I now (finally) own a vehicle that has a digital oil temp display. My 2019 RAM truck with the 3.6 Pentastar V6 has oil temps from 220-225 once fully warmed up and at a highway cruise. What oil temp is desirable for most normally driven vehicles? Is 225 too high? Does it stress the oil somewhat? What is the max temp before oils gets heat damaged? Thanks.
Optimal oil temp?
- Thread starter gfh77665
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Given your location, 220F is pretty normal for daytime driving during the summer. 225F is not too high for the oil, assuming it is a modern SN rated conventional or synthetic oil.
For conventional oils, you do not want to it to see anything north of 275F, as its performance will quickly degrade after that. For synthetics, 300F is the point at which things will start going downhill in a hurry.
However, unless you are running the engine full-out for extended periods of time, its oil should not even approach 275F in temperature. So you can rest easy with the new truck.
Now, if you decide to hook up a trailer with another truck on it and then go try to maintain 65mph up one side of a mountain, you should definitely keep an eye on the oil temps.
For conventional oils, you do not want to it to see anything north of 275F, as its performance will quickly degrade after that. For synthetics, 300F is the point at which things will start going downhill in a hurry.
However, unless you are running the engine full-out for extended periods of time, its oil should not even approach 275F in temperature. So you can rest easy with the new truck.
Now, if you decide to hook up a trailer with another truck on it and then go try to maintain 65mph up one side of a mountain, you should definitely keep an eye on the oil temps.
You WANT over 212 to boil off condensation. 225 would be ideal.
My 201i8Hemi runs the same.
Patman
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Originally Posted by atikovi
You WANT over 212 to boil off condensation.
It doesn't have to be over 212 in order to remove the moisture though, it just gets removed a lot quicker at the higher temps. But if you were to drive all day long and the oil temp only got up to 150F, all the moisture would still be removed, just the same as if you spilled a cup of water on the floor on a 70 degree day, eventually that water would evaporate, and the warmer the temperature it's exposed to the faster it would disappear.
For me, my rule of thumb is that I'd ideally like to see my oil temps be above the 180F mark for a minimum of 15-20 minutes worth of driving.
You WANT over 212 to boil off condensation.
It doesn't have to be over 212 in order to remove the moisture though, it just gets removed a lot quicker at the higher temps. But if you were to drive all day long and the oil temp only got up to 150F, all the moisture would still be removed, just the same as if you spilled a cup of water on the floor on a 70 degree day, eventually that water would evaporate, and the warmer the temperature it's exposed to the faster it would disappear.
For me, my rule of thumb is that I'd ideally like to see my oil temps be above the 180F mark for a minimum of 15-20 minutes worth of driving.
My 2019 Hemi Jeep GC hits 215 - 220 when fully warmed up.
My SRT runs around 220F as well.
I like it to be between 210-230°F. There's other benefits besides evaporating water out of the crankcase. Anti-wear and friction reducing additives, like ZDDP and MoDTC, require heat to activate. The same applies to neutral and overbased detergents. The hotter the oil temp, the more active these additives are.
As far as upper limits, I don't like to see above 260°F resting temperature (pan temperature) with mineral oils. PAO based synthetics can go 300+°F. Something to note is that oil temperature rise through the bearings can increase from 10-80°F above pan temperature depending on the pressure applied and the viscosity / flow. For severe use, it may be beneficial to keep the pan temperature lower than 260°F to compensate for higher bearing temperatures.
The hottest oil I've seen for sustained use is in NASCAR cup engines. They use the equivalent of a 0w-16/20 oil with pan temperatures around 280°F with a 75°F temperature rise through the bearings so the oil exiting the bearings is cooking around 355°F.
As far as upper limits, I don't like to see above 260°F resting temperature (pan temperature) with mineral oils. PAO based synthetics can go 300+°F. Something to note is that oil temperature rise through the bearings can increase from 10-80°F above pan temperature depending on the pressure applied and the viscosity / flow. For severe use, it may be beneficial to keep the pan temperature lower than 260°F to compensate for higher bearing temperatures.
The hottest oil I've seen for sustained use is in NASCAR cup engines. They use the equivalent of a 0w-16/20 oil with pan temperatures around 280°F with a 75°F temperature rise through the bearings so the oil exiting the bearings is cooking around 355°F.
Most modern cars have a temperature of about 210 in the water jackets and top part of the radiator. The oil is normally at least this temperature but climbs with rpm. I don't have the graphs handy but the oil thins out significantly with a rise in temperature induced by high rpm. If you thought the temps were pretty high you would probably want a higher viscosity oil to handle that. Not trying to start a thickie argument.
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The 225 was cruising for 3 hours at 80 MPH through TX and LA in the mid day heat. At 55-60 mph, the temps dropped to the 215-220 range, so I guess its all normal. Even at 80, It never exceeded 225, so most any quality oil must be fine there. Thank you all.
My 300 seems quite content sitting at 190-195, but the van will hit 200-210.
The 3.6 is known to be pretty easy on oil. I had one and saw the same working range.
Originally Posted by Kjmack
Originally Posted by TiGeo
My VW 1.8T runs around 210-225...seems v. normal.
Really. I have 2 1.8ts and both of them never get over 195 ever . Even in our recent 90 degree days .
My 2015 Jetta 1.8T also stays in the range 190-195F, even with air conditioning on at 70 mph in the recent 90+ weather. The only time it climbs higher is in stop-and-go traffic, in which case it may reach 210F. This engine has an oil to water heat exchanger, which may be the reason its oil runs cooler than the oil of the other engines mentioned in this thread.
According to Amsoil, the rate of oxidation (which is a proxy for loss of oil life) doubles for every 18F increase in oil temperature. Thus it seems the 1.8T engine is well suited to the recommended 10K mile oil change interval. But I'd be leery of going that far if the oil temperature averages 235F!
Originally Posted by TiGeo
My VW 1.8T runs around 210-225...seems v. normal.
Really. I have 2 1.8ts and both of them never get over 195 ever . Even in our recent 90 degree days .
My 2015 Jetta 1.8T also stays in the range 190-195F, even with air conditioning on at 70 mph in the recent 90+ weather. The only time it climbs higher is in stop-and-go traffic, in which case it may reach 210F. This engine has an oil to water heat exchanger, which may be the reason its oil runs cooler than the oil of the other engines mentioned in this thread.
According to Amsoil, the rate of oxidation (which is a proxy for loss of oil life) doubles for every 18F increase in oil temperature. Thus it seems the 1.8T engine is well suited to the recommended 10K mile oil change interval. But I'd be leery of going that far if the oil temperature averages 235F!
Originally Posted by benjy
oil temps vary through out the engine + some are quite high! machinery lubrication states for every 10 degrees celcius rise after base oil activation oil life degrades twice as fast!
Antioxidants help with this.
oil temps vary through out the engine + some are quite high! machinery lubrication states for every 10 degrees celcius rise after base oil activation oil life degrades twice as fast!
Antioxidants help with this.
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