MK5 Golf GTI

All Things Mk5 => Mk5 General Area => Topic started by: H4MXU on April 14, 2019, 08:34:58 pm

Title: Engine oil consumption
Post by: H4MXU on April 14, 2019, 08:34:58 pm
So I started using Millers Oils NANODRIVE CFS 5w-40 NT+ and did an engine oil change on 2nd March 2019 @127,885 miles. Engine oil dipstick showed just under the maximum mark after filling it up.

Today (14th April 2019) and now @128,585 miles, I did an oil level check and it was down to the minimum mark. I’ve topped it up again and it’s on Max. Will check again after a month.

Now I’m not 100% sure if my GTI has been mapped. I’ve had it for 4 months and haven’t had it on a dyno yet. It doesn’t feel stock though. I have an oversized Ramair Intake and recently got a Catback Custom Exhaust fitted.

Now if I am Stage 1 then is that engine oil consumption normal? It seems a bit too much to me seeing as though it’s only been 700 miles since I topped it. I mostly do local London driving but I have it “S” and with a heavy right foot maybe 30%-40% of the time.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks :)


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Title: Re: Engine oil consumption
Post by: rich83 on April 14, 2019, 09:05:49 pm
Not normal for any stage of tune... You either have a leak or its burning oil.

Are you sure it was filled to the correct level to begin with? How much oil did you put in?
Title: Re: Engine oil consumption
Post by: Eighteen88 on April 14, 2019, 09:06:00 pm
I use Castrol 5w-40 and have a mk6 edition 35 running on stage 1 apr & dsg remap, i top my oil up every 1000 miles, after speaking to APR they told me this would be expected.
Title: Re: Engine oil consumption
Post by: H4MXU on April 14, 2019, 09:26:07 pm
Not normal for any stage of tune... You either have a leak or its burning oil.

Are you sure it was filled to the correct level to begin with? How much oil did you put in?
It was filled to the correct level. I previously had Castrol in and had that completely emptied out. I think I used about 4l of the 5l. Should get it checked out then. I haven’t seen any leaks though.


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Title: Re: Engine oil consumption
Post by: rich83 on April 14, 2019, 09:31:17 pm
Capacity is about 4.7L so maybe you didnt quite have it filled up right to begin with.

Top it up again now and keep an eye on the oil level.

--- Edited for accuracy
Title: Re: Engine oil consumption
Post by: H4MXU on April 14, 2019, 09:32:23 pm
Capacity is about 5.7L so maybe you didnt quite have it filled up right to begin with.

Top it up again now and keep an eye on the oil level.
I’ve topped it up to Max now so I will see. Thanks.


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Title: Re: Engine oil consumption
Post by: Octoparrot on April 15, 2019, 08:05:49 pm
Capacity is about 5.7L so maybe you didnt quite have it filled up right to begin with.

Top it up again now and keep an eye on the oil level.

I think capacity is 4.7l
Title: Re: Engine oil consumption
Post by: rich83 on April 15, 2019, 08:16:08 pm
Capacity is about 5.7L so maybe you didnt quite have it filled up right to begin with.

Top it up again now and keep an eye on the oil level.

I think capacity is 4.7l

Beg your pardon... of course it is... no idea why i put 5.7... corrected above.
Title: Re: Engine oil consumption
Post by: pudding on April 17, 2019, 11:16:10 am
1 litre over 700 miles is 'within tolerance', but not good.

Under 'normal' driving mine never moves off max between 3-4000 oil changes.   

If I have a few weeks of thrashing it and lots of 3500-4000rpm sustained motorway cruising, it'll use about half a litre over 4000 miles.





Title: Re: Engine oil consumption
Post by: Saintsteve on April 17, 2019, 03:06:36 pm
Anyone that says their Mk5 doesn’t burn oil is lieing through their back teeth, these will feed oily vapours via the inlet valves and out the back it goes  :signLOL: , things like short trips and heavy use of the right foot will add to the rate your oil disappears.
1000 miles a litre is the usual for TFSI, and especially if they are mapped  :happy2:
Title: Re: Engine oil consumption
Post by: pudding on April 18, 2019, 02:39:06 pm
Mine's been mapped for years and doesn't use anything like that much oil.   A litre over 1000 miles = f'cked rings or valve guides, or both!
Title: Re: Engine oil consumption
Post by: BigstickytoffeeGTI30 on April 18, 2019, 04:15:09 pm
My penny's worth, typically a litre every 1500miles.always been the same since I bought it 45k miles/5 years ago. Remapped Ed30.
Title: Re: Engine oil consumption
Post by: Saintsteve on April 18, 2019, 04:40:38 pm
Mine's been mapped for years and doesn't use anything like that much oil.   A litre over 1000 miles = f'cked rings or valve guides, or both!
Mine has been mapped since 2009 at stage 2 and it’s never changed what mine uses.

If it had ring problems, then thinking’s like dipstick seals and various oil leaks would I’m sure would show high crankcase pressure if it existed which mine doesn’t have any leaks.
The only place my oil goes is out Via the PCV and inlet tract added to my heavier right foot  :signLOL:
Title: Re: Engine oil consumption
Post by: pudding on April 18, 2019, 06:28:13 pm
If it's going out of the PCV, it's worn rings or the primary oil seperator is blocked.

But yeah, a lot of pedal and a lot of revs won't help oil consumption either  :grin:
Title: Re: Engine oil consumption
Post by: rich83 on April 18, 2019, 08:34:58 pm
Mine uses about 1-1.5 litres in 10,000m and touch wood it stays like that.
Title: Re: Engine oil consumption
Post by: pudding on April 18, 2019, 08:41:04 pm
Yep, that's more like it  :happy2:
Title: Engine oil consumption
Post by: H4MXU on April 19, 2019, 09:22:00 am
Thanks for all the responses guys. I did top up now so I will keep an eye on it. If its more than what you guys say then will need to check it out.


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Title: Re: Engine oil consumption
Post by: BigstickytoffeeGTI30 on April 19, 2019, 09:55:34 am
There's loads of posts on vag group 2.0t units petrol consumption, the trend appears to be er.... no trend, oil usage is wide and varied. Some owners fretting others just accepting it as part and parcel. Me? I used to think it was a little higher than I would have thought/liked, but now not so concerned. My plugs were changed on the last service after 3 years on the car (30k miles) and only a very little oily/crappy. Lots of miles done overal (118k)l, no change in the amount it drinks, no drop in performance (308bhp) or behaviour of the engine. Fingers crossed/touch wood and all that!
Title: Re: Engine oil consumption
Post by: pudding on April 19, 2019, 12:34:14 pm
VW engines have always been like that.  Some use a ton of oil, some use none at all.  Most performance engines burn oil.  It's a side effect of using looser pistons and smaller rings to reduce friction.  BMW M engines have to use 10W60 to keep it under control they use so much  :grin:

So long as there is no "Holy sh*t, where's all my oil gone?" each time you check it, and no embarrassing plumes of blue smoke out the back, all is good.
Title: Re: Engine oil consumption
Post by: Saintsteve on April 19, 2019, 07:16:01 pm
I’ve read a lot that if your using 5W 30 oil that tends to be drunk more so then a thicker grade like 5W-40 or 10W-60.
Those later grades are apparently better suited to older, higher mileage engines and suffer at least 50% less loss of oil...
Worth looking to see if there’s an oil rated at a VW504 spec at this grade in the Castrol catalog?
Title: Re: Engine oil consumption
Post by: pudding on April 20, 2019, 04:32:59 pm
I use 0W40 Mobil 1 and have done for years.  Minimal consumption. 5W30 does definitely burn off faster.

Mobil 1 or Valvoline 5W50 would be my choice to slow down consumption.  10W60 is stupid thick over winter.  You really don't want that treacle in your engine. Think of it as high blood pressure.  Not good.

Nothing beyond 5W30 or 40W would be VAG 502/504 approved.

Title: Re: Engine oil consumption
Post by: PatchySan on April 20, 2019, 06:03:31 pm
I use 0W40 Mobil 1 and have done for years.  Minimal consumption. 5W30 does definitely burn off faster.

Same here, use Mobil 1 FS 0W-40 in my GTI and I hardly need to top-up my oil and when I do it's usually a small amount to bring it up to max again. I remember doing a 1200 mile round trip to the Nurburgring and back and I only needed to top up like 250ml at the end of the trip which was pretty impressive since I was v-maxing it on the track and Autobahn in 30c+ heat a lot of the time. And if you're Costco member it's reasonably priced, think it's £29.99 for 5 litres of the stuff.
Title: Re: Engine oil consumption
Post by: Ripstop on April 20, 2019, 11:59:53 pm
I have seen a couple of threads on this debate over oils and came to the conclusion I should use an oil suited to the car and change it relatively often. That of course depends on driving regularity, time and distance. I actually plumped for a VW 505 5W40 Quantum Platinum plus in the end as it was on offer at TPS before the clamp down. You will all have a preference but some common sense should prevail. Some oils are hellishly expensive but they are designed for race conditions not Joe Bloggs on 5000 miles a year  :smiley:

I still get more consumption than I would like but I think it falls into the 'normal' category for a TFSI engine of around 1L per 2500 - 3000 miles.

I did however read a lot about NOACK testing and volatility. Basically how susceptible oils are to evaporation under load conditions. Of course some engines will be better than others but at least you can get some idea of how your oil could perfom. Unfortunately oil companies now rarely publish this info as it could affect sales negatively. Have a read of these two pages and see how you can go down some big rabbit holes with your choice  :surprised: Ignore the obvious branding advertising and read the test descriptions.

https://www.machinerylubrication.com/Read/30945/volatility-flash-point (https://www.machinerylubrication.com/Read/30945/volatility-flash-point)

http://superoilcentral.com/synthetic-motor-oil-comparison/ (http://superoilcentral.com/synthetic-motor-oil-comparison/)
Happy reading.
Title: Re: Engine oil consumption
Post by: pudding on April 26, 2019, 10:59:06 am
Exactly.  It's less about price/brand and all about frequency of change. 

If this was available on UK Amazon, I'd be all over it as it's bloody good stuff.  30 bucks for 6 quarts! 

https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Full-Synthetic-Motor-dexos1-Gen2/dp/B07C5PW5PQ?_encoding=UTF8&path=%2FAmazonBasics-Full-Synthetic-Motor-dexos1-Gen2%2Fdp%2FB07C5PW5PQ&useRedirectOnSuccess=1&