Bijan

I am interested to know if oil consumption relates to the way engines are initially run in, noticed some listers actually tracked their car at this time

points

I have used 2 qts. in 14,500 miles.

RonCT

3700 miles on 2009 C2S, zero consumption on 1st 2k break-in, zero consumption on next 1700 miles with 4 track days.

fjpdds

2009 C2S PDK. Using oil, about 500 mls per 500 miles during first 5000 miles. Just returned from 6th track day, and oil consumption has slightly decreased. 500mls needed after 700 miles. Porsche tech tells me these cars need to be driven hard. He finds carbon deposit issues with porsches that are not. I did buy a Porsche oil bottle bag! It's rather nice.

Edgy01

Statistically, we found interesting numbers on this for the 997.1 engines (having done a poll earlier, see: https://rennlist.com/forums/997-foru...sage-poll.html ). We found absolutely no correlation between how an engine was "broken in" and how its oil usage has been. As such, there is considerable doubt that the break in has anything to do with anything. What we arrived at was that there will be a percentage (albeit small) of engines that use a lot of oil, no matter what is done.

For example, many owners are multiple Porsche buyers, which thus assumes that they drive in a similar style with all their cars, yet one car gets great oil mileage, and another uses a lot.

MUSSBERGER

12000 miles, three changes, three track days, never added any.

allegretto

agree, several 997's, all but the TT used surprisingly little oil

Bijan

So if "break in" style is not a factor and assuming all the engine components are within their tolerances, then is it the way the engine is assembled?

ADias

Most likely parts tolerance-related. I think though that babying an engine too much and driving it short runs w/ incomplete temp cycles is not good.

Edgy01

There are only two places where oil consumption is relevant. The valve guides, and the rings.

The conclusion reached in the past was that if Porsche knew WHY some 10% of their engines use oil they would do what needs to be done to fix the problem. Clearly, in the manufacturing of any complex device, there is extensive tracking of subparts / components by lot numbers, thus providing them with the information needed to determine if materials, themselves, are contributing. It's my personal belief that Porsche would have to be completely analytical in their approach, and be proactive in disassembling and doing non-destructive analysis of problematic engines. Would this be enough? It's hard to say. Some say that they're not doing enough to nail down the problem. Clearly, if you bought a new Honda or a Lexus and it needed a quart of oil every 500 miles there would be hell to pay.

We've learned in the past that how you drive the car, much less how it was broken in, is not a factor.

Pincomar

My last C4S (2006) used so much oil in the first 2,500 miles that I was concerned that it used more oil than fuel!? But oil consumption then stopped completely and I don't think I added any oil in the next 20,000 miles, apart from routine oil changes. I drove the car as hard as you can (safely) on public roads.

I have a 2009 that hasn't touched a drop so far, but we are still "running in".

RED HORSE

This reflects my experience. My 2000 987 didn't use any oil at all. My 2003 996 C2 used a quart about every 1,500 miles. My 997 C2S didn't use any oil at all. My 2009 997.2 C2S used oil like crazy up to around 5,000 miles and now looks like it is going to use about a quart every 1,500 miles. No track days, but driving style has remained the same.

_Nathan

I drove it gently (usually) for the first 2k miles then changed the oil myself. It is now 11 months old with 4200 miles and I have never had to add any oil yet.

Edgy01

4200 miles in 11 months is not much. Do you take long drives, or short drives, or mix it up? shorter drives will make the engine look like the oil level is going up, as moisture is absorbed, and mixes with the oil, affecting the 'oil' level.

_Nathan

Only a few long drives, most trips are less than 30 minutes. I try to avoid using it for really short trips where it wouldn't even get up to normal operating temp.