No, I didn't search for checking the oil threads first 'cause I don't want to read thru all of them.

I continue to see people posting emphasizing to "check the oil every time you put gas in the car". If I have been driving around, stop for gas and check the oil then and there, I will not get an accurate oil level reading. It takes time for the oil to drain from the various places that it goes and filling up with gas is not that amount of time. My fear is that if I add oil based on looking at the level when the car has just been driven I will overfill.

I have just gotten in the habit of checking the oil every 3-4 days and I always do it when the car is cold, or has at least been sitting for a couple of hours. Also, I always have a quart (or part of a quart) of oil at home so I can top off; this way I don't have to pay $3 for a quart of oil from a gas station.

Is this flawed logic? Or does all the oil magically drain back into the oil pan 2-3 minutes after stopping on the S2000?

BTW, if people have already been thru this on another thread, just post:

"rocketman, you dumb sh*t, this has already been discussed, use the search function"

 

Your question is really a good one. Two previous threads have thoroughly discussed it. One was started by Woodwork, a great American Honda Motors engineer who lurks on this board.

Here are the threads:

https://www.s2ki.com/forums/showthread.php?...hlight=dipstick

https://www.s2ki.com/forums/showthread.php?...hlight=dipstick

Barry

 

This is a discussion board, not a library. If you don't want to search, don't. Start a new thread. Once it's started, it will take as much room in the forum as a brand new topic. It's up to the reader to decide whether to bother with the thread or not by the title (except for the totally obsessed who have to read every entry to every thread).

Oh by the way, your logic is perfectly sound. I checked once right after I ran the engine. I opened the hood, got back into the car and goosed the throttle a few times. Then I shut off the engine, ran to the front of the car and checked the oil as quickly as I could. It was about 1-X below the level when I checked the next morning. I have never burned any oil,even during break-in, so I only check about once a month (about every 3 tank fulls)

 

Another benefit of checking at home, or any other standard location, is that the car will be sitting on the same plane. If the car is tilted, even slightly, the oil level will be different from place to place. I will check the oil level at gas stations, and if it's an x or two low, recheck when I get home and the oil has drained down to confirm.

 

I just posted this on the engine replacement thread; I repeat it here:


I've discovered the oil stick on this car will give you a false reading if you check it too soon after driving it. In any car it takes a few moments for the oil to settle in the pan but it seems more pronounced in our cars. My advice is to carry a quart of oil in the trunk; that way you do not need to concern yourself with buying any. Since you already have it, checking the oil can be the very last step before leaving the gas station (i.e., fill-up, pay up, hit the restroom, etc.). This gives you an accurate warm reading, as long as you're on level ground.

 

When I get to the pump, I shut down, open the hood, pump the gas, then clean the windshield. After that's all done, I check the oil. It's had about 5 minutes to drain. That reading is good enough to know if you're low. Since I crossed 3,500 miles I haven't had to add a single quart, but I check every fill up anyway.

 

Thanks guys.

The main reason I asked is that I seem to be only using very small amounts of oil (a little over a quart total in ~9K miles) and when I check every 3-4 days (my way, when it's cold) it sometimes doesn't show low until every third check or so.

I like to keep it topped off and my fear about checking when the car is warm is that it won't show low until it's 1/2 quart or more low.

 

i dont check it at all. not into that stuff

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by s2kkid
[B]i dont check it at all.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by s2kkid
[B]i dont check it at all.