ssarchi

I have been looking at the 02 TT's and have on in my sites.... gorgeous opel blue/graphite grey interior with only 18k miles on it. Bone stock and owned by a guy who took it to the dealer for everything..... spotless!!

He readily admitted that it uses about one quart of oil every thousand miles. The dealer told him this was normal..... no leaks either. Porsche claims this is within spec and has been consistent in the period in which he owned it (since it had 1800 miles). Seems a bit high to me.

What do you think?

BobbyC

That's normal.

ltc

Actually, Porsche has lowered the bar a bit.....1qt every 600 miles is considered 'normal'.

ssarchi

gosh..... that's a lot of oil to burn

RdRunner

Ok, after reading this thread I went to check mines, then I realized, "wait !! how do I check the oil level on the TT?" I looked at the renntech DIY oil change, and I found the "yellow oil cap" in the engine compartment (but no dip stick) I found the oil filter (but I haven't opened it yet.) So where is the DIP STICK??????

I know it's a dumb question, but I been staring and looking in that engine compantment for the past 5 minutes, and I can't find it !!!!!

alpha1

The only way that I know of to check the oil on the 996tt is with the in-dash computer, activated by the small lever on the left of the steering column below the turn signal indicator. Push it forward once, then toggle it up/down to find the correct submenu (select by pushing the lever forward) to activate the oil check function. The car must be warmed up, and should be on a level surface.

RdRunner

Boy I feel stupid... This is my first EUROPEAN performance machine.. :-) on the NSX I had to check it manually with dip stick... so I guess there is no way to check it manually on the TT huh... Boy they relly mean luxury, you don't even get your hands dirty.....

Thanks !!!!!

TT Surgeon

1 qt every 1000miles is considered 'normal 'by porsche. It may be common, but it ain't normal in my book. I know lots of guys whose car don't use a drop.

Vino

What oils are you guys using?

I am not an oil engineer but I have been to a few oil forums and found a lot of information and a lot of M1 0-40 users over there.

From what I've read Turbo cars don't seem too like this oil much in recent times. I don't know if Mobil 1 0-40 is a pure group IV oil but there is now argument that Mobil 1 Synthetic oils are going group III or have been group III for a while with some macho add pack.

I did an oil analysis on our Cayenne Turbo which uses 1 qt. every 2500 miles, as per Terry Dyson the oil was in OK shape but not great after only 4k.
Basically found that Mobil 1 0-40 should be call 0-30 and isn't very shear stable.

With that being said an oil that isn't shear stable isn't exactly great for Turbo cars and "may" be the main culprit to oil usage and possible oil coking(sp?) in turbos after some time. I belive the oil thins out due to fuel dilution, I see this a lot on high performance turbo cars,

Though I was told 0-40 was a good oil in some applications and probably fine for 10k after all is settled, there are much better oils for our Turbo Porsches.

This is a sensitive subject for some people and I am not one to tell what should be used, but there are enough Turbo owners who have found M1 0-40 to not be so great for Turbo Cars in general, at least for the long drain interval that Porsche recommends.

I will probably try Motul 5w-40 next round as it is a pure group IV oil, shear stable and on Porsches approval list of oils so that won't put my precious warranty out of spec.

Just to let you guys know Mobil 1 is Porsche factory fill per "marketing" but they do have an approval list of other oils to use to keep warranty in check.
Lastly, Pennzoil Platinum 5w-40 Euro formula was showing some excellent wear numbers on Turbo cars and is cheaper and on Porsches approval list, go figure

Your GT1 derived motors aren't cheap and well worth the insurance to have an oil analysis done.

1999Porsche911

Some people won't appreciate you suggesting that an oil that is on the Porsche' approved list is not good for their car, as many think the Porsche engineers are gods. They make sure that they put a high octane fuel in their tanks, but care little that they are adding motor oil and heat to their fuel mixture. However, I believe you are right and many car owners have long changed away from the Mobil water (0W40) and now do not burn as much or any oil. Their seals are also celebrating the use of a better oil and their engines are performing better.

Mobil 0W40 is good for oiling door hinges and bicycle chains, but not much more.

ltc

Here we go yet again, another Rennlist Jihad over oil.

ssarchi

It's supposed to be about consumption- not about brand- perhaps interrelated though????

wross996tt

Before upgrading my turbos I was using about 1qt. every 1500 miles. After the upgrade I have yet to add a drop oil...go figure. It has nothing to do with which oil I use...I use 0W40 BTW.

ebaker

There is good evidence that current Mobil 1 EP 15w50 and EP 5w30 are now a Group 3 oils. I haven't read anything to suggest that 0w40 and 5w40 are not still Group 4 and 5. This comes after the widely publicized campaign by Mobil against Castrol for calling Group 3 oils "synthetic". Group 3 oils are "highly refined" regular oils with a viscosity index of over 120.

BobbyC

So what makes you smarter than Porsche engineers?