whats considered hot for oil temps
 

My car runs at about 220 at most on hot days. Is this considered to hot? Not sure if I need an oil cooler for where I live which is wiconsin.

No, that's about the higher side of normal. If you won't be tracking your car, you won't need an oil cooler.

Especially up here in the north. But if you are really pushing it on a Wisconsin back road in high temps and humidity just watch the gauge. Then again there is nothing negative about running cooler oil...so...

220 is fine. hell, mr.tam was running 260 in the canyons without limp

I seen up to 250 yesterday, the only effect I had was the AC turned off when that happened. lol had to roll the windows down in that heatbox.

If outside its 60 and your seeing 220 you better be in a horrendous traffic jam.

If its 95 out and sitting at a redlight i wouldnt be too surprised at 210-220 even with an oil cooler. If i was floggin it previously of course.....

Mine is a 13 with the crappy stock cooler and I see 220 every day no matter the outside temp. A little lower on the freeway, but not much. Obviously the stocker doesn't do much, since I still see the same temps as pre cooler models. Could be different track wise, but don't think so.

Nothing to worry about. I was at the track a couple of weekends ago and the car drove fine with oil temp hovering a little above 270 (air temp around 92-93 degree F).

High Temp motor oil Wear Testing-Myth vs Reality (very long) • Speed Talk

THERMAL BREAKDOWN

I also heated the oils and observed the temperature at which they started to vaporize/smoke, which indicates the onset of thermal breakdown. Thermal breakdown is the point at which the composition of the oil begins to change due to the temperature it’s exposed to.

The official test for this is called the NOACK Volatility Test. In this test, the oil is heated to 302* F for one hour. The lighter oil fractions will vaporize, leaving thicker and heavier oil, contributing to poor circulation, reduced fuel economy, increased oil consumption, increased wear and increased emissions. The test reports results in the percentage, by weight, lost due to "volatilization."

Before July 1, 2001, 5W-30 motor oil in the United States could lose up to 22 percent of its weight and still be regarded as "passable." Now, with GF-4, the maximum NOACK volatility for API licensing is 15 percent. European standards limit high quality oils to a maximum of 13 percent loss.

Here are the approximate observed temperatures at which the various oils started to vaporize/smoke, which indicated the onset of thermal breakdown:

5W30 Pennzoil Ultra, API SM = 280*

5W30 Mobil 1, API SN = 265*

10W30 Lucas Racing Only = 290*

5W50 Motorcraft, API SN = 275*

10W30 Amsoil Z-Rod Oil = 300*, the BEST in this test

20W50 Castrol GTX, API SN = 275*

5W20 Castrol Edge w/Titanium, API SN = 280*

10W30 Joe Gibbs XP3 NASCAR Racing Oil = 280*

5W30 Castrol GTX, API SN = 280*

10W30 Valvoline VR1 Racing Oil, silver bottle = 260*, the WORST in this test

0W30 Brad Penn, Penn Grade 1 = 280*

5W30 Royal Purple XPR = 285*


Here are the “averages” for the onset of thermal breakdown with these 12 oils:

Full synthetic oils = 282*

Semi-synthetic oil = 280*

Conventional dino oils = 272*

Ditto... 220 in traffic, 180-200 when I finally have some free space. I love the part of my commute when I get to watch the oil temp drop.

220 in traffic is the norm here!

No redline 5w30 or 5w40 :(

That was published by 540RAT. Go on the Corvette Forum in the C3 section and see what they have to say about his oil wear testing.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-t...test-data.html

There is more than one engineer in there who will not endorse his findings. Just sayin'.

With the air to oil cooler the oil temp will be 210 - 220 if you're pushing it at all. That is actually a good temp for oil. You don't want it to be too cold, either. Over 180 as a rule.

Without the oil cooler it will tend to fluctuate a bit more. Unless the car is hitting limp mode a lot (which shouldn't happen on the street) then I wouldn't worry about it too much. I mean, you don't want to run 5,000 miles at redline on oil that has been to 300 degrees every day but you don't need to worry about occasionally getting up to 250 - 260 degrees at all IMO.

I use to see 220 in stop and go. Now I'm around 185-195 w/ a 19 row. My highest has been 205.

It's internet information. Take everything with a big grain of salt. I did a Google search for him and posted the results with a link so he could come to his own conclusion.

Personally, I installed a 34 row thermostatic oil cooler because I don't wan't my oil to attempt to break down due to heat.

I use the "inferior" m1 5w30 with no oil cooler for the last 5yrs driving street.

No issue for me. I don't intend to change oils either.

While I don't consider those tests to be authoritative in any way, I think they do indicate that, in the real world, there's just not that much difference between high-quality lubes from a DD POV. Some test better on one factor but not so well for another. Your filter will probably make more difference than which high-quality oil you use.


FWIW, high-90s yesterday and I took a back road home. About 20 miles of S AR county road. Some spirited driving* but oil temp never got above 235. Temp back down to ~220 shortly after I turned cruise-control on. Back up to about 225-230 when I hit traffic. Stock '09 (no cooler). If I did that on a regular basis or for extended periods, I would have bought a cooler but it really doesn't seem to need one for the way I drive.

* Not that hard since IAT was over 100 - mine reads 6-7 high - and ECU was limiting things, but I'm selling the car this week and wanted to have some fun so I wasn't babying it.

"Inferior" oil, eh? I may try that next oil change instead of using 'thrifty".

I needed the oil cooler even before the track. Uphill seems to really work the engine at high rev.. I have still seen 260 degrees even after the oil cooler installed but I was at the track and it was nearly 100 degrees. Could not get it higher that day. I usually change the oil before it is time too.

All good info. Thanks to all of you! I feel better after reading that 220 is normal in city driving situations

based on UOA's m1 5w30 is pretty much an inferior oil nowadays. its on the thinner side of a 5w-30, and tends to shear down to a 20 weight relatively quickly. along with the shearing, the longevity of the oil is shortened. look at any of hte m1 UOA's and you'll see the TBN figure to be on the low side prior to the 5K mark.

although, as long as you change at the correct interval, and dont mind an oil that shears to a thinner weight, yes, most oil will be the same. if you want a better m1 5w30, go for the "extended performance" bottle, which has much better qualities

I see normal operating temp of 200 on my '13. It's got the stock oil coolant system and the larger pressurized radiator overflow tank. I see 220 with spirited driving on mountain roads. That's the highest I've seen it go so I have no need for an air to oil cooler. Nissan's fixes seem to work for me. Of course I don't track and live in the PNW where 85 is a hot summer day.

thanks for the info chops! :tup: ive used the extended performance in the past, but i could tell no difference... :eekdance:

my G's been running m1 silver cap since about 3k miles. 10yrs old, oil changed only once a year, 34k miles
she still sounds and runs like new. i only put like 3-4k miles tops each yr. same deal on my 15k 5yr old Z.

I just came back from Vegas about 2 weeks ago.

Cruising at 80mph,

With the AC off, I was able to maintain the temperature between 200-220.

With the AC on, it was reaching 240 [however, with the lowest AC setting, it didn't exceed 225-230].

As I posted here (this general topic comes up regularly):

2014 Z here, and driving like I stole it at every red light, I see 220 the most.
Highway driving, with hard pulls, I see no higher than 200.
Seems to me, Nissan fixed the problem.