oil temperature

[mc]

how high does oil temperature get on a turbo engine??

[Tony D]

That depends on how hard and long you are running it.

I have seen coolant temperratures of 270 degrees for an hour straight climbing a grade in the mountians, and not havingt an oil temperature gauge could not say, but since they generally are about 40F higher....

310F? That's cookin!

 

Normally you want between 220 and 240 thermostatically controlled, and in no case less than 160F (condensation problems).

 

If you see temperatures climbing while coolant stays steady, it's telling you something is mismatched, or undersized in your oil cooling system.

 

If both coolant and oil rise, you're hosed, time to do some redesign or find out why the thing is overheating (heat input not equal to thermal rejection of the coolers)

[grumpyvette]

just some info

mineral base oils ALL tend to break down over time at temps over about 250F at a far faster rate than SYNTHETIC BASE OILS.

oil must reach a minimum of about 215F to keep clean and function correctly but lubracates best in the temp range between about 230F and between 240F-250F so if your keeping too that 215F-250F range youll get longer engine life due to reduced wear.

oil (especially synthetic)has improved dramatically over the last 15-20 years and thinner oil tends to BOTH absorb and carry away heat from the bearing surfaces quicker due to the faster movement thru those clearances, and those more modern formulas of thinner oils do protect your engine far better than the older oils did. keep in mind PRESSURE is a measure of the OILS RESISTANCE to being forced under pressure thru your engines clearances, and thinner oil reduces the resistance to both flow thru those clearances and pumping losses the moving parts have sliding over the oil films surface, remember the oil molicules are very small, and theres hundreds of layers stacked in that thousandth or so of bearing clearance.

a quick way to get an idea on your clearances is to look at your oil pressure AFTER the engine reaches the proper operating temps which should be about(between 215F and 240F...... OIL TEMP NOT COOLANT TEMP)

and use the thinnest QUALITY oil that maintains about a 20 psi at idle (700-900 rpm)

! keep in mind you want the OIL temp to reach a MINIMUM of 215F to burn off moisture, and that OIL FLOW does MUCH of the critical cooling in the ENGINE, so if your running hot, a larger baffled oil pan, with its far greater surface area and oil voluum can also aid in the total cooling process, just swapping from a stock 5 qt to a aftermarket 8 qt pan is usually worth about a 10-15 degree drop in engine temps

the oil temp is more critical than the coolant temp(with-in limits of course) but don,t allow the oil temp to fail to reach and stay in the 215F-240F-250F range once the engines up to operating temp. or it can,t do its clean/lub job correctly

coolant temps in the 180f-210f range are about ideal according to G.M. test for HP and LONG ENGINE LIFE

 

 

http://www.vtr.org/maintain/oil-overview.html

 

Oil weight, or viscosity, refers to how thick or thin the oil is. The temperature requirements set for oil by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) is 0 degrees F (low) and 210 degrees F (high).

 

Oils meeting the SAE's low temperature requirements have a "W" after the viscosity rating (example: 10W), and oils that meet the high ratings have no letter (example SAE 30). An oil is rated for viscosity by heating it to a specified temperature, and then allowing it to flow out of a specifically sized hole. Its viscosity rating is determined by the length of time it takes to flow out of the hole. If it flows quickly, it gets a low rating. If it flows slowly, it gets a high rating.

 

Engines need oil that is thin enough for cold starts, and thick enough when the engine is hot. Since oil gets thinner when heated, and thicker when cooled, most of us use what are called multi-grade, or multi-viscosity oils. These oils meet SAE specifications for the low temperature requirements of a light oil and the high temperature requirements of a heavy oil. You will hear them referred to as multi-viscosity, all-season and all-weather oils. An example is a 10W-30 which is commonly found in stores. When choosing oil, always follow the manufacturer's recommendation.

 

WHAT VISCOSITY GRADE SHOULD I USE ? WILL A HIGH VISCOSITY GRADE (20W-50) PROVIDE BETTER PROTECTION ?

 

A. Mobil recommends that you follow your engine manufacturer's recommendations as indicated in the owner's manual. For maximum wear protection and maximum fuel economy, use the lightest oil viscosity that is recommended by the engine manufacturer for the temperature range expected. Heavier oils can lower fuel economy and rob horsepower. For normal driving conditions, 5W-30 and 10W-30 are the primary current recommendations of automotive manufacturers.

 

BTW

http://minimopar.knizefamily.net/oilfilterstudy.html

 

http://www.diabolicalperformance.com/clearances.html

[mc]

Thanks For The Info.

[HeatRaveR]

My stock '82 turbo 280ZX's oil temp needle hardly rises beyond the first segment of the dial (starts at 160), and that's only if I'm driving for awhile. Is something wrong with the gauge/sender, or does the stock turbo engine just run that cool?

[Tony D]

What Grumpy said. I mixed my temperatures in one of the statements. By 160 degrees, I meant COOLANT temperature---which woulod translate generally to around 200 degrees F OIL temperature. That is the bare MINIMUM I would ever run anything!

 

My 160 thermostat cracks at 160, and is fully open at 170, and on my wife's N/A is running 200 to 210 with that setup. I have gotten into arguments at other sites about using a "too cold" thermostat, but when you monitor the OIL temperature, and know it's the IMPORTANT temperature to watch, you can figure it out easily...

 

200 to 210 OIL temperature, did it again!