That sounds perfectly normal..

Oil doesn't evaporate out. If it's not leaking it's getting burned. All engines burn some oil even if only a fractional amount. Most manufacturers won't even raise an eyebrow until it starts to exceed 1 qt per thousand miles..

Thats what I figured, I know it sounded retarded, but wanted to knock it out and confirm its not even plausible lol. But ok, then I won't be jacking up the car every night looking for drips on the driveway..

Coming from an '06 350 that had the original engine replaced for OC, I hope this isn't a problem for the VQ37.

John

Hrmm...every vehicle I've ever owned the tail pipes turn black. I guess every car I've owned must burn oil.

Edit: That was sarcastic btw.


These are combustion engines that burn fossil fuels. There will be soot in the tail pipe over time. Also, keep in mind that these cars run REALLY REALLY rich.

I have some blackness in my tail pipes and my oil level hasn't moved. Lets not get worked up over nothing :)

Black tailpipes are usually carbon deposits from the burning of Gasoline. The richer a car runs, the blacker the tips..

HEHE, I was editing my post as you posted this. I agree, I was being sarcastic.


Edit again: I did go back and read the OPs post though, and he has added in oil. I lost sight of the original post and for some reason thought this thread was about black tail pipes = burning oil. Think I misunderstood.

^+1

I know for certain the VQ37 is loosing oil, not necessarily burning it, but def loosing...
All to familiar for me...:shakes head:

And you know this how? If an engine is losing oil and NOT burning it through the combustion chamber, it is leaking it. Fix the leak. Pretty simple. Not all of the tens of thousands of VQ37 motors are consuming oil.

So back to the issue... less than a quart per oil change interval is ok, but more would be indicative of a oil-burning issue?

No, Not really..... Very few manufacturers will give you the time of day if you're not burning more than a quart/1000 miles. Chevy (for the Corvette) even has a published bulletin that says 1 qt per 500 miles is acceptable if used in an aggressive manner (aggressive being defined as operation above 3000RPM's...LOL). A quart between changes, or even 2 would not be considered excessive enough to warrant correction with most all companies...
When you get into the serious usage area they will do a monitored test by documenting miles and sealing your oil fill to determine true usage..

(Just ignore the idiot trolls)

just checked mine. 6000 miles and 150 from next change. It's slightly overfilled still.

Got me paranoid, especially after owning an '06 OC Z. Just checked the oil level, 2500 miles since the first oil change, 4500 miles total on the car. Level was just below half, approaching 2/3 down from High......... that makes me feel better. A little off topic, but checking the level just now, it has been 4 1/2 hours since I got home, car has been sitting in the garage. The engine was still so hot that it would burn your hand to leave it on any metal part for longer than a second or two. Man, this engine bay is tight and closed off, no heat dissipation at all. Any one else notice this?

John

Pull all the rubber gaskets across the rear of the engine (they just snap out). They will allow a bit of ventilation, both moving and stopped. I've recorded significant temp reductions on other cars. Things will be a little louder as the gaskets are mostly for NVH, but you might like the induction growl. You can also pop the plastic piece at the rear strut tower mount for even more air. This engine dies not run partcularly hot. I generally see 182 degrees water temps while moving which is pretty cool..

If I pull the gaskets out across the rear, any issues with water running down into the engine bay?

John

No more than if you drove around with no hood at all.