It's normal for high compression engines to burn some oil, guys. By all means we should all keep an eye on this, but I get the sense that we're on the verge of mass hysteria here and I think we need to take a step back. Let's not panic. Be diligent. Keep an eye on your oil levels (which is just common sense anyway). But let's take a deep breath and not work ourselves up into a tizzy over this.

:iagree:

Definitely not panicing, but I think we should spread the word to try and save people some trouble. I'm sure we have members that never think to check their oil levels. Heck, based on my old cars I would only check the oil once a month if that because I really didn't need to. Thanks to these threads, though, I know it's something I need to keep a closer eye on with this car.

Yep, I agree. Mind you, it's kinda sad that some folks never think to check their oil levels, isn't it? I guess maybe what I consider to be common sense isn't so 'common' after all. On the other hand, when I think of all the questions that get posted on this forum that people can answer for themselves if they'd just crack open their owner's manuals, I'm not so shocked anymore. ;)

I never check oil levels...I just change it...

I changed the oil on my Z at around 1250 miles, and I'll do it again at 3750.

After that, I don't know. I might go 3750, I might go longer.

Still a car, even a high compression engine, shouldn't burn through oil like that.

I have the solution for that...Just get test pipes :D

So...how to I turn off VDC off?

HEEHEE

That does not appear to be possible on this Forum. Yet another "sky is falling" thread just opened on this...:ugh2:

It's not a sky is falling - it's a thread for the data to be consolidated to see how widespread the issue is.

2 quarts of oil in 3000 miles? You don't think that's an issue?

Red, that is normal. DON"T think the sky is falling. This is a 1 out of 100,000 build issue.

I don't have an oil cooler. And I wish we could tear down the engine and find out what happened, but nissan won't have it. They are just going to send me a whole new long block and all internals and swap it out. I am going to go with bad seals. But we will never know. Nissan will take it back and have their techs tear it down, but they will never tell you the outcome. It will remain a mystery

Case and point...

http://www.the370z.com/engine-drivet...rning-oil.html

This was posted on our own forum in March. Now two people have blown engines, and several owners are reporting that they have oil consumption issues.

Let's take a step back.. What would you lable an "Oil Consumption Issue"

Exactly.....As I said in yet another thread on this, 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 in a 3700 mile change interval would not be considered excessive enough to warrant correction with most all companies...
When you get into the serious usage area (exceeding a Qt/thousand) they will do a monitored test by documenting miles and sealing your oil fill to determine true usage.

Very few cars on this forum are even fully broken in yet, so this discussion is all a bit of an overreaction..

Maybe Lou could let us in on Nissan's guidelines on oil usage if they have any..

Not only that, they even tell you to put an extra quart in before a track day, as you will burn it.



That being said, the engine on my 03 350Z was replaced under warranty for oil consumption at around 25000 miles. It had 35% leakdown in one cylinder, 55 in another and the rest were all around 10.

I burned 1/2 qt in an half an hour in idle. That is an "Oil Comnsuption Issue" If you burn 1-2 quarts in 3000 miles, don't worry about it. I think the lesson to be had in this thread is CHECK YOUR OIL levles often. This was a quality issue on a part, and I am guessing seals, but we will never know. Burning 1 quart don't worry! Just make sure you are aware of what is going on in your car!

You mean the sky isn't falling? I can take my tin foil hat off? Whew! :rolleyes:

Sorry, this is the first I've heard of a car that burns this much oil is considered "normal".

My truck with 140,000 miles on it, doesn't burn this much oil.

My honda civic with 70,000 miles on it, doesn't burn oil (and it revs all the way up to 6500 RPM before redline)

If it turns out it does burn this much oil, then why bother with changing it - just swap filters and top it off all the time =/

Well it really isn't very difficult to keep under control. Just check your oil regularly and top off as needed. Eventually you'll know what is normal for your specific car and it will become second nature.

I burned maybe 3/8ths of a quart in almost 1500 miles. At this rate I might burn a full quart in 4500 miles... not that big of a deal. I just need to make sure I keep a supply of Redline on hand.

I do think it's important that this issue is raised, though. There are going to be a lot of new owners coming from cars that don't really burn any oil... they aren't going to know that they need to be checking levels regularly and could use a little nudge in the right direction.

Another thing to keep in mind on this, a lot of people seem to be checking in and saying "I just checked my oil for the first time at 2K (or whatever low number) miles and it's low". That doesn't necessarily mean anything about oil consumption if this is the first time you've looked at your dipstick on the factory fill. For all you know, it was filled slightly low at the factory. To measure consumption, you need to have a baseline from you checking the dipstick yourself at an earlier mileage, and you need to check the dipstick under roughly identical conditions both times in terms of how hot or cold the engine is when you shut it off, and how long you wait to check. Personally I like to get the engine fully warmed up (180+ oil temps, preferably 200), then shut it down and wait about 10 full minutes to check the level.

I check my oil everytime I fill up gas. You guys should make it a habbit.

You need to give it time to settle.

I would wait for atleast 20 minutes.

When I brought my wifes car home I checked the oil and it was good, I checked it again this morning and it was below low, the car has less than 2k miles and I have not even had it 2 months. So your telling me this is normal for a $40k car built in 2009? I say ********.

One of the best times to check oil is first thing in the morning.
The car has sat over night, the engine is cold, all of the oil has settled down into the pan.

+1.. Especailly because of where the dipstick is located.

I have a baseline. I burned oil after my oil change. Just saying...

I haven't had any noticeable oil burn to date that I'm aware of. Dipstick stays constant under a given set of checking conditions throughout the life of an oil change for me so far. I'll be changing my oil again today, so I'll get another double-check on this before I drain.

My last oil change was at 1,600 miles and changed to synthetic oil at that time. Have now 3,300 miles and still at the H level (at least when i checked on Sunday - will check before I leave work today).

Well then I guess it is nor 'normal' :ugh2:

Very true. My Subaru did not burn oil, it drank it and the compression was always spot on.

doesn't matter when you check it, as long as you have a REFERENCE POINT.

check once in the morning, and then once when you are filling up. It's easy to use your brain and postulate the difference.

Well due to the position of the dip stick there is a oil dump right below it, so if you check when you fill up it will show more oil than there, that is why I say wait 20 min for everything to settle. Also I agree with the reference point, consistency is the key.

Seriously isn't this the next thing you learn after you figure out how the gas cap comes off? I thought this was just automotive common sense to check your oil at least every other fill up. Why are people checking their oil for the first time after 2K?

Oil change at 1200 to Nissan Ester
2700 miles into my Nissan Ester and i am at:
L o----------|----o H
The car has sat all night so its pretty accurate.

Basicly 3/4ths. No idea where it was when the oil was first changed due to i did not check it.

No mods and grandma driving style so far.

That was common sense 30 years ago, when tolerances were measured in fractions of an inch, not fractions of a millimeter! :)

Yet, in an earlier post you said the above.......Pardon us for being a bit confused..It is still common sense.

You guys are killing me

X2

Hell, let me change that... X200!

I'm frankly stunned that there are people driving an (up to) $42K car who can't be bothered to check their oil. WTF, people??? That is girlfriend behavior:eek:. The amount of time it takes is negligible. Here's the procedure:

Your gas tank is close to empty. Go fill the gas tank. Drive home (or take a short drive; just make sure the engine is warmed up). Turn the car off and check the time. Wait 15 minutes. Check the oil level.

The total time involved in stuff that you aren't going to do anyways is about 2 minutes. If I remember correctly, the manual (read it, for god's sake, people... it only takes a couple of hours!) says that an empty oil reserve can void the warranty, as 99% of the time it means the customer was being negligent and not checking the oil.

If you want your car to last a long time, you should be checking all of the fluids and belts after every fill-up.

Lecture over:p

you're killin' me smalls!:rofl2:

I do check my oil, just not regularly, if at all between changes. I've never had a reason to, until now.

Truck - I check it maybe every 6 months. Like I said, I don't change the oil that often.

Civic - check it when the alarm goes off about oil change interval (which is an approximation for my halfway point on 15K oil)

Bike - never check it, just change it annually.

Z - I checked it a couple weeks ago when someone said theirs was eating oil. Mine was OK. I've since changed the oil and I'll check it again at 3750 before I drop the oil out. If it's fine, I'll likely check it again at either the next oil change, or halfway point...depending on which way I go (3750 changes or 5000 changes)



Don't bother attacking facts (that the Z / VQ37VHR engine burns oil a LOT more than most other engines out there) attack the person's credibility...:icon14: