Underfill to 80% ok?

[Coprolite]

2011 G37 Sport Coupe:

I just did my second oil change @6032 miles. My OCI is 6 months and 3-6k miles. Previous fills were FF Nissan Ester 3 month, 2.2k miles and PP 5w30 until today.

The required volume is about 5.25 quarts and I am using a slightly oversized filter (P1 14610). Using the M1 AFE 0w30 5 quart bottle, the dipstick now reads at ~80%. Is it ok to run at this amount? No historical consumption to date.

I simply don't want to crack open a fresh bottle for such a small amount. I hate to waste the unused amount. I also prefer to avoid mixing my leftovers. If I had another 5w30 vehicle with a lesser tune, I would mixed the leftovers...

Do you think this is ok?
What are the ramifications?

I don't track this car right now.

This is the winter fill. I will change back to PP 5w30 with 5.25 quarts in the spring.

 

[dparm]

Why not just fill to 100% and put the open bottle in the trunk for top-offs?

I don't think running at 80% is really going to cause a problem, as long as it's between the "low" and "high" marks on the dipstick. Crankcase pressure difference is probably negligible.

 

[The motor guy]

Like the above poster said. Just as long as it's in between low and full it's fine. Technically it's the correct amount of oil since you put a bigger filter on it. but this will make the level in the crankcase slightly lower so just keep an eye on the level to make sure it doesn't get below the add mark.

 

[Coprolite]

It is a 9 month old car that has a good history of 0 consumption.

I figure that I can return the unused quart and buy one if I see it drop at all...

 

[Lead Shoes]

Or open another quart, top it off, and keep it in the garage for the next 2 oil changes or so, it will cover the little extra you need, I would never let my car run with lower oil than recommended, especially a brand new g37.

 

[Triple_Se7en]

The way I look at this is this.....

If you can afford a nice new vehicle - then also afford to furnish it with high quality synthetic oil, then why not just buy a single quart every other OCI.

Sounds like you are around a half-quart low. I would install a half quart of MI and not look at this thread-topic again. Quit being so cheap about this. It's not like that unused oil is going to go to waste. You can store oil for many years.

 

[Scorch]

Just drive to the store and pick up another quart of the M1, top off with that and keep the rest of that quart for the next time you change the oil and run into the same thing.

 

[OldCowboy]

+1

You spend $35,000+ for a new vehicle and then are unwilling to spend an additional $8.00 to add the correct amount of oil??????

 

[The motor guy]

typically to get from the low mark to the high mark you have to add 1qt. So if it's 80 percent full that would mean your probably short about 10oz or so. So who cares.

 

[TFB1]

Originally Posted By: motor_oil_madman
typically to get from the low mark to the high mark you have to add 1qt. So if it's 80 percent full that would mean your probably short about 10oz or so. So who cares.


Assuming that's what the OP really means, to me 80% in a 5.25 qt system would mean it's slightly over a quart low... Now last change on my '07 Grand Marquis I only added five quarts to it's six quart system, it ran for roughly seven months that way, never dropped below the add mark... I finally added the sixth just prior to taking a 700mi round trip...

 

[moss]

Shouldn't the oil level ideally be right in the middle of the dipstick? 80% on the dipstick is above the middle, so I don't see the issue here. I have always filled between minimum and middle of dipstick, and never had a problem.

 

[Coprolite]

80% means that it is very close to the full mark. If you use the 1 qt. From add to full theorem, I would need 0.2 quarts or so. As many people have noted, it is a high dollar car, so I don't want to run a mongrel oil mix after a couple years of gathering .75 of a quart each time.

I do have PP 5w30 as my summer lube and can top off with that if I get past the mongrel phobia.

The whole point is that I don't want 3/4 of a quart of 6 oils and wonder what to do with them. I am a litle OCD with efficiency. This is completely not a $ issue.

When I say 0 consumption, it means that it doesn't move at all......

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: Coprolite
2011 G37 Sport Coupe:

I just did my second oil change @6032 miles. My OCI is 6 months and 3-6k miles. Previous fills were FF Nissan Ester 3 month, 2.2k miles and PP 5w30 until today.

The required volume is about 5.25 quarts and I am using a slightly oversized filter (P1 14610). Using the M1 AFE 0w30 5 quart bottle, the dipstick now reads at ~80%. Is it ok to run at this amount? No historical consumption to date.

I simply don't want to crack open a fresh bottle for such a small amount. I hate to waste the unused amount. I also prefer to avoid mixing my leftovers. If I had another 5w30 vehicle with a lesser tune, I would mixed the leftovers...

Do you think this is ok?
What are the ramifications?

I don't track this car right now.

This is the winter fill. I will change back to PP 5w30 with 5.25 quarts in the spring.

You're about 1/2 quart low from the full mark, it's okay as it 's now. You need to check the oil level regularly, at least once a month to be sure it will not drop below the low mark.

You can use M1 AFE 0W30 all year long, no need to change to 5W30 for summer use. At operating temperature M1 0W30 is about the same viscosity as PP 5W30 or other 5W30.

 

[cmf]

I would normally say 80% is fine but the G37 has an engine with a notorious history of oil consumption, even when relatively new. It was only some of the VINs and hopefully it's fixed for 2011, but I'd still be weary. There's even a TSB for it:

http://www.infinitig37.com/TSB/1SY30.pdf

If it is fixed for 2011, then I don't see a problem with 80%. I actually only fill my car up to halfway between full and low.

 

[Coprolite]

I am using PP as a summer fill simply to use up the almost full quart that I have left over now from my last fill.

If the 0w30 works out great, I will run it year round...I am tinkering until I find what works, hence the concern about orphaned oil that I may not use again.

 

[Coprolite]

Originally Posted By: cmf
I would normally say 80% is fine but the G37 has an engine with a notorious history of oil consumption, even when relatively new. It was only some of the VINs and hopefully it's fixed for 2011, but I'd still be weary. There's even a TSB for it:

http://www.infinitig37.com/TSB/1SY30.pdf

If it is fixed for 2011, then I don't see a problem with 80%. I actually only fill my car up to halfway between full and low.


Great to hear. I check all my vehicles monthly, to avoid any unknown consumption issues.

 

[mechtech2]

I'd open the new bottle and put in the correct amount.
Now you have enough left in the bottle for another 3 oil changes.

 

[ahoier]

Originally Posted By: dparm
I don't think running at 80% is really going to cause a problem, as long as it's between the "low" and "high" marks on the dipstick. Crankcase pressure difference is probably negligible.


Yea, I wouldn't worry about it, as long as you got oil on the dipstick, and it is ABOVE the "add" line/notch/whatever - I'd be sleeping well at night.

In fact, I follow the same practice, my 88 Aries uses very little oil between OCIs, (approaching ~5k with the Mopar dealer bulk in fact and only a hair down.....planning on a UOA as soon as I get the sample kit in hehe). Granted, this car only has ~46k on the clock, original mileages.....hehe. So it's pretty "new" for an 88.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Actually under-filled 1/4 to 1/2 quarts in winter months is not a bad idea, the less oil in the sump will make it get to operating temperature a little faster if you drive fairly short distance, something likes less than 10-15 miles.

 

[Patman]

For the future, how about buying your oil in 5L jugs instead? 5 liters of oil is around 5.25 quarts. Don't some stores down in the US now sell oil in jugs that are around that size?