How hot is too hot - oil temp?

[froggy47]

I autox a stock 96 Vette LT4 and have seen 260 or so on hot days (90 f) after a run. Use M1 10-30. Some street use also. I use delco & pureone filters.

Coolant temp 220 - 230. Be advised LT1 & Lt4 were built to run pretty hot, do not compare other engines necessarily.

Also I run stock class so cannot add oil cooler or do any other mods.

On the street I'll see 200 coolant and maybe 220 225 oil.

Thanks.

 

[Ken4]

If you see 260F during auto-cross, you should be using something thicker like a 15w50 instead.

 

[Drew99GT]

I think there's a guy here that races a Z06 and has seen upwards of 290 degree oil temps with Mobil 1 5w-30. I'd maybe run an A3 rated 10w-30. For any kind of racing where you're concerned about thinning oil, look no further than Redline. I personally wouldn't run a heavy oil in your car, you just want a good 30 weight that can handle the heat and abuse. Maybe you should do an oil analysis. If it shows up good, then stick with Mobil 1 10w-30.

 

[froggy47]

I was thinking that for the summer anyway, we race year round & cooler months I don't go over 240.

It's hard to find the non standard weights, I'm always looking, but the stores just carry the pop weights & speed shops are hit & miss.

 

[froggy47]

Thanks guy's always good to here many opinions & make a choice

Because it's street driven also I did not want too heavy. No cold weather problem though.

 

[mechtech]

You may be suprised when you put in a thicker oil, and see temps go UP. There is more internal friction of the oil, and it doesn't dissipate the heat as well. Heavier oils have always run hotter, for me.
That 10-30 sounds great - I wouldn't change it.
A lot depends on where the sensor is taking it's readings from, BTW.

 

[froggy47]

Thanks

 

[silverz06vette]

I'm the brain-damamged one who gets his oil to sometimes even 307°.

that was down at sebring while I was running some M1 0w-40. The OA came back with a little more iron then most like but I did break a valve spring too before I changed the oil.

I have ran M1 5w-30 to 290° on the track for 2 days and 7700 miles total and it came back looking great.

Here are my last 2 UOAs:

http://theoildrop.server101.com/cgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=002695

I got the M1 0w-40 in there again, if it goes over 300° at VIR I'll have some M1 10w-30 it put in.

 

[Doug Hillary]

Hi,
at these temperatures it is all a case of the "safety margin" IMHO

I would prefer M1 0w-40 at 300F than M1 5w-30
as M1 5w-40 is actually engine tested for ACEA (EELQMS) Quality Standard Compliance at 150C (300F) for 72hours (CEC-L-88-T-02)
It also passes much more stringent Oil Shear tests than M1 5w-30

Don't believe all you read on here about shear instability in 0w-40 oils! Those that are ACEA, MB/AMG and Porsche Approved are excellent products that are especially tested for Shear, Volatility and Foaming - if they are Approved and Listed thay are truely excellent products!

Delvac 1 5w-40 is also successfully used worldwide when tracking Porsche coolant cooled V8s and in air/coolant cooled 6 cylinder engines instead of M1 0w-40

Silverz06vette - IMHE you are on the right tram!

Regards

Doug

 

[mechtech]

260F is way cooler than 300F.

 

[mechtech]

Is that in dog years?

 

[Mitch Alsup]

260 is nothing to worry about--I have seen 285 in my LT4 (96 GS).

 

[LarryL]

When you get your highest temps are you seeing any unwanted visitors on your spark plugs? It takes about a 20x macro lens to see the tiny bad stuff that comes calling when oil in the upper cylinder starts to give up. That oil can be a bit warmer than your temp sender and the spark plugs are easyer to remove than the heads to get a look inside. These boogers are hard to see and takes some careful looking. You may not see the stuff right away, but if it's there, you might want to change something to make it stop.

 

[[RT] ProjUltraZ]

i also autox an LT1 but it's a 94 camaro, i don't have an oil temp though but the water temp is around 210 sometimes in 90F ambient. I immediately pop the hood to cool her down.
i got a 160F t-stat and PCM re-prgramming to get both fans on above 185F so i think it cools down on the long return road we use.
i think an elec water pump and fan switch set up to run both w/ the engine off would be good, but they can have their probs too. i been thinkin about it

 

[Gurkha]

Happy at 80c, alert at 85c-90c, sweating at 95c and absolutely paranoid at 100c. Most of the Japanese vehicles I own never go over 80c in the summers here but it is normal for the European vehicles I have to go over that.

 

[XS650]

quote:

---

Originally posted by froggy47:


Coolant temp 220 - 230. Be advised LT1 & Lt4 were built to run pretty hot, do not compare other engines necessarily.

---

Yeah, right. They put a label on the oil fill cap that said Use M1

The cheap illigitimates were too cheap to put oil coolers on the cars, that's why the oil runs so hot.

 

[Buffman]

quote:

---

Originally posted by XS650:

quote:

---

Originally posted by froggy47:


Coolant temp 220 - 230. Be advised LT1 & Lt4 were built to run pretty hot, do not compare other engines necessarily.

---

Yeah, right. They put a label on the oil fill cap that said Use M1

The cheap illigitimates were too cheap to put oil coolers on the cars, that's why the oil runs so hot.

---

hmm so I guess my Lt1's oil runs hot at 210F on really hot days since I have no oil cooler?

Then again I don't have a vette, but my car does weigh over 4000lbs. IMO unless you're auto-xing or road racing a car, I'd rather go by the KISS method. Keep It Simple Stupid.

 

[forcedtalon]

I would go with redline 10/30. that oil loves heat and will protect the engine longer than any other synthetic 10/30.

 

[NovaMan]

Back in the dark ages when carburetors roamed the streets, Bill Fisher and Bob Waar had this to say: "Ideally, oil temperature shouldn't go over 270°F, but if you are leading a race and the temp gage starts to crowd 300° don't panic. In long races on a hot track readings in excess of 300° are not uncommon - but don't make a habit of it." Also, "a temperature range of 180 to 230°F is normal."

I don't understand how it is any good to keep oil below 212°F, like having a normal oil temp of 80°C or 176°F. Isn't it good to boil out water that has gotten into the oil by condensing on the internal surfaces of the engine as it cools? If oils could stand 230°F regularly in the 70s, 260°F now and then shouldn't be a big problem these days, especially if it's synthetic.

 

[mechtech]

Water or condensation in the oil doesn't need to boil at 212F to vaporize.
Consider that water evaporates rather quickly at 90F.