I drove our long-term Pontiac G8 GT 420 miles to the Napa Valley yesterday -- St. Helena to be exact -- and I am quite happy with my choice. The G8 is an excellent high-speed cruiser. The cabin is quiet and the seats are wide and roomy, yet supportive enough for a half-day behind the wheel.
Though I know the suspension was softened somewhat from the Holden version, there's still an edge to it that I didn't quite expect from such a big car. Whenever I hit a rut or joint, I felt the exact shape, size and severity of the impact through the driver seat. It's fine, though. And far better than an isolating ride.
Every time my thoughts drifted slightly from the task at hand, I'd look down to see I was traveling at 92 mph. So I think this is the car's happy zone. Of course, I often added to this during passing maneuvers, and the 6.0-liter V8 showed few signs of strain. It reminded me of my inaugural road trip in the GT-R. I grew to like the small-block V8's low roar, too.
I'd neglected to check the oil before leaving, so I tended to this after fueling up in St. Helena. It was indeed low -- oil registered on the dipstick but below the "low" mark. I bought a quart of 5W30 and added half of it. I drove a couple miles more to my hotel and checked it again. Still low. So I added the rest and will recheck before leaving town.
The car's fuel log indicates that Brian Moody also added a quart at 10,693 miles, so apparently, the G8 does like some oil between changes. (It was last serviced at 11,247 miles.) At least, it's the regular old stuff that you can buy at any gas station.
Erin Riches, Senior Editor @ 14,104 miles
louiswei says:
08:02 AM, 12/ 4/08
Is that a new 2010 RX450h I spotted in the picture?
johnmarco says:
08:15 AM, 12/ 4/08
Erin you must be the mileage champ in the editor's stable.
limeman says:
08:23 AM, 12/ 4/08
Please fix that crooked license plate!
arm51 says:
08:50 AM, 12/ 4/08
Nice pics!
rayainsw says:
09:59 AM, 12/ 4/08
MPG on this trip?
- Ray
2009 G8 GT driver....
stingray454 says:
10:56 AM, 12/ 4/08
I'm surprised there was no low oil light or warning on the driver information screen. There should be one anytime the oil is lower than 1 quart low. Not all cars have this warning, but I thought the G8 would.
sodaguy says:
11:16 AM, 12/ 4/08
Has anyone noticed that Erin is the only person that checks the oil on the long-term cars?
joefrompa says:
11:43 AM, 12/ 4/08
Very, very few cars have any sort of indicator that a car is over 1 quart low. They don't work off oil volume, they work off oil pressure. And most cars won't suffer in oil pressure until the oil is VERY low (during normal driving).
I hate it. Oil volume is, to me, one of the most important aspects of maintaining your car. And yet it's only indicated in like 5-10% of cars.
Erin - Can you check this car's oil volume hot? Many cars you can't. There are procedures among many different cars on HOW to check the oil volume.
I.e. My Honda is just pull-and-check cold, my Subaru is supposed to be warm, pull the dipstick out an inch (break the vacuum seal on the tube), carefully push it back in (allow oil to go up tube onto dipstick), wait a few minutes, then draw again. Most likely wipe and re-insert.
It can read off up to 1/2 quart on even the Honda if the engine was recently driven.
Joe
jdub53084 says:
11:46 AM, 12/ 4/08
most companies have a published specification for oil usage. A couple of quarts every 5,000-10,000 miles isn't that bad. No biggy..
The G8 is a pretty sharp looking car and thats a great looking engine cover
firstwagon says:
12:08 PM, 12/ 4/08
"Oil volume is, to me, one of the most important aspects of maintaining your car. And yet it's only indicated in like 5-10% of cars"
I agree but I can see how it would be difficult to measure accurately (likely impossible with the motor running). The oil is always moving throughout the engine at any given time.
Bad data is often worse then no data.
Better to just check a dipstick everytime you gas up.
joefrompa says:
12:28 PM, 12/ 4/08
firstwagon - Both BMW and Porsche allow for instantaneous oil level checks. Porsche does it when the key is turned to the "Aux. power" position, which allows for a cold read.
I'd like a car with a water temp gauge (actual temp.), oil temp gauge, oil level readout.
I find that information useful :)
Joe
P.s. BMW are still bastards for getting rid of their dipstick.
m_thrizzle says:
01:00 PM, 12/ 4/08
Joe - my BMW has a dipstick but does not allow for instantaneous checks. You are supposed to wait 5 min after turning off the fully-warmed-up car before checking the level. There is a dash light for the oil that will display in yellow if the oil is low.
As for the G8, that oil consumption is not bad considering that it probably got to 5 miles on the ODO before doing it's first burnout.
spinchild says:
01:43 PM, 12/ 4/08
I know where that picture was taken!! I've been to that gas station more times than I can count. Did you get a chance to hit any backroads?
bimmerjay says:
02:04 PM, 12/ 4/08
BMW lets you check the oil level while you're cruising along on the interstate. :-)
Something seems wrong to me if the G8's oil level is registering below the "low" mark only 3k miles after an oil change.
eriches says:
05:41 PM, 12/ 4/08
Joe: The manual says oil can/should be checked while warm and recommends doing it at every fill-up after waiting "a few minutes" to let it settle. Of course, now I can't remember exactly how many minutes I waited. I'll check it again tomorrow before setting out.
jpr18 says:
07:22 PM, 12/ 4/08
who cares about the oil, why is there a 2010 Lexus RX450h at the gas station? Did you not notice it? Isn't MY 2010 still another year away?
carfreak8394 says:
07:25 PM, 12/ 4/08
louiswei and jpr18,
that was my first thought when I saw the picture. Any comment, Erin? That Lexus looks awesome in red.
eriches says:
09:31 PM, 12/ 4/08
No comment... ;)
speeder31 says:
09:52 PM, 12/ 4/08
Um, yeah!!! HELLO 2010 RX HYBRID!!! Looks better there than in the manufacturer's website photos...
Second louiswei, jpr18, and carfreak--who on earth got their hands on a 2010 so darn early??!!
joefrompa says:
06:56 AM, 12/ 5/08
Erin said, "Joe: The manual says oil can/should be checked while warm and recommends doing it at every fill-up after waiting "a few minutes" to let it settle. Of course, now I can't remember exactly how many minutes I waited. I'll check it again tomorrow before setting out."
Thanks Erin. I was just wondering what it recommended, since you seemed to be getting mixed results. My Honda is completely unreliable unless it's pretty much stone cold or +2 hours since driving. My Subaru is just damn near impossible to read no matter what you do :)
Joe
stingray454 says:
07:33 AM, 12/ 5/08
"Very, very few cars have any sort of indicator that a car is over 1 quart low. They don't work off oil volume, they work off oil pressure. "
That's not true. My 1983 Thunderbird Turbo Coupe had a low oil light on the center console, and it worked off of oil level in the pan while the engine was running - not oil pressure - there was a separate idiot light for that.
My '02 Z06 has a low oil warning message that will show up on the driver information console, and it too is based on level, not pressure. There is a level sensor in the pan.
All new BMW's have low oil warnings, based on oil level in the pan while running, including real time oil level display on iDrive or the console, as they did away with dipsticks.
I don't think my Infiniti G35 Coupe had a low oil warning though, and my '99 Suburban diesel doesn't either.
If your engine suffers and oil pressure drop from low level, it can be ruined in a matter of seconds. So you can't rely on your oil pressure gauge or light to indicate when you're low - by then, it's far too late.
louiswei says:
09:52 AM, 12/ 5/08
Come on people, let's play connect the dots...
- Erin is an editor.
- She said earlier that she's taking the G8 up north for "business" (can't remember the exact quote)
- Then the long term G8 shows up in the same picture as the 2010 Lexus RX
- The Lexus RX is going on sale in spring 2010.
This is too easy...
joefrompa says:
10:35 AM, 12/ 5/08
Stingray - I said very few cars. Not "no" cars :)
IIRC, those oil pans need to get pretty darn low before they show up on the instrument panel. Reason being: That light can't flash everytime you are executing a tight turn at speed. So I think it needs to be down like 1/3rd or more of total oil capacity. I could be wrong.
Btw - I don't remember that on my 88 thunderbird turbo coupe. If it had it, cool.
stingray454 says:
01:04 PM, 12/ 5/08
"Stingray - I said very few cars. Not "no" cars :)"
OK, it's more cars than you think, but not every car, and not any cars. ;)
"IIRC, those oil pans need to get pretty darn low before they show up on the instrument panel. Reason being: That light can't flash everytime you are executing a tight turn at speed. "
I don't know how the sensors are calibrated to avoid false alarms while turning, but I do know they are set to come on if the level falls below one quart from normal level on the dipstick - it's in my owner's manual.
"Btw - I don't remember that on my 88 thunderbird turbo coupe. If it had it, cool."
It did - it was either on the bottom of the center console near the cigarette lighter with the other warning displays indicated by red or yellow arrows for things like Door Ajar, Low Washer Fluid, etc., or it was on the warning light strip below the gauge cluster. I can't remember which location that light was in. I also had a 1985 Turbo Coupe, which had the same interior as your '88 did. I know my 1983 Turbo Coupe with the older interior had the light on the top of the center console with the set of about 8 square warning lamps in a row. It's funny - I haven't owned that car in 15 years now, and I still remember the exact layout of the interior including the warning lights. :)