Oil level vs engine performance
Discussion
PH folk
I've had a Mini R56 Cooper S for the past few months; the car is good fun and brilliant at a daily driver. However I have noticed a weird occurrence with the engine. So MINI (BMW) admit that it "should" use 1 litre of oil for every 2,000 miles, which really boils my piss, especially as other cars in the family (for example an E92 M3) use zero oil, but ho hum, I can't do anything about this.
Anyway, I have noticed that when the oil level gets to around the 1/4 level on the (impossible to read) dipstick, the engine feels really alive. It feels far easier to rev and has more urgency to the power delivery. Now I keep a very close eye on my oil, so it does get topped back up when I notice the level. Which I don't even need to check now, as the engine totally changes, so I know when to top it up.
The engine doesn't make any weird noises, such like, becoming tappy, etc.
Why would I notice such a difference? Also, has anyone else found this before? Not just on a Mini, but on other cars too. I am curious.
Thanks PH and any abuse for having a new(ish) Mini, please email to: Ihaveboughtabmw@mini.co.uk
I've had a Mini R56 Cooper S for the past few months; the car is good fun and brilliant at a daily driver. However I have noticed a weird occurrence with the engine. So MINI (BMW) admit that it "should" use 1 litre of oil for every 2,000 miles, which really boils my piss, especially as other cars in the family (for example an E92 M3) use zero oil, but ho hum, I can't do anything about this.
Anyway, I have noticed that when the oil level gets to around the 1/4 level on the (impossible to read) dipstick, the engine feels really alive. It feels far easier to rev and has more urgency to the power delivery. Now I keep a very close eye on my oil, so it does get topped back up when I notice the level. Which I don't even need to check now, as the engine totally changes, so I know when to top it up.
The engine doesn't make any weird noises, such like, becoming tappy, etc.
Why would I notice such a difference? Also, has anyone else found this before? Not just on a Mini, but on other cars too. I am curious.
Thanks PH and any abuse for having a new(ish) Mini, please email to: Ihaveboughtabmw@mini.co.uk
Can't comment on why it feels livelier when lower on oil aside from less drag, but two points on the R56 mini
They consume a lot of oil, and actually mini say its OK for it to consume 1 liter per 1000miles not 2000.
Running low on oil even by a small ammount has been noted as contributing to camchain stretch and failure, noted especially on cold starts by rattling, search mini death rattle.
They consume a lot of oil, and actually mini say its OK for it to consume 1 liter per 1000miles not 2000.
Running low on oil even by a small ammount has been noted as contributing to camchain stretch and failure, noted especially on cold starts by rattling, search mini death rattle.
Ozzie Osmond said:
It does seem that BMW (and others) consider anything up to 1 litre per 1,000 miles is "normal". I guess it's all a question of manufacturing tolerances in the engine. By the luck of the draw some engines will end up with the smallest "OK" pistons in the biggest "OK" bores etc.
So not by any means a quality car then, sounds like a 70s British Leyland product ....oh wait!!!!rigga said:
Can't comment on why it feels livelier when lower on oil aside from less drag, but two points on the R56 mini
They consume a lot of oil, and actually mini say its OK for it to consume 1 liter per 1000miles not 2000.
Running low on oil even by a small ammount has been noted as contributing to camchain stretch and failure, noted especially on cold starts by rattling, search mini death rattle.
Oh, well my car is better than the norm then. At least that is good news. What would an RX8 use? I wonder if it is the same as the R56 Mini?? They consume a lot of oil, and actually mini say its OK for it to consume 1 liter per 1000miles not 2000.
Running low on oil even by a small ammount has been noted as contributing to camchain stretch and failure, noted especially on cold starts by rattling, search mini death rattle.
Yeah I have read about that. Thankfully mine hasn't rattled, but it won't have the chance to do that with me, as it is for sale at the moment. I'm selling it to buy a kit car (MK Indy with a bike lump).
I have to say though, it is poor form from BMW. A modern engine to use this much oil is madness.
How is my engine getting through the oil? I always thought that if an engine is using oil then you would see/smell the blue smoke out of the exhaust. My Mini doesn't smoke, or leak oil, so where is it going?
Pig benis said:
Oh, well my car is better than the norm then. At least that is good news. What would an RX8 use? I wonder if it is the same as the R56 Mini??
Yeah I have read about that. Thankfully mine hasn't rattled, but it won't have the chance to do that with me, as it is for sale at the moment. I'm selling it to buy a kit car (MK Indy with a bike lump).
I have to say though, it is poor form from BMW. A modern engine to use this much oil is madness.
How is my engine getting through the oil? I always thought that if an engine is using oil then you would see/smell the blue smoke out of the exhaust. My Mini doesn't smoke, or leak oil, so where is it going?
Alot of it is coking your inlet valves up due to the poor pcv breather system, being direct injection there is no fuel going over the inlet valves to wash them off, not completely a mini only problem as all direct injection engine's are the same,.Yeah I have read about that. Thankfully mine hasn't rattled, but it won't have the chance to do that with me, as it is for sale at the moment. I'm selling it to buy a kit car (MK Indy with a bike lump).
I have to say though, it is poor form from BMW. A modern engine to use this much oil is madness.
How is my engine getting through the oil? I always thought that if an engine is using oil then you would see/smell the blue smoke out of the exhaust. My Mini doesn't smoke, or leak oil, so where is it going?
rigga said:
Alot of it is coking your inlet valves up due to the poor pcv breather system, being direct injection there is no fuel going over the inlet valves to wash them off, not completely a mini only problem as all direct injection engine's are the same,.
So that is why people have their Mini engines de-coked. I did wonder about that. 
I have no experience of this car/engine, however running an engine with the oil level too high will result in loss of power as the cranktrain experiences excessive 'windage' losses via churning up the oil. Oil consumption will also be high.
Are you sure that the dipstick is correct for the car and you are reading it correctly? Do you notice the consumption reduces when the level is lower?
Are you sure that the dipstick is correct for the car and you are reading it correctly? Do you notice the consumption reduces when the level is lower?
t tbh.
I've seen dyno runs where the oil at max lost 5BHP, a lot of one make racers used to run the engine on min to gain power/time, remember as a road car the manufacturer will allow some "extra" oil as the milages coverd between checking and changing will be longer than for a race car so it allows for loss.
S0 What said:
I've seen dyno runs where the oil at max lost 5BHP, a lot of one make racers used to run the engine on min to gain power/time, remember as a road car the manufacturer will allow some "extra" oil as the milages coverd between checking and changing will be longer than for a race car so it allows for loss.
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