for a car that has sat overnight on level ground, when you pull the dip stick wipe it clean, re-insert it and pull it out, you want the oil to be at the | line but not on the H. You want all the hash marks between the | marks to have oil

whichever side is lowest is the actual reading, the wind tray, I think, would be on the inside of the dip stick if you insert the dip stick parallel with the head (thin profile looking at it). so that side will have potentially an incorrect reading if it touched the tray during insertion/removal

 

gotcha ..at the | .....
i always go by the lowest reading, thank for the full explanation..
so how much oil should be add if it at <>|H (one diamond low ). i would like to know what is the measurement of each diamond.