mammoth713

I did a search and I see the recommendation for the extra quart. Maybe this is a dumb question - how do you guys measure the extra quart? Do you fill the car until the top circle above the XXXX section and then just dump an extra quart in?

My confusion stems from there is no reference on the dipstick to know what an extra quarts level should register at..

Bill Dearborn

Here is how I did it. The engine is spec'd as needing 6.5 qts of oil. However, when I changed oil I would just throw in the extra half quart of oil since what was I going to do with a half quart of oil laying around. That meant the engine had 7 qts in it. I noted the level on the dipstick and then added another quart to bring it up to 8 qts. Again, I noted the level on the dipstick and during a track day I would keep the oil level at that point. The car would use ~ 1 qt of oil per day while on track and no oil when driven on the street. I never bothered to remove the extra oil and gas mileage, power or engine durability never suffered. Later on I added a larger radiator with an EOC and a remote oil filter that held a quart of oil instead of a half quart. I used my previous reference marks to fill the engine with oil which came out to 9 qts.

Bill

mammoth713

When you say you would "note" the level, did you just use memory and not modify the dipstick, or did you physically hit a mark into the dipstick with a punch?

JeremyGSU

The car takes 6.5 quarts stock. I just run 7.5 all the time whether on track or street. Never had any issues.

And I've never burned 1 quart per day either, not even close after 20 days at mostly Sebring. Something seems a miss if you're burning that much IMO.

jcsperson

A stroker motor will burn a quart a day easily.

JeremyGSU

Bill's car was stock to my knowledge.

FASTFATBOY

Mark the dipstick with a file as you add oil to note where it is.

mammoth713

Do a lot of you guys mark your dipsticks? Is a file the best way to go? Is it difficult to make sure no metal pieces flake off into the engine?

VetteDrmr

It's not that tight a requirement, GM just wants some additional oil in the sump to make sure the oil pickup doesn't unport in long high g corners with high revs.

I just went with running 7 qts. at every oil change, never had a problem. Of course, I wasn't running Hoosier A6s wringing everything I could out of my car at a DE. Autocross is different in that I'm running 10/10ths then, but you also don't have the exposure to the conditions we're worried about.

At a DE I'm just having fun, probably running 7/10ths or so (when I had a track to DE at!).

HTH, and have a good one,
Mike

Socko

If you fill your oil to "full" and then add a quart you will see where it lands on the dipstick. It always lands in the same place so not a huge issue to just eyeball from that point on. Its about 1/2" up from the "full" hole, I agree there is no need to worry about it being exact. I usually put in about 7 see where it lands, add a quarter see where it lands and add another quarter. If 7.25 gets it to the spot I just assume I did a poor job of draining it.

With street tires I use no appreciable oil on track and my car does puff a tiny bit on decel on track, I assume serious oil burning is more of an issue with rcomps or slicks. I always run at 7.5 quarts street or track.

Bill Dearborn

I just memorized where it came to on the dipstick. The 7 Qt point is only a bit above the top mark and the added quart was just a little further up. Wasn't hard to do. What is interesting is even though the C5 owner's manual says the proper fill is 6.5 Qts when we did the first oil change on my 97 it took 7 Qts to take the level back up to the pre drain level. Nobody but the factory had touched the oil until that first oil change at 2700 miles.

Bill

Bill Dearborn

Both my 97 and 03Z would go through a quart per day on the track and not use any when driven on the street. Neither engine had any problems.

Bill

C5 Hardtop

Consider measuring what goes out of the oil container to know how much is 1 QT over, starting with the oil stick hatch fully covered (but not past).

It sounds like you may have bought oil by the bulk? Get a 1 QT container, fill it, dump the oil into the car. wala.

Dan H.

I fill my car with 6.5-7 qts when I change the oil. I bring 2 extra qts with me to the track. Before the track day starts, I dump the extra qt in. I check it a couple times a day and haven't had to add any. I bring an extra qt just in case. After the event, I leave the oil in for any street driving. I then change it again before the next event and repeat the above process.

mammoth713

I changed the oil and drained the pan with the car level, etc.

I put in 7 quarts and the dipstick reads right under the "1" above the upper operating range hole. Does this sound about right?

FASTFATBOY

If this is + 1 quart mark that line with a small file on the stick. Wipe it off and done.

mammoth713

Yeah but does that sound about right?

k24556

If you are really pushing oil temps, you are probably losing the oil thru the pcv not just past the rings or valve seals. People that have catch cans will see a surprising amount of oil after a track day. When the oil hangs in the valve cover area, it has a nice path into the pcv .

That's why good drivers like Bill report a loss of a qt in a day on the track, but not on the road.