Losing Oil at the track

[Hallen]

Well, the car hit the track for the first time yesterday.
Wow, what a fun car to drive.

Unfortunately, I was unable to run the last session, which is a shame. I didn't get any good video of the dry session so I was hoping to get some on the 4th session. But, the car was losing oil at a prestigious rate.

I noticed after the second session that the oil was down to the bottom mark. I had topped it off before I left home. I used the remained of that quart of oil to get it back up near the top mark. After the third session, I was back down to the bottom mark again. That is almost 2 quarts used up in one 20 minute session.

I didn't seem to be burning oil. If I were burning that much, I would be leaving a huge smoke cloud behind me. The car is definitely running rich though. It will belch out black smoke when I get on the gas.

I didn't burn any oil that I could detect on the way home. The oil level didn't really drop any. So this leads me to guess that the g loads on the track are part of the equation. There was some oil puddling under the car, but it wasn't huge, about 2 inches in diameter after an hour on the asphalt. I am thinking maybe the oil pan gasket is bad and when I am cornering hard, the oil spews out there? Any ideas from anybody on this?

The rich fuel mixture is probably due to old injectors. I might try some seafoam to see if that helps. I have the stock ECU in the car. The PO had a ProFormance eBay chip in it before which I removed. The spark plugs looked OK before the track day when I put in new stock ones. I have not checked the plugs yet and probably won't get to it until this weekend.

I am more worried about the oil loss though for obvious reasons. I don't want to be oiling the track up and I don't want to be starving the engine for oil.

[joshh]

I'd still say you're burning it.
Were people spinning out all th time behind you?:crazy:

[Hallen]

I'd still say you're burning it.
Were people spinning out all th time behind you?:crazy:

lol, no, but I got a funny wiggle a couple of times in turn 4 that made me wonder if I was oiling my own rear tires.

The track was in pretty nasty condition anyway so most people were taking it pretty easy.

If I were burning 2 quarts in 20 minutes, you would definitely see it in the exhaust, it would be very dense. Also, I didn't burn any on the hour and a half drive back home.

[joshh]

That's bizarre. Compression test time.

[PiercedE30]

Check the oil level sensor to make sure it's not leaking out of there when cornering. Also dip stick seal and oil pan gaskets.

[dark89e30]

Throw some dye in it and check it after a couple of hot laps. If that doesn't find it either check your coolant for a milkshake or do a cylinder leak down test and look for rings. You would definitely see it out the exhaust if is was being burnt, but you should also see a gaping hole if you are spilling it.

[Hallen]

Thanks guys. I will check those things. The oil level sensor might be a good bet.
I wondered why I got loose a couple of times going through turn 4, a long right hander. I bet I was slipping on my own oil. That kind of points to the sensor as a potential target.