Everyone with oil temp issues

chubbs

Just as the dreaded 'oil consumption issue' only affected some MY06 revup engines in the 350Z, is it possible that the dreaded 'oil overheating issue' is only affecting some engines in the MY09 370Z?

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wstar

I think it's more likely that there's a ton of variance in driving condition and driving style, both of which are difficult to accurately describe and change the outcome dramatically.

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Phil

My car runs hot very easily. Today I was driving on the expressway, not excellerating hard at any time during the drive. I was doing 60 in 5th gear and the oil temp was 240. My car gets to 240 very easily and it is normally in the 225 to 245 range and has been as high as 255. I don't like this, it seems to me that this is hard on the oil as well as the engine. It spoils the fun of driving it. I'm very dissapointed in Nissan.

Zeto

Just an observation. I switched over to Redline 5W-30 and have yet to go over 230F even with aggressive driving. Ambient temps are about 83F.

Phil

My car has the sport pkg., with 6 speed manual. It is stock except for a stillen exhaust. I have been using Penzoil 5w30. It has almost 7000 miles on it and I will very soon change to a high quality synthetic. It has been running hot, in my opinion, from day one. I've changed the oil twice.

PSDSAINT

Question, a few years back I didn't buy a new Z because of front end problems that from what I understand were never fixed by Nissan and lots of Z owners were hung out to dry. Do any of you feel this oil temp issue is worth not buying a new Z? I was at the dealer this morning and they look great but this oil heat issue has me worried. What is your spin on buying a new Z?

Robert_Nash

I can only speak for myself (but that doesn’t mean I don’t have my biases) but I believe that the “oil temperature issue” isn’t much of a problem and is about 90% a matter of perception.

The only 370s which will likely have a true oil temperature problem are those that are tracked - the 370; like the 350 before it and, frankly, like most consumer/street vehicles not purpose built with track use in mind, are always going to need an engine oil cooler…that really shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone.

While there are plenty of anecdotal stories; there seems to be little consistency with who is and who isn’t experiencing a problem and all the stories that do exist are just that, stories filtered through each story teller’s frame of reference. I’m not in any way suggesting people are lying; just that “aggressive/very aggressive” driving on a “hot” day can mean vastly different things from person to person. What is truly needed and what hasn’t happened yet, at least as far as I know, is a scientific study under controlled conditions to establish how hot the engine oil gets and under what precise circumstances.

That brings up another point. While there are many, many opinions and feeling about “how hot is too hot”; other than opinions and feelings, I’ve yet to see anyone demonstrate that temperatures, in this engine, and with today’s oils, 220 or 230 or 240 or even up to 260 degree oil temps are truly causing any harm to the engine/engine life. Again, what is really needed is an objective and unemotional study to look at all the factors.

Let’s also remember that Nissan has a solution (or at least a feature) in place to preserve the engine for temps in the 280 and above range in that it limits engine revs until the temp lowers (the “limp” feature). Some feel that could be a safety concern but I’m not so sure; the available power from the 370 at, say, revs limited to 5K still probably gives more performance (acceleration/passing ability, etc.) than many, many vehicles on the road today at 100% of their power so I’m not quite so sure that a decrease in available engine power is really a safety concern. I’ll grant you it’s inconvenient and not fun but I don’t think it’s quite the issue some fell it is.<o></o>

Finally, I leave you with my owe story…I’ve got over 12K miles on my 370Z which has included mountain roads; deserts, many runs down the Tail of the Dragon, stop-and-go interstate traffic and autocrossing and have done it all in Winter, Spring and Summer temps with many days exceeding 100 degrees) and I’m a fairly aggressive driver (although I am not an out of control idiot on public roads)…through all that, I’ve seen my oil temps as high as the 240ish but have never see temps as high as reported by some nor have ever gotten close to limp mode.<o></o>

All that so say, while I’d feel better if my temps never went above 220; I don’t think the “engine oil temperature problem” is really that much of a problem nor do I think someone “shouldn’t” buy a 370 because of it. Also, we know that if oil temps are truly that much of a concern, spending a few hundred more dollars completely fixes the problem; real or otherwise.

So…does any of the above help you? I don’t know…I just offer it an observation after 12K miles and almost 7 months of having my 370.

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Phil

Robert, I can appreciate what you say about your car, but it's not fair to assume that all 370-Z's run at the same temps as yours, from what you have said about yours, I know mine does not. Discounting everybody elses experience based on your car is very frustrating to those of us that truly do have an overheating problem.

Robert_Nash

I'm not trying to negate anyone's experiences but I think my points remain.

To the best of my knowledge...
A. No one has objectively or scientifically demonstrated "how hot is too hot" with regards to today's engines and engine oil or that the temperatures owners are experiencing are actually a danger to the engine.

B. No one has objectively/scientifically/under controlled circumstances demonstrated when/under what conditions the engine oil temperatures rise.

Until the above has been done by someone with no ax to grind; all we have are anecdotal stories and the anecdotal stories that have been presented have been all over the board - pretty much the only consistency rests with those who track their cars. The other obvious problem with anecdotal stories is that it is absolutely impossible to know if what someone is claiming is accurate - again, I'm not trying to insult anyone but this is an internet forum; anyone can say anything so if someone builds an opinion on those stories they don't know if the foundation is, to borrow a phrase, made of sand or of stone.

I think we also need to keep in mind that this site; as do other enthusiasts sites represent a small percentage of the public who own 370s which makes it statistically risky to assume a wide-spread problem.

In any case, I think arguing about it, regardless of one's opinion, is fairly pointless...this horse has been beaten to death until even the blood stains have been separated into their molecular parts.

Live long and prosper.

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TheWeatherman

AMEN NASH!

wstar

To these points specifically though, this graph says a lot about (A):



And as far as (B) goes, the obvious factors that contribute to a higher oil temp are: Time spent at high RPM values, Ambient temp, airflow to the front of the car (and thus vehicle speed), and engine load (uphill worse than downhill, full throttle worse than half throttle, etc).

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bluzman

Wait for it...

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mrarroyo

My car has about 650 miles and I have tracked the temperature gauge for the last couple of days. For the record my car is a base model w/ a 6 speed and I drive to work 33 miles each way. The ambient temperature in the afternoon has been around 90F-92F and I drive conservatively. My top speed has been 65 mph and I have maintained that speed for about 25 of the 33 miles. My oil temperature has not risen past 215F (on mark shy of the 220F indicator). As I log more miles I will repeat at 70 mph and report what the temperature gauge indicates.

thispecialk

I was watching temp mine stays at 200 I usually drive under 4k is that bad?

IDZRVIT

Hey, we're half way to 100 pages of what amounts to this:
"If you are going to track your car get an oil cooler. If not, go out and enjoy the 370Z experience."

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