Optimum Oil tempature

[ss dave]

Any ideas? looking at oil temp gauge and it was reading 240. sending unit in remote filter assembly. the Canton oil thermostat won't open until 215 and routes the oil to a cooler. thermostat on the engine side of assembly of course. thanks

[CarlC]

215 is very good.

Take a look in the archives. There is a bunch of info and discussions on this topic.

[chicane67]

Yup... 215 to 220* is right about perfect.

Dave sounds like your cooler isnt all that efficient... or... there could be some inprovement in where its located/how air is directed to it ??

What type of transducer (sender) are we talking about ??

[parsonsj]

Yikes. I can drive my car for an hour or more and stay below 210. I drove 50 miles the other day and my oil temp was 185.

jp

[Vegas69]

Your thermostat and cooling system have a huge effect on oil temperature. Oil temp will always be atleast 20-30 degrees hotter than water temp due to the oil being the main coolant in the engine.

[parsonsj]

That makes sense to me, but my water temps stay between 170 and 180 all day long. My oil is only a few degrees warmer than that... and that is after a loooong drive. Granted, I'm not racing, but if my car was a commuter car, the oil temp would never reach 220.

Time for a longer drive, I guess.

jp

[CarlC]

Your thermostat and cooling system have a huge effect on oil temperature. Oil temp will always be atleast 20-30 degrees hotter than water temp due to the oil being the main coolant in the engine.

That depends on if the car has an external cooler, what type it is, if an oil thermostat is used, and what the ambient temperture is.

Mine will regularly not break 150* oil sump temp on cold days even though the engine temp would be 180*. A water-to-oil C&R radiator with no thermostat will not allow the oil to get to a temperature to do it's job optimally and burn off condensation. An oil thermstat is going in soon.

[Vegas69]

Thats a great point....I forgot about the oil coolers some are running. I should have said a normal appliacatoin.

[parsonsj]

I don't have an oil cooler. I'm wondering why my oil would be so cool. I've got an aggressive cam so the valve springs are sure working hard. I am using the C5 "winged" oil pan, so maybe that makes a difference.

jp

[Vegas69]

That means your engine is very happy or your gauge may be off a little. I am basing my info on my Corvette that had an oil temp gauge and ran Mobil 1 synthetic.

[CarlC]

John, you've had the car out for an open track day? If so, what did the temps look like? Mine would be at 230-240 after 10 minutes of open-track time on mild days, and flirt with higher temps as the ambient temperatures go up.

But, we may be talking apples and oranges, LS vs. GenI, and there may be less of a cooling requirement for you.

But, I would sure check the gauge. There's been more than one that I've had to re-tune to get near accurate.

[chicane67]

Oddly enough... the valve springs heat the engine oil more than any other component of the engine.

[68sixspeed]

John- your 'cooler' water temps may be keeping the engine oil cool during street use. My vette matches oil/water temps (granted, the oil cooler is in the radiator) but after 20 minutes on track it will spike to 250 on a cool day; 260+ on a hot day. (needless to say, that's when I lift and cool it down!)

I ended up going to a 195 water temp thermostat on the 427 just to help get a bit more oil temp in it. (and no oil cooler); I also preheat whenever possible.

If you are going to run a cooler, the thermostat setup like Carl has is a must. Also keep in mind that external oil filters and coolers draw hp and put more stress on the oil pump, oil pump drive shaft, timing chain, etc. 8hp loss on a 400hp motor. We use to have to run them on modifieds in hot weather, but would go without them whenever possible esp. in the spring and fall.