I was at the dealership the other day picking up some parts for a friend and I had a quick conversation with a b8 S4 guy while he was dropping of his car for service. He was older and didn’t seem like the kinda guy who works on his own car. He mentioned he was having oil consumption issues but his car was stock.
With the b6 S4 oil consumption is a normal accepted thing. I didn’t think this was also an issue on the B8. Do you guys need to top off between oil changes and how often do you guys go between oil changes
Mine uses about 500 ml on 2000 kms.
My S4 doesn’t smoke or leak oil. I have vids at the track all showing no puffs under hard accelaration.
My S3 used 500 ml between servicings.
I got a email mail from a b8 S4 owner not sure his user name and I’m not sure if he is on here but he apparently saw thus thread. He mentioned he needs to add 1 quart of oil every 3000 miles.
It’s normal for aluminum motors with synthetic oil to consume oil and 1 quart every 3000 isn’t bad. I wonder if more S4 guys are eating little bits of oil like this but they just don’t know. 1 quart isn’t enough to get a light on the dash. I would think that not even S4 guy checks his oil every fill up. Maybe other guys on here can check there oil next fill up and check in on the thread.
The VW dealer told me that all new cars sold come with fresh oil from the dealership, because when delivered by the shipping company they have 1 quart of oil in them – just enough to move the car at 5 MPH onto and off of the ship. The idea is to put as little fluid as possible in it to reduce shipping weight.
I’d suspect that some cars that have oil consumption issues were left running on the ship or at the dock with no oil.
Just a thought would an oil with high zinc content help those with oil consumption issues or would it make it worse. I’ve heard from some sources that it helps with better lubrication, friction control and compression. Is this true…?
^^ Jimmy: for those of us who have had to add oil in between changes, is this something we shld be concerned about? Anything proactive we can do to avoid the piston and ring replacements?
This could be possible but I’m not to sure it’s how it works. The cars need to be driven off the assembly line and then again to a shipping station. Most cars you get brand new have anywhere from 3 to 5 miles on them. I don’t see the factory trusting the dealerships to handle any of the last details.
This is very true. I have seen much better oil consumption when I actually stagger my oil weight per season. Higher zinc values are more needed in race motors due to the piston acceleration and ring gaps.
I’m sure Jimmy will give his thoughts but I would say there’s a normal amount of oil consumption based on using a synthetic oil on an all aluminum motor. You have a larger ring gap due to the car being supercharged that adds to the equation. From what I can see across all the aluminum audi motors about 1 quart every 2500 is the range. Depending on driving. I think if enough b8 guys here check there oil next fill up you will see this is something normal. And nothing to worry about.
^^ Thnx, Justin. Appreciate the input. In fact, on behalf of the forum, thnx for everything you do around here to keep the community informed. You are a widely respected member. +Karma
That was nice of you to say thanks. I feel very welcome here and there is a great set of standards everyone has here. Yourself included.
I thought this thread would be helpful as this isn’t the first time I had heard about oil issues with the 3.0t. I don’t really know that I would really call it an oil issue. But this isn’t the first time I have heard people talk about the 3.0t needing a quart top off. I know here the members would be honest. I found long ago when it came to the blatant issues with the 4.2 S4 some owners were covering them up and then again with the rs4 some owners wanted to deny carbon even happened.
I think most will find that the 3.0t will sip oil between oil changes and that’s actually normal and not a sign of a bad motor or break in. I think talking about this and demystifying it will help owners who currently have to top off know that they don’t have a lemon and that there isn’t something wrong with there car.
Since there are so many technical guys here I believe the community will actually get some help and knowledge on this. I think the more members on here check in the more we will see what is normal.
The car is still new (at the time, it had maybe 5k km on it), and I track it.
Oil can be consumed through the PVC valve under high load situations. It’s one of the reasons for running a proper catch can on a serious track car – less chance of knock bc your fuel mixture is not affected by oil blow by (but wait…i guess that’s only relevant for port injection :D)…so less timing issues when the car is running hot and is in a long event.
I’ll keep an eye on it and report anything else I see. I’ve done an oil change about 1000km ago. I’ll report any consumption I see!
FWIW some oils work better than others for consumption–typically in turbo cars. Guys find oils with higher zddp dont get burned as much. Shell Rotella T6 is especially known to work well with the EJ25 (sti motor).
