yup the people who created that dipstick are dipsticks

 

you were driving with 2 quarts of oil.. your car is consuming oil . start checking the level between changes .i think you will find that the car is consuming.. Check out my "consumption"post.. Nissan put 10/30 weight oil in mine figuring it would fix it..ya right.. clowns... i even had a clown tell me that all vq engines consume 1/2 litre of oil between changes and this is normal. i would moniter very closely and let your dealer know what is going on.........

 

i imagine an oil consumption meter inside the instrument cluster would be perfect for the RX8.

 

this happened to me --- had my oil changed at nissan dealership and after about 2000 miles i noticed that my oil light was coming on -- so i checked my oil guage--well like you said tryed to check it --- read no oil --- i put in abot 3 1/2 qts -- the next day took it to the dealership ---- where they informed me that it was low ---still there answer was from the mods on car and driving the car hard it would burn oil =- and that nothing was wrong --- ive dorve about 2000k since and have to add 3 qts-- i think there bs ing me ????

 

tell them you want them to do an oil consumption test as advised above. My engine started eating excessive oil about 6 months ago and they replaced my motor free under warranty.

 

How is the new engine doing? How much oil were you adding before they swapped motors vs now?

Thanks

 

they did that test--- said everything was fine---- service manager told my they were going to send a tech out to look at it -but he told him he would handle it -- saying he was doing me a favor-- bc of the aftermarket parts the tech--could void my warrenty on everything ---- dont no what to do ????

 

I just check the oil before starting the engine for the first time of the day, once or twice a month.
You will get a good solid reading on the stick and you do not need to wipe it off and double dip it!

 

New engine is great. I was having to add 1 qt every 500-1000 miles. Now the motor does not burn any oil every oil change, its always in the same spot on the dipstick.

 

I have had my 2004 in 4 times now for oil consumption, they just give me excuses, one right after the other, it's been documented, the shop forman, sees it low but questions me on it every time, I ask "show me Nissans oil change and oil usage in writing". They even zip tied it and seen it was low, then told me Nissans burn oil, and sent me on my way.

Now I have clicking axles and a HUGE vibration in the drive shaft, Nissan warranty service says "not Nissans fault" Nissan re-designed the driveshaft bolts therefore the customer has to pay for the repair, in other words "not broken, not warrantied"

Where is that Mitsu dealership again?

 

Question: Is your dipstick completely flat as mine looks like this:

----^---^---^------> and the last end is twisted 180 degrees. Maybe the previous owner handled it way too hard??

 

Yes mine has the dimples and oil gets cought in them too on the backside of the stick. It's just that nothing is sticking to the other side at all. Like somebody mentioned it could be a substance on that side preventing the oil from sticking. I'll find out Friday when I go up and check it again.

I will check it again and try testing the stick in clean oil, to see if it is sticking only to one side. The car has been sitting for several days now, so it should all be at the bottom.

When I brought it in for it's first oil change, I never once checked the oil (stupid on my part) and when they did the change they never said ohhh dude you have like no oil in your car, it was normal, when they showed me.

Supposidly it is normal to burn more oil during break in and it didn't use much then, but using lots now??? Will find out later.

I don't think adding 1 quart of oil in between 3,500 mile oil changes is too horribly bad but 3?? If it turns out to be 3 that's messed up and totally not right.

Ideally I think adding 1/2 a quart between changes is pretty damn good and totally normal. I can live with adding 1 to maybe even 1.5 quarts but not 3, that's messed up.

 

if my Z burns any oil, i would have sold the damn thing in a heartbeat. My buddy's new 330 burns one quart every 1000 mile and he says that its supposed to be normal.

 

You have to check it when the engine is COLD. The dipstick measures how much oil is sitting in the pan after it has all drained out of the engine. If you measure it when it's hot, most of the oil is somewhere in the engine, doing it's job, so of course you won't get an accurate reading on the dipstick.

good idea.

 

So what oil grade would burn/get wasted slower than what the factory recomends and still be suitable for the Z, without going to synthetic?

When I bring it in for it's second oil change this week, I'm not going to mention to them about the PSI droping yet because I believe they will instanly accuse me of neglecting the car. Oh sure like it's my fault the thing burns about 1 quart every 1K miles. When I bring it in, I'm just going to tell them that since my last (first) oil change, that I had to add almost 2 quarts, which techically is not a lie. Depends on how one defines "little".

Then after this oil change, I will pay extremely close attention to exactlly how much oil I go thru until my next change,, which if it continues to drink it the way it's doing now, it will be more than the 2 quarts I told them about this time.

If it ends up going thru another 3 quarts or whastever before the 3rd oil change, I'm going to take it back to the dealer I bought it from tell them what I told the other guys and demand an oil consumtion test on the spot.