Not to hijack a thread, but anyone know if this is what is acceptable for the 997.1 as well?

 

My .2 consumes maybe half a quart every 5k miles if that. However, I do often have the smell of something hot/burning when I shut the car down after a somewhat hard drive. Neither my Lotus nor my Alfa Romeo have such a smell although, knowing the marques reliability history, they should be more likely to do so.

 

These cars have a distinct smell all the time, even when nothing is leaking and it smells a bit like oil vapor. Part of it is because of the AOS and the other part is because anything the rear tires throw up, including rubber from the tires themselves, goes right at the hot mufflers in the rear fenders. Do your investigating, but it doesn't sound to me like you have a major issue, just a car that's on the higher end of the oil consumption curve.

Most 997 PPIs actually do not include either a compression or leak down test. The compression test is less important because if one or two cylinders are down, there will almost always be misfire codes stored for that cylinder(s). I paid extra to have both done when buying my supercharged RUF car because of the potential extra stresses of forced induction and the higher purchase price.

Keep us posted with the results of the consumption testing.

 

Mine eats a litre of 5w/40 every 1000 km like clock work. I am the second owner. 70000 miles on the clock. The car has been serviced religiously since new. The previous owner did take it to the track a few times a year. I know the consumption is within spec, but the fact that other 911s can burn so little makes me more than a little nervous. I love the car so much though that I'll drive it until it drops and then go from there. Hopefully that day is a long way away!

 

Sudden increase in oil consumption would be cause to worry. I like your approach on this. Have fun out there.

 

At long last, an update:

I took the car to the Porsche dealer at which I bought it. Porsche corporate agreed to foot the bill for an oil consumption test. They topped it off and told me to bring it back in 1,000 miles.

I drove the 1,000 miles and called to make an appointment. I was told they were unusually busy and couldn't get me in for a while. Well, the miles kept growing. Then the holidays happened. Then I went into the crazy-busiest time of year for my work.

Then I had a fender-bender (other guy's fault, I might add--really frustrating).

I finally contacted the dealer to start the process again. They just kept giving me a runaround, so I contacted a different dealer--one that is closer to my work anyway.

They topped it off and told me to bring it back in 1,000 miles. I brought it back to them this past Monday. They determined that it had burned just 1/10th of a quart in 1,100 miles, so no problem.

This is just really weird to me, going from burning a full quart every 1,000-1,500 miles to burning a very small amount in 1,100 miles.

I guess I'm just going to keep driving and monitoring, but I'm pretty puzzled.

Thoughts?

 

I added 4 ounces to my '08C4 the other day at 4600 miles since the last oil change. that is only the 2nd time I've added oil. the other time was also at about 5K miles. I don't track the car but do run occasional high speed runs for short distances. I change the oil every 5 k miles and have about 50K on it.

 

1) Did you change your driving style or patterns at all during the recent 1100 miles?
Many short trips and not getting the oil really hot for extended periods will cause condensed water to accumulate, and can create the perception that you are not burning oil. This condensation in certain cases can even cause your "oil" level to increase...

2)did your gauge show any change over this period?

 

Never had the burning oil smell and I live in Florida where it gets hot, and I don't baby the car.

 

1) No. Mixed highway and city with lots of mountain roads. Many short trips, but most in the 40-60 minute range.

2) No.

I'm thinking this should be put in the category with "feeling much better once you get to the doctor."

 

Do you do much idling in the car? I think that can burn oil too.


Any noticeable changes in MPG?

 

LA traffic=lots of idling, yes, but no less idling during the most recent 1100 miles

Hmm. Now that you mention it, I think I may have lost around 2 MPG over the last couple of months. Why do you ask?

 

My car (2009 3.6L) usually has the smell of oil after being driven; I've added a total of 1qt of oil in 2600 miles/4 months. Granted mine doesn't smell like burning oil per se, but I do get that oil vapor kind of smell.


Was just curious on the idling and the MPG... I tend to do some idling in my car (waiting for kids to get out of school) and chalked the oil consumption up to that for the most part. My MPG range seems okay, however; generally get around 21 - 22 MPG. It might just be in my head, but it seems like my MPG drops to 19/20 MPG when my oil is down and needs a top off.

 

Actually you might consider the possibility that your experience is not typical