Originally Posted By: Familyguy
I was using Rotella 5W-40 synthetic in my Saturn (new to me @ 110k miles). It burns a bit of oil...perhaps about 1qt every 1200 miles. I kept her topped off with Rotella until it was a quart low with about 1000 miles to go until my initial 3000 mile OCI. Within a week of me adding the MMO, the oil went from maple syrup colored to DARK black. So I dumped the oil and filter and did another 1500 miles with 4qts of Delo 15w40 + 1qt MMO and topped off with Delo at about 1200 miles. Same result. Now I'm running Mobil 1 0w30 without any MMO. I'll run this for 5k miles and see how things come along. When this OCI is over, I'll likely pop off the cam cover to change the gasket since it's got a slight seep and get a good look at things inside.
This is my commuter/beater so I was quite surprised/pleased to see that mileage has gone up a wee bit (from 33-ish to 36-ish mpg) and oil consumption seems to have improved slightly since I got the car about 2 months ago.
Best,
Your consumption is on par with mine, and they both consume due to defects in oil control ring design. Our consumption puts us in the "maybe" category; the consumption is not so severe as to conclude the rings are shot and there is no hope of reducing it short of a rebuild, but its also high enough that its on the edge of the slope that can, left unchecked, lead to the first case scenario where consumption can quickly increase to as much as a quart every 300 miles (the most I've heard of).
Beyond some white smoke only evident at startup, when burning very rich, and the soot on the tail pipe, you would never know there was a problem anywhere. My mileage varies now between 30-35 mpg, with 35-38 being typical on the highway (I'm still trying to improve on this).
This is in a 4 spd auto with winter tires on (Goodyear Nordic) and doing a 65-75 mph highway cruise. Engine, particularly since the mos2 has had some time to do its thing, purrs like a kitten and is smooth throughout its rpm range (though its audible when it drops down to 3rd on the highway and RPM jumps to 3,500-4,000 rpm; usual highway cruising rpm in OD is 2,200-2,500 rpm).
I am running an additive cycle that has proven its worth to me, and, given enough time, may lower consumption on its own; or if not, prevent it from becoming worse. That consists of MMO in my winter synthetic oil (added early this year), Regane 'as needed' (so far that's been two cycles spaced 5,000 km apart) followed by a few tanks of MMO in the gas, and then tc-w3 in the fuel every tank until the next Regane cycle.
LM mos2 was a more recent addition: half a bottle into my 4 quart sump as initial dosing, with one quarter bottle to subsequent OCs as maintenance dosing.
I plan to stick with this over the winter and trend it to see if it begins to drop. When I do my spring OC I will be moving to more burn off resistant 10W30 for 3 season usage (and stay with 5 or 0W30 in winter) and will decide then whether or not to add another Lubro Moly product called Motor Oil Saver. It can be added with or without mos2, and the maker claims it reduces leaks by seal swelling as well as reducing consumption through blow by from rings or valve problems.
-Spyder
I was using Rotella 5W-40 synthetic in my Saturn (new to me @ 110k miles). It burns a bit of oil...perhaps about 1qt every 1200 miles. I kept her topped off with Rotella until it was a quart low with about 1000 miles to go until my initial 3000 mile OCI. Within a week of me adding the MMO, the oil went from maple syrup colored to DARK black. So I dumped the oil and filter and did another 1500 miles with 4qts of Delo 15w40 + 1qt MMO and topped off with Delo at about 1200 miles. Same result. Now I'm running Mobil 1 0w30 without any MMO. I'll run this for 5k miles and see how things come along. When this OCI is over, I'll likely pop off the cam cover to change the gasket since it's got a slight seep and get a good look at things inside.
This is my commuter/beater so I was quite surprised/pleased to see that mileage has gone up a wee bit (from 33-ish to 36-ish mpg) and oil consumption seems to have improved slightly since I got the car about 2 months ago.
Best,
Your consumption is on par with mine, and they both consume due to defects in oil control ring design. Our consumption puts us in the "maybe" category; the consumption is not so severe as to conclude the rings are shot and there is no hope of reducing it short of a rebuild, but its also high enough that its on the edge of the slope that can, left unchecked, lead to the first case scenario where consumption can quickly increase to as much as a quart every 300 miles (the most I've heard of).
Beyond some white smoke only evident at startup, when burning very rich, and the soot on the tail pipe, you would never know there was a problem anywhere. My mileage varies now between 30-35 mpg, with 35-38 being typical on the highway (I'm still trying to improve on this).
This is in a 4 spd auto with winter tires on (Goodyear Nordic) and doing a 65-75 mph highway cruise. Engine, particularly since the mos2 has had some time to do its thing, purrs like a kitten and is smooth throughout its rpm range (though its audible when it drops down to 3rd on the highway and RPM jumps to 3,500-4,000 rpm; usual highway cruising rpm in OD is 2,200-2,500 rpm).
I am running an additive cycle that has proven its worth to me, and, given enough time, may lower consumption on its own; or if not, prevent it from becoming worse. That consists of MMO in my winter synthetic oil (added early this year), Regane 'as needed' (so far that's been two cycles spaced 5,000 km apart) followed by a few tanks of MMO in the gas, and then tc-w3 in the fuel every tank until the next Regane cycle.
LM mos2 was a more recent addition: half a bottle into my 4 quart sump as initial dosing, with one quarter bottle to subsequent OCs as maintenance dosing.
I plan to stick with this over the winter and trend it to see if it begins to drop. When I do my spring OC I will be moving to more burn off resistant 10W30 for 3 season usage (and stay with 5 or 0W30 in winter) and will decide then whether or not to add another Lubro Moly product called Motor Oil Saver. It can be added with or without mos2, and the maker claims it reduces leaks by seal swelling as well as reducing consumption through blow by from rings or valve problems.
-Spyder