Inability to get oil to operating temp

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Hello,

Last time I stopped by was to get input on what oil I should run in my new Focus RS. I have been on Mobil 1 5w-50 and a Fram Ultra and just completed second oil change at 10.5k (7.5k run).

With the arrival of winter, I am noticing the oil is never exceeding ~170 degrees, even with my 60 mile round trip to work and back, and with my lack of will power to keep from hammering down on it. On a recent 450 Mile road trip, I drove between 80-100 for hours at 3.5k RPM with the oil temp never reaching even 190 degrees.

All said, is this going to have a negative impact on the oil, necessitating a change earlier than the 7.5k I will run normally?

Thanks!
 
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With the oil struggling to maintain 170F, you obviously don't need 50 weight oil. Even SAE 30 would be too viscous for optimum performance at that temperature. Why not compromise and use 0W-40 year round?
 
You are seeing "average" temps.

Rest assured, the oil at certain other parts of the engine are seeing well over 212*F.
 
Seeing as you have a coolant/oil oil cooler, that is particularly strange. Oil should be close to coolant temps. There should be no issue with it warming up the oil along with the engine.

Coolant temp would be necessary information here.
 
My car takes long in winter to show the usual halfway on the temp gauge...cold outside, heat and fans almost at max while idling causes heat gauge to drop to 1/4. Im assuming its normal, as its been like that for years.
 
Originally Posted By: das_peikko
You sure your thermostat isn't stuck open? What's your water temp say?
Originally Posted By: DoubleWasp
Seeing as you have a coolant/oil oil cooler, that is particularly strange. Oil should be close to coolant temps. There should be no issue with it warming up the oil along with the engine.

Coolant temp would be necessary information here.

+1
 
Originally Posted By: DoubleWasp
Seeing as you have a coolant/oil oil cooler, that is particularly strange. Oil should be close to coolant temps.


Not necessarily.....
oil coolers are always in the "cold" hose (return from radiator to engine)...
and coolant temp sensors are usually near the hottest part (near thermostat housing)
 
190F is about 90 Celsius. Sounds normal. The engine will have an oil cooler to help maintain it's preferred operating temp. For most cars that have an oil temp gauge that I've seen, 80-90 Celsius is normal for oil.

In winter my engine struggled to get over 70 celsius. Of course, as others have pointed out, there will be spots in your engine where the oil does indeed far exceed that, the oil circulates and cools down.

Temp gauge location plays a big part. If it's in the sump, it's going to be lower. I have mine in an oil galley plug location. I have no idea why there was a removable galley plug screw in the block. Thanks very much Mazda engineers, you knew I wanted a spot for an oil temp sensor. Otherwise, most people tap into the sump. Good for sump temp, but doesn't tell you what the pistons or heads are seeing.

Also, this is a DI turbo car. If ford recommend 50 grade, it's probably for a reason. If anything, if your winters are not cold, you could switch to 15W50, which might be better for NOACK. 5W50 will probably have more VII and prone to shear more. I'm betting the RS engine would be good at that too.
 
I am just going to say it. 5w50 is too thick with the weather you are experiencing.

Does your owners manual give you a range of weights. Current EB engines require 5w30.

*I would also check the location of your oil temp sensor and see if that plays a roll in what you're seeing.
 
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The W the winter rating. So a 5w is just fine. The 50 part I agree with you on.
 
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Ford traditionally specs 5W50 in their track-oriented cars such as the GT and GT500. If you're driving on the street, 5W50 is probably not for you. I would use whatever they spec for the same engine in a different vehicle.
 
I'd like to post a few observations since my 3.2 pentastar lists all the temps of fluids.

on the highway my coolant goes between 185-190, its hotter when idling upto 215f or so.

The oil takes a very long time to reach full temp easily over 30miles and its not as hot as summer.

Transmission takes forever to hit 100F when its near 0f out.. eventually tops out near 140f-150.. after 50-60 miles.

Air pressure goes up 1psi after 1-3 miles and a max of about 3psi after an extended trip.


If I owned your focus RS I would probably use a 0w40 or 5w40 anytime you arent tracking it for extended periods of time....Where you are hammering on it around a track.

of course if ford requires 5w50.. good reason to stick with that. its not optimal in winter but those engines are known to be flaky need to keep full documentation incase you blow a gasket etc.
 
I was the first reply - no, it won't cause big problems. Just glancing at Amsoil's product selector, it says 5w50 all temps. However, as others have mentioned assuming you aren't running the car on a track (at least not in the winter) if a slightly thinner oil can be used it would only help. A lot of high-perf european cars use 0w or 5w40 - has the enthusiast base examined whether such an oil would satisfy the needs of your engine? Or has anyone reached a conclusive answer as to why the temp reads so low, and if it may indeed just be a skewed reading because of sensor placement? Either way, I wouldn't fret.
 
Pretty normal in really cold temps. If it is significantly below freezing, the oil in my 1er never gets up to full operating temp.

Is this your first car with a real oil temp gauge?
 
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