So the saga starts with purchase of my 2005 997s with 4k miles that i got 3 yrs ago...sounds like a launch car with fully loaded pccb, nav, full leather, adaptic seats, came with fabspeed headers and mufflers(stock cats) . Loved the car and is my second 997s...I have been a track rat for yrs and this was the second 997s I tracked about 15-20 days/yr..about 2 yrs ago noticed some mild white smoke on start up after a track session and had the oil separator changed under warranty, scavenger pumps checked and leak down done, all ok....GIAC and EVo intake was added...still smoking
Then I moved to r compounds with gt3 control arms (after I corded a brand new set of Michelin ps2’s in one day I figured I was ready)and started instructing and pushing 8-9/10ths . then the smoke got worse, again only on track days after each session upon start up..burned about 1 qt/day...had the car checked out again....last six months burning 2 qts/day...smoke only at start up..none on street..had the car rechecked recently with scoping the cylinders(looked ok), leak down compression test ok, and had the dealership drive the car for 500 miles and no oil loss during those miles..no oil leakage on the floors and RMS ok .now I have 19k miles still cpo’ed till march 2011...

Was hoping to keep the car for a while but really concerned about oil consumption even if only at the track. I assume the r compounds with more g forces is doing something to make me burn more oil...i have lots of buddies with 997s’ that do not burn any oil at the track...in fact one had his engine replaced after scorched cylinders and similar smoking as mine...(all mods done at dealership so warranty still ok)The baffled oil pans I believe only help with smoking ON the track, and not with this problem like the smoking caymans( I have been smoked screened by them on the track before).

Any ideas or solutions would be appreciated.. My thoughts are that one day soon the engine will blow, and my only hope is that is does before warranty ends...thought about moving to a 996 or 997 gt3 and maybe this would be a good excuse.

 

2 qts per day of tracking seems high. how do you know how much oil should be added? 997 doesn't have a dip stick so may be you really burned less?

if you track a lot, I think a gt3 makes more sense in the long run. perhaps a gt3 rs?

it's a hard time to sell but if u do, u should sell it soon while u still have a full year of warranty.

 

well after one or two track sessions, blinking lowest bar on oil indicator..add one quart get to about one less than max bar....another 1-2 track sessions and back to blinking lowest bar indicating oil needs to be added..no oil leakage on paddock floors or in the garage
and yes but i really like my car on the street and love passing many a gt3 which makes it even sweeter...but i could never keep up with a gt3 that is well driven....if i did get a gt3 would get it used and no guarantees i wouldn't have an RMS issue or something else...i like the fact that every yr my car is worth less so i can drive it a little harder realizing i have less $ to worry about...getting into a gt3 the $ lost crash factor would be high...i really like the car and am hoping to figure this one out before warranty runs out ..perhaps take it to another dealer with more experience in engine failures?

btw love the rs orange

thanks
mk

 

I keep thinking about the accuracy of those electronic oil gauges the 997 has.
Was the car known to be on a horizontal surface when you took the measurement?
Did enough time elapse after the drive to allow the oil to get to where it should be for a proper reading?

I'm wondering if the system was giving you a false low reading, to which you added more oil, which then just got burned off.

 

I add about 1/2 a quart every 3-4 track days.

 

thanks minok..but wouldn't explain why mine does this and many others do not....the guy who had his engine replaced with stock AOS (oil separator) now burns NO oil...

 

What oil are you using... 0W-40?

Keep in mind that 0W-40 is only a 40 Weight oil at 210 deg. Most likely you are seeing temps in excess of 250 deg. You might want to think about switching to a 5W-40 oil like Motul 8100 Xcess (Porsche approved) or a 50W oil like Mobil1 15W-50 (Not Porsche approved but many use it for track days, high temps)

This does not explain why you are burning a lot of oil and others are not but it will probably help!

Jason

 

depends on the car/oil i guess

 

+1 switch to a 50w oil and see if you burn less.

 

thanks guys...will try the 50w and run the oil at 1 bar before lowest and see what happens...14 hrs of labor plus parts on the AOS so may hold off to see whether i keep the car or get the gt3

 

get from i-net mobil 1 5w-50, it is an approved oil. i googled it and it was easy to find. just a sec...

here:
http://autobahnmotoroilproducts.com/...Synthetic.html

 

Your symptons are very familiar to mine, except I dont burn that much oil. So, often when I come in off a 30 min. track session, rest for say 30 mins and then start back up I get white smoke burning off for at least a five minutes. Im talking BIG plumes of smoke and then it just disappears. Have had the car checked over by my OPC many times who report no problems...

 

I do not claim to be an expert in this - but, well, to my understanding bad news about smoke and oil burning are - all those things are usually results of cylinders overheat and consequent to that deterioration of cylinder walls.

so what efficiently happens in 30min after you stop - block and cylinder is still pretty hot and enlarged. piston rings have contracted already from working temperature so that smoke means oil gets into the cylinder. and it gets there primarily because lowest piston ring does not have firm contact with cylinder wall across its entire path, so, some oil gets there inside, as simple as that.
after a bit of time as you run engine and piston&rings get up to its operating temp - contact mostly restores so smoke dissapears. Same as when cylinders cool off completely - contact also restores so no oil gets inside.

Theoretically if you would measure compression during that interval of time when engine 'smokes' you would notice some fluctuations, but problem is that to work on car mechanic will demand it to cool off completely, and location wise spark plugs on 911 car is quite a PITA.

Plus most likely wear and tear amount is not equal across entire cylinder shaft so you cannot just drop in bigger sized rings set without machining cylinders to next size, and price wise compared to get it all done - probably put more oil when tracking is a better alternative until issue will escalate to constant oil burning - that will mean it`s time for new rings.

Again, it`s just my opinion based on what I know about cars, may be 997 cars have some hidden flux capacitor inside that opens up on track and drizzles oil inside, but I doubt it.

 

thanks utkinpol andcl 997

\and it is good to hear i am not the only one cl997.....
mk

 

mkk62 - I believe I replied to you here or on another thread that I found only filling to 1st bar above low helped me reduce oil consumption, but did not eliminate consumption or start up smoke after track sessions.

My 997S smokes on start up after track sessions, and also used roughly 1/2 qt. of oil per day at the track. Idling or driving for several minutes after coming off the track reduced smoke issue somewhat but not consumption. I have noticed smoke issue and oil consumption get worse on very hot days, 90+ degrees. My oil temp gauge usually reads 250 degrees or so after track sessions but would be 260 or so on hottest days - the higher the temp the more consumption and smoke on start up. After consulting with Farnbacher Loles, who felt high temps were the root cause, I recently had them add center 3rd radiator for more cooling. Did 3 track days this weekend running advanced groups for 5 1/2 hours total with no smoke and no oil consumption! Oil temp gauge never read above 225 degrees.

It was cool out so I don't yet know if the extra radiator will resolve the issue completely on hot days (here in the NE won't have any more really hot days until next year), but I am optimistic based on this weekend's result. I speculate at high temps the oil mists/vaporizes more and slips past AOS more readily especially when you ease off throttle at high revs like at end of session, which causes high vacuum draw on the AOS.

From other threads it sounds like Motorsport AOS may be another approach, but I also heard very high labor costs for the install and it seemed more cooling was good for the overall heath of the engine on the track (I realize that is not very scientific). Figured I'd follow Farnbacher's recommendation of more cooling as the first step and consider the Motorsport AOS if the cooling didn't do the trick - so far it looks like the extra cooling may be enough.

P.S. - since the front bumper cover has to be removed to install the radiator, I had them install radiator grilles while they had the cover off - adding them also requires removing the cover so it was a good time to do that and protect all 3 radiators from street and track debris.