Turbo Oil Consumption

[boggie]

Evening All,

8 months and 10K miles of 911 Turbo ownership and I am still VERY much in the honeymoon period. The car is mostly used for commuting into West London or by my wife taking the kids to school but it is the the sort of car I often drive for driving sake. It has been a few years since I have owned a daily driver that I find time to take out for fun (the Caterham has been left whimpering in the garage without turning a wheel since the 996T came along). I have had a couple of interesting 'moments' on spirited drives but nothing I (or more likely, the car) could not handle.

A question: What is the 'normal' oil consumption for the 996 Turbo S? I have owned high performance turbocharged cars before and know they enjoy a little oil so I am not worried; I was just wondering what the rest of you get. I am topping the car up up every couple of months (when it gets a couple or bars below full) and am using about 1L of Mobil1 every 5K miles.

I also get the occasional blue cloud on initial start up. I would say I get this about 1 in 5 or so starts but especially after cleaning as I start the car, reverse slightly and stop so I can clean the part of the inside wheels I could not get to because of the brake calliper. As a result I push it back without starting the engine now but I have been told that the flat six is prone to oil getting past the rings when idle, is this true?

Cheers,
B

 

[richard hall]

you could have alook at this

http://www.porscheclubgbforum.com/tm.asp?m=645348&mpage=1&key=&#647831

i think it varies on the driving you do short trips long trips etc as i said I put the hammer down going to budapest and over nearly 3,000 miles it did just one bar! but that was constant high speed however a trip to scotland 18 months earlier with the boys and roughly 1700 miles at an average of 65mph [] and it used all the bars but then boost was used a lot! lots of a roads and bends etc

 

[boggie]

Thanks Richard,

I had read this originally and it made me realise mine uses relatively little oil compared to some other cars. I do notice oil misting sometimes when the car is used for short 'boosty' journeys rather than long motorway cruises. Whilst I am at it; I have used 1L of coolant over 8K miles, is this normal? There are no signs of leaks and RSJ replaced one of the rads as part of the initial handover after Peter Morgan inspected it.

B

 

[mobs]

Hi!
Though I've not had to top up the oil in around 5k miles, over the winter period, my car (996 Turbo S) tends to be a bit "smokey" on start up. This is quite normal on flat 6 Turbo cars - as I'm sure you are aware though.
No doubt all's well - especially if you've given it the beans once in a while!
Cheers
Mobs

 

[Gordon Attar]

If its lots of spirited driving, once the cars warmed up properly then you shouldnt be worried. I think the manual says 1/2 litre /1000 miles so well within tolerances and you can get smoke on start up, only get concerned if it carries on for more than roughly a minute.

 

[Richard_Hamilton]

It is worse than that Gordon - For the 996 Carrera, Porsche say they will not replace/repair an engine under warranty unless it is consuming more than 0.5 litres per 1000km (625 miles) !! IMO, that it incredibly high consumption for any 996, even a Turbo. 1L/5000mls is fairly typical for a Turbo. My Carerra never required topups between oil changes, which I did at 6000 mile intervals, and my Turbo used about 250ml/1000mls.

 

[boggie]

Blimey, at that consumption rate the car is virtually a Pre-mix two stroke!

Thanks for the replies chaps, much appreciated.

B

 

[ashley]

as others have said re smoking on start up, never had to top my car up between services but to be fair only doing 3-4k mies per year, more this year as Le Mans Classic looms ever closer

 

[shocks]

We just did a 3400 Euro trip, used no more than 500ml the whole trip and that was taking in some spirited driving !

Edinburgh-Hull-Nurburg-Stuttgart-Insbruck-St Moritz-Davos-Fuela Pass-San Bernadino-Turin-Col de Tende-Col de Turini-Nice-Gravedonna-Troyes-Windsor-Lakes-Edinburgh !

That was running 5w40 - since switching to this from 0W there has been a marked reduction in consumption. I do, however, change oil/filter very 5k miles regardless of service interval.