i was playing the on-board computer & checking the engine oil level on my TT yesterday. it only showed that my oil level is at the middle of max & min level. exactly half like 4 bars in 8.

in the manual it says to "top up" the oil but no reach to max level. do i need to add some to like maybe 7 bars in display or leave in in 4 bars now?

 

Hi. The dry-sump oiling system we have is really good, and
as long as you have at least the minimum (and maybe even
less), you'll get oil to all the places you need. Having too much
oil is a serious danger (if it's a lot too much), but you wouldn't
do that either. If you keep the oil fresh and between the
bottom and top, you're fine. I tend to try to keep it around the
middle, and will top it off at quarter-quart quantities to keep
it there. If your oil consumption is high, then you could keep
the level higher so as to give some safety margin for you
forgetting to check.
Joe

 

Right in the middle or lower is good. Joe is 100 % correct that the cars will work of the minimum. We actually could live off of 5 quarts as the case is empty and the oil is returned into the tank then sucked out of it. Hence the dry sump. The danger in running to low is foaming of the oil. To much will cause oil to push out of everywhere. A nice in between measurement is good. Remember that even with the computer it is an average of oil level since the level is taken by the volume of oil pushed back into the system.

 

Everytime I have ever received a car back from the dealer after service it is filled to the very top. When my turbo came back it was at the top bar.. I guess it could have been even higher and I would not know since there is no dip stick.

 

That happened to me as well. However, i've been changing my own oil since the first time the dealer did it.

Nowadays, with 9 fresh quarts, Im still below the top level of the oil gauge (I drain the turbos as well).

I wonder how much the dealerships put in?

 

What is funny is most of the guys doing the oil changes at the dealer have very little working knowledge of the dry sump system. Most dealers do not even work on the older cars. Second issue is if there is a Max line and a Min they will always push it. You can not explain to customers that the oil was not filled to the line. If you do they have to be able to explain why, LOL, that's not going to happen. At least not from the dealer. They just go by what the book says. Nothing more, sometimes less

 

After I got the car back from the Ruf tech Joe, I noticed that the oil level indicator was closer to half way between min and half.

I asked Joe about this and he told me to try and leave it at this level as overfilling the oil can result in the air filter fouling with oil.

He told me this had been a problem with some customers and had resulted in check engine lights. He also concurred with one of the previus posts here that the oil level can be almost 3 quarts lower and still not harm the engine.

All the usual disclaimers and guilt absolution clauses apply....