Nice, I'll likely eventually add an oil catch can to clean up the intake system a bit. The last time I pulled the intercooler there was almost no oil in the intake tract at all so I haven't made it a priority just yet. What kind/brand/weight of oil are you using?

 

Bump. Running LM Molygen 5w40 and uses about 1qt per 3k miles. Not bad considering I change the oil about every 3.5k. Every oil leak has been fixed at this point and the car is sitting at ~146.5k.

 

That's a mighty fine oil. I like that it also carries an LL-01 label. Not that you would ever follow the BMW/MINI oil service interval....

 

Yup. I really do think it curbed a good amount of the consumption. No way I am running longer than 3-4k service intervals, it came out super dark this time around! To be fair this has it's fair share of high RPM driving (I just can't help myself :D) but I really don't want to imagine what it would look like after 15k.

 

It's never a good idea to go to a thicker viscosity for egine oil, it only serves in creating engine wear....thicker oil has less ability to lubricate at startup which is when 90% of engine wear occurs. Oil is cheaper than replacing an engine.....

A good read: http://www.positivespin.us/MotorOil.htms

 

Not to turn this into a typical oil thread, but my understanding is that the "5" in "5w40" functions the same when cold as the factory specified 5w30. And this is all under extreme cold environments, something that my car would rarely see being in the south. The "40" provides better lubrication when running hot. Since this car lives in hot temperatures and the oil does get quite warm, the 5w40 is my choice and will actually work to protect the motor while not thinning out as quickly as a 5w30 would.

Directly from the owner's manual, Page 109:

"Viscosity is the oilflow rating as established in SAE classes.

Approved oils are in SAE classes 5W-40 and 5W-30.

These oils can be used at all ambient tem- peratures."

 

Viscosity is a liquid’s resistance to flow.....The first number 5W, relates only to the flow characteristics in COLD weather regions.

The longer it takes for the oil to pass through, the higher the SAE code is assigned due to the higher viscosity, which means the 5w40 has a higher viscosity ( resistence) than 5w30 = 5w40 has more resistence to flow = increased engine wear after warmed up....

 

Understood, but that is the reason that we want a higher viscosity when up to operating temperature. Higher viscosity during engine running leads to higher oil pressure and a greater film strength left on the valve train. When the oil is very hot, especially after longer runs, a higher shearing oil is essential for maintaining higher oil pressure and keeping components lubricated.

I've actually experienced this over a few different cars when the oil flows freely when warmed up (think cold slow moving oil versus hot oil that moves freely), a lower viscosity will tend to move faster and breakdown quickly when compared to a higher viscosity. If you were to choose a very viscous oil then I suppose you would have engine wear as the oil pump would not be able to move the oil through the engine adequately, but the Mini is rated for a 5w40. With this in mind the 5w40 fits my needs best with the abuse the oil gets in Georgia. The choice is really up to you but I do not think that running a 5w40 over a 5w30 will cause increased engine wear. If anything, it will reduce wear when hot since the complete valve train is still getting adequate flow and has proper oil filming.