I tried searching for this, but I didn't get the exact answer I wanted. I have one of those new SR20DE engines, the one with the roller rockers (2000 Nissan Sentra SE), & I seem to consume about 1/2 a quart to 1 quart of oil during a 3,750 mile oil change, but never more than that. I do redline the car once in a while, but not in a drag racing type way. The only time I abuse it is on a twisty mountain road. Sometimes on very long trips, I'll be doing about 90 to 100 MPH for long periods of time wich keeps the revs in 5th gear at about 4,500 to 5,000 RPM, but those trips are kinda rare. Most of the time, however, I drive it normal. My car has about 42,000 miles & I have been using 5W-30 dino oil from 0 to 33,750 miles. Then I switched to Mobil 1 5W-30 synthetic at 33,750 miles. It's kinda weird, 'cause when I was using dino oil, it was burning about the same amount. My car takes about 3 1/2 quarts of oil. It doesn't have any leaks & blue smoke doesn't seem to come out of the tail pipe. My power train warranty ends at 60,000 miles, so the question is, does that seem kinda normal? Or should I have the dealer check it out? A lot of SPEC V owners have been having oil consumption problems & when they go to the dealers, most mechanics say that it's normal as long as it doesn't go below the minimum line. I think that's B.S. Any info on this would really be appreciated. Thanks!

normal oil consumption is generally no more than 1qt for every 1k miles. If your car is consuming more than 1qt for every 1000 miles then there is an abnormal problem.

Originally posted by Nismo87SE
normal oil consumption is generally no more than 1qt for every 1k miles. If your car is consuming more than 1qt for every 1000 miles then there is an abnormal problem.

I would hope not. Maybe for an older GM 2.4 or 3200 it would be ok for 1 qt of oil every 1000 miles. Normal oil consumption on an average car should be less than 1 qt every 3500 or so miles.

Think about that. If the average car was losing 1 qt every 1000 miles, you would literally have to keep a case in the trunk at all times and fill the oil approx. every 3rd stop to the gas station for a fill-up.

normal oil consumption is generally no more than 1qt for every 1k miles.

Wow. 1 qt. for 1000 miles is normal on a fairly new Sr20?? If I were using that much, I would be doing compression checks and a leak down trying to find the problem. Just 1 qt between 3000 mile changes would begin to concern me. I know I don't have roller rockers, but my 10 year old 88,000 mile SR20 uses basically zero oil, even during track weekends.

Are roller rocker engines designed to consume oil or something?

Matt

man that Sucks, with a capital S. i have a 98 sr20de, of course without roller rockers, and i have zero noticeable oil consumption. i bought the car with 40,000 on it and the motor seemed to be in excellent shape. i immediately started using Mobil 1 10w-30 for summer and fall and 5w-30 in the middle of winter. i have put a lot of highway miles on it, it's at 67,600 right now. Still I have no noticeable oil consumption.

My personal recommendations are: Try using Mobil 1 10w-30, yes I know its thicker and all the other stuff, etc.., but it's worth a try if it will decrease your oil consumption, right. Change your oil every 3,000 miles and not 3,750 (i know 3750 is what is recommended but these are just my personal recommendations). One thing that may cause oil consumption for you is redlining your car; I have seen it happen on other cars. If you do all this for 1 of your oil changes and dont see any results then you know this information is of no help to you. I have experienced 100% success with these methods and zero oil consumption.
Probably the most important is to perform a compression test on each cyclinder to see if there are any real mechanical problems (rings, spark plug gaskets, etc..)

Hope this can help

Originally posted by MaddMatt
I know I don't have roller rockers, but my 10 year old 88,000 mile SR20 uses basically zero oil, even during track weekends.

My DE with 85k miles never used a drop even during track events. My VE is the same way.

hmm... I have zero detectable oil consumption on my motor. Just turned over 86k with the last 10k or so with the turbo. I've NEVER had to add oil. I've NEVER even noticed the oil level drop. And I redline the car multiple times per trip. I would think that the only thing that could lead to oil consumption on newer cars is improper breakin. I got my car with about 30 miles on the odo and babied it for about the first 2k miles (was learning to drive stick too). Took it on a big highway trip which really loosened the motor up and been rompin on it ever since. I switched to Mobil 1 after about 10k.

I haven't really heard too much about the Spec-V oil consumption probs, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was becaues some of them started driving the car too hard too soon.

Khiem

I have followed the break in procedure to the letter. No reving over 4,000 RPM during the first 1,000 miles. Then I slowly went up the tachomoter after that. My first redline was probably at about 4,500 miles. After that it's been once in a while. I'm gonna do what dan7225 suggested. I am going to change to 10w-30 oil & go through one oil change without abusing the car to see if that's it. I can't seem to stay out of twisty roads though. :( Hehe. :p I will try though!! :D

I had a 93 nx2000 that used 1 quart every 1000 or so. I check the compresion and it was very low 125. Motor never had power and i just put in a motor from shoes59 now it is a great little car !

So, a quart of oil lost during a 3,750 mile oil change isn't too much to worry about then? There's some other people on other boards that go through a 7,500 mile oil change without any oil consumption. :confused: I always thought that new cars shouldn't burn anything after the break in period. I'm gonna switch to 10w-30 Mobil 1 on my next oil change. I'll post back with some results.

136000m using part synthetic oil and zero oil consumption on a '94 SR20DE.

I got 2 quick questions. Did any of you guys buy your cars brand new out of the dealer? If so, did they consume oil for a while till they broke in? I need to know, just in case I have to go battle it out with Nissan. Thanks! :D

OK. I did an oil change at 45,000 miles & used Mobil 1 10W-30 SuperSyn. Now I have about 47,500 miles & I'm missing 1/2 a quart already!!! Damn! http://216.40.249.192/mysmilies/kao/msroom/m-gan.gif This is beginning to worry me. http://smilies.uniquehardware.co.uk/kao/msroom/m-u-n.gif I filled it up with 3.5 quarts of oil in the last oil change & I checked it a few miles after that to make sure that it was full. It was about 1 mm over the MAX line on the dipstick. Now it's half way & it's only been 2,500 miles! What gives?? http://216.40.249.192/mysmilies/kao/msroom/m-bo.gif My next oil change is at 48,750 & at this rate, I'll be down 3/4 of a quart. Should I be worried? http://216.40.249.192/mysmilies/kao/msroom/m-hate.gif Or would this be considered normal? These new engines are a little different from the older versions, so any info would greatly be appreciated.

Have someone outside the car look for blue smoke and also the smell of oil why you drive by at wot and maybe above something like 4k.

Just for the record, my DET w/ approx 80K on it by now consumes about a half to 3/4 of a quart between oil changes which are around 3500 miles or so. I don't think it's rings, I'm pretty sure it's PCV related. I've never been able to track it down though.

About every 4,000 miles or so my car loses 5/8 quart somewhere. I have no leaks, compression was mid 170s across the board. I'm not worried.

Originally posted by mpg9999
Have someone outside the car look for blue smoke and also the smell of oil why you drive by at wot and maybe above something like 4k. I've had my younger brother rev the engine up to 6,500 in my driveway & no thick smoke comes out. I was gonna dyno the car when I was at the Stillen show a few weeks ago, but I never did. I would have been able to see if it smoked after the run. http://www.gamers-forums.com/smilies/kao/msroom/m-tabako.gif

Originally posted by bmoses
I'm pretty sure it's PCV related. I've never been able to track it down though.I'm gonna check that out.

How do I go about doing a compression leak down test? http://smilies.networkessence.net/kao/msroom/m-hate.gif

In many of the posts in this thread people talk of using Mobil 1 10W 30 but no one has mentioned the 0W 40.
I was considering switching to it at the next oil change and was just wondering of anyone here had any experience with it, good or bad.

Mobil claims:

Performance benefits beyond other synthetic, semi synthetic and mineral based oils. Engine performance maintained "as new"

Outstanding protection against wear and exceptional cleanliness of engine parts.

Longer engine life and superior cold weather starting, prolonging battery life.

Significant fuel savings and low exhaust emissions maintained at "new car" level

Improved engine protection during the critical start-up period

I would be interested to see if anyone has noticed a big improvement in using this oil or if i would be better off sticking with 10W 30.

Cheers

Nate

I'm not to sure about Mobil 1 0W-40 SuperSyn oil. http://smilies.uniquehardware.co.uk/kao/msroom/m-hate.gif The weights are too far off, but then again, it's kinda different when you're dealing with synthetic oil. My manual says to use only 5W-30, 10W-30 or 10W-40 motor oil. Most people that know motor oil will tell you that 10W-30 is the better one out of those 3 because the weights are closer & they use less polymers. That translates into longer lasting oil that will withstand lots of torture, but if you live in a really cold climate, then you're supposed to use the 5W-30 grade. There's this guy in the www.b15sentra.net forums that seems to know his oil extremely well. His name is adc100. He uses 3 quarts of Mobil 1 10W-30 SuperSyn & 1 quart of Mobil 1 15W-50 SuperSyn motor oil. I might try that oil combo on my next oil change. Well, I'll let you guys know how low the oil dropped when I get to 48,750 miles. Thanks for all the info! http://www.gamers-forums.com/smilies/kao/msroom/m-domo.gif

my car used and still uses 1/2 to 1 quart every 3k from when she had 90k on her to today at 130k.. the previous owner did convey to me that it used a little oil for a while.. i suspect my car was improperly broken in or was on the very outside of factory tolerance when assembled..

i quit worrying about it along time ago and have been using Valvoline Max Life 5w30 because it ate synthetic at a much faster rate..

is my engine healthy at 130k? well last weekend i hit the drag strip and autocrossed combined with 6hrs of highway driving.. it didn't use any oil. 15.6 1/4 with a 2.46 60 with only hack saw intake and exhaust..

i would be concerned too because your car is still pretty new.. but i'm just saying mine has been OK..