Wtf?

And you base that mileage limit on what?

And as for the last sentence, in 47,500 miles, I had had to add exactly 1/2 qt of oil... Yes, I check religiously. I guess it all depends on how you break it in.

Mototune method on all my engines for the last 15 years, none use oil...

 

I'm not sure I understand your question? I change my oil every 5000 miles, the longest I'll go is 6000 miles before changing my oil. Aren't you aware that N14 engines burn 1-2 quarts of oil every 5000 miles? Your signature doesn't list what type of Cooper you own.

 

Systemlord...MINI reprogramming to shorter oil change intervals almost seems like an admission that 15k was too long, and caused engine failures. I wonder if this alone could be used in some kind of lawsuit against MINI for premature engine failures due to lack of proper lubrication? I know you are "supposed" to check your oil level at every fuel fill-up, but how many folks really do that? I change my oil and filter every 5k, and use MINI Genuine filters and Mobil 1 0w40 Euro-spec oil. I check my oil almost religiously. I am a bit nuerotic that way! I have 10 other cars, and 2 have 210k-250k on thier original engines. I see no reason why I can't get that kind of life out of my MINI, with proper maintenance and care. Clutches and tires not included, of course!

 

That's what Mini/BMW used as advertisement before the launch of the first turbocharged 2007 MCS, they were attempting to show how environmentally friendly the new MCS's were, how about that lifetime transmission oil, or MINI/BMW bragging about the timing chain lasting the life of the engine? MINI/BMW set the bar a bit too high for themselves, in my opinion they both fell flat on their face! Now Mini is claiming that the timing chains are supposed to last only 120,000 miles.

Many of the lawsuits are using these claims as ammunition to win and they will, most likely quietly.

 

If only you could find an example of an engine failure that could be attributed to the oil change interval being too long.

 

im assuming it's not directly because of the OCI being too long. more like, 99% of mini drivers don't check their oil between OCIs, so if they're burning 1qt every few thousand miles, and don't refill until the 15k mile mark...

Otherwise, my understanding is oil in the bottle unopened is very stable (though most don't keep longer than 1yr) and again oil in my car I don't keep longer than 6 mos regardless of the mileage.

 

Newer Camry's also use synthetic oil (0W-20) and have a 10k service schedule.


Turbo just means more heat, but a full synthetic oil has additives to counter the coking and vaporization during high turbo heat. If you are adding oil ever 1000 miles you have a leak.


Maybe use a higher viscosity oil such as a 10W-30 to compensate for high mileage wear in your engine to decease oil consumption/vaporization.

 

A little more reading


http://www.edmunds.com/car-care/top-...motor-oil.html

 

lot of people on this forum (not me) claim that kind of consumption is normal

 

Yes, I know. And it has also been stated that it's within normal parameters for our cars to use up to 1 quart of oil per 1000 miles (someone at MINI USA should have a hand lobed off for that one).


They make high mileage oils for a reason - to counter the affects of wear and tear on older engines and turbo chargers, but if you have a newer engine and you are going through a quart every 1000 miles something is wrong.


My 13 MCS is at 16,500 miles and hasn't use a detectable amount of oil between yearly oil services (and I'm a rather spirited driver). Eventually it will and I will switch to an oil that is for higher millage engines and possibly bump up to a 10W instead of 5W.

 

Just about every verhicle manufacturer considers 1 quart per 1000 miles to be within an acceptable range, not just MINI. The owner's manual for my wife's Toyota Camry actually says 1 quart per 600 miles is considered acceptable.

 

it's not that they consider it acceptable - it's that they put that clause in there so as to not have to do anything if the engine's consuming oil at that rate. post break-in, engine's should not consume a drop of oil (vaporization, inevitable). that's my position but i know you disagree on that one.

 

I don't disagree that engines should not consume oil.

I do disagree that you have any idea as to why vehicle manufacturers include that language in the owner's manual.

 

It's just the use or lack of a good quality oil separator, the N18 engines have an improved oil separator while the N14's do not have a good quality oil separator. The proof is caked onto the intake valves via oil vapors being ingested, my compression readings are great and build up compression quickly so I know that my rings are healthy. My friends Honda S2000 consumes as much oil as our Mini's.

I know your position and I'll leave it at that.

 

those high revving honda motors do that though - that motor especially and the b16 (unrelated to ours) like to eat oil as they rev to 8,9,10k. my evo doesn't consume a drop, even as i've been data logging it (just WOT pulls) for tuning. shrug.

regardless, as far as on topic, i think it also has part to do with where the car is stored. if it's outside, i would definitely do 6mo intervals, esp if it crosses a winter. in a garage, probably go longer. not sure how much breakdown if at all there is over that amount of time, but given that i dont drive most of my cars enough to get to the mileage OCI that's what I go with.

my 07 corolla on the other hand, I follow the 1yr & 25k mile OCI lol. 190k miles, probably another problem-free 200k to go. consumed less than a quart over 10k miles so I don't put too much thought into it.

 

Just checked my oil and I'm not quite at the middle mark yet and have driven 1200 miles or 4 gas tanks worth of fuel 300 miles per tank x4. I drive spirited 80 percent of the time, I don't do slow.

 

So what you are saying is that you would be OK with adding 16 quarts (4 gallons) of oil to your wife's Camry between the recommended 10K oil changes?


Heck, at that rate just change the oil filter every 10K since the oil would always be new.

 

More reading, "Does it Matter What Oil I Use?"... And the author, from Blackstone Labs, has a turbocharged MINI: http://www.blackstone-labs.com/Newsl...uly-1-2014.php

 

I change mine every 4500 miles… Cheap insurance! You should check your oil, every other time you gas up!

 

Need some feedback,

I'm about ready to perform my oil change (every 5000-6500 miles) and want to run some BG Engine Performance Restoration which is added to your old oil before you actually change your oil. I have to run it in my engine for 15 minutes at 1200 rpms and then drain all the oil out and refill with new oil, question is should I buy two 5 Quart Mobil 1 0W-40 one to flush out dirty oil and refill again with the second 5 Quart Mobil 1 0W-40? Or is this overkill? I'm just worried about any traces of the EPR in the engine oils channels left behind. This stuff liquefies hard carbon deposits around piston rings and all oil channels throughout the engine by thinning out the oil, this is why I thought to flush the engine with fresh oil then drain it.

Thanks for your feedback.

 

No, I would not be OK with that. But Toyota would be. And fwiw, my wife's Toyota is set for a 7500 mile OCI.

We ran into the same problem with her Volvo. They initially tried to fix a couple issues that they thought might be causing some loss of oil when we first complained about it. When those didn't work though, they fell back to the "within acceptable usage" line. Which is (partly) why she has a Toyota now instead of a Volvo.

 

I change my own oil at about 6k using the recommended mini oil. Very easy to do other then the dreaded filter placement.

 

Overkill- change the oil and let it be.

 

I'll just let it drain real good before refilling with new oil, did you mean overkill for the BG Engine Performance Restoration?

 

Overkill trying to flush out the BG.