Minimizing engine oil consumption?

[BraselC5048]

I'm planning a really long flight, and engine oil is going to be critical. Does anybody know of ways to minimize engine oil consumption? Power settings, mixture settings, and anything else? Unfortunately you can't just load the engine oil tanks to 28 gallons with a full central tank on the ground.

[crownvic]

Hello BraselC5048,

in my opinion you can't undone engine wear with any type of power setting. There are two opportunitys, first you could run the engines at idle power but thats very unpractically for flight conditions . On the other hand you can replace the engines, i think thats the only way to reduce your engines oil consumption.

What kind of a really long flight do you planning (route)

[newblackgold]

In a piston engine oil consumption is directly related to oil ring quality and RPM, as far as this simulation is concerned. Thus, having newly rebuilt engines always helps. But besides that, running at as low an RPM as practical as related to engine torque and airspeed is what you should be doing. A newly rebuilt engine ~should~ have a low enough oil consumption for any flight you may be capable of, but of course not always a guarantee and engine oil is "that other thing" besides fuel which can be a real problem sometimes...

If you fiddle with the airplane config files you can expand the limitations to allow the engine oil tanks to be filled entirely. Should be able to (no wind) get 6000 nm without this change and 7000 nm with it, in theory, assuming you can make your fuel last that long and you don't have engine trouble...

[BraselC5048]

I usually run at 2000 RPM for 1600 BHP, and 100 more RPM for each additional 100 BHP up to 2400 RPM at 2000 BHP. This results in a BMEP of 155 PSI for most power settings. Is there any reason you can't run the engines at 100 or 200 RPM less? I 'think' this would require more turbo for the same power.

[newblackgold]

Torque is an indirect sign of engine power and a direct sign of engine load. Really, as long as it's below the red line, it's fine, in the same way keeping MP below the red "is fine." You'd get better climb performance with lower RPMs, but the increased loading on the engine would wear it out quicker.

It goes hand in hand that to lower RPMS you should lower power. But to answer your question, no, there isn't any reason you can't run the engines a little slower to save oil. You're just balancing oil consumption vs engine life.