B7 Oil Consumption Issue

B6/7 S4/RS4
#14

Today is the big day. The pre cats are getting gutted, PCV is getting replaced, and lubro moly 5w40 is going in her for the upcoming winter all in just a few hours here. Trust me, my fingers are very crossed. I can have my mechanic do a compression test while im there today but if the car pulls like a train still, doesn’t that mean my compression must be pretty good? Im going to ask about a leakdown test when I get there, hopefully 1 of the 2 tests if not both will help indicate the condition of the motor itself.

Ill be sure to log the dates and mileages in order to keep a super close eye on the oil issue and see if any of this helps. Ill repost my findings. Thanks again to all of you guys, huge help.

SK

#15

Deff if he can do a compression test that would help let you know if you need a leak down test.

Sounds like your on the right path as far as getting the stuff done to cut down on or eliminate oil consumption.

#16

you can get a compression tester at sears, ive had mine for years. while you are doing that, if your plugs are over 10k miles, might as well replace them too, good way to bring back some lost hp. best of luck to you. how many miles on the car?

#17

Here is what they’ve told me about my flashpoint downpipes…

“A couple things- The Flashpoint downpipes utilize a single pair of high flow cats, in the location of the stock precats. The reason you see downpipes with cats here, versus down below where the OEM main cats are located, is due to the heating of the catalyst itself. Having the only cats located farther downstream will guarantee a check light nearly every time the car is started. This is the reason the cats are up top.”

Being as I need to pass emissions, I obviously cant gut the main cats, and they’re telling me that there are no pre cats on these downpipes. Will this particular positioning of the main cats, (where the oem pre cats are normally located) cause the same problem that the oem pre cats cause? I don’t give a hoot about my light coming on and never have, I wish I knew all this before I bought these dp’s. What should I do? Sell the downpipes and get another ser? Annoyed, frustrated, and needing suggestions. Thanks

#18

I’ll let others bash the response you received in more depth. ;D The short version is they are idiots. You can avoid the catalyst efficiency error code a number of different ways. The reason they gave you for their cat location is lame. It tells me they don’t fully understand the basics of performance or longevity amongst other things.

The location of the pre-cats (or any cats located that close to the motor) is the issue. As others have said they hold heat…a LOT of heat, increasing cylinder temps etc. It also impedes exhaust flow being that close to the manifold etc. All bad things you can avoid by doing piggies or buying a proper aftermarket set of DPs.

Long story short, the ideal location for cats (any cats, preferably hi-flow) is as far down the DP as possible - away from the engine. This helps keep the heat further away from the motor and improves exhaust flow.

You can pass emissions as long as you can pass the readiness test (not sure where you live but that is how it works where I do and some other states). This can be accomplished via a tune or 02 spacers.

So you have some options available to you. My suggestion, dump the current DP’s and get a new set from JHM. Or source a cheap set of OEM DP’s from somewhere and gut the pre-cats.

#19

The above post sums up everything I was going to say.

The PreCat Dp’s are junk. Flashpoint downpipes are just cheep china made Dp’s including the precats. In the future feel free to come here and ask all the members what they think. I also suggest you recommend others to do the same as well.

To be honest your better off selling the flashpoint junk and getting either completely catless dp’s or a set of stockers and doing the modification.

Short and sweet. dump what you have there actually in some ways worse then the stock dps you had on the car. “high flow” cats is just a term for junk cats that don’t do there job even worse they actually end up flowing less then the stock cats they replaced…

I will make a post sometime soon about my experience at borla and what Ive learned about some of these so called exhaust manufactures and there “Cats”

#20

So let me get this right before i fu** up again.

I would be better off selling the flashpoint dp’s and buying a set of piggie (oem w pre cat gutted) from jhm and replacing? I dont even care about performance, I want the motor to stay as healthy as possible here.

How much do I even ask for these things and where do I even sell them? How lame

Thanks again guys.

#21

All the guys here won’t let you Fu$k up again. :stuck_out_tongue:

Here is what you do. Make sure you can verify that the Dp’s you have are not catless. (I know I know) then from there. determine if you want to go full catless or if you need to for emissions. Some guys in your area are already catless and are able to pass emissions.

From there if your going full catless you have options and if you want and need to keep the cats go piggies.

Also AR has a large resource of members that might be able to help you sell and swap the Dp’s. So if you feel comfortable post your nearest location. This might help getting you to a different shop that can help remove the Dp’s and possibly source you piggies.

#22

so the votes are that the pre-cats are causing his oil consumption? I don’t think that’s possible…he’s got 2 quarts vanishing in 1000 miles.

#23

if I were you I would:

  1. list the flashpoint downpipes on audizine/audiworld/euroaddiction for about $800. Catted downpipes are very valuable, and those ones probably sound good. Cats are expensive as fuck so I don’t think you’ll have trouble selling these. Milltek Catted downpipes, or APR catted are in the $1200 range…and the Fast Intentions catted are around $1500. You can even suggest in your ad that you’ll accept $500 + a set of stock downpipes (make sure you differentiate between tip and MT6). For the record the flashpoint catback+downpipes is like $1800.

  2. if you get a set of OEM downpipes in exchange, great. Gut the PRE-CATS yourself while they’re off the car, and then get them put back on. If you’re NOT getting JHM tuned, look into the o2 spacer mod to stop that. If you ARE getting JHM tuned, save the o2 spacer money and put it towards the tune.

2a) if you don’t get a set of OEM downpipes in exchange, (and even before you try) put out a ‘want to buy OEM downpipes’ thread on audizine/audiworld and euroaddiction. Offer $200…you should get some hits.

Reality is that you’ll likely not be able to have the car down if it’s your daily driver (and since you’ve put 40,000 miles on it in a couple of years, it sounds like it is) so I would just try to acquire a set of stock downpipes before you do anything. Maybe see if JHM will sell you a set of their piggies, and agree to take a set back a month or two down the road. They’ll likely assess a $300 core charge on top of the price of the piggies…which they will refund when you send them a set that you find.

#24

Thanks saki, some great ino and help…you ae appreciated.

BTW, congrats on the rs man, it happens to be the best color choice out there. Can anybody say, widebody??

I cant post to classifieds on EA for some reason and on audizine im not a high enough ranked member i guess? Some bs. Any other ideas on how to get a set of oems?!?!

Thanks again. Love the epic tits pic, classic

#25

Ive read so much bad press on the milltek exhaust systems. I would sell what you have and look for either second had catless Dps or look for a stock set.

#26

Id stay away from the catback if performance was your #1 concern… but i have but good things to say about the catless DP’s! They sound GREAT!!! On top of being the 3rd owner of this particular set (and i got them at 1/3 of what they cost new)

#27

just post count. Make a bunch of posts. They do that to stop spam accounts from being created just to post spam.

#28

I wasn’t stating or implying the pre-cats are the sole culprit of his oil consumption issues - I was more commenting on the bag of dog shit he received as a response from the DP manufacturer. Although, I don’t doubt that the pre-cats contributed to some of his issues. As we all know they will shorten the life of the motor if left in place over time and can speed up the failure of weak points within the viscinity. Heat is the enemy.

#29

I was talking about the poll. 3 votes and all 3 were that his oil consumption was caused by pre-cats

#30

Holy - fail on my part. I didn’t even take note of the poll results. My bad.

#31

lol since there are only 4 votes, looks like nobody did!

I voted PCV…with my fingers crossed for K

#32

While I certainly hope its not the case I voted for scoring as the culprit. 2QTs/1K miles is a LOT. I know a failed PCV system can cause havoc on oil consumption and other things but 2qts seems like a lot.

How about leaky valve guides? …ask me how I know. ;D

#33

Fingers are totally crossed. PCV has been replaced and lubromoly 5w40 OC has been done, now just driving her normal with frequent dipstick tests (everytime I fill up).

Im deciding whether or not Im going to fully gut these flashgarabage downpipes and turn them completely catless. I guess in chicago they only do the OBD emissions and the JHM tune can remedy that horse shit test these idiots do. Decisions…