High oil Temp... It finally happened to me
 

On cold days my oil temperature usually stays around 180-200F and on a hotter day it might be around 220. A couple times I have seen it get up near 240 but that was pretty rare.

Well today for the first time my oil temps got over 260F =( I didn't think it was going to happen to me as I thought the consensus was this usually only happens when driving on the track.

Well I decided to check out GMR (Glendora Mountain Road). It was my first time driving it and I wasn't really driving fast (rarely got above 45 MPH) but it was mainly uphil and I was mostly in second (and sometimes in third gear) with my RPM's averaging 4k-5k when I was in 2nd gear.

When I got about 15 miles into it I pulled over for 10-15 min to let the oil temps go back down (right where GMR splits off to Glendora Ridge Road).

I must say I am a bit disappointed. I guess if I ever want to drive on this road again without stopping I will likely need an oil cooler =(

I don't think it ever went into limp mode. I believe that happens at 280? I honestly did not want to let it get high enough to the point it would go in limp mode and I think its likely it would have gotten that high if I continued driving.

PS: I think driving on GMR got me the worst MPG I have ever gotten on my 370z. In the 15 miles that I had to stop I only got like 9.5 MPG lol. I reset MPG calculator right when I started on GMR.

Well, you can drive the road all you want. You just can't rev to 5k in second gear and leave it there the whole time. In retrospect, the oil cooler was an easy install and solves the problem completely.

Well I think common practice when driving on a curvy road like that is to keep the RPMs up high when going into the curves. To be honest I don't like how the car feels going though a curve at a decent speed where I can feel the g-force unless my RPM is over 4000 or so. I also don't like breaking in turns and this helps the car slow down by taking my foot off the gas instead of breaking.

I didn't just drive it in 2nd the whole time @ 5k RPM. I was constantly shifting between 2nd and 3rd gear. I usually downshifted to 2nd when going into the turns and upshifted once I was out of the curve and I rarely got it above 5k. I honestly didn't think I was driving it all that rough. If I wasn't worried about my camera dieing from all the G's because it has an HD I probably would have recorded a video.

I was at 4K-5K rpm when I did GMR. I was in 2nd or 3rd all the way to the end of the run. I have oil cooler and the temperature was max. at about 220. The oil cooler will keep the temperature down when running GMR in a hot day.

Definitely considering doing the oil cooler now. So you were also 2nd/3rd the entire time like me and similar RPMs. So as I mentioned earlier I would expect the way I was driving to be pretty 'normal' for driving on that road right? I wasn't driving crazy or anything (never went over the line or even really had the VDC activate) and it was actually pretty cool out as I went there at 9 AM (60s).

there may be another factor as well. How old is your oil. I found that the older the oil the faster the temp builds. If I have fresh oil my temps stay lower. I always use royal purple and and the royal purple filter but I went ahead and put a 34 row oil cooler on anyway just for planning on future mods and since then i do not break 210 even in stop and go traffic. You shouldnt have to go that big but I like it.

I am not exagerating, but my ex-Z would hit 260 in the summer time just climbing 405 fwy by Getty. On my side of town, I would hit high temps also around Mulholland Hwy/Decker Canyon Road without being super aggressive. My Z never liked aggressive or slow driving.

BTW, i never went into Limp Mode.

:) I just realized that I still have my oil cooler kit in the garage. Time for me to hit the 'for sale' section. :)

I believe my last oil change was around 2500 miles ago.

It's fun when you are in 4K+ on that road. I always down shift to slow down before entering the turn. Don't you love the SynchroRev Match?

That is to drive in 3rd and 4th gear at that RPM. If not you are going to go on limp mode because of the oil temp.

You will not make in driving like that on the Tail of the Dragon!

The first time I went into Malibu canyons, I was not really pushing the car and it was hitting 260 degrees in cool weather. I was never happy that I would hit 230 degrees just sitting in traffic, but once I got my 25 row oil cooler it was night and day.

No matter how hard I push the car (and I have pushed it close to 100%), I have yet to break 220 degrees. If I try that without one, it would be in limp mode. Keeping the oil temperatures at lower levels also increases throttle response and even power from my experience, and makes the car a whole lot more consistent and gives peace of mind that you can tackle anything without worry of oil temps.

+1 that Nissan should pay for half are upgraded oil coolers. Yea right.

Perhaps I should elaborate. The Z is known to have overheating issues without an oil cooler. So posting a story about driving over 5k rpm for sustained periods and then being amazed the oil temps shot up is just naive. Just get an oil cooler and then you can drive however you like.

Get the oil cooler. Why should you ever be worried about over heating? 220* max is about right, with a cooler. Don't be limited as to where or how you enjoy driving.

I may have missed it but at what temp does it go into limp mode?

Actually I didn't turn on my synchro rev match as I usually never use it. This would have actually been one of the few times it would have been useful to do so. Next time I will turn it on =)

I just came back from Streets of Willow Track event last week and went WITHOUT an oil cooler. However, it was very cold up there, in the morning, temperatures would be around 24 degrees and when it warmed up in the day, 44 degrees to 50 degrees. Maybe it was the cold weather that I didn't run into limp mode even after pushing the car near redline. I was in the beginner group and the first session was all about following behind the instructor to learn the lines and stuff. Rest of the sessions (there were 6 total sessions that day), I ran almost but not really at full 100% capacity, but I say around 85%. The first five sessions, I shifted constantly at 5k to 6k rpms. In the last session, I decided to go all-out and just redlined it. Temps got never higher than little over 260, but never did I run into a limp mode. Shouldn't be a too much problem doing canyon runs in GMR...this was my experience with the oil temps.

It's not the runs up to redline but sustained high RPM that becomes a problem. If you're downshifting hard into a turn and take the turn at 5500rpm, then run to redline through the gears, you'll overheat in any ambient temp. So yes, a canyon run can easily skyrocket oil temps if you're maintaining high RPM. If you're having problems though, there are a couple simple steps that can keep you driving (at a slower pace). 1) slow down (ie use lower revs...obvious, I know), and 2) turn on the AC...in the Z, a secondary radiator fan comes on with the compressor and actually cools the engine oil by about 10-15F.

At 280F you get limited to 5000 rpm, you still have full power beneath 5000 rpm. Stage 2 limp mode kicks in at 300F and severely limits power and limits RPM to around 3500.

Purple Ice by Royal Purple, reduces engine temps by 50 degrees or 10%. Also gain 8 dyno proven hp from swapping the engine, rear diff and tranny fluids. Give it a try. :tup::driving:

Are you a Royal Purple salesman or what? :roflpuke2:

There are several brands that claim to lower engine temperatures, if you're lucky you'll get 5 degrees, not 50.

The oil cooler reduces temps 40+ degrees so do I get any HP? :excited: I wish.

Royal Purple shears relatively fast compared to other premium oils. The longer you run it, the thinner it shears down. The more it shears down, the less it protects, the more friction you have. With a more stable oil, what you are noticing won't be nearly as apparent.

Not arguing here, but why is Royal Purple 'expensive' then? If it does this, I do not understand the hype about it. Is it just a percieved believe the 'brand' is better than most? I ruled our RP a while back because of the above dynamic and would get Mobil 1 over RP.

Am I missing something?

They spend millions on advertising to the race/hot rod crowd. For race car engines they are going to change the oil after every event so long term viscosity break down isn't a big concern. It is a huge concern for street cars, and the VQ's in particular don't get very good results from RP on the oil analysis.

at 5K rpm going uphill + not going very fast + watever extra weight you got onboard, that will get the engine pretty hot.

Oil cooler will be the first mod for the Z when she comes out of the garage come spring time. I notice a huge difference in performance between 180-200 degree and the 220+ range.

in contrast, i have no plans to install an oil cooler (street driving) this spring or any time of the season. :D

kenchan what are those z's in your avatar? they are awesome!! i want!

:icon18: those are ChoroQ Hybrid's. they are remote control. :tup:

Because of that exact opinion."It's expensive so it must be good". People buy into that all the time, and this is no exception.

Just google "Royal purple shearing" and you will find tons of UOA's and other lab tests that back up what I have stated.

cool deal... thinking i will be going to Red Line soon regardless....

SWEET!! Off to spend more money!

LOL. No just throwin it out there to maybe help with the cooling.

Isn't that road sweet? I first found it a couple of years ago in the spring on my motorcycle. I especially enjoyed the ridge road, usually I like to play on the crest or out in the canyons of malibu.

I think Penzoil Platinum is the best deal going based on a price/performance standpoint. Check out how it does:

Motor Oil Comparative Test

I mean, it's not the best, but its close enough that I doubt you would notice.

That being said, I used to run Castrol Syntec 0-30 and my car used 1/2qt every 4500 miles. With the Mobil 1 5-30 EP, it used 1qt every 2500 miles.

Some cars just HATE some oils. The cSt for the M1 was around 10. The cSt for the GC was around 12. That engine liked oils from 11.5-12.5 or so. The VQ probably has tighter tolerances and I would guess it likes oils in the 9.5-10.5cSt range at operating temp.

Since it DOES tend toward the warmer side, NOACK volatility #'s are more important with this engine than an engine not as prone to seeing high temps.

A good oil is so much more than a full-page color add in a hotrod magazine.

Here is why I ran 0-30GC in my LS1 car (aside from the fact that it DRANK! mobil 1 and barely sipped the GC):
http://www.c66racing-synthetics.com/...20Analysis.htm

I was told by the place I bought my car that Nissan makes a special oil for the Z.. is this true or more sales BS?

Nissan does make a special "ester" oil they recommend for the VQ due to their claim of nano diamond particles for roller friction reduction. How helpful it actually is has caused some debate here.

Nano diamond particles!? So basically, industrial-grade abrasive? wtf :icon14:

Glendora Ridge Road is a pretty tough road; it's hard on the brakes and engine, especially on the uphill.

I ran into high engine temps while making a run uphill 17.4 miles on Latigo Canyon Road in Malibu. Oil temp gauge was reading 260. I don't think my Z went into limp mode, but I turned off the A/C and started venting heat into the cabin. The temp eventually dropped back down to about 220.

Anyhow, I'm definitely installing an oil cooler come this spring. After a bit of research, I believe Stillen sells the most affordable bang-for-the-buck oil cooler.