Oil Pressure & Tempreture at The Track

[Black Cobra '99]

Hello everyone,
I recently went to my first open track event and a lot happened. So I figured I'd start a series of threads regarding my questions. This is so the replies are focused on one issue and to make it easier for others to find what they're looking for.

Little background, I've been keeping an eye on my oil pressure gauge ever since I got it. During normal driving at operating temps I have 25 PSI at idle and a little under 75 PSI above 2000rpms. I have a 170 t-stat, engine temps are around 186-190* (+/-5*) in city driving. I'm running Driven DT40 5w-40 engine oil. I'm aware of the oil thread and UB's recommendation but oil choice is limited.

During the second session I noticed that engine temp was rising, it hit a max of 222*. Not a cause for concern, but oil pressure dropped to 62 PSI above 2000rpms. I wasn't comfortable with this so I let the car cools down and it returned to normal. This happened again in the final session, and again I went for a cool down lap and it returned to normal.
Is the pressure drop due to overheating the oil? How high should oil temp get at the track? is this as bad as I think it is? Solution?

Its worth noting that ambient temp was 96*, not ideal but I've been dying to go lol. For now I plan on getting an oil temp sensor and see how it does when I go again in December during which ambient temp should be more favorable.

 

[Willie]

I can't help on the oil pressure but something else drew my eye, your coolant temp. I've never seen my coolant temp rise substantially at the track like yours and temps like you are seeing may be a reason why your oil pressure is lower. Does it rise this high in stop and go traffic or only after a WOT pull? What are your low and high fan settings?

 

[Black Cobra '99]

Low fan comes on at 190, high comes at 204 IIRC. Never seen it go over 210 on the street and thats with 120* ambient. Same goes for WOT runs.

Reason for those settings is in winter engine temp is around 170-180 most of the times without the fans.

 

[Willie]

Those settings are high for a 170 t-stat. I would like to see low on at 176 and high on at 185 ish...... And if you want all weather temp settings, go with a 180 t-stat with low on at 186 and high at 195 ish.

It gets to 120 deg ambient in Oregon? That's hotter than here! Personally, I use a 160 t-stat with fan settings for a 170 in the summer and a 180 t-stat in the winter. But I do take the time to change it twice per year, which I know most guys would not want to do..

I believe that once your coolant temps are more stable, so will your oil pressure, but will defer to others who know more than I do on this...

 

[Black Cobra '99]

Those settings are high for a 170 t-stat. I would like to see low on at 176 and high on at 185 ish...... And if you want all weather temp settings, go with a 180 t-stat with low on at 186 and high at 195 ish.

At the time I was only aware of a 170 t-stat so...
I'm gonna play with fan settings and see how it goes.

It gets to 120 deg ambient in Oregon? That's hotter than here! Personally, I use a 160 t-stat with fan settings for a 170 in the summer and a 180 t-stat in the winter. But I do take the time to change it twice per year, which I know most guys would not want to do..

Lol, no it doesn't go that high in Oregon. I live in Oregon (for now) but the car is not in Oregon.

 

[Willie]

At the time I was only aware of a 170 t-stat so...

.... like everyone else on this site, it seems ....

 

[Black Cobra '99]

So no one ran into this problem before?

 

[Dinosgt]

.... like everyone else on this site, it seems ....

Interesting - I’ve been schooled that the only appropriately-designed one was the 170 degree version most are using. I never really understood that, so I am curious - what is the source for the 180 stat? I presume that a tune is needed to get the fan speeds adjusted, otherwise you will only see lower temps when the car is moving, correct?

Thx


Sent from my iPhone using the svtperformance.com mobile app

 

[SCGallo2]

Interesting - I’ve been schooled that the only appropriately-designed one was the 170 degree version most are using. I never really understood that, so I am curious - what is the source for the 180 stat? I presume that a tune is needed to get the fan speeds adjusted, otherwise you will only see lower temps when the car is moving, correct?

I have been running a 180* thermostat for a while. Here is the write-up I did on it:

https://www.svtperformance.com/forums/threads/180-degree-thermostat-option.1061516/