My concern is that Southern California has not yet hit its hot season. To me this will be the real test in real-world stop-n-go situations. I have not reached the level of comfort that this issue is over.

I have looked at the engine oil lubrication diagram in the Nissan 370Z Service Manual and it looks like (although I have not substantiated this) the oil temperature sending unit is taking its reading off the oil pulled for the oil pan. My concern is that the VVEL top-end is where the oil gets the hottest and pushed to its limits, and where a better oil temperature reading would be beneficial.

The sump is the most logical place to read temps though as it is from that point that oil is pressurized through the system. You are probably right in that temps are probably higher at the VVEL assembly and are reduced as they drain back to the sump. This is academic though based on the failsafe trigger points. 280 in the sump may actually be 300 at the valve train, but that is where Nissan has determined the cut needs to be for the protection it needs. 300 degrees (a guess) may therefore be the "Real" number beyond which they determine the viscosity drop to be unacceptable..It looks like Viscosity levels flatten out at the 280 and beyond point...

http://images50.fotki.com/v1512/phot...ture400-vi.gif

From what I know (as little as it is) an engine will perform better when the oil is hotter. I'm assuming there is a point where the oil breaks down and loses its properties but I'm assuming we are no where near that limit at 250F. With our tight tollerances and micro machining, etc isn't lower viscosity going to help the parts rather than hinder/wear? If the oil is to viscous will the drag and force pushing the parts apart cause wear on other parts?

Nissan has determined that, at 280 degrees on the recommended oil, the maximum RPM's should be reduced. Basically that's all anyone knows.

After seeing the viscosity over temperature chart, and reading all of today's posts, I'm still inclined to believe 260 degrees is a safe operating temperature. I don't believe the viscosity difference, from 220 to 260 degrees, will result in accelerated wear and premature engine failure.

So it sounds like if we are doing the oil cooler the thermal switch is going to be important to get the oil up to temp but keep it below the recomended max temp...

Personally, I would prefer to have a 180 thermo on mine, yes. I think with most of the reasonably-sized coolers available, the car will have no trouble maintaining a 180+ temp anyways once it gets warmed up, unless you're in a really freaking cold climate. For me it's mostly about not extending the warmup time on cold mornings. I already have to wait around forever (I
like to see the needle start bumping up off the 140 floor before I pull out of the driveway if I can afford to wait that long, and 180 before I hit the throttle too hard always).

Oooooo...waiting until it's off 140 to start moving??? I'd be late to work every day! At least it hits 140 after about 3min on the highway for me. I just wait until the engine idle drops below 1000 rpm before moving.

Well, I said 'if I can afford to wait that long', which isn't always the case. When I'm in a rush I also just wait for the idle to settle down somewhere under 1k. I really try to wait as long as I can though, because 30 seconds out of my driveway I'm hitting a highway feeder, and it's hard not to push the throttle pretty hard pulling out into traffic there.

could someone save me from reading through 40 pages of posts and give a brief update on where things stand regarding this issue, i.e. what is nissan's position at this point? will after market oil coolers void the warranty?

much appreciated! :tiphat:

I have been talking with consumer affairs for the past few weeks, issue is being researched, Nissan states they will honor your warranty for the nissan motorsport cooler. (he says that the part does not need to be installed by your dealer) I have requested this several times in writing due to the fact that the cooler does not come with a warranty. The nissan rep has told me that they will not put anything in writing in regards to this issue until their research is complete. So basically I have not received any answers.

I know this does not help anyone just the same BS from the dealer to corporate.

Any word on this Nissan oil cooler that was supposed to be here by now?

I'd be nice if they did a voluntary recall / posted warranty update on this, to where the owner can opt to have one installed (at their expense) and the warranty kept in-tact.

So far from what I've heard, an oil cooler installation voids the warranty.

I dont think an oil cooler will void the warranty as long it doesnt cause problems to the car. If Nissan is installing an Oil Cooler on the Nismo, which is the same car, we can do it too. Plus any aftermarket part is protected by the Magnuson-Moss Law Act. THe problem is that there's a lot of people don't know about this law, and a lot of dealers that either don't know or want to ignore it.

Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is what I use against dealer when they try their BS warranty with me.

Magnuson-Moss is quoted a lot.

It has nothing to do with add-ons. (imagine if you installed Nitrous - you expect them to warrantee the pistons when they get a hole through them?)

It has everything to do with tie-in warranty sales - for example, if Nissan required you to buy Nissan oil filters and Nissan Oil, and only the dealer could do the oil changes. THAT is what the Magnuson-Moss Act refers to...because it basically sets up a dealer/manufacturer monopoly on wear-items.



Nissan has stated (there's a thread on here about it) where they will not cover a car that has an oil cooler installed, because it's considered a competition-use item, and the car is not for competition use. Even the NIZMO will not have an oil cooler installed.