science.

If this guy's car isn't old or beat, then he really shouldn't be using that much oil, regardless of the weight. Or more than these cars generally go through anyway.

jcfay

the manual states that "depending on the driving style" it can consume up to 0.9 L per 600 miles. But it sounds like you've been driving the same. God knows there have been enough oil battles galore on the forums, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if different oils would lead to different consumption rates. I guess then the impact depends on where that oil is going. I've got a catch can too and it's definitely collecting. Otherwise I guess it's getting burned off? I did my first change with Mobil 1 0W40 and it was cheap and easy to get at BallsackMart. I'll have to keep an eye on consumption once I start to drive more after this Godawful winter ends...

xxaarraa

haha, that's funny. I might use that line.

Except it's not entirely accurate. "manufacturer recommended oil" has as much to do with marketing and corporate alliances as it does with science.

Gerry_M

I had the same issue with Mobil 1 0W-40 on my M3. High oil consumption, then I noticed it was thin enough to actually leak around the oil filter housing seal (wierd). Never happened with any other oils.

jcfay

If you had oil leaking around the filter seal, that ain't a problem with the oil, but with the filter, seal or housing.

Gerry_M

I would think so too but it didnt happen with any other oil with same viscosity. I just changed brand and left stuff alone.

jcfay

You changed the filter and seal when you changed the oil, though, right?

jvanbrecht

I have noticed the same thing. I'm at 110k miles though. I was really down almost 2 quarts last time I had to top it off. I only drive to and from the airport there days, and not very hard.. I'm concerned..

I'm not noticing pools of oil anywhere (ground or skid plates, I checked)

tfthach13

Same as the OP here; was using Motul 5w40 X-cess for a 1.5 years and consumption was not as much as with Mobil1's 0w40.

But...a 5qt jug between the two was 50%, so I went back to Mobil1 for the time being. It's winter in California anyways...mind as well use slightly thinner viscosity oil. Better for cold start ups!

However, if you purchase two 5qt jugs of Mobil1 you should have enough oil left over to last you to the next oil change (assuming you're doing 6,000 mile intervals). I almost always end up filling 8.5 quarts instead of the full 9, so there's at least 1.5 quarts of unused oil left to fill up when it runs low. I'm running the catch can as well.

Diabolis

You're burning off more Mobil 1 0W40 at startup as it is thinner when cold (which is a good thing) than the alternatives, and when your engine is cold the piston-to-cylinder clearance is the largest (metal expands with heat) so more of it gets by. IMHO an extra quart/liter of oil every 2K miles is a small price to pay to get the best protection for your engine, but it's your car.

Gerry_M

I changed the filter/seal/washer than put in the Mobil1 0w40 and it leaked. Drained it and put in BMW5w30 oil and no leak.

Next change I tried again and same issue.

norb

Yea but were does all the ash/carbon go?

I have a theory about the headbolts. Could it be the build up in carbon in the cylinders is causing the compression ratio to go up and putting strain on the bolts?

TexasEngineer

That seems VERY unlikely. If the compression ratio were increased, the likely result would be either more HP or pre-detonation (knock). If pre-detonation were occurring the ECU would retard the timing and you would lose performance. Performance loss is the most common symptom of the carbon build up (mostly due to restricted flow and valves seating). Compression increase can be another symptom, but this typically happens on older less efficient cars with very high mileage. Most of the head bolt failures that have been seen were on relatively low mileage cars. Also, if the minuscule increase in compression ratio was enough to cause head-bolt failure, than any supercharged M156 would be snapping head-bolts instantly. I don’t think there is anything to support your theory.

bhamg

Burned off by the cats. When I said "cat-killer" I personally had OE primary cats killed at 50k miles in an M5 as a direct result of a high rate of oil consumption. It's the oil itself and the range of additives present in the oil and gasoline. This from Wikipedia:

Catalyst poisoning occurs when the catalytic converter is exposed to exhaust containing substances that coat the working surfaces, encapsulating the catalyst so that it cannot contact and treat the exhaust. The most-notable contaminant is lead, so vehicles equipped with catalytic converters can be run only on unleaded fuels. Other common catalyst poisons include fuel sulfur, manganese (originating primarily from the gasoline additive MMT), and silicone, which can enter the exhaust stream if the engine has a leak that allows coolant into the combustion chamber. Phosphorus is another catalyst contaminant. Although phosphorus is no longer used in gasoline, it (and zinc, another low-level catalyst contaminant) was until recently widely used in engine oil antiwear additives such as zinc dithiophosphate (ZDDP). Beginning in 2004, a limit of phosphorus concentration in engine oils was adopted in the API SM and ILSAC GF-4 specifications.

Diabolis

It burns off and goes out the tailpipe.

It is *EXTREMELY* unlikely that the headbolt issue is in any way realted to carbon build-up. The M156 is not a direct injection motor, so the heads stay relatively clean when comared with a FSI engine like on my old B7 RS4. Carbon build-up in the intake manifold could rob you of some power, but in order to increase the compression to the point where the head bolts would pop, you would need so much build-up on the piston heads themselves that it would be physically impossible for them not to whack your valves, plugs, cylinder head and come right out through your hood.