Low Oil Poll with Break-in Data

[Dannyvandelft]

Interesting data so far. It seems like the groups are trending towards less people having issues with excessive oil consumption.

-RJM

Not to mention the people that think they have an oil problem, but really don't and are within spec.

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[Raidernation]

2021 no oil consumption. Changed the oil at 1200 miles and have been monitoring my oil levels since day 1 of ownership. Didn't completely hammer it during break in miles. Did some WOT pulls, down shifted to let the engine do some of the baraking at lights or in traffic. I also always varied my speeds during long drives on the freeway. It is my daily and average 50+ miles a day.

 

[Evoh]

Bought: 8/20
Build Date: 3/20
Year: 2021
Break-in: Followed manual.
Daily Driver: Yes.
Driving habit: I drive normally with the occasional hard pulls whenever possible.
Mileage: 5200 miles
Oil change: Did my first oil change at 1200 miles than just did another at 5000 miles.
Track time: 1 track day between first and second oil change.

I have been measuring my oil almost every week since hearing people saying their MY21's burning oil. Every measurement has always been at max level line. That's even after nearly 4000 miles and a track day.

However, when doing my second oil change at 5000 miles, I measured how much oil came out after I drained it. It came out to be a little less than 6 quarts. I put in exactly 6.5 liters which is about 6.9 quarts for my first oil change. So if my measurements are correct it seems that I have burned about a quart of oil in about 4000 miles. But the oil measurement still said it was max.

It seems the car's oil measurement isn't really accurate. I wonder how much oil is in the car when it says the oil level is at minimum.

 

[Dannyvandelft]

Bought: 8/20
Build Date: 3/20
Year: 2021
Break-in: Followed manual.
Daily Driver: Yes.
Driving habit: I drive normally with the occasional hard pulls whenever possible.
Mileage: 5200 miles
Oil change: Did my first oil change at 1200 miles than just did another at 5000 miles.
Track time: 1 track day between first and second oil change.

I have been measuring my oil almost every week since hearing people saying their MY21's burning oil. Every measurement has always been at max level line. That's even after nearly 4000 miles and a track day.

However, when doing my second oil change at 5000 miles, I measured how much oil came out after I drained it. It came out to be a little less than 6 quarts. I put in exactly 6.5 liters which is about 6.9 quarts for my first oil change. So if my measurements are correct it seems that I have burned about a quart of oil in about 4000 miles. But the oil measurement still said it was max.

It seems the car's oil measurement isn't really accurate. I wonder how much oil is in the car when it says the oil level is at minimum.

The level at minimum is 1 quart low.
Not all oil drains out 100% when you do an oil change. Some gets sucked into the filter, etc. You never get out exactly what you put in.

 

[Loco38SUP]

When I changed mine at 1200 miles the oil level test showed at Max line. The amount I drained was a little over 6 quarts. Take into account the oil filter, drain pans and what was left in the block. It’s really close to the 6.5 liter capacity.

* For the record PLEASE DON’T put 7 liters back into the engine. I’ve seen YouTube vidoes like the one Kies Motorsports did that tells people to add 7 liters.

-RJM

 

[Ediburrito]

well maybe because the two companies that built this car have almost 200 years of car building experience and have invested 100s of millions of dollars into research and Toyotas racing development is one of the worlds best and the two manufacturers are some of the top ranked cars for reliability and it is what they tell you to do with their cars? I mean IM just guessing. But yeah some guy on the internet knows more we should all listen to you.

If you worked at any corporate job you would understand everything he said makes 100 percent sense. Sometimes upper management (PR, Legal team, etc) makes the final decision even if it’s against what is technically supposed to be done (which is drive the car HARD to seal the rings). I can almost guaranteed you the engineers and PR probably had a big fuzz over what to put for a break in procedure. At the end of the day, CEOs of big companies have to make tough decisions. Do we tell people to do a WOT in the city for proper engine functionality, or do we avoid a billion dollar lawsuit from consumers suing us for telling their customers to do dangerous procedures. What would you do? If you ask me, the answer is clear. So even though this “random guy on the internet” may not hold a high credibility, he cites his sources which are credible.

 

[Loco38SUP]

If you worked at any corporate job you would understand everything he said makes 100 percent sense. Sometimes upper management (PR, Legal team, etc) makes the final decision even if it’s against what is technically supposed to be done (which is drive the car HARD to seal the rings). I can almost guaranteed you the engineers and PR probably had a big fuzz over what to put for a break in procedure. At the end of the day, CEOs of big companies have to make tough decisions. Do we tell people to do a WOT in the city for proper engine functionality, or do we avoid a billion dollar lawsuit from consumers suing us for telling their customers to do dangerous procedures. What would you do? If you ask me, the answer is clear. So even though this “random guy on the internet” may not hold a high credibility, he cites his sources which are credible.

You’re right, it’s all about risk mitigation.
They cannot tell people to perform a hard break-in. But I bet money that their prediction models showed people would jump into the car and immediately floor it. Anyone that has driven the GR Supra knows the car just begs to be pushed aggressively.

-RJM

 

[freeform911]

If you worked at any corporate job you would understand everything he said makes 100 percent sense. Sometimes upper management (PR, Legal team, etc) makes the final decision even if it’s against what is technically supposed to be done (which is drive the car HARD to seal the rings). I can almost guaranteed you the engineers and PR probably had a big fuzz over what to put for a break in procedure. At the end of the day, CEOs of big companies have to make tough decisions. Do we tell people to do a WOT in the city for proper engine functionality, or do we avoid a billion dollar lawsuit from consumers suing us for telling their customers to do dangerous procedures. What would you do? If you ask me, the answer is clear. So even though this “random guy on the internet” may not hold a high credibility, he cites his sources which are credible.

Maybe the manufacturer should do the engine break in?

Steve

 

[Loco38SUP]

Very good data so far. I wonder how many of the “Yes, easy break-in” would have been “no” if they drove it hard from the beginning. I do believe the lower compression pistons require an aggressive break-in.

-RJM

 

[Evolution]

I work at a place that builds engines for racecars. Once the engine is built, it goes straight to the dyno. No engine we build gets an easy break in. This is exactly why I didn't take it easy on my break in. I simulated the rough break in we do on the dyno and so far it has treated me right.

 

[ravenwest]

So I just got my 21 Friday and drove it back 600 miles to GA, once I got out of MD and VA with their nonsensical 55mph freeways I’ve been beating on the car relatively hard.

Worst case scenario I have to put it in for leaky oil. Beat case is everything turns out fine. So far no oil has leaked @ 788 miles (apparently) but I’ll report back at 1200 and 1500 miles. I’ll be doing an oil change with the 0W20 at 1200-1500 and then switch to 5W30 for the 3rd oil change.

 

[jonesxlv]

well maybe because the two companies that built this car have almost 200 years of car building experience and have invested 100s of millions of dollars into research and Toyotas racing development is one of the worlds best and the two manufacturers are some of the top ranked cars for reliability and it is what they tell you to do with their cars? I mean IM just guessing. But yeah some guy on the internet knows more we should all listen to you.

Those same companies with 200 years of collective experience filled this motor with 0w-20 oil too, which is a joke. Things are done for liability and regulatory purposes... the break in being liability and oil being regulatory (emissions).

 

[Toshi]

I work at a place that builds engines for racecars. Once the engine is built, it goes straight to the dyno. No engine we build gets an easy break in. This is exactly why I didn't take it easy on my break in. I simulated the rough break in we do on the dyno and so far it has treated me right.

If you have the time and energy would you mind explaining exactly how you broke in your engine? Your wisdom will be MOST appreciated!

 

[Evolution]

If you have the time and energy would you mind explaining exactly how you broke in your engine? Your wisdom will be MOST appreciated!

I will do my best to describe it. Main thing here, when I say break in an engine, all I am talking about are the rings. Nothing else really needs to break in.

When an engine is new, it has what you call "cross hatching" on the cylinder walls. Think of this as sand paper for the rings. The goal here is to get the rings to press on the cylinder walls so that the cross hatching can shave the rings into a perfect shape that matches the cylinder walls. The rings by themselves will have tension but there are 2 ways to get even more tension, which is needed.

First, we use vacuum. That meaning, downshifting and letting the engine coast down on its own from a high RPM to low. This will help pull the rings away from the piston and into the cylinder wall. I typically do it from 5000 rpm down to about 2000 rpm in something like 3rd gear.

Next, we get into boost. Now this doesnt mean floor it and go. Its the same concept of the vacuum but opposite. Put it in 3rd gear, start at 2000 rpm, give it enough gas to get into boost (again, does not have to be full throttle) and let off at 5000 rpm. This will also help push the rings into the cylinder walls but in a different way than vacuum.

I did that process over the first 500 miles. I live in the mountains so it was very easy for me to do. All boost going up the hill, all coasting on the way down. At 500 miles, I took the car out racing. Lots of full throttle, lots of full boost and a lot of vacuum. That was the final step of seating the rings.

Now if you dont get enough pressure on the rings, aka easy break in, the cross hatching on the cylinder walls will go smooth before the rings are seated and broken in. That is when you run into oil consumption problems. Hopefully all that helps!

 

[Ivan27]

Yeah, some of the write ups on this oil burning had me wondering, my 2021 build date was 01/21. Only 320 miles now, and yes my oil level is good. We'll see how it goes, but the Supra is under warranty.

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