I had about a 20-25 degree drop as well with the single core stillen oil cooler... I switched to a custom dual core setup and I think it is more like a 30-50 degree drop

I am having the Stillen race oil cooler installed tomorrow morning. Like others have said, regular oil cooler will drop oil temps 20-30 degrees. Not sure what the big race oil cooler will do, but I will find out soon.

if anyone in Arizona region wants to replicate my dual core setup, contact Robert at Redline Motorsports... it uses two cores of similar size to the standard stillen setup, which is more total cooling surface than stillen 'race oil cooler' by a good margin... robert has not yet released it to the public as a kit but may do so in the near future

That Redline setup seems neat Travis.. keep in mind too that the STILLEN setup can accommodate additional coolers in a bolt-in configuration, you can run the race (or street) cooler, power steering cooler, and for the automatic guys the trans cooler without having to fabricate anything.

Does oil temp issue affect daily driving?
 

New owner and member so my bad if this was already threaded. Obviously reading about the oil temps issue everywhere on the Web. Seeing many posts about track day problems/road test situations but can't get a good read on whether its a problem for daily drivers? I'm still in break-in so not experiencing issue yet but live in South Florida where air temps will stay fairly high year-round. Hate to think an oil cooler would void warranty, but if daily driving in hi temps and/or highway miles put oil temps over the top, will need to consider it.

Thx

everyone has an opinion, and after experiencing a lot of these issues and fixing it, here's mine... for daily driving, if you have any three of the following you are likely to see temps over 260F and prob limp mode... just 1 or 2 then no worries!

- aggressive driving on the street, or lots of high RPM e.g., 1st/2nd/3rd in traffic
- driving over very steep gradients, 6+ degree continuous
- driving in very hot temperatures, 110+F
- manual transmission

The last one is controversial with some folks, but as it turns out if you have a manual transmission, you're much more likely to experience overheating... See data below from our forum survey.... We have basically zero reports of limp mode on the street with automatic transmissions, and very few reports of temps over 260F

http://i656.photobucket.com/albums/u...psurveyn73.gif

This pretty much nails it, IMO. I have a MT, like to drive aggressive (albeit safely) winding out 2nd and 3rd, temps in summer reach 100F air temps, ambient pavement temps hit 115, and.... being on the coast I see a lot of inclines (bridges/steep gradients). This is also combined with a rush hour issue where, after some open road enjoyment, I come to a total standstill and crawl in thick congestion............ I hit 260 all the time in July and August. Now that it's cooler, the most I am seeing is about 240. Looks like an oil cooler for me next spring :p

John

Great info. Puts it together nicely. Thx! Have a 7AT and we're totally flat in this corner of the world. Temps are in 90's but not desert extreme. Think I'll play the odds, watch the temps and wait it out a bit.

you're welcome! :tiphat: i just arrived in florida tonight and it seems things are cooling off a bit... good times

My 6MT 370Z has about 1500 miles on it now. I did the first oil change last weekend and refilled with the Nissan ester oil. Yesterday I took a drive up to the mountains here in SouCal. It's been unseasonably hot, with temps in the high 80's. I drove the car moderately hard on the way up the mountain highway and the oil temp stayed between 235-240 degrees. On the downhill run I wasn't running as high RPM's and the temps were between 220-225.
I will comment that the lower end torque on this car was more than I was expecting, it just kept pulling going uphill with little need to grab a lower gear except on very tight corners. Impressive !

I did a track weekend last weekend at Putnam Park, Indiana. In my third session on Sunday, I hit limp mode. Oil temps were at 262 or so; I have the stillen "street" cooler installed and run on 275 wide street tires on all four corners. Ambient temp was 70 degrees and I was driving very hard. The stock fluid in my clutch hydraulic system also boiled and changed the way my clutch pedal felt but the clutch still worked okay. I'll be upgrading this fluid to Motul RBF600 and that should fix the problem.

Please describe the 'limp mode'... I strongly suspect you had fuel starvation, if you were only at 262. Please read the fuel starvation thread. It hits even at 3/4 tank if you pull 1.0g for 3-4 seconds (always right hand turns). Some of us are looking into baffle cans that will go inside the fuel tank as remedy. Good idea on the RBF600, that's what I run. Yes, I'm accepting reps ! :tup:

You guys keep scaring me...I own an '04.5 Touring Coupe 350Z, and it's been a sweet ride, so far. When I hear the ghastly experiences you're having with your 370s, it's worrysome. Whoa!

The posts you are talking about are from guys beating the snot out of the vehicles on the track. It is not, repeat NOT a problem on the street. :icon14:

Thanks, dude! I was getting worried, hearing those horror stories! Greetings from muggy, rainy Puerto Rico!

Steve is right, you'll never have any problems on the street with a stock 370Z. I drive really hard on the track and the does amazing... Don't let my limp mode deter you in your decision. I think the Z is a great car and would buy again in the future. I absolutely love it! I had an 06 350Z; the 370Z is hands down a better and faster ride.

Hmmmm, I think you may be on to something. I didn't even consider fuel starvation because I was around 3/4 tank. It happened twice at turn 7 which is a hard right hander and a 4th to 2nd shift point. Both times it happened, I had just experienced oversteer in second, shifted to second, and just about to enter the braking zone before turn 8. Fuel starvation makes sense. Have you figured out how to stop the problem? When you do, let me know. Too bad I ordered a larger oil cooler yesterday.

for discussion on solutions to the fuel starvation issue, read my journal thread linked below and read the fuel starvation thread here http://www.the370z.com/track-autocro...-who-else.html

The 370z comes standard with an oil cooler. Which can be upgraded easily with a stillen oil cooler that replaces the existing cooler and will reduce the avg oil temp. Using a good oil like Ams or Redline will also reduce the avg oil temps. I use Ams oil and I have seen I avg 180 and never exceed 220. And trust me I dont baby the car.

What? It does not come with an oil cooler.

Incorrect information! 370z doesn't come equipped with oil cooler. It's NOT needed if you don't track your car. When I say track, I mean long road courses. You do not need this cooler for Autox or drag racing. With a good synthetic oil (i.e. Redline), for everyday driving, you should have 0 issues.

THANK YOU! I hate it when people put bad info out :stirthepot:

First time my car has hit 260 oil temps at the track the last time I went. Yea a bit too much. But selling the car anyways, so I am done racing for now.

I stand corrected. Sorry for positng the bad info. So how well do the after market oil coolers work? Any recomendations on brand?

A lot of people confuse the power steering cooler for an Oil unit.. On results, hit my DIY ink in my sig and go to the end. These seem to be about the same results as the commercially available kits..

no harm... it's well documented that I'm the first idiot to make that mistake! http://www.the370z.com/track-autocro...html#post26283 ...back in January

modshack's recommended DIY kit seems to be adequate for some folks... I'm probably at the extreme end - I have a dual core setrab custom job that allows me to push very hard at the track and never get over 250... i'm still trying to convince my shop to offer this kit to the public... stillen offers two kits, I'd recommend just going for the larger one if you go that direction

btw, I respectfully disagree with our esteemed forum admin that you do not need an oil cooler on the street... if you read back a page, we discussed that in detail... there are conditions where driving within reason on the street you will get you to very high oil temps and limp home mode

I can still hit 250 on the street here with the temps we see, today it is pushing upper 80's ............... time for this indian summer to pass :-)

Reluctant to purchase 370Z
 

Hello,
first time posting here.
Own a 2006 350z 6MT.
Looking at trading in for a 370, but reluctant secondary to oil temp issues. Most posts here seem to claim that this is not really an issue with road use, however MotorTrend recently posted a review of the 370Z Roadster. They mention that although they enjoyed the 370Z, they REPEATEDLY experienced limp mode with spirited driving with high ambient temperatures.
I live in South Florida, and unfortunately think this issue will prevent me from buying the 370Z.
To my mind, it just seems really shortsighted to spend so much time and money developing the SyncroRevMatch while ignoring the oil temp issue. Personally, I think Nissan can keep the SyncroRevMatch and install an oil cooler with the sport package.
From the oil consuming RevUP 350Z, to the self destructing GTR transmission to the oil temp issue with the 370Z, it makes me wonder if Nissan has a quality control issue.
Just my new cents, I would appreciate any response.

I think they're great cars, and I am happy I bought mine. I also had an '06 oil consumer. It is also as hot here in the summer months, and that will run from April to October. If you intend to drive in a spirited fashion ( duh comment I know, if you are an enthusiast, and you probably wouldn't be here on this site if you were not :-) ), then I would add an oil cooler, since you live in South Florida. I really have no idea what continual daily operation at temps of 250 to 260 will do to the longterm reliability of these engines. I never hit limp mode, but do experience these temps when the ambient temperature is high.

John

Reluctant to purchase 370Z
 

Thanks for the response.
Is it true that the oil cooler will void the warranty with Nissan?
How does the car compare to your previous 350Z?

Thank you

Reluctant to purchase 370Z
 

My 2006 350Z has 75,000 miles on it and has been trouble free. While initially it consumed quite a bit of oil as evidenced by black exhaust tips and rear fender, I did not have the motor swapped. The oil consumption stopped on its own at around 30,000 miles.
I love how the 370 looks, I'm just put off by this oil issue after sweating it out with my 350.

Same with my '04.5 Touring Coupe, Mag'; it's just too reliable to risk getting rid of it. You've certainly put mucho miles on your '06 Z, dude. My '04.5's only got 24k on it. Then, again, I live just 9.5k from work. So far, the only thing I've had to replace is the driver's side power window motor. Can't complain.

i'm quite disappointed i cant get to the top speed without hitting maximum oil (for me thats 126c) on the car. considering the temp was stable at normal speed before this, this is quite crap for a sports car. so instead of a normal speed limiter, us 370s got a speed limiter governed by temp.

just wondering, those of you who had 350Zs, did you have oil temp issues as well? (for those who installed an oil temp meter) or did u have an oem cooler to begin with??

Can you post a link to where MT said they "REPEATEDLY experienced limp mode with spirited driving with high ambient temperatures." I can't find it anywhere. Thanks.

<edit> never mind, found it. They also said that the couple they tested concurrently did not have the temperature issue. Therefore I say the roadster they tested had problems. Of course MT is the worst car rag out there................

Reluctant
 

The question about 350Z oil temperatures is a good one and a question I have also thought about. As mentioned I am in South Florida.
My car does not have an oil temperature gauge, so I have no idea what temps I have been running.
I have 75000 miles on the car, and the motor still pulls nicely (at least by the seat of my pants). I have the car serviced at my local Nissan dealership every 3000 miles or so.
I previously owned a 1987 300ZX (non turbo) that had over 100,000 miles and had absolutely no mechanical issues.
A few other questions I have:
Does installation of an oil cooler on the 370Z void the warranty?
Does the G37 have similar problems?

Thank you

I guess you could have your Nissan dealer do a factory install, no warranty issue there! But it ain't cheap. :rolleyes: I'd have to guess that an improper install could void a warranty, though. If you want to do a DIY, I recommend reading Modshack's DIY he posted here.

Not necessarily true! I questioned my dealer about installing the Nissan oil cooler and of course they said no problem. However when questioned on the warranty implications they were non-committal.

Oil Cooler
 

I also have spoken with Royal Palm Nissan's Service Manager in South Florida and cannot get a straight answer as to whether or not the warranty would be voided despite a dealer installed oil cooler. I am definitely not mechanically inclined enough to install it myself.
How much weight to the car does an installed oil cooler add?

Around 5 lbs.

Oh, and check out what happened with this guy after he installed an oil cooler on his 370Z! :rolleyes:

:icon18: