I said many posts ago that this would run and run. I too, check my my oil on a regular basis, but weekly not daily as you do. Every engine is different, that much we know. Unless each engine is built to exacting standards, every engine will run differently, have a slightly different power output and use different amounts of oil. Mass production makes for cheaper products but also imperfect products.
I work for a very large lift manufacturer. If they can save money, any amount of money, by omitting for example, a spring washer, they will.
How much money could BMW/MINI save by NOT actually filling every car they produce up to the full mark on the dipstick? They fill it up to the max mark because they need to.
i keep my oil level 3/4 of the way to the full mark on my dipstick and i cheek it every sunday without fail and if i have a few odd mins whilst im waiting for the her-indoors to finally get out of the house as im waiting for her outside, i'm know to be topping up the windscreen washer bottle and cheeking my oil,
Exactly the same on my 07 MCS! If it is topped off then it uses oil until 1/2 or 3/4 full. After that it doesn't use any. I have just done 2500 miles like this with no oil use. I do check the oil regularly expecting there to be none in though!
I have mixed views about this. We know that the sump has a low capacity. When the oil level reaches halfway on the stick, the capacity must obviously be even lower. With the timing chain issues seen in the past, how would MINI themselves see this situation? There have been many reports/posts stating that oil light flashes on when cornering with low oil. I'm just wandering if any good will would be shown in such conditions.
Oil capacity on the minis are from 5 lts on gen 1 to 4.5 on the gen 2 (petrol) so not bad qty, normally from min to max on the dip stick is 1 lts ish.
some other makes of cars are 3.5 lts not much
The mini's do not have a low level light. the light is there for low/ no oil pressure
This comes on you are going to have problem.
If you go to mini say you engine is knocking they check it, and you have no oil. They will not help you well that not true, they will help you out of your hard earned money to the expense of a new engine plus fitting.
It takes a couple of min to check the oil it's very basic and costs you nothing unless you have to add oil.
As long as you between min and max your ok out side of those you may have problems everyone has there own ideas but that's the basics.
There are a few reasons why people don't spend 5 min at the week end to check the oil, water and tires at the weekend
1 to dam lazy drive it till the wheels fall off and wounder why and 2 they don't know how.
I am not pointing figures that's the black and white of it
I can't disagree if you are the type never to check anything- that could be a big problem. I am very keen therefore happy to run it half or 3/4 full, my motor sounds fantastic (well as good as it gets-it had the full timing chain fix under warranty in Aug 2010) and no problems. I am very particular on start up etc to get oil pressure and I don't get chain rattle. 0w 30 is a must in my book. I'll let you know if I seize it up though
Lol. Gearbox oil. Never needs changing.... another can of worms
By the way, for those that aren't aware, the current R56 engine is based on the plentiful (I'm not going to claim it was successful ) TU5JP4 PSA engine with parts from the Pentagon engine in the R50/52/53 and some new bits.
In PSA form they only held about 3 litres of oil. Gives me the willies every time I service it and not much oil comes out! (I have a Lemon C3 as well as the Mini), so the Mini to have 4.5 - 5 litres is a significant boost, but obviously if the level is below the pickup, or low and you corner hard and it all sloshes to one side, damage can occur.
In my mind excess usage is not acceptable. I've spoken to plenty of Alfa owners in the last 5 years who have had new cars (and one mechanic who specialised in Alfa/Ferrari/Maserati) and whenever they had consumption like that, 100% of the time it was a Fri arvo engine with bits so far out of spec it was never going to work. Engine rebuild later they use no oil. Yep, anecdotal but hey, that's my experience!
Great thread, oil consumption can also be as a result of the Oil Brand and type. I am sure most of you know that in our Cooper S's we need to always use fully synthetic engine oil.
One brand and grade of oil that always keeps coming up in my research is the "Castrol Edge 5W-40" and "Castrol Edge Sport 10W-60" both are turbo friendly oils. I have had issues with in the past due to the cars previous owner not using the correct type of oil.
One thing that I am not certain of is this, I know the Castrol Edge oil is ideal and should keep the oil pressure etc within range as well as fully protect the engine. I am not sure that the Castrol Edge Sport would be suitable due to the much higher 60 viscosity which will more than likely increase the engine oil pressure but will handle higher engine and environment temperatures.
Another suggestion as mentioned previously, change your oil every 5000- to 10000 km to ensure carbonation remains at a minimum
Personally I use the following for a service:
- oil flush before dropping the old oil (made a world of difference on my Volvo V40T4 that had turbo issues - 5 services later they were fixed)
- Castrol Edge (0W30 if I can afford it, 5W30 if I can't)
Done this on all my cars in the last 8 years with no oil related issues.
Does this help? Does it stay a bit thicker when cold or something? Sorry of seems dumb I'm just not very clued up on the sciences of fully synthetic plus and grades!
well as far as i know, the 0 is the lower operation temperature and 40 is its top end temp, so with the really cold weather we get at this time of the year, i find that it gets to the cam belt tensioner faster and stops the rattle that all cooper S owners seem to get,
the 0 and 40 are the viscosity rating of the oil, not temperature
the number before the W is the viscosity rating at a low temp and the number after the W is the viscosity rating at a high temperature
the W signifies that the oil is suitable for winter use
thats why they call them multigrade or multiviscosity oils
so a 0W40 oil exhibites the properties of a 0 viscosity oil at low temps and the properties of a 40 viscosity oil at high temps
google viscosity or wikipedia
scott
2012 CM S All4 (03/12) | Abs Black w/White Roof/Mirrors/18" White Wheels | Cold Pkg | Sport Pkg | Xenon w/ Black Housings| Manual | Sport Susp| Anth Headliner | Flat Load Floor | Bluetooth | 2 Part Center Rail | Milltek downpipe back exhaust
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2012 CM S All4 (03/12) | Abs Black w/White Roof/Mirrors/18" White Wheels | Cold Pkg | Sport Pkg | Xenon w/ Black Housings| Manual | Sport Susp| Anth Headliner | Flat Load Floor | Bluetooth | 2 Part Center Rail | Milltek downpipe back exhaust 
