Anyone have a R56 N14 that doesn't use oil or uses VERY little? I'm only seeing not even 1/2 quart (actually less than that) between oil changes. Has me worried about my ability to read a dipstick.

I use a Craven Speed that I check but I also keep the OEM around and use it after the CS dipstick just to double check myself.

I thought oil consumption was almost designed into these things.

 

You're not the first person to have doubts about the accuracy of the dipstick.

What oil change interval are you using? How many miles are on the car?

You could measure the amount of oil that you drain at next oil change.

On my 2008 MINI Cooper S the oil consumption started at around 35,000 miles and only got worse over time. Prior to 35,000 miles it consumed very little oil.

 

60000 with a 5000-6000 mile interval.

I don't put much stock in measuring your drainage as there's too many thing that come into play.

 

How you drive seems to make a difference. Lots of turbo boost seems to equate with more oil lost. Also, this is the toughest car I've ever seen to measure the oil accurately. I typically pull the dipstick and let it sit for 20 minutes before reinserting so the oil in the dipstick tube runs back into the pan.

My MCS has 65k mi's and it loses less than half a quart in 5000 mi's.

 

You're reassuring me on my consumption if that's all you use. As I said, I use the Craven speed DS which in my eyes allows the oil to run back down the tube, then double check with the factory DS and get pretty much the same reading. (And yet we seem to love these darn things!!!!)

 

How you drive, the type of oil you use (some brands have more initial burnoff) and most importantly, how the motor was broken in when new....
Many folks beat their cars to do a fast, hard breakin...and do it fast, resulting in higher levels of pistion ring and oil control ring wear...this does seat the rings, and gives on compression, but results in higher oil use...
A nice gentle break-in for the first 3000-6000 miles, with gradually increasing rpms and loads IMO works great...its a moot point on a used motor...but good to know about a future purchase...
Delayed gratification, even with motors result in a longer lasting motor in my experience.

 

My '07 MCS oil consumption was negligible until I started with the mods --- about 38K miles. Then the PCV system gave up, which caused oil use. No compression loss --- rings were and still are, fine. Crankcase pressure, when boosting, causes oil to seep thru the turbo oil seal into the air intake system. Still working on a system to fix it.

 

73000 miles and uses NO oil. 4000 mile oil changes with Mobil 1 but this past year have changed to Royal Purple. I am also a conservative driver.

 

My 13' Justa's oil is changed every 5,000 miles and there is no usage detected. I'm an old fart and I drive my car gently.