topping up engine oil.... why??

kfw_2

Hi

I have a Hyundai i10, 12 plate, approx. 11k miles from new and have owned from new.

The sump is small - holding 3.5 litres of oil, I regularly check my tyre pressures and all fluid levels I have rarely topped up the oil maybe 250ml here or there.

Just wondering are there certain conditions which would cause the car to use/burn oil, and where does the oil go - does it get combusted inside the engine?

Car runs great and I don't thrash it about, so just strange that I have had to top a little.

Thanks,:)

Richard53

All engines use some oil. It gets past the rings and down the valve guides and is burnt in the combustion chamber. On a new car it should be very little, but you will lose some. I would say that 250ml every 2-3000 miles is nothing to worry about. You are wise to check it regularly, though. 3.5 litres is not a lot to play with, and waiting until it needed half a litre means the engine is running with a lot less than it was designed for. Oil doesn't just lubricate the engine; it also plays an important part in cooling, and has to absorb all the nasty products of combustion. Low oil levels mean the oil does a lot more work, and will be degraded more quickly.

But all engines are different. I have an old single-cylinder Yamaha that is ridden pretty hard and hardly uses a drop, whereas I had a Triumph triple that used one litre per 1000 miles when thrashed around Europe two-up with luggage. Neither bike smoked or leaked - it's just how they are. I suspect good running-in plays a part. Being too gentle in the first 1000 miles can actually lead to greater oil consumption, as the rings don't get to bed in properly.

forgotmyname

New engines burn oil. Modern cars tend to use little oil.

But it depends how the car is driven from new. A good thrash up the motorway for a few hundred miles, At medium revs and little load on the engine is better than a 30mph potter home and sitting at idle at traffic lights etc.

You dont thrash it about.. Probably bad for a new engine.

When we used to build them we would crank them over on the starter motor with no oil on the bores. This would cause a lot of friction which bedded the rings in rapidly.

Change the oil often when new also. Keep an eye on the oil colour if it changes, Then change the oil.

Weird_Nev

MOdern engines are all run in on a test bench, there is no need to treat them specially.
If I was keeping my new car forever, I'd probably change the oil after 1000 miles, just to stop any early contaminants staying with it for the next year, but other than that the engine is as it is. Some use a bit of oil some don't.

Only ways for the oil to leave the engine are via it being burnt or leaking out! if it's not doing one, it's doing the other. (Caveat - a head gasket failure can hide an oil leak by allowing oil and water to mix inside the engine)

Yolina

Whilst new engines don't need to be run in like in the days of old (yay!) stuff still needs to bed in. Handbooks will say something along the lines of "avoid sudden acceleration and avoid driving at a constant speed for long periods for the first X miles"

kfw_2

Thanks all for your thoughts on this, as a rule I always change the oil at least once a year or sooner - if it's no longer clear and golden in colour. So I think that is this the best rule to continually follow......

Having such a small sump brings mixed blessings, cheap oil changes, but as one has said - very little margin for problems if levels are not checked and it running low.

Regards:beer:

GolfBravo

Weird_Nev wrote: »

MOdern engines are all run in on a test bench

No modern mass produced engine is run in on a test bench.

All new engines are just tested at the end of the production line, but the test usually takes less than a minute.

With modern engine plants building up to a 1000 engines a day, it would take some test bench to run them in.

Strider590

Could just be running with poor quality or wrong viscosity oil.

Ultrasonic

Yolina wrote: »

Whilst new engines don't need to be run in like in the days of old (yay!) stuff still needs to bed in. Handbooks will say something along the lines of "avoid sudden acceleration and avoid driving at a constant speed for long periods for the first X miles"

Why is running at a constant speed a problem? Is taking a new car for a long motorway drive genuinely bad for it?

GolfBravo

Ultrasonic wrote: »

Why is running at a constant speed a problem? Is taking a new car for a long motorway drive genuinely bad for it?

Engine run in = bed in piston seals to the cylinder walls

To bed in piston seals you need high combustion pressures, and to get high combustion pressures you need acceleration under load.

Constant speed cruising = low combustion pressures