using/burning oil?

[hyuan]

I just changed my oil myself, and I realized I am short about 3/4 of a quart of oil.

Is this normal? Is it normal for the car to use some oil or am I actually burning oil

.

Incidentally, it was a while since I had my last oil change, about 5000 miles. I have mostly freeway miles, and drive my car like a grandma about 90% of the time, only VTEC'ing on freeway merges. My car has about 85K miles and I put about 15K per year.

I've been using mobile-1 10-30, as have the previous owners.

Any thoughts would be much appreciated.


[This message has been edited by hyuan (edited 14 July 2002).]

[This message has been edited by hyuan (edited 14 July 2002).]

 

[DanO]

It has been my experience that the NSX does not typically burn oil excessively. What year is your car? Does it leave oil drops on the floor when parked overnight?

Things to look for:
Loose or screwed up oil filter.
Misaligned valve cover gasket (check the rear valve cover way in the back).
Leaking spool valves.


Anecdote
A few years ago, I drove from Michigan to L.A. via Phoenix to attend NSXPO ’99. At NSXPO we drove some really fun back roads and I let “Speed” (one of our Japanese guests) drive my car for a few hours (that was exciting!), needless to say, the engine was frequently at redline. I then tracked the car at Laguna Seca for two days and then drove back to Michigan. I never had to put in a drop of oil the whole trip. Since then, I have driven many cross-country trips and many track events and it is a rare occasion that my engine needs any oil.

DanO

 

[anvil]

All internal combustion piston engines burn some oil. Oil is typically splashed on cylinder wall and squirted on valve stems. In both cases the purpose is to create a film of oil between moving metal surfaces. In the cylinder, the film also acts to enhance sealing against compression losses. There is always some oil residue on the cylinder wall after piston rings have swept away excess oil. This usually burns and appears within exhaust gases. Some oil residue remains on the valve stem and is also caught up in exhaust gases. In either case the amounts should be quite small. Usage of half a quart or less is not unusual between oil changes on the older hondas of my experience. I leave to the experts here to tell us about the nsx.

Additional seepage may be experienced around bearing seals, but this is minimal in a properly functioning bearing with seals. All of these functions result in some loss of lubricant, but it is small in an engine that does not have a malfunction, excessive wear or is purposely design with loose tolerances.

Anyway you cut it, within the appropriate execution of a given design there is an expected loss, ... even if it is small.

anvil



[This message has been edited by anvil (edited 14 July 2002).]

 

[4AU4LIFE]

I too have noticed that there are a few drops of oil on the garage floor where the car sits. I have added a couple of quarts to it over the past year that I have owned it. The car sits normally all week and only gets driven on weekends. I don't drive hard all the time, just occasionally. Should I change or alter my rountine with it?


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[Barn Man]

Typicaly the NSX's will use very little oil at all between oil changes. However you have to take into consideration that each car will use different amounts of oil depending on the driver and the condition of the rings/ valve seals. Each engine has it's own personality, some run stronger than others and some burn more oil than others. You could take two bone stock NSX's and dyno them side by side and they will dyno differently. The difference is slight but it's there. A quart of oil in 5k isn't terrible, but for an NSX it is a little high.
Like DanO, I drove to Michigan from Nashville Tn, changed the oil in the NSX, ran on the track at Gingerman all day, drove it home and never lost more than about 1/10th of a qt. of oil. It all depends on the motor. If your not experiencing smoke or something of that nature, I'd leave it alone and check the oil regularly.
Barn Man...

 

[Andrie Hartanto]

FWIW,

I track my NSX quite often, and I never have to add any oil in between oil changes. I owned my NSX for more than 3 years now.

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[nsxtasy]

FWIW,

I track my NSX quite often, and I never have to add any oil in between oil changes. I have owned my NSX for more than 11 years now.

 

[huckster]

never noticed any oil underneath the car!??!

havent had my nsx over 9months, but no oil outside the engine....

anyone else comment on this???

 

[nsxtasy]

Originally posted by huckster:
never noticed any oil underneath the car!??!

I haven't...

 

[gheba_nsx]

I did not have oil drops on the floor but some months ago I lifted the car and I noticed there was some oil around the oil pan (not much... but anyway I did not like it!). I had all gaskets changed (about 500$, paid by the used car dealer) and all is pefrect again since then...

 

[ScienceofSpeed]

Did you make sure to fill the filter before reinstalling? While the system primes itself, the oil level will go down slightly.

Remember, most of our NSXes are 10+ years old, rubber gaskets will start to fail. Check the oil pan gasket, valve cover gaskets, cam plugs... and whatever else Barn Man can think of...

-- Chris

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