What engine is easiest on oil?

[ekpolk]

Well, to sharpen the question a bit, I respectfully challenge anyone to point out an engine that has produced a pattern of stellar used oil analysis that are equal or better than the same repeat performance we keep seeing from Toyota's 2UZ-FE 4.7L V-8. Sure, there are other engines that don't come close to abusing their oil in normal use, but none that I've noticed consistently produce UOA results like the 2UZ. Everyone's opinions are fine, we're all entitled to our own, but it takes numbers to really answer the question at hand.

 

[92saturnsl2]

I'm the first one to throw this out here, but the Volkswagen 2.8L VR6 has got to be on the list.

I've looked at most analysis, and every single one has been under 10ppm most elements regardless of oil used.

My own VR6 doesn't use any noticable amount of oil in my 5k intervals (6 qt sump, after 82k), and the oil remains dark-amber at the end of the duration of the OCI.

 

[RichR]

I'm lucky to own Toyotas best and worst on oil engines.
'99 Camry 3.0 v6 and '02 Tundra 4.7.

 

[bob_ninja]

Well I'll toss in my 2 cents even though I am no expert. From the posts it is clear that the larger engines that have lower revs are easier. So a rough rule of thumb is that "easy on oil" is proportional to engine size.

My 1.5L Civic is burning some oil at only 80K miles as it requires higher revs while cruising on highway than the larger 2-3 litre engines. Talking to the motorcycle crowd the consensus seems to be that you need an engine rebuild at around 80K miles as MCs tend to use at least double the revs.
While a V8 engine only needs say 2ishK RPM crusing on a highway, my 0.6L Kawi Ninja is pushing 6-7K RPM.

The flip side is that bigger engines burn more, hence the need for disabling cylinders as bigger engines often produce too much power.

 

[toyo]

RichR I am also in your boat. I have a 2001 Lexus Rx300 with 168K miles on it. The engibe is very clean in the inside. However it is not easy on oil according to my Blackstone reports. I have had 3 vehicles with the 4.7 v8. They were all bullett proof. My brother in law has a 2000 Tundra with close to 200k in it. He changed the oil about every 10 to 15 k miles with dino and it runs like new. I used to change the oil in my 4.7 every 3k with M1. I bet that engine would last forever.

 

[ARB1977]

So far my 3.4L V6 Tacoma has been pretty easy on oil but maybe thats because ive been using redline, amsoil and now amsoil series 3K during its life (55K). No buring so far and no sludge under the oil cap.