Which oil do I switch to if I am burning 1 quart/5k miles (2010) Prius

Yes. The viscosity is higher (thicker) and additives are present to "swell" seals, mostly the valve guide seals.

It really doesn't "fix" anything, it just temporarily makes the pain a little less.

BUT......how much it helps depends on exactly WHY the oil is disappearing.
If you wait too long and the wear is TOO bad it won't help much if at all.
It also doesn't help with simple leaks.

 

Some, but not all, brands of "high-mileage" oil are more viscous than their regular version. Seal conditioners act on crankshaft main seals, too.

 

I would take that as a message, that the rest of the circuit needs cleaning: the valve/cooler, and the intake manifold. When the manifold is off, and cleaned, is a good time to install Oil Catch Can on the PCV circuit too.

Maybe a seafoam soak, where you take out the spark plugs and add a couple of ounces to each cylinder, let it sit as long as possible, at least a day. Then maybe turn the engine over by hand (ratchet on the pulley nut, accessible through the passenger wheel well. Then baste out any remaining. Then reinstall plugs, run it a few minutes, and an oil change, to play it safe.

 

At one quart per 5K miles, what I would do is: NOTHING .....except keep an eye on it.

If you are using a 0Wxx oil, you might want to bump that up a notch but I don't think it is time for "high mileage" oil just yet.
Nor do I think that dumping solvents into the engine is a good idea either.......until it's so bad that you are desperate......and you are a LONG way away from that.

 

+1.

I'd think about switching to a 5k oil change interval, but in your case that's about it....especially if you've just done the EGR clean.
I'm not sure how you go about putting a can of Seafoam in the intake, but it might be fun to watch....

Somewhere there's a video on cleaning the throttle body which might be beneficial, but this would be a DIY project and NOT something I would pay done.

Good Luck!

 

cool, please keep us posted. i didn't know about this oil.

 

I will!

It is going to be a bit tricky to tell what it was able to do though, as of course we can't see the ring pack before/after, so really all we would have to go in is oil consumption and seat-of-the-pants, neither of which are particularly helpful in my case as SOTP is super subjective and I wasn't having a big issue with oil consumption, I believe prior to this experiment I was able to go 10k mile OCI's with less than a quart of make-up oil.

But based on my experience with this oil thus far, looking at oil pressure, oil temp, and fuel consumption numbers, I'm very happy to run at 10w-30 in my prius particularly in the summer months, and would certainly recommend Prii owners with worse oil consumption to give this a try

 

Synthetic oil evaporates. I would loose 1 quart per 3500 miles in my motorcycle

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The degree of evaporation of any motor oil is vanishingly small; NEVER enough to do away with a quart in 3500 miles (or even 10,000 miles, I reckon). Synthetic oil also burns, and that's what YOURS did!

 

Synthetic oil doesn't produce smoke?

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Would do it really funny like check it before I ride. Full full full full oh 3500 miles 1 quart gone

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So all this time the Prius had never burned or consumed any oil!!!

 

I just never known it and oil not to smoke when it gets put into and engine combustion chamber

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IMO, seeing exhaust smoke depends on the type of oil and the amount being consumed during the combustion process. At very low levels like 1 quart per 5000 miles, I would not expect to see blue exhaust smoke when the engine is at normal operating temps. However, if your consumption is due to stuck or worn piston rings, you may see a bit of smoke on the first cold startup in the morning. A more sensitive test is to have a helper hold a white handkerchief covering the end of the exhaust pipe while you do a cold ICE start. The unburned hydrocarbons will accumulate noticeably on the white handkerchief.
However, if your oil consumption is mostly due to worn valve stem guide seals, the consumption tends to occur at higher rpms and load factors such as a full throttle acceleration on the highway as the valve seals are being more stressed in that operating regime. If you do this test while having your helper observe for smoke, also take note if the puff of blue smoke occurs when you let OFF the throttle after the full throttle acceleration, which would point more to worn or stuck piston rings.
If you are losing that quart of oil past some seal such as the crankshaft end seals, removing the under-cladding and inspecting for oily or suspiciously “wet” looking dirt underneath the ICE might be your best way to find the culprit. Good luck!

 

Sure it does. So does Dino oil........IF you heat it up to just a tad below it's flash point......which likely is near to 500 F.

Hint: Evaporation was NOT the reason for your oil loss.

 

Did aliens take it?

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15% max per API, or 13% per Dexos1.