qwe

I have a new to me 2012 Boxster Black Edition. It has the slightly elevated output 'S' engine. I bought it from a dealer who changed the oil (among other things).. The car is pristine, the PPI was good, and the over-rev report was clean. Total mileage is 22,000 miles. No smoking on startup. No oil droplets on the back bumper.
I have had it for a couple of months, and have put a little over 1,000 city miles on it. I always get the oil to operating temperature. The oil level indicator seems very sensitive, and while it still shows all bars full, even the slightest change from level will cause it to show one bar down. I am assuming that this means I will be getting a minimum of 2500 to 3000 miles per liter of oil. Not a problem, but many owners experience lower oil usage.
I understand that the process for a mechanic to ensure that the oil level is full, is quite complicated and time consuming. (I have been told that it requires being hooked into the computer and reading measurements after a couple of minutes of idling.) As a result, it may be that when the oil indicator showed 'full', it may in fact have been 7/8 full, or it could have been over full.
Can anyone comment on how accurate the level indicator is in these cars? Any other comments?

deilenberger

I think you're overthinking this. Typical oil level indicators on Porsches are divided into 4 segments, 250cc each for a total range of 1 liter. They are sensitive to the engine being level since if it isn't level the oil will tend to flow to the low side of the sump. Measure it weekly in your garage after returning from a drive, Get an idea if the level is actually changing. If so - you'll be able to figure out at what rate it changes. Mine doesn't change. Different brands of oil will be consumed at different rates, as will different viscosities. If you really want to be obsessive about it - you can buy aftermarket Porsche diagnostic tools that can read the actual level in MM of oil (or some in a percentage of full). That's what the mechanic uses. I'd actually suggest you spend more of that time polishing the car than worrying over oil consumption.

MrMoose

Yeah, it's pretty sensitive to having the car level. If you figure you're getting 2500-3000 miles per liter, then that's probably fine for now and I'm not sure I'd worry too much about getting a more super-accurate estimate. When I change the oil I just note the mileage since the last change, and divide by how much oil I had to add to keep it full: there's your number.

My experience with my 2010 is that if I kept it filled to the full mark (not the "overfilled" mark, mind you) then it would reasonably quickly drop to one bar low. If I only fill it to the mark one below full then it doesn't seem to consume as much oil. YMMV.

Marine Blue

If you drive at higher RPM’s and you keep the oil level at the high bar the oil can and will splash and some will inevitably find its way back into the intake ports. Best to keep it a bar down from the full mark.