Oil consumption question

Dawgman

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I have a '16 track Pack with just under 900 miles. I changed the oil when I bought it at 400 miles. I've tried to break it in gently, ie nothing over 6500-7000 rpm and that was one time for just a second or so. Normally, I keep it under 5000 or so. As of today, it doesn't appear to have used any oil. I don't plan to track it, although I have an opportunity to track it next month. If I do, it certainly won't be any hard core tracking. Just a bit of airing it out a bit to have a little fun for a few laps, certainly not a full day of hard running. I'm wondering if a brief one time track event would initiate ongoing oil consumption issues or perhaps just a one time quart or two consumption? To those who have experienced oil consumption issues, what do you think?
 

ANGREY

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I know a guy, who drives the HELL out of his gt350, probably harder than any track day. He did 656 miles in 7:19 (including 2 fuel stops) and had several stretches with the car between 3-4k rpms for HOURS, including COUNTLESS deceleration and hard/near redline acceleration stints and doesn't have significant oil issues. Other guys have been fine and then suddenly started with no apparent event or development. Other guys baby the car and it burns oil. Some guys let the car warm up before flogging it, others jump in and mash the pedals.

I guess what I'm saying is that there SEEMS to be no definitive culprit for it or at least not one that doesn't have examples of where the theory falls apart. If Ford knows, they're not saying. At this point, the only thing that makes sense (without an example to refute the theory) is that it's a very bad issue with QA/QC at the factory with either the bore/rings fitment or something along those lines.

For every theory, there's someone who chimes in that DOESN'T do that and still burns oil.
 

AustinSN

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My car burns a slight amount of oil (.5 per 1500 miles) and tracking it makes no difference.
 

jvandy50

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I've seen a lot of people on multiple sites with the issue, and I didn't notice any of them say it started from a track day.

Mine has never seen the track, just 2 lane rural curvy road fun(daily commute) and it just randomly started loving more and more oil after 6k miles...before then, she was well within accepted tolerances.

Go enjoy that track day
 

shelbygt500_897hp

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Owned a 17 GT350 and it consumed 1 qt every 1300 miles until I sold it at 14000 miles. There is no ryhme or reason why some cars consume oil and at different rates where as other cars dont consume
 

galaxy

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Everyone has already said enough about 1 vs 1 on this topic, thus the moral of the story...DO NOT be scared to run the helloutuvit and enjoy the ever living snot out of this amazing car for some silly fear of something.
 

GT Premi

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... There is no ryhme or reason why some cars consume oil and at different rates where as other cars dont consume

I think there is. Engines built for revs NEED to be revved out every now and again. Look at the Honda S2000, the Mazda RX8, Acura RSX, and now the GT350. If you read up on the posts about them and oil consumption, one thing stands out to me. The people who drove the piss out of those engines almost never complained about oil consumption. The people who just put(ted) about town with them, treating the engines gingerly, almost always complain(ed) about oil consumption. Heck, ask some engine builders. Engines built for revs NEED to be revved in order to stay healthy. They have to visit red line from time to time. I rev my R out at least once every time I drive it, and it [so far] doesn't burn a drop of oil. It has just under 3900 miles on it.
 

Dawgman

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Good points. Make sense. Honda S2000 redlines around 9,000. Rotaries use oil. Not sure about the Acura, but perhaps it’s a high revving engine too.
 

ANGREY

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I personally think it has to do with the plasma wire tech and the virtually non-existent sleeve in our new blocks. Our blocks feature only an extremely thin wall of steel surrounding the pistons and if you eliminate all the other possibilities with where the oil is going/coming from, it's almost surely blowing by the rings. It isn't leaking out somewhere else, it isn't blowing past the air intake through catch cans.....it's going by the pistons. With the piston slap exhibited on some cars, I'm willing to bet that under JUST the right conditions (i.e. before the car is warm it gets flogged and there's a big (relatively) dimension between the cylinder and the piston and it unevenly wears the rings, just enough to get the rings not to seat properly from then on, maybe even just on one side).

I'd bet $100 if we swapped out the OEM block for a traditional (heavier) block with steel sleeves and steel pistons this issue would completely go away.
 

662

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I personally think it has to do with the plasma wire tech and the virtually non-existent sleeve in our new blocks. Our blocks feature only an extremely thin wall of steel surrounding the pistons and if you eliminate all the other possibilities with where the oil is going/coming from, it's almost surely blowing by the rings. It isn't leaking out somewhere else, it isn't blowing past the air intake through catch cans.....it's going by the pistons. With the piston slap exhibited on some cars, I'm willing to bet that under JUST the right conditions (i.e. before the car is warm it gets flogged and there's a big (relatively) dimension between the cylinder and the piston and it unevenly wears the rings, just enough to get the rings not to seat properly

I could agree with this, but I think the process was developed on the trinity motor, although not with the high reving... the issue could be with the process/rings/assembly/rpm's... A motor with such a cylinder issue should have a compression issue and it might be a single cylinder, bank, or the whole motor. If an engine is burning a qt every few hundred miles, the plugs should also evidence.
 

ov-00

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Did you not get a package from Ford in the mail with a letter addressing the concern? They include an oil filter wrench and a new oil filter saying that the one from the factory is why it consumes/leaks oil but not sure if that's it. I was driving a '16 base model the other day and a couple times when I revved over 4k I smelled a little oil burning and this one has 2,700 miles, not sure if the oil has been changed on it or not because it's not mine but I get to drive it every once and awhile

Sent from my SM-G955U using the svtperformance.com mobile app
 

Dawgman

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The package includes a replacement supplemental owners guide that clearly states oil consumption of a quart per 500 Miles is possible. At also includes an extra filter, presumably the same as original factory filter, along with a filter wrench with specific torque requirements.
 

DAVESVT2000

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My friend drove his 2017 from Long Island NY to Road America in Wisconsin, did two hard days of open track, and drove it back home.

Did not use a drop of oil.
 

shelbygt500_897hp

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I think there is. Engines built for revs NEED to be revved out every now and again. Look at the Honda S2000, the Mazda RX8, Acura RSX, and now the GT350. If you read up on the posts about them and oil consumption, one thing stands out to me. The people who drove the piss out of those engines almost never complained about oil consumption. The people who just put(ted) about town with them, treating the engines gingerly, almost always complain(ed) about oil consumption. Heck, ask some engine builders. Engines built for revs NEED to be revved in order to stay healthy. They have to visit red line from time to time. I rev my R out at least once every time I drive it, and it [so far] doesn't burn a drop of oil. It has just under 3900 miles on it.

I didnt drive the car easy but I didnt abuse it either. Lots of frequent red line trips and on another forum dedicated to the GT350 there are cars driven all sorts of ways, some see track days and others dont. Some get redlined a lot and others dont.
so having owned a GT350 and working a Ford dealership I say again there is no rhyme or reason why some engines do well and others eat oil at such a high rate that Ford replaced the motor ....

That said I also agree that the car is worth having even with this consumption problem just that one would think with this engine there be some conformity with the oil consumption .... there isnt any
 

dhoening

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It started with the 2011 aluminum block, which is the same one used for the '13/'14.
My ‘99 Cobra aluminum block has the same process. Teksid (SP?) made the blocks back then. That car has 66K miles and dozens of track events. At the last several events, it was shared by my two boys. So it was used 8-10 sessions/day. No oil use at all.
I’m beginning to lose track of the number of track events on my ‘16 GT350 Track Pack — Maybe about 10. Have the shift lights set to 7,700 RPM to warn me that I’m getting close. No oil use at all.
On another site, some Ford Techs have pulled spark plugs to check for scoring, etc. Found that the intake valve stem seals weren’t properly seated and the oil problem was caused by the oil seals in those cases.
 

Zeromaz

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I’m at 13k miles on my 2017 R with no issues. My friend has a base 350, 2017 and is on his 3rd engine for consumption issues. We both drive it the same way.
 

Drewsky65

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I’m at 13k miles on my 2017 R with no issues. My friend has a base 350, 2017 and is on his 3rd engine for consumption issues. We both drive it the same way.

Third engine?! Jeez that’s scary to think about.

I changed my oil from the dealership at 1k miles. Since then I have put 1/2 quart in at 2k mikes and just put in the 2nd half of the quart and just hit 3k. Sooo 1/2 qt every 1000 mikes. I’m not concerned at all. I warm it up and then drive it HARD. It’s not my DD so when I get in it I drive it like it’s meant to be driven. It hits a minimum of 7k every time it’s out and redline 98% of the time at least once. So I’m not going to start worrying until it’s consuming much more than it is now.

Now in other post above when they start seeing more and more oil eaten after 6k miles.. it’s hard to say time will tell
 

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