Nissan 370Z Forum - Oil Temp Survey

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- - Oil Temp Survey (http://www.the370z.com/nissan-370z-general-discussions/3901-oil-temp-survey.html)

Quote:

Originally Posted by IDZRVIT (Post 468114)

Anyone know the exact location of the oil temp sensor?

Yes. Look it up in the service manual and you'll know too.

From the service manual:

http://i618.photobucket.com/albums/t...9-102739AM.jpg

It's item number 10.

You can also see it in this pic (where the brass fitting is):

http://www.the370z.com/members/semte...2-p1000856.jpg

The oil temp sensor is located by the oil pump. Thanks Semtex. The oil temp should be near uniform in the base pan. Therefore, the oil is entering the pump at say 260F for arguments sake. Before the oil reaches critical components such as journal bearings, does the oil gain heat, lose heat or remain constant while flowing through the oil galleries prior to entering the journals?

i imagine there has to be further heat gain on the way up

is it possible there is another oil temp sensor in the upper block?

Thanks travisjb. I will check them out.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FricFrac (Post 467989)

Interesting information about the bearings and I suspect it is fairly accurate - I can attest to the incredible durability of the L series engines.

Its important to keep a few things in perspective. Nissan is excellent at engineering performance cars - the Z car is the most sucessful sports car line in the world due to the price/perfomance that Nissan has established. When it wasn't viable they stoped producing sports cars.

Motor oils - like pretty much any engineered product - has a tolerance or range at which it can be opperated under. Synthetic oils are typically good up to around 300F but check with your manufacture before you start freaking out.

From what I've heard there hasn't been any issues with previous Nissan engines and their bearings..... even those with "green" bearings.

Its this simple. The 370Z is designed as a high performance sports car. It is capable in every way for daily use and there are very few if anyone who has heating issues driving the car normally around town. If you do I'm pretty sure Nissan will resolve the issue with your engine if its abnormally overheating.

If you choose to push your vehicle beyond normal daily use (which it is more than capable of) your car has been engineered to provide protection to the engine by detecting higher than normal temperatures. You never have to second guess if the car was over heating or how long an abnormal temperature was before you detected it. Its a fantastic feature.

If you want to take your car to a race track (unlikely it will overheat in a short course like an auto-x) you simply need to add an oil cooler. This is a modern engine which sprays oil on the bottom of the pistons to increase cooling because of the high compression in these engines. Oil not only acts as a lubricant but also as a coolant. Very few owners push their cars to these limits so Nissan wisely decided to spend the money on the performance, reliability and capability of the car in other areas that would benifit everyone - not just the track enthusiest.

Some will say well I'd happily pay $500 for the extra performance out of the box. Then go for it - there is no need to whine about it. Those who don't need it (the vast majority) just saved themselves $500+. The VQ has been out for over 20 years - the closer cousin to the VQ37 the VQ35 for at least seven and even our engine has been out for almost three years. Haven't heard of any recalls or other major issues - in fact surprisingly few.

The only real issue here is a lack of Nissan coming up to the plate and saying there will be no warranty issues if you install your own oil cooler but on the other hand if they can't prove that the oil cooler caused the problem then they are obligated to upholding the warranty.

Very well said FricFrac and I couldn't agree with you more. BTW for a 19 row Nissan Motorsports cooler + installation at the dealer (Nissan can’t complain about warranty issues if it is a Nissan part installed by a Nissan trained mechanic) will run you around $1000 bucks. I will find out the total cost in 2 weeks after i get mine installed.

it would be nice if nissan recommends the oil cooler for hard or hot driving as their previous email suggested, and that if you use the nissan (nismo) part and it is installed by the dealer, that it would be covered by the full warranty. as it stands, with it being specifically disclaimed, they are making a very bad decision in my opinion. i would not paying for it as a dealer installed option, but it should be part of the warranty. terrible.

has anyone else noticed that the oil temps stay significantly lower when you have the AC on? I was driving the other day through the city with the AC off and temps rose to 225 and stayed there. Parked, got out, ran some errands, got back in, twas hotter now of course, turned the AC on, drove around for about 45 minutes and temps stayed at 200 the rest of the time. Anyone know why this is?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Red370 (Post 495890)

Yes, this has been known for quite some time. I can't remember the reason though.

Found it. http://www.the370z.com/nissan-370z-g...html#post57403

Speculation is that turning on the AC turns on an additional radiator fan. Keep in mind that the oil is water-cooled, so it kinda makes sense.

The electric fan is almost always controlled by the AC switch. Same switch as the compressor. Used to have to keep mine on even when my compressor clutch was out on my old Dodge Spirit (I had the Spirit!). If it was off I stood a much larger chance of overheating.

Quote:

Originally Posted by semtex (Post 496047)

Keep in mind that the oil is water-cooled, so it kinda makes sense.

That said, then the oil will cool prior to flowing to the critical components as the water temp is about 190-ish. Maybe the oil temp issue wasn't?

pretty cool really, but the parasitic power loss is IMMENSELY noticeable with the AC on.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Red370 (Post 496587)

pretty cool really, but the parasitic power loss is IMMENSELY noticeable with the AC on.

Yeah it is. That's probably the biggest thing I noticed after installing a UD pulley. It drastically reduced the impact of turning the AC on.

You can always cut the power to the A/C compressor or wire a second switch to the 2nd fan if you're fanatical about lower temperatures, but 225 is pretty normal.