Oil Consumption

[brettzo007]

I know this topic has been covered numerous times and yes I've searched, however I seem to be consuming quite a bit of oil on my 2016. I have owned the car for 2.5 months and have put 3,000KM (1,800 miles) on so far. The car now has 5,200KM (3,200 miles) on the odometer. Since owning the car I have had to frequently monitor and top up oil and averaging a half quart per 500-600KM (310-370 miles) which seems like a lot to me. I have made notes with a Ford dealer and have started taking photos of my dipstick when low and monitoring the top up amount in case it ever gets to a new motor warranty stage. I have tried driving the car normally, staying out of red line, etc. and consumption seems to be fairly consistent regardless of how the car is being driven. Maybe slightly higher when stepping on it and going in to red line, but not significantly.

Is this normal within spec, or grounds for a replacement motor eventually if things don't subside? I'm loving the car outside of this, just had no idea going in to GT350 ownership from my previous S550 GT that the car would burn this much oil though understand that a forged motor will burn a bit. It's worth mentioning that Ford has recommended I check the oil when the vehicle has been sitting for several hours, preferably before a cold start. I have been checking in the mornings after every 2-3 times driving the car. I was also told that they would like to see at least 15,000km (9,300 miles) on the car prior to moving anything forward to see if consumption slows down. They have been great to deal with and have even provided me some free oil, so I'll have to continue monitoring for now.

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[rick81721]

GT350 supplement says up to 1 qt per 500 miles is "normal". I'm in a similar position, I have 6900 miles after 10 months and oil consumption seems to be increasing, last check was 1 qt/1000 miles or even less. I've also recently had some issues reading the dipstick. Last time I added 0.5 qts the reading barely moved - it was just covering the lower hole before and then just a little over after. It should have moved to halfway between holes. And one side of the dipstick seems different than the other. In any event, I'm monitoring closely, have kept a spreadsheet of all oil addition/readings/oil changes/oil in catch can since day 1. If it gets to the 1qt/500 mile point, I'll take it in and see if they will start an oil consumption test.

 

[Hack]

I'm not sure what is normal because I only have my car's engine to compare to. I can tell you, however, that for my engine it likes the oil level to be midway between the top and bottom marks. If I fill to the top mark, the level will gradually decrease until it's midway between the marks. After that it won't move.

If I kept adding oil every time the level came down slightly from the top mark on the dipstick, I could end up adding a lot of oil!!

Once I realized this was the case I stopped adding oil and I've never had to add any oil to the engine between changes since then. I think that essentially filling to the top mark on the dipstick is overfilling my engine with too much oil. There are tolerances on all the components, and I think Ford set the oil level high on the Voodoo.

So my question to you is, how low is the oil when you add? Is it below the bottom mark, or does the oil level still reside between the marks on the dipstick?

If the oil level is between the marks, I would encourage you to NOT add any oil and continue monitoring. Find out whether your engine is like mine.

 

[Ghoust]

I am in the same boat man. I have been documenting this on video for a while now. In fact, I did an oil change and then did an all day track event where I was consistently above 5k rpm and lost a quart. This has made me pretty cautious and I check the oil level every week just to make sure I am on top of things.

 

[brettzo007]

I'm not sure what is normal because I only have my car's engine to compare to. I can tell you, however, that for my engine it likes the oil level to be midway between the top and bottom marks. If I fill to the top mark, the level will gradually decrease until it's midway between the marks. After that it won't move.

If I kept adding oil every time the level came down slightly from the top mark on the dipstick, I could end up adding a lot of oil!!

Once I realized this was the case I stopped adding oil and I've never had to add any oil to the engine between changes since then. I think that essentially filling to the top mark on the dipstick is overfilling my engine with too much oil. There are tolerances on all the components, and I think Ford set the oil level high on the Voodoo.

So my question to you is, how low is the oil when you add? Is it below the bottom mark, or does the oil level still reside between the marks on the dipstick?

If the oil level is between the marks, I would encourage you to NOT add any oil and continue monitoring. Find out whether your engine is like mine.

I usually fill halfway between both marks. After 500-600KM I am halfway between the bottom of the stick and the first mark generally. I then fill back to the middle of the marks and the same results ensue each time.

 

[brettzo007]

I am in the same boat man. I have been documenting this on video for a while now. In fact, I did an oil change and then did an all day track event where I was consistently above 5k rpm and lost a quart. This has made me pretty cautious and I check the oil level every week just to make sure I am on top of things.

Saw your video. Yes, the level of oil on your dipstick is generally where mine is after 500-600KM down from half way between the markers. I did find it helpful checking oil after the car has been sitting overnight each time for all of the oil to drain back in to the pan and for consistent results on each check.

This unfortunately seems to be a common issue with the GT350. I'll be on the fence now as to whether to push Ford for a new motor, or live with it like a lot of owners seem to be doing. The shop foreman has been great to deal with and basically told me that if it continues they would be happy to push for a new motor. I'm just not sure that would be any better and have noticed that some who have received a new motor ended up with even more issues! Some going as far as being labelled a lemon on a buy-back post swap. Could just be worst case though.

My dealer is one of the higher sellers in the area and a guy I know mentioned that they have done 3 motor swaps and rods on one in the last few months! I'm assuming some owners aren't as diligent with their oil checks as we are! One of the motors they swapped is even a demo after they took it on a road trip for 2,000km.

 

[rick81721]

I usually only add oil once it gets below the bottom hole. This one time, with difficult readings, I added some when it was just covering the lower hole.

 

[brettzo007]

I usually only add oil once it gets below the bottom hole. This one time, with difficult readings, I added some when it was just covering the lower hole.

Me too. The bottom hole is still adequate and within the min range. As soon as it goes below that I'm topping up.

 

[Tank]

From the ‘16 Supplement:
“• If the oil level is between the lower and upper holes, the oil level is acceptable. DO NOT ADD OIL.
• If the oil level is below the lower hole, add enough oil to raise the level within the lower and upper holes”

Anywhere between the holes and you’re good to go.

@Hack, thanks for your observation I think I’m in a similar situation and will keep this in the back of my mind..

 

[HaleFire]

I'm not sure what is normal because I only have my car's engine to compare to. I can tell you, however, that for my engine it likes the oil level to be midway between the top and bottom marks. If I fill to the top mark, the level will gradually decrease until it's midway between the marks. After that it won't move.

If I kept adding oil every time the level came down slightly from the top mark on the dipstick, I could end up adding a lot of oil!!

Once I realized this was the case I stopped adding oil and I've never had to add any oil to the engine between changes since then. I think that essentially filling to the top mark on the dipstick is overfilling my engine with too much oil. There are tolerances on all the components, and I think Ford set the oil level high on the Voodoo.

So my question to you is, how low is the oil when you add? Is it below the bottom mark, or does the oil level still reside between the marks on the dipstick?

If the oil level is between the marks, I would encourage you to NOT add any oil and continue monitoring. Find out whether your engine is like mine.

I have a winter beater that behaves exactly like this. After an oil change it will go through a bit of oil and stop just above the min mark on the dipstick. It won't go any further down even after 4k miles. My GT350 goes through a bit of oil and I was previously adding oil even if the level was between the holes. I'm going to actually follow the supplement book and not add unless it's below the holes. Maybe it has a "preferred level" as well.

 

[Zcobra1]

Mine was basically unchanged at 1000 mile mark, original factory fill, new. So it appears the engine broke in well and everything seated fine. Always wait for oil temp over 180 for any runs near redline, and always fully warmed engine each time I start the car. No short drives......

 

[rick81721]

Mine was basically unchanged at 1000 mile mark, original factory fill, new. So it appears the engine broke in well and everything seated fine. Always wait for oil temp over 180 for any runs near redline, and always fully warmed engine each time I start the car. No short drives......

Can't go by the first 1000-2000 miles. Mine basically consumed nothing the first 2000 miles - now at 7000 it's a different story

 

[rj45]

Daily driver, 8K miles, no track, I added 1/2 quart at about 7.5K miles. It didn't burn much before the first oil change at 4.5K miles, so I didn't add any.

 

[brettzo007]

Mine was basically unchanged at 1000 mile mark, original factory fill, new. So it appears the engine broke in well and everything seated fine. Always wait for oil temp over 180 for any runs near redline, and always fully warmed engine each time I start the car. No short drives......

That was my next question. I usually wait until 80deg Celsius + (175* f) before I even go over 2,500rpm. I started doing this more recently and may had previously been driving the car a bit too hard under full temp. Maybe a few degrees shy. Doesn't seem to have made a difference, but will continue monitoring.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but new motors (even forged) don't really need to idle and sit until they're at full temp. You can drive the car mildly until up to temp without issues after a bit of cold idling. I of course wait a few minutes before driving at all on a cold start, but letting it sit until it reaches full operating temp would take quite a while and not sure that's necessary. The engine also warms up faster when driving mildly (I stay less than 2,500RPM) until at full temp.

 

[Nfs1000f]

That was my next question. I usually wait until 80deg Celsius + (175* f) before I even go over 2,500rpm. I started doing this more recently and may had previously been driving the car a bit too hard under full temp. Maybe a few degrees shy. Doesn't seem to have made a difference, but will continue monitoring.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but new motors (even forged) don't really need to idle and sit until they're at full temp. You can drive the car mildly until up to temp without issues after a bit of cold idling. I of course wait a few minutes before driving at all on a cold start, but letting it sit until it reaches full operating temp would take quite a while and not sure that's necessary. The engine also warms up faster when driving mildly (I stay less than 2,500RPM) until at full temp.

Do not let the car idle from what I hear, drive it. I do wait until my oil reaches 180 F before I go over 4k RPM. Not saying it's the right way, but it's my way.

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