# Is my oil consumption too high?



## matthewk (Aug 22, 2013)

I seem to be using around half a litre of oil every time I do a track day, the last one was maybe closer to a litre, is this normal?

Cheers
Matt

Edit ***8226; meant to say oil in the title, Iphone auto correct.


----------



## goldgtr35 (Aug 15, 2012)

Get it looked at make,,,
Ive only ever put 1ltr im mine over 24K now, 
so i would think thats over the top.


Goldie


----------



## bobbie (Jan 3, 2013)

goldgtr35 said:


> Get it looked at make,,,
> Ive only ever put 1ltr im mine over 24K now,
> so i would think thats over the top.
> 
> ...


Same hear,

Bobby


----------



## Anders_R35 (Jul 20, 2011)

matthewk said:


> I seem to be using around half a litre of oil every time I do a track day, the last one was maybe closer to a litre, is this normal?
> 
> Cheers
> Matt
> ...


If you track car you're supposed to have slightly less oil in to start with, Nissan call it preparation for 'performance driving'. If you're at the dip stick max mark before a track day it's too full and you might burn off some excess.

But if you're saying you start track day at max and end up a min after one track day that sounds excessive.

Edited to add, I'm sure I read max to min is only a litre.


----------



## paul__k (Dec 8, 2007)

Engine oil flush due to clogged turbo return pipes should sort it.
PCV valve is also a culprit.


----------



## matthewk (Aug 22, 2013)

Thanks guys I will have it looked at, the car is in for some work and will be getting an oil change.


----------



## Chronos (Dec 2, 2013)

matthewk said:


> Thanks guys I will have it looked at, the car is in for some work and will be getting an oil change.


What oil do you use? I use Motul sport 5-50, and the car doesn't use much oil.. this was recommended to me over the stock Mobil 1, especially on tuned R35's, as it think it's thicker.


----------



## matthewk (Aug 22, 2013)

I use

Motul 300V Power 5W-40 Racing Engine Oil


----------



## Chronos (Dec 2, 2013)

matthewk said:


> I use
> 
> Motul 300V Power 5W-40 Racing Engine Oil


ring andy and check with him mate, maybe you need a higher viscosity to help with all the track days?


----------



## matthewk (Aug 22, 2013)

Car is with him right now so I will ask him about it.


----------



## goldgtr35 (Aug 15, 2012)

I must of done 20 trackdays last year.
Car gets serviced at Ancaster Nissan at Bromley, so still on Nissan oil;
Car uses next to nothing,,,EVER


Goldie


----------



## Chronos (Dec 2, 2013)

goldgtr35 said:


> I must of done 20 trackdays last year.
> Car gets serviced at Ancaster Nissan at Bromley, so still on Nissan oil;
> Car uses next to nothing,,,EVER
> Goldie


Obviously not driving it hard enough :chuckle:


----------



## matthewk (Aug 22, 2013)

My Engine has 60k on it though Stuart


----------



## Trevgtr (Dec 24, 2012)

My previous GT-R (MY11) used about 1pint every 1000 miles of normal/fast road use, which started after the car had reached 12k miles.

My curent GT-R (MY13) is on 28k miles, gets driven the same, and still uses next to nothing. 

I guess it's to do with micro variance in piston rings?


----------



## matthewk (Aug 22, 2013)

2 litres in 55 laps of Silverstone and about 300 miles of driving, ill keep a better check on it at the next track day.


----------



## Takamo (Oct 18, 2005)

Nope not rite, that's way to much buddy if your measurements are correct, are you going by the dip stick or the on board computer, make sure your not over filling it, but if your measurements are correct then there is something definitely not rite there and I'd get it looked at, give iain at Litchfields a call hope you get it sorted.


----------



## gtr mart (Mar 29, 2004)

Did you ahve the catch can fitted matthew? I will be at the nextsilverstone trackday, wouldnt mind a chat about this at some point


----------



## matthewk (Aug 22, 2013)

Catch can is fitted yeah, I've spoken with Iain and [email protected] about it a few times, neither are overly concerned about it, the engine is now over 70k miles old and is subject to a lot of track time, the oil is kept level and it gets changed very often.

I guess I'm just wondering if there is anyone in a similar position to me.


----------



## DEMETRIXXX (Oct 24, 2015)

The owners manual actually states it's normal to drink up to a litre of oil per 1000km.

I've got a MY12 with 57k on the clock (with Litchfield stage 1).

If I poodled around I would not burn any oil, however on "spirited" drives I could do a litre in a day!

I too was concerned as it seemed to be getting worse with larger than usual plooms of black smoke coming out the rear under WOT. I also noticed that parts of the engine bay (around the head gasket) was getting a bit grimy.

Took it to Litchfields who found a small metal plug in the oil, actually in the sump. It transpired that this plug came off the end of my exhaust camshaft (bank 2). "Luckily" for me the piece had come off and fallen straight down without hitting anything or causing any further damage. They said this was very unusual and was in fact the first time they had actually seen this happen. It would also explain the high oil consumption and plooms of smoke. Note a leak test came back as normal despite the missing plug.

As the engine was stripped down Litchfields changed the camshaft, all belts, tensioners etc as well as the head and turbo gaskets. (One side of the head gasket was worn, hence grime on top of engine)

I've done over a 1000 miles since the rebuild and the oil consumption has been negligible even under some hard driving. I've noticed significantly less smoke out the back too.

Although I accept that this is an unusual failure it's something you may want to bring up with Litchfields. Note, the car has always pulled like a train and drives perfect, no tell tell signs of ailment at all apart from the larger than usual plooms of black smoke under WOT and the obviously higher than typical oil consumption.

I hope this is of some help to you, best of luck.


----------



## gtr mart (Mar 29, 2004)

Regular oil consumption in itself is not an issue - if anything there is a positive in that you are constantly refreshing the oil between services. If you replace a litre every 1000 miles then with normal mileage you replace a significant amount of the oil between services.

The issue for me is if the oil consumption is a symptom of pending mechanical failure as per the story above. Sounds like a strange issue and glad it was caught. Shame you required an engine rebuild - hopefully it was top end rebuild or if not, then you now have forged rods atleast


----------



## [email protected] (Jun 8, 2014)

20K miles on the clock, and no measurable oil consumption except when doing track days, then I consume about 1 tick on the digital scale.
Then again, track days involves going full out at high RPM almost constantly in my case 

Probably it's just wear and tear, likely in the cylinder head (valves), good excuse as any to drop in a new one


----------

