New Car and Driver review of the 370z... oil temp fail!

kenchan

220F average for me which is more than normal even during the hot summer this year. absolutely no issue.

only magazine spec racers and true track folks need oil coolers imho.

Zenki370

Exactly. That is also where I average on my 09. In the high 80s, low 90s with horrible humidity, Ive seen 205-225 as a temperature range. The highest oil temp I saw is 230 and it was 95 degrees out and it was a spirited drive. Ive noticed the Z really heats up the oil when the rpms are over 4K for a while (downshifting/high revs, acceleration).

11Thumper

Yep, good point.

As an FYI (not wanting to start an oil debate) my oil temps dropped 5-10 degrees with the switch to Valvoline full synthetic. Even if you average 230 daily it's fine and nothing to worry about.

shadoquad

Ok, first, obviously we all have different ideas of "spirited driving"

BUT

If you've got an '09-11 and you go to the track, you probably will have oil temp issues. Anyone who is serious about tracking spends 500 bucks on an oil cooler - problem fixed. You will also bake the stock braking fluid. It is not meant to handle that kind of abuse. Replace it with higher tolerance braking fluid - problem mostly solved.

Fuel starve is the only track issue that has been largely unaddressed, but it looks like phunk is coming up with an ample solution.


For day to day driving, most of these issues shouldn't arise, unless you're really goosing it. Only time I experienced brake fade was after an 11 hr drive, on stock brake fluid.

Red__Zed

, but worth noting that pads will need to be swapped as well for any sort of track use.

Zenki370

Well to me there is a difference between spirited driving on the streets and track driving. I was specifically commenting on spirited driving on the street as was Kenchan. Im no fool, I know it isnt going to be worth anything on a track without an oil cooler unless Im running 1/8th and 1/4 mile runs.

shadoquad

Again, there are different ideas for spirited driving.

Also, on a hot enough day, you can overheat the oil just by sitting in stop/go traffic.

But mostly, I agree.

Zenki370

Guess Ill experience the stop and go on a hot day in traffic sometime. I hope not to lol. Does it really get that bad in stop/go?

shadoquad

The temp rises because you're not pushing fresh air through. I never had it go so bad that it hit limp mode, but I've hit 240-250 when sitting in traffic in the summer time.

Alchemy

Me too. I have NEVER hit limp mode and I drive pretty fvcking hard. I really want an oil cooler though.

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Ryan
314WHP | 260LB-FT | STILLEN | KONI | SWIFT | STOPTECH | Z1 | PROJECT MU | CNT | UPREV | FORGESTAR | BRIDGESTONE | PWJDM | ENEOS | MOTUL

Davey

Yeah, I've even noticed it will get hotter at speed on the highway if you're following too close, like when some clown doing 58 in the left lane. I try not to tailgate but just following maybe 1 car length behind another car will reduce the air flow and the temp will go up if it's hot.

Gotta keep the air moving into the radiator. Of course when it's 100 degrees out it's just going to feel laggy if you sit for long at all.

buddyZ

370Z not even in the mix... FRS wins.. thats a bummer
Brand new Top Gear mag - out now! - BBC Top Gear

Twista

Honestly though, if you drove a car into a wall on a test ride would you call it the most fun to drive car to???? I mean the Z does have qualities that are better than the rest but from a test drive point of view where theres multiple cars in the equation and only one of them nearly killed you....How would you rate it in your personal opinion?????

Somberlaine

because they are only looking at "The 25 most inspiring performance vehicles of the past 12 months assembled at the Top Gear track for two days of ‘scientific' evaluation..."

Nismodean

In response to the Mustang not being a pig, I feel it's a horse with the two hind legs cut off!

But seriously, lets cut the crap about Mustang vs. Z. Get two COMPETENT every day (for the sake of reality, none of us are the Stig...) drivers with stock or relatively stock cars and romp them on the track to see who performs better.

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The Truth, it hurts sometimes. FI LTH & FI CF CBE. This is a 370Z forum, if I want to fling poo at another brand of car and your feelings get hurt, then you're hanging out in the wrong forum (cry elsewhere).