New 456M GT for ME!!

Well I guess it's about time I joined the ranks It's a 2001 Tour de France blue with Navy/tan interior. It has Daytona seats and a 6 speed. 21.5k miles and sounds amazing with Tubi exhaust. I've got a lot of little things that need sorting but it will be a good project. I'm a total fish out of water with the key fobs, checking the oil, coolant, etc. Lots of time will be spent reading the owners manual and the service manual...

The first thing that is shocking is the amount of oil it's using. The manual says 1-2 quarts per 600 miles!! Really? Are you all seeing this kind of consumption or is that a typo? I know it smokes a lot when starting in the morning (I knew what I was getting into when I bought it) but up to 2 quarts per 600 miles? I have put 300 miles on it and it's a 1/2" below the min line already.

Next is doing a leak down and determining if it's guides or something else. We'll see.
The pics show the temps and pressures while running. It runs so smooth, so sweet. Ferrari V-12 for the win!

I have to say, it puts a big smile on my face every time it starts up! It actually fits my kids in the back. That is a huge plus. My family of four doesn't have to draw straws for who gets to go for a ride. As a younger man without family, I would have never looked at this car, it has four seats. Now, it's a dream come true.

I have enough friends in the Ferrari world to help me get the smoking sorted out and she'll be good as new in the next couple months. Of course it'll have to get some brakes I'll keep everyone posted on the progress.

Cheers,

Martin
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Looking good Martin--Enjoy!!

 

That's a beautiful 456M, Martin! Congratulations! You've earned it.

Drive it in good health.

Barry

 

Remember . It is the best therapy! A smile from ear to ear!

Enjoy!

AK

 

Nice one - especially the blue carpets! Am in similar situation with small kids. Look forward to your sorting out threats. Chris

 

Martin- Congratulations, she is a beauty.

The answer to your question is no, that much oil consumption is not normal, and neither is a bunch of smoke as opposed to water vapor. The number in the OM for oil consumption is a CYA by Ferrari. Your leakdown test will tell you whether you have a problem.

In the olden days of SOHC V12s, Ferraris smoked because they had no oil seals around the valve stems, but that was a long time ago and many of those engines have had oil seals added.

 

Wonderful color! Congrats!

 

Beautiful car!


cheers,

Bill

 

congrats!
i am going to have to disagree slightly with taz. my own 456mgt has always used a lot of oil. it doesnt smoke. i thought it was due to leaks, so i had everything looked at and the last major service included gasket replacements. it still used oil. we did other tests like you are describing, and it still uses a lot of oil. the mechanics at the dealer, and my own guy, cannot explain it, and it appears that it is just the way it is - perhaps augmented due to my mostly city driving in this car.

i would say i have to add a quart of oil every other fill up, or every third fill up. so that means about every 400-600 miles.

btw, be aware that the oil filling procedure is a bit fiddly in the sense that you need to be aware of the varying volume of the filler area. so your dipstick will show you are down below min for example. in shock, you add a quart (while the engine is running btw), and it hardly moves up the stick. panicked you add another quart, and suddenly you are brim full or overflowing!
so, the thing to do is add it gradually and check frequently while you are doing it. its kind of a pita until you get used to gauging it yourself.

 

beautiful car enjoy

 

Congrats!

My 2001 456M GTA uses practically no oil between 3K changes. Ferrari probably publishes that stat to legally cover themselves.

Cheers,

George

 

Great looking color combination and great looking car.
Enjoy!

 

Martin- No need to panic, the bleed down will tell you what you need to know. Assume you have done that, too, Ross.

 

i suppose they have, but i might suggest it again. thx

 

I could be reading you wrong, but are you saying you are measuring your oil level with the engine running?
My 456 has used about a quart in 4000km. It all depends on the engine though, few engines are oil usage "free", if there ever was such a thing, since especially in the ring area sacrificing a little oil adds longevity. One quart every 600 miles is possible, my Alfa 4-cylinder "winterbeater" uses about one quart every 4000 km. If you triple that to a 12-cylinder you get pretty close. A small leak past a valve seal or piston ring adds up quickly. If you mostly city driving, my bet is on valve stem seals. As long as the cylinder walls are ok, oil usage past piston rings tends to manifest itself mostly at higher revs.

 

My 456 GT. didn't burn any oil in 2000 mile but did leak enough to stain the garage floor pretty heavily in the past couple of days.... Looks like its coming from the front of the engine on the driver's (left) side we're checking it out on Monday...will post when we know more....Marc

 

Congrats! I looked at this car but apparently you got there first. I was trying to organize a PPI since I was scared of buying it without one, even at the great price it was offered at.

Enjoy the car! It's a beauty!

 

@noahcpa Sorry I got to it first but I'm only a little sorry . Honestly, the smoke would turn most people off but I can do the work myself with the help of some friends so I'm into it for the cost of parts should it turn out to be guides. I'm not ruling out PVC system yet or previous owner over filling the oil. I planned on pulling the heads though when I bought it and paid accordingly. Will do leak down this week. From reading the horror stories on here though I don't know if a PPI is worth it. Guys have bought cars with perfect leak down rates and had the car start smoking 3 months later. I figured buy one for the right price knowing it would be needed and then done. The rest of the car is stunning however.

The window gaps are really good although not perfect. About 2-3mm against the b-pillar both sides. No real noticeable wind noise at speed. The door locks are really tough though. You can push them down manually and they want to pop up a little. They will lock however. The key fob will pull them down but they come back up. Something to pull apart and adjust/lube I imagine.

I will look for some 18" wheels. I'm not too keen on the stock ones. 5 on 108 isn't so easy though. What else?.... Love the six speed but the clutch is pretty high effort. Hopped in the Evo afterwards and about punched a hole through the floor )). It's silky smooth on engagement however, much better than the Evo. It has a racing clutch that is very grabby, making slipping tough. The cars are two completely different animals. The Evo is like a sport bike, it needs winding out and rewards with crazy good handling and performance. The feedback is right now and direct. I equate the 456 to a cruiser ie Harley. It is glorious to drive and listen too, but it is a GT car, meant more for cruising. It is still high performance but able to be thoroughly enjoyed. 100 miles is easy. The Evo after 100 miles is painful. When you finally get out of it it's like taking off rock climbing shoes (some of you will know what in talking about).

I've had it not even a week and already I'm a changed man

 

Just so I'm clear. You check the oil with the engine off, warm, immediately after turning it off? That's what I've been doing. Also, how about the power steering fluid check? Running yes? I've been given advice that running and just barely to hitting the bottom of the stick is good.

 

porsches are dry sump engines and I always do mine with the engine warm and idleing; I do the same with my 456,so far hasnt used oil between changes,but I only put 2000 miles on last year.

 

I must say, I have never been able to figure out how to check the oil as directed. If I check it warm and off, the oil is all the way to the top of the stick. Same thing if I check it warm and idling, so it must splash around in there, and be running from the top of the chamber. Wiping the stick doesn't help. It is very weird.

So, I decided to check it the day after an oil change cold. The oil was at or slightly below the "Minimum" mark, so that's how I do it. Fortunately, my car uses virtually no oil between 3K changes.

Cheers,

George

 

i check the oil with the engine running since thats what the owners manual says to do....

this variable oil useage across the model is weird. i have no smoke, and no leaks now, and i still have high consumption. odd.

as for the wheels martin, i switched to the 18" 575 wheels and it looks a lot better, but you have to add the spacers on the rear - i got mine from hill engineering and they were perfect.

 

Welcome to the club Martin: beautiful car and color combination!
The smoke you get is really smoke or possibly just vapor, since you live in WA?
The kind of oil consumption you talk about is not normal: I do not add any oil between oil changes and my car has double the miles.
Could it be the way you measure the oil level?
I do it with the engine running as I wasn't getting consistent readings by doing it the way it is suggested in the owners manual.
IMO 2-3 mm gaps between glass and rubber gasket may be acceptable in So. Cal. but is way too much in WA.
If the door locks act up, it is just a matter of adjusting the linkage behind the door panels.

 

Congratulations and welcome to the club. Nice car for sure.

My manual says to check oil quickly after engine off. Probably would be about the same as when running.

 

Hi Martin,

First, Congrats. 456M6DaytonaTubi. It's the pinnacle.

Second, huge thanks to all of those on this site, esp Taz, who is The Compass.

Third, I am also 456M6DaytonaTubi and for three years have had nothing but life-blood validation in driving mine.

The thing about the oil:

I've driven mine just over 4k miles across 3 years, every weekend, before-and-after the major by the Factory. And it comes down to 6th-sense. Mechanic agrees.

Here's my two cents:

The harder you run, the more you sweat. And that's the way it should be.

The harder we drive, the more we burn.

...and when I pull into the garage, I smell the crinkle-down. And there it is. When it smells like too-hot plastic, too-hot hoses, too-hot metal, it's got a the signature of thirsty for oil. And you give it a sip to get it above the minimum line. Only after checking it at running temp.

When it smells like a warm Ferrari, -- like a warm, living, breathing, sweating blend of what a Ferrari factory floor should smell like, you're good.

Racehorses sweat. Give them what they need when they need it.

As far as smoke goes -- mine warms up with a touch of smoke, but at running temp it's burning everything hot, clear and clean.

PTC
'99 456M6DaytonaRossoBarchetta320
SFX: youtube: "ferrari 456M GT tubi"