[ImperialSScamaro]

So Ive searched threw the threads back to Sept 2016 and I didn't notice any updates on peoples oil consumption. So has anyone noticed any changes in theres? I have on my SS M6 with 13000 miles. Since my last oil change I've added 1 full quart a little here and there(same bottle) to keep it toped off at half the dip stick level (hash marks) and I'm now at 32% oil life remaining However, I don't do burn outs ever, I do drive with rev match on all the time in a downtown city driving area. I do love to gear down a lot and listen to the exhaust at low and high speeds from 60- 75mph to 3rd-4th gear Could this be the reason I've noticed the extra oil consumption? Im starting to think I beat on my Camaro to much but then I remind myself isn't that whats this car is for?

sorry if this a noob question

[SSDan]

How many miles since your last oil change?

FWIW - I now have 7500 miles in total and about 3000 miles since the last change. I have had no change off the full mark on the dip stick readings. In fact I just walked out to the garage and checked it as your post reminded me to do that. I too do not do burn outs but I do like to rip through a few gears every now and the. I do not use the rev match much and I don't do a lot of coast downs in gear from highway speeds. I do like to do low speed coasts downs in third and second gear to hear the crackle and pop.

[jreagle56]

6082 miles on my M6 SS. 5000 miles since last oil change; 24% oil life on DIC display.
Have added 2 quarts since last oil change in 1/2 qt increments. So about 1 qt every 2500 mi. Spoke to dealer they said it was normal for the way i have been driving. The SA implied over 3k rpm and usage goes up. The consumption seems high to me though.
Although my 68 GTO Convert 400 HO 4 speed used about a quart per 3k mile dino oil change after a rebuild.
Don't use 6th much in the SS on the highway; cruising @ 3k rpm on the interstate or 2.5k-3k rpm on the back roads in 3rd or 4th. Each time i go out it seems i am into the 4K-5k rpm range in 2nd and 3rd pulling up hills or on straightaways once oil gets up to temp. The sound of the engine is addicting; NPP set to track. 6th seems like a 90 - 100+ mph gear to me. Anything less and the engine seems to be working too hard.

When i bought the car it had around 4 hrs of idle time and 56 miles on it. The dealer had taken it to a few local car shows; so who knows what happened at that time. Not sure if that had any effect on break in.

Did a consumption search late last summer and it seemed i was one of the higher consumption users.

I am wondering if the AC Delco oil gets too thin after its used for awhile; diluted by the blow by and then burns in its diluted form. Never was an EXXON/Mobil oil fan anyway. I might try a different oil; something more stable. I have some Redline in the basement and a new PF64 filter. Maybe i will give that a try; still thinking about that; although i have 1 more free oil change from GM to use. Just rambling now; time to press Post Reply.

[BlueThunder2SS]

I've always thought new cars no longer consume oil, so for 5000 miles I have not been checking the level.

I saw these threads and ran out to the garage, to find: Oil level remains at the FULL line.

I do run through the gears once per drive, but the A8 keeps revs under 3000 most of the time.

[SSDan]

OP - You do drive in the higher rpm ranges more often than me. I use 6th gear all the time any time I am cruising above 60 mph. I don't see the need to waste the fuel when I'm just cruising. Now when I want to have some fun (which is almost always for at least a couple rips through the gears in every drive) - I give it hell. I've even experimented with the no lift shift a few times.

So, what I am saying is that I do not baby this engine but I don't seem to run it for extended periods above 3k rpms. I'm not sure if that is enough difference between us as to why you have oil consumption and I do not. I understand your concern. While GM may call it normal to use 2 quarts in 5K miles - I would not be happy about it.

I also wonder what a compression leak down test might show on your engine? To burn two quarts in 5K means there has to be more piston ring blow-by happening with your engine than my engine for instance.

[ImperialSScamaro]

Im not sure how many miles since my last oil change but I was going to change my driving habits when I do get my oil changed to see if there will be a big difference.

Im starting to think I beat on my Camaro to much but isn't that what they are built for?

Back when I had 5th Gen M6 it burned no oil whats so ever no matter how hard I drove it. I will try to keep an actual log and keep everyone posted when I get my oil changed to present to the threads. Thanks for the feed back.

[SS 1LE]

A quart or so over a oil change span is fine. These LT1's are known to use some oil, the manual even says during break in to expect some oil use...first car I ever had that said that.

I only have like 750 miles on my car, I don't do an easy break in, nor a hard one, kinda in the middle...I have yet to drop below the 1/2 way point on the hash marks. But I expect to have to add a little before my first change possibly at 1000 miles. My buddies '16 SS went through a few quarts at first, now he seems to use maybe a 1/2 quart every couple thousand miles...normal in my eyes.

[ImperialSScamaro]

I got my oil changed last week. I believe they over filled a little because its just over the cross hatches. but so far I see no real burn off amount. My oil pressure is fine as well. Ive been driving more often in natural and less down shifts with ARM turned on. After this week I may go back to my old driving habits to see if there is a bigger burn off measurment. Ive been checking the oil level every morning before work for the past 7 days. Any advice would be great.

On a side note any ones dipstick have oil on the upper portion of the actually stick? I mean its dry for about 1-2 inches above the area your supposed to actually check the oil then its wet agin with oil. This is new because its never done that before I had chevy give me one of my free oil changes. Is that something to worry about?

[AROD11889]

Ok broke in my car at 3k miles drove it like I stolled it here and there and did an oil change Mobil 1 5w-30 synthetic on my own since is the most important one and I don’t recall been low. then in the next 3k miles took to the dealer for a Free oil change(don’t know if it was low or not) then next 3k miles did my last free oil change at dealer with the mechanic happens to be a friend of mines and he showed me the oil in a 55 gallon blue tank reads AC Delco he pumped out 10qts did my oil change didn’t tell me if it was low or normal went home happy. Two month goes by and exactly 980 miles and I check my oil level car seating overnight and it was below the low level mark! Checked my Mishimoto Catch can and it was 80% Full more then it has ever been between oil changes it usually is 1/2 way. Found out dealer uses AC Delco BLended oil so went ahead and did a Royal Purple oil change with new filter (old oil was missing exactly 1-1/4Quart when I drained it?

Now I dynoed the car with two passes, drove it with Rev match on & Trackmode at all times, been stepping on it very much, and down shifting at almost every red light in the past 980miles after the last dealer AC Delco blended oil change. I’ve been checking the oil since but I haven’t reached 100 miles yet and I’m driving a lot more decent now and level is been full since. Want to check again in the next 500miles to see? What you guys think?

Mods are: ARH Headers cat less full system, Roto Fab, Flex Fuel sensor, Mishimoto Catch Can and E85 dyno tuned

[Deakins]

There's a lot to engine oils and one area is how much they will "evaporate" off. When they do this they will go through the PCV system and get consumed. A lot of engine braking doesn't help this but running a good oil will. For example, when using a very high grade synthetic; my engine will have used a very, very small amount of oil even after being on track flat out for 6 hours. And what oil it does pass up throught the PCV system doesnt coke up nearly as badly either. The more you dig into the engineering behind engine oils the more you gravitate towards the high end stuff. Just mho.

[LT4Greg]

I would keep a check on it but I really don't think you have a problem. I had to put a quart in mine because I went longer on changing the oil than I should which I changed back in November. The level is fine and I check it when the car has been sitting overnight. I have over 19,000 miles on mine now and use full synthetic oil when I do change the oil. Also, I drive mine about like you do. Good luck.

[AROD11889]

UPDATE 300miles have passed, checked dip stick oil level was 1/2 way on hash marks, removed catch can to see and it has 1/8 of oil in it very very little left it in there to keep on eye on it until next Change. FYI im running on E85 all the time and have heard E85 thins the oil?? Also heard Royal Purple is not a good oil for these cars?(1st time using It) want to switch to Mobile 1 or Amsoil synthetic next?

[andes101]

Originally Posted by AROD11889

UPDATE 300miles have passed, checked dip stick oil level was 1/2 way on hash marks, removed catch can to see and it has 1/8 of oil in it very very little left it in there to keep on eye on it until next Change. FYI im running on E85 all the time and have heard E85 thins the oil?? Also heard Royal Purple is not a good oil for these cars?(1st time using It) want to switch to Mobile 1 or Amsoil synthetic next?

i use mobil 1 full synthethic 15k mile interval oil but i change it every 5-7500 miles (once my oil percent is at 25%) and usually im at the halfway mark on my dipstick or on the lower side 1/4 of the dipstick markings 20k miles on the car i would say its normal for LT1's

[Elite Engineering]

Hey all,

To give some insight into what causes these oil consumption issues one must understand what occurs when the engine is new. Now while all bearings, journals, etc. are already as smooth and perfect as they will ever be, the cylinder walls and piston rings need to "seat" in to each other. That is wear, or abrade into the proper shape to seal correctly. This is accomplished by an aggressive hone cross-hatch pattern cut into the cylinder wall. This will abrade the rings into the shape of the cylinder wall during those first 200-300 miles of running (best is first 50 miles which I will explain later). and to properly do so, the rings must penetrate the lubrication barrier the oil provides.

The problem with this in today's engines is a combination of factors. First, as the average new vehicle buyer has been conditioned to buy a car and aside from adding fuel, they expect to do nothing as far as care and maintenance until a message pops up on the dash instructing them to visit the dealer for service. How is this an issue? For one, as these engines are built with low tension piston rings to aid in less parasitic resistance so they can meet CAFE fuel economy standards. These rings put far less pressure against the cylinder walls to allow proper abrasion into the shape, or seating. The next issue is the oils that come in the engine when new are NOT a break-in oil like in the past, but the same oil your expected to use going forward, so that protective barrier is much harder to penetrate to allow the proper abrasion of the rings.

And finally, the owner’s manual instructs you to drive very easy that first 1000-1500 miles, and this on top of the other barriers to proper ring seating make it a gamble as to the rings seating properly in the brief window they have to do so, and that leads to most of the causes of excessive oil consumption. The proper way to seat rings involves loading them properly when new both through acceleration and engine braking deceleration. And this must be done in that first 50 or so miles. How? Well GM includes the proper instructions with replacement and crate engines as it is assumed the tech doing the engine installation is skilled enough to not drive reckless, but the average consumer is not. The liability of instructing the average new vehicle buyer how to properly seat rings and break in the engine is considered to much exposure, so your instructed to drive it easy. So you have say a 50/50 chance your rings will seat properly following their instructions. See, the rings need to load both during hard acceleration, and engine braking deceleration in order to evenly apply enough force on the back sides of the rings to allow them to "wear in" to the shape of the cylinder bores. And this window to do so is extremely brief. by 500 miles as a rule, a hard glaze will set in and cover the cross hatch and after that the window to seat your rings has past. Although the engineers at Amsoil have shown further ring seating can occur after this period when engines are run hard for extended periods on the dyno and further seat, you as a drive on the road are not able to subject the engine to those extreme conditions.

Here are the instructions directly from GM for techs and DIY builders:


And here are illustrations showing what occurs when rings fail to seat in this brief window:



And when they do not:



As you can see, this must be done when the engine is brand new, and then immediately drain that factory fill oil and all the debris in it and change, as well as change the filter. AC Delco/Motoscraft, etc. filters are great filters, I prefer anything made by WIX. Also, as all GDI engines experience many times the raw fuel washdown and dilution, NEVER run a super thin 5w20 oil!!!! This again is ONLY to allow the automaker to meet CAFE fuel economy standards. Your engine oil cannot properly protect when so much raw fuel is washing past the rings. This as well can contribute to excessive oil consumption. I realize it is difficult to understand much of what is in today's owner’s manuals is NOT on what is best for your engines life, but merely allows automakers to meet the ever increasing Government requirements, and these GDI engines you should not go as long as was acceptable between changes. Today's full synthetic oils do not "wear out" like old mineral oils or synthetic blends, they simply become overwhelmed with contaminates to the point they can no longer protect. What oil do we recommend? Amsoil 5w50 first, M1 15w50 is also a great choice, or if a "Walmart" oil, any full synthetic at least 10w40.

Now, if you have an engine you followed the owner’s manual break-in instructions and are consuming an excessive amount of oil, the only cure is to disassemble and re-hone cutting the glaze, install new piston rings, and start over. If you did not use oil in the past, and after 30-40-50k miles you begin to. odds are your piston rings have become stuck from the residue that forms in the ringlands and they cannot move freely enough to properly seal, so the addition of a truly effective catchcan such as our E2-X can allow the rings to free back up in most cases over time as we prevent the compounds that cause the build-up from forming further so they may self clean enough to again move freely. Also, and engine not running solvent soak can also free up stuck rings if performed properly.

Hope this helps those with engine oil consumption issues, and we realize many will ignore this and follow the owner’s manual which is fine as only YOU can make decisions on how to care for your car, but with so many complaints on these issues we felt it appropriate to share proper methods. And as always, drive carefully!!!