oh god I can't believe I'm asking this question. oh well I want to make sure for my cars sake. Please be gentle with me as I know this probably a stupid question but I want to double check. Thanks in advance.

 

cold and on a fairly level surface.

 

^ What he said. All the oil has settled to the bottom of the pan and you get a true reading.

 

i dont think it really matters, id rather check it with it a little warm b/ its going to read higher when cold once the oil is pumped back into the turbo etc your reading will be slightly lower

 

ummm, isnt that the whole idea?? you should be checking "max capacity" at the time of the oil check.

IF you check it hot, you will have to wait about 3-5 minutes to take a reading because the oil will still be draining from the top of the cylinder head areas. you can check it hot, however, it will not be the most accurate reading. just be concious that the reading will be low and NOT to add oil. you can have tooo much oil and may damage internals by parastatic drag on the crank, cams, etc. if too much oil is being slung onto the crankshaft, it becomes unbalanced and will start to wipe the bearings. a few thousand miles later, you will wonder why it spun a rod bearing...

 

i believe you get an accurate reading after you wait around 5 min. after shutting the engine down after a normal drive.

 

http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-...cars-oil-level