I suspected that we could use more oil in the sump given the other heating concerns. I was bit surprised to learn how little oil the 370Z takes as I was expecting at least six (6) quarts. My belief is that both a larger sump and an oil cooler make this engine a better setup.

:iagree: With my cooler I'm up to 6 qts. A deep sump or pan extension would bring that to 7. I just found these low profile scoops on my shelf from an aborted past project.....Low enough profile they might work well modified and mounted to the Lower tray to ventilate the sump...Hmmm....

CAI project in the rear..Stay tuned on that!

http://images47.fotki.com/v1498/phot...MG_1757-vi.jpg

We have found in doing TIme Attacks with the 350Z that a larger sump, pan baffles, big oil cooler and an Accusump was needed to keep the engine alive with serious suspension, aero and sticky tires.

Every bit helps.

Really? Dang so I guess the oil issues continues..mmm. A shame Nissan has ignored this..as not sure any car manufacture can get through bad press(nor should they even in a good economy). I have held off on buying til a solution is found by Nissan..and if not they could lower the price a bit more, if people are going to shell out more of their money for an oil-cooler+install.

mm...I have been on the fence for a 350 or 370(Hurry Nissan fix this..looking for a Silver/sport/6spd)

Rich
ny

Remember this is a 570 whp twin turbo time attack car with big hoosiers or Hankooks. Its the fastest 350Z in the country. Your typical street car or even your typical track driven dual purpose car isnt going to place this sort of demand on the oil system.

That's interesting. I race my 350z HR model and have no overheating issues with the oil or coolant. I have ran in 105+ degree heat, and the temp has only moved half way on the gauge. I used Amsoil and it has done well. Running up to hours at a time. No one has ever mentioned anything about overheating issues with the 350z. The only ones that do are the boosted ones.

The 350Z didn't have an oil temperature gauge, the problem went undetected by many.

On the way home tonight, some spirited driving after warm up, never exceeding 5500 RPM. In this order: spirited driving, crawl in rush hour 10 minutes, more spirited driving, another 5 minutes of stop and go, regular driving another 10 minutes to my home. I hit 250, and the outside temp was 80, sun down in the sky! I would say this doesn't have much to do with break-in. If I can hit 250 at 80 degrees with this kind of driving, wait until the outside temps hit 100.

John

And by "fastest 350Z in the country" I assume you're referring to time attack events on a specific track or set of tracks.

550+whp 350Z TT setups are not uncommon here in the SFBay area. Granted, drivers that can consistently put down good lap times at Sears Point, Laguna Seca, Buttonwillow or Willow Springs are not nearly as common... :tiphat:

You don't need a oil gauge to tell how the temps are. If the temps were a issue the oil would be coming out pretty dark.

That would depend on the oil and how well it is handling the heat, a full synthetic is always going to do better.

These engines have always had hot oil, but the new design has taken it to a new level.

It could be his was just a boast to entice people to attend ZCon this year in hopes of seeing the fastest 350Z in the country!!! :stirthepot:

^^ I didn't say that.

Well, I had my first go at a track today. This oil cooler issue may be moot when street driving in most cases, but it's a real issue with anything on the track. I had to keep backing off as the temp hit 260 to protect the engine as the car is my daily driver.

I did some hotlaps in another 370 driven by a professional, and he essentially said that Nissan $hit the bed by leaving out the oil cooler. One definitely belongs in the car.

On the flip side, the 370Z is a dream on the track. I had a blast with mine, and the laps with the pro were eye openers with showing just what this car can do. My buddy almost puked after two laps with him!

Stillen Cooler on the Track
 

I had my car on the track this weekend as well. I have the Stillen oil cooler kit and it seemed to do the job well. Ambient temperatures were around 98F at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, AL. The temp indicator in the car got as high as 103F but I'm not sure if that was right. On the track, the oil quickly heated up to 260F but never surpassed this point. I pushed the car hard for 4 twently minute sessions on Saturday and Sunday and never had any problems. The oil still looks brand new (Mobil 1 5W30 synthetic) and I never had any limp mode issues. From talking with other drivers of other cars, temps around 260-270 are typical. The oil cooler works, too bad it didn't come on the car...