Dealer recommends I get an oil cooler?

SoCal 370Z

Nissan North America response to...

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Why I NEVER say NO to the Panda Lou Fusz!!!

houkouonchi

Ok so this was some mssage sent over facebook and they don't have this stated elsewhere? I guess in that case I will just have to have them write something up stating what they told me before I have them install it and if they refuse then I may not get it installed.

When I talked to the guy about warranty he stated it had like a 12k warranty (possibly 10k) but then I specifically asked about the scenario that what if my engine died if it was installed incorrectly, broke down, or whatever and caused engine damage if my engine would be covered under the warranty and he said yes. We shall see!

11Thumper

houkouonchi,

I certainly see your points. If you can't do the oil change yourself taking it to the dealer is the right choice. No Jiffy Lube please!

I wonder why your temps are so much higher than mine. Maybe Nissan adjust the ECU tune in 2011 to make the car run rich? It would help possibly (to a limit) but I fly airplanes lean of peak all the time to save fuel and it also makes it run cooler. Too long of a discussion to have here but rich isn't always best. It's usually a compromise unless you have direct injection because the hottest cylinder has to be compensated for.

If your temps are that high I would ask the dealer to determine why under warranty rather than buy a cooler at your cost. That just seems to be running too high under normal driving conditions to be called 'normal'. Most cars don't have an oil temp gauge so who knows. I wonder what my S2000 is at normally for oil temps but I don't have a gauge. Ignorance is piece of mind for me.

The idea of keeping the car for 10 years is good, but is that realistic? What if you spend all this $ and the car gets salvaged in an accident (I hope not) or stolen (again, I hope not)? You won't be temped by the new 475hp 390Z with AWD, twin turbo and 20" forged wheels for $25k coming out next year?

In all reality, most folks who spend huge amounts of $ for synthetic oils and such are really just giving $ to the next guy. Even with dyno Chevron oil a car engine will go 100k miles easily unless abused or mistreated. You won't get the benefits of reduced engine wear...the next owner will. To each his (or her ) own, I respect both viewpoints on the issue.

houkouonchi

It seems like its just pretty random and some peoples Z's run hotter than others. Unfortunately I got one of the ones that run hotter =(.

Unfortunately I think I would have a hard time trying to get the dealer to do the oil cooler under warranty since I won't hit limp mode with regular driving and that's probably all they care about. I would honestly be amazed if they agreed that running 240 degrees in hot weather cruising at freeway speed to warrant a warranty-covered installation.

I remember one time when it was decently hot (90s, but not 100s) and I was driving at freeway speed (70-80) for quite a while and then hit traffic I actually saw it get up to the 245-250 range. Again too high for my tastes.

11Thumper

Try a different brand of oil and see if anything happens.

I didn't say to ask them to do the cooler under warranty, I said have them try to determine why it's running hot. As for their argument about what if the dealer claimis it's normal, you can do research and look into operating temp specs for the brand of oil you use and also keep in mind these engines are aluminum. The metal will fatigue and crack under the right circumstances. What temps will that happen? Maybe you should ask the super-intelligent dealer . Believe it or not, oil is more important for cooling & cleaning of engine components than it is for lubrication. Not to say it doesn't lubricate, obviously it does ...but damn near any oil has more than enough lubrication these days. Even Walmart dyno oil that's been on the shelf since Britney Spears was attractive...

May I ask what has lead you to determine this yourself? If the oil cooler gives you a lot of 'piece of mind' then by all means have it installed.