Pennzoil YB 5w20 - 6160 mi - 07 Civic 1.8

[Cutehumor]

Originally Posted By: rationull
No need to blow this out of proportion...

The engine has burned a little oil since new. Literally around 1/4 of my daily commute is on a 6-7% grade. So unless I'm running errands after work, nearly every day the car gets a significant proportion of its driving at 3500 RPM at high load, and at 2800-3800 RPM at 0 throttle (depending on how much I feel like using the brakes).


severe driving conditions your doing. what's honda's oci for severe driving? 20 wt for severe driving?

 

[Billy_D]

The owner of the civic has been running 6k OCI and getting UOA. His engine doesn't need any cleaning.

 

[rationull]

Originally Posted By: LT4 Vette
Are you sure the drain plug is tightened all the way ?

Thats a lot of make up oil.

I've gone 11K miles on Mobil 1 (80% highway) in my 2007 Civic EX and the engine oil used less than 1/2 a quart.


Don't think there are any leaks. Certainly not out the drain plug.

 

[rationull]

Originally Posted By: Cutehumor

severe driving conditions your doing. what's honda's oci for severe driving? 20 wt for severe driving?


IIRC across the Honda line the rec is 5w-20, except for the Civic SI and the S2000. Same weight recommended for all driving conditions.

The OCI is determined by the computer, which prompts you to change the oil when it hits 15%. You're supposed to change it before 5% or 0%, theoretically. I've always had it hit 15% at around 6000 miles.

For all I know this run was a fluke as far as consumption goes. I'm really not too worried about, and to be honest, I'm not 100% sure the 1.5 qt figure is accurate, which is why I'm being more careful this time about recording consumption.

 

[ZZman]

You guys act like 1.5 Qts in 6,000 is the end of the world. That is not bad consumption at all. Sure we would all like a car to use none but that amount in 6,000 miles is not bad.

 

[kr_bitog]

Originally Posted By: rationull
Literally around 1/4 of my daily commute is on a 6-7% grade. So unless I'm running errands after work, nearly every day the car gets a significant proportion of its driving at 3500 RPM at high load, and at 2800-3800 RPM at 0 throttle (depending on how much I feel like using the brakes).


This pattern is better than city driving, and unless the engine run cold or drive on very high-rpm, it will not cause burning oil

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: ZZman
You guys act like 1.5 Qts in 6,000 is the end of the world. That is not bad consumption at all. Sure we would all like a car to use none but that amount in 6,000 miles is not bad.


+1 I see no problems with adding 1.5qts of oil in 6,000 miles. I would consider that normal oil use. Some engines will use more some less, but it is certainly not a problem by any means. JMO

 

[daman]

Originally Posted By: ZZman
You guys act like 1.5 Qts in 6,000 is the end of the world. That is not bad consumption at all.that amount in 6,000 miles is not bad.

It is when your trying to get a accurate readout on a UOA,it is bad in IMO,i guess call me spoiled none of my GM fleet has used close to that much in 6k.

 

[demarpaint]

It will skew a UOA, but if make up oil has to be added you don't have many options.

 

[daman]

Agreed...

 

[Mr Nice]

Is 85-90 MPH on the highway 45 miles each way considered 'severe driving conditions' ?

Thats my style of driving to and from work four days a week.

 

[rationull]

Whenever oil burning comes up here it seems like half the responders say "It's normal, don't worry about it" and the other half say "OMG engines should never burn oil, esp new [Brand X] engines!" It is what it is, though. To be honest I've never had a car that didn't burn some oil, at least on long trips. I obtained my previous cars at high mileage though and it's possible they were abused from new, who knows? I'm pretty sure nothing I do to my cars could be reasonably classified as abuse.

I wish I had access to more cars driven in the same patterns I normally drive so I could compare, but I don't. As it is I'm glad to be able to monitor my GF's new car, which now (on Motorcraft 5w-20) appears to be about a half quart down on 4500 miles or so. This is obviously more reasonable, but it's close to what I saw when I ran Motorcraft in the Civic, too. Preliminarily, that makes me think it's possible that it's a combination of the oil and the driving conditions, rather than 100% on the engine.

I'm excited to see if the GTX changes the consumption patterns. I'll update on the forum with what I see.

 

[demarpaint]

Years ago using 1qt/1000 miles was considered normal use. That amount today would be considered an oil burner, yet some cars in perfectly good condition use that much oil. A lot of owners manuals state some oil consumption is considered normal. I guess to cover their arse if they sell a car that burns oil. I would consider 1qt/1000 miles still normal today. I wouldn't be happy about it though.

I wonder how bad an oil burner a car has to be before a warranty claim for oil consumption would be addressed? My bet the number is still about 1000 miles/qt, depending on the serice writer and the dealership.

 

[Hokiefyd]

That your car consumes a small amount of oil just means that the cylinder walls will stay well-lubricated and the engine will outlast the chassis most likely.

Still today, most manufacturers' tolerance is 1 qt/1000 miles. Toyota's is 1 qt/600 miles. That's the point that they'll begin to do something about it. With low tension piston rings, engines use more oil today than they used to. But this is all well and good; we also used to have to rebuild engines, or at least ream the cylinder ridge, after 100k miles. That's unheard of today. Old school guys say it's best to not use ANY oil. Newer guys say it's good to use some oil, as it keeps the sump replenished and adds cushion to longer OCIs. Depending on how you look at it, both are correct.