Is burning a quart of oil every 1,000 miles normal and acceptable? What about every 500 miles? That is just a bunch of oil to burn.
So this bears repeating--low tension piston rings found in many newer model cars, seize and fail far sooner and far more often than their higher tension counter parts. What's even worse, these engines often have higher compression ratios, from about 9 to 1 to as hight as 13 to 1. These lower tension rings with these higher compression ratios struggle to keep combustion area gasses from blowing by into the crankcase and keep oil out of the combustion chamber.
This struggle causes oil contamination, oil degradation, oxidation, oil thickening, piston ring sludge, and eventually, if not addressed, ring seizure. You might notice a reduction in horsepower, but you will certainly notice an increase in oil consumption, or oil burning.
And while these engines are not doomed to failure, they must be monitored closely and often, and that piston ring sludge must be kept at bay at all times. There is no other way to put it. Your mechanic will have a recommendation, as will your dealer, and the manufacturer.
I recommend getting rid of that piston ring sludge, and watching our two Oil Burning videos to show you our oil burning remedy.
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