JHZR2
Staff member
My 1991 318i has around 155k miles.
It has always had the same use profile ever since I bought it over 75,000 miles ago. I do mainly suburban driving, low-speed with stoplights, but then I do on occasion do a good deal of high speed interstate driving.
I've been trying to map my consumption rates to get a good understanding. Over the last two years and number of oil change intervals I have run either m1 10W-40 high mileage or m1 10W-50. Both are good viscosities per my manual. I've run various synthetics in this car without issue.
Over the last 15-30k, consumption has gone up, but I've found it is entirely highway-based.
Around town with normal local driving, the use is a quart in 3000 or so miles which to me is acceptable.
On the highway, it is around 1qt in 500 miles!!
No leaks, no smoke, no stink, clean emissions. Car runs like a top, smooth, quiet, fine power. Efficiency is as it has always been.
I have a startup lifter tick, not sure if it is a correlation... I think it started before the consumption, but both are similarly recent occurrences.
Could they be related? I'm dropping my oil choice to valvoline nexgen maxlife 10w-40 since it can be had really cheap and if anything can do something better for the car I imagine that is the stuff.
But any thoughts on the consumption that is really only at high speed? My car has a 4.10 LSD, and fifth gear is 0.81. It spins pretty fast on the highway, generally well over 3000.
Thank you!
It has always had the same use profile ever since I bought it over 75,000 miles ago. I do mainly suburban driving, low-speed with stoplights, but then I do on occasion do a good deal of high speed interstate driving.
I've been trying to map my consumption rates to get a good understanding. Over the last two years and number of oil change intervals I have run either m1 10W-40 high mileage or m1 10W-50. Both are good viscosities per my manual. I've run various synthetics in this car without issue.
Over the last 15-30k, consumption has gone up, but I've found it is entirely highway-based.
Around town with normal local driving, the use is a quart in 3000 or so miles which to me is acceptable.
On the highway, it is around 1qt in 500 miles!!
No leaks, no smoke, no stink, clean emissions. Car runs like a top, smooth, quiet, fine power. Efficiency is as it has always been.
I have a startup lifter tick, not sure if it is a correlation... I think it started before the consumption, but both are similarly recent occurrences.
Could they be related? I'm dropping my oil choice to valvoline nexgen maxlife 10w-40 since it can be had really cheap and if anything can do something better for the car I imagine that is the stuff.
But any thoughts on the consumption that is really only at high speed? My car has a 4.10 LSD, and fifth gear is 0.81. It spins pretty fast on the highway, generally well over 3000.
Thank you!
