Engine Saving Gas Using 1-3-5 Shift Pattern = Burning Oil

jamesfs912 · Jan 24, 2012

So I have had my car for about a month now and currently have 1800 miles on it(I love driving it!). The story is that up till 700 miles I drove the car normally(hard) and the car didn't burn a drop of oil. I then changed up my driving technique to save some gas while I was in the city. Between 700-1200 miles I burned enough oil to put my oil level down by 2 cm(dipstick). After thinking that was weird I went back to my normal driving style and just checked it last night at 1800 miles. Guess what? No drop in oil at all. So I'm starting to think this isn't a coincidence. I'm guessing putting it in a higher gear the engine may be lugging more even though the rpms seem fine. Just my .02.

MoBlackGT12 · Jan 24, 2012

Your car shouldn't be burning oil, especially on a brand new car. It's not an RX8, trust me, I know.

jamesfs912 · Jan 25, 2012

MoBlack05GT said:
Your car shouldn't be burning oil, especially on a brand new car. It's not an RX8, trust me, I know.

I'm not talking about blow by I'm talking about the pcv valve. I hope you have been checking your oil because people have been reporting using a little oil during break in. It is normal to use some oil during break in, trust me , I know.

Coyote5.0 · Jan 25, 2012

I tend to skip gears like that too...1-3-5, or 2-4 for a rolling stop, not to save gas, but to save having the make so many shifts. The gear spacing is so close, and the engine has so much torque, there really is no need to hit every gear for normal driving. I haven't noticed any oil burning on mine with a little over 3000 miles.

Not sure how the skipping shifts could cause it to burn oil, unless you are doing something like running it below idle, or trying to go full throttle from 1000 RPM or something like that. My guess it is just some oil burning off during break in. That can come and go.

jamesfs912 · Jan 25, 2012

Coyote5.0 said:
I tend to skip gears like that too...1-3-5, or 2-4 for a rolling stop, not to save gas, but to save having the make so many shifts. The gear spacing is so close, and the engine has so much torque, there really is no need to hit every gear for normal driving. I haven't noticed any oil burning on mine with a little over 3000 miles.

Not sure how the skipping shifts could cause it to burn oil, unless you are doing something like running it below idle, or trying to go full throttle from 1000 RPM or something like that. My guess it is just some oil burning off during break in. That can come and go.

Well there we go I guess it was just a coincidence. Thanks.

jamesfs912 · Jan 25, 2012

[Not sure how the skipping shifts could cause it to burn oil, unless you are doing something like running it below idle, or trying to go full throttle from 1000 RPM or something like that. My guess it is just some oil burning off during break in. That can come and go.[/quote]

The only thing that would cause it burn more oil is the added crankcase pressure when driving too high of a gear. Causing the pcv valve to open more frequently.

TT5.0ca · Jan 25, 2012

It's not a forced induction car. The crankcase pressures are low, N/A. There's no way skip-shifting explains a little oil burning. It's a new car, it can cook off a little more until the tolerances settle in.

jamesfs912 · Jan 25, 2012

TT5.0ca said:
It's not a forced induction car. The crankcase pressures are low, N/A. There's no way skip-shifting explains a little oil burning. It's a new car, it can cook off a little more until the tolerances settle in.

If crankcase is so low why would there be any oil some in some of the oil separators? I'm just saying that with higher crankcase pressure because of the greater strain on the engine that the valve will be open longer. BTW a "little oil" was about 1/2 quart. If you read my post NO burning oil at all up to 700 miles. Then it started using oil again then stopped when I went back to normal driving. Engines don't do that and I don't believe in coincidences. I'm not trying to be a douche but I really wasn't asking for an explanation or reasoning from anyone just giving a heads up to check your oil periodically(if aren't already) while using the 1-3-5 shift pattern.

jamesfs912 · Jan 25, 2012

Coyote5.0 said:
I tend to skip gears like that too...1-3-5, or 2-4 for a rolling stop, not to save gas, but to save having the make so many shifts. The gear spacing is so close, and the engine has so much torque, there really is no need to hit every gear for normal driving. I haven't noticed any oil burning on mine with a little over 3000 miles.

Not sure how the skipping shifts could cause it to burn oil, unless you are doing something like running it below idle, or trying to go full throttle from 1000 RPM or something like that. My guess it is just some oil burning off during break in. That can come and go.

BTW Coyote5.0 have you checked your oil level or have you just not noticed any oil burning smell, smoke, etc? I'm just curious on where your dipstick reading is?? Thanks, James.

Coyote5.0 · Jan 26, 2012

jamesfs912 said:
BTW Coyote5.0 have you checked your oil level or have you just not noticed any oil burning smell, smoke, etc? I'm just curious on where your dipstick reading is?? Thanks, James.

I check it fairly regularly. It came from the factory with the oil level slightly above halfway between the full and fill marks. I went to about 3200 miles before the first change, and it didn't go down at all in that time. I only put another 2-300 miles on it after the first change before putting it into winter storage.

My family has had a lot of other recent Fords (03 Explorer, 05 Mustang, 05 Sable, 08 Edge) and all of them are the same way....putting in the exact amount of oil the owner's manual recommends fills them all to about half way between the marks on the stick. Interestingly, if we ever added a little extra to get it exactly to the top line, they burn the extra off fairly quickly, then resume not burning anything once it was down to about halfway between again.

BlockIsHot · Jul 14, 2012

Get a pass. side jlt oil separator. Then you can monitor how much oil your losing through pcv and keep it out of your manifold. Mine works great. Its more oil than I expected. Highly recommend. Got the drivers side too, but theres never anything in it.

SpartaPerformance · Jul 14, 2012

There have been many reports of new 5.0's consuming oil when they're new, I've had a few customers also. The consumption goes away after a few thousand miles.

Stevedotmil · Jul 15, 2012

Subscribed.....I have have just over 300 miles on mine now and have been skip shifting to avoid the fuel pump as much as I can.

2012 Boss 302 · Jul 15, 2012

How much oil is 2cm exactly???

claudermilk · Jul 16, 2012

I'll have to take a look at mine. I've also been doing the 1-3-5 skip shift. There's so much torque, that works fine & trying to stretch the mileage a bit.

slyter485 · Jul 16, 2012

I feel like that can be somewhat subjective. Oil level will fluctuate slightly, and will depend on how long the engine has had time to cool, so if it wasn't checked at the same (or near) temp as the first time, you'd find a slight variance. I find it odd that the motor used more oil using that shifting pattern.

beviking · Jul 22, 2012

Just turned 3000k miles. Oil was right in the middle of the dipstick lines new, just below at 3000k. Have had the pass side oil seperator for some time and empty it every 500miles. Seems to always have a couple tablespoons in it. I do 1,3,5 alot or 2,4 if rolling stop. My simple math equates 1/2 dipstick measurement to be 12 tablespoons Don't make me break out the Betty Crocker cook book to figure what portion of a quart 12 tablespoons is! Someone has to have an app for that!

Mustang_02 · Jul 24, 2012

I used a quart in 3K miles, switched to RP 5w30 and I haven't noticed any oil burning/loss in 1300 miles.

Noobz347 · Aug 4, 2012

Mustang_02 said:
I used a quart in 3K miles, switched to RP 5w30 and I haven't noticed any oil burning/loss in 1300 miles.

This is a good point. The oil you use in your car has a larger impact on consumption than a lot of people realize.

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