Brad Penn oil issue

mmn710 · 05-08-2009, 12:33 PM

I ran Castrol GTX straight 40 last summer and never really had a problem with it but from reading on the forums I've heard that many like the Brad Penn oil is good, so I switched to it last month to see how it would run and ever since I've been using it, I've noticed that my motor temps have been a lot higher than usual. At full temp it sits above the middle white line which it never did before.

Has anyone else witnessed this or is this just normal??

Oh Haha · 05-08-2009, 12:42 PM

My temp went down a bit after changing to Brad Penn from Castrol 20W50.

Just above the middle white line is normal.

Mine stays there even on the hottest of days. (Yes, the guage works.

)

Flieger · Flieger's Garage

My change from Castrol GTX 20W50 to Brad Penn 20W50 resulted in higher oil pressure- 1bar/1000RPM rather than just 10psi or so.

I never could get the motor to go above 185* without really pushing it. The car is 2000 pounds, has an RS spec 2,7 liter with the engine cooler and a front 1971 911S radiator Behr oil cooler. The engine is way understressed.

I noticed no change in temperature.

The higher oil pressure (only when warm) makes me happy- as I understand it, the Castrol base stock shears down to 30W from 50W in half the time of BP, when tested by Charles Navarro. (correct me if I am wrong, Charles.

)

willf · 05-08-2009, 01:11 PM

I have consistently run Rotella T 5w40 syn in my 911. We all have heard great things about BP 20w50 so I tried it. I have been running BP 20w50 for a couple weeks now (~ 500 miles). I noticed a temp increase right away with BradPenn 20w50. Not sure what to think as the temp increase was not dramatic or dangerous but def noticable. The oil temp also appears to warm up alot faster. Idle dropped a couple hundred RPMs when I went to BP 20w50. Motor revs faster at idle and under load with the Rotella T 5w40.

Dixie · Dixie's Garage

I've run Brad Penn for over a year now. I've not noticed any difference in temps, on track or off.

Daviboy · Daviboy's Garage

Not having access to Brad Penn in South Africa, I have been running Castrol GTX 20w50 High Mileage oil in my 82 sc. for last two months. Not only have my oil drips decreased so has temperature, dont have the graduated gauge with numbers but my needle never gets above the first line even with very spirited driving. Idle pressure about 1bar and around 4 1/2 to 5 bar under WOT. Oh and by the way did a valve adjust last week without draining oil, when I opened the lower covers the oil I did lose looked as clean as when I put it in the engine!!!

Oh Haha · 05-08-2009, 02:57 PM

Is this where your needle is now?

If so, that IS getting too hot.

A pic of your guage would clarify for us.

rnln · 05-08-2009, 04:11 PM

Oh Haha,
my gauge would be just like that in slow traffic (not stop, move but slow) at noon. If completely stop/jam, it's much worse.

tomphot · 05-08-2009, 04:48 PM

Wow - my needle never even hits the first white line - I've been running Brad Penn since I got the car as did the PO.

jh225 · 05-08-2009, 04:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oh Haha

Is this where your needle is now?

If so, that IS getting too hot.

A pic of your guage would clarify for us.

Yikes. 100 degrees outside with high humidity, running for several hours, mine has NEVER come up more than a hair over the first small hash mark.

Oh Haha · 05-08-2009, 05:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rnln

Oh Haha,
my gauge would be just like that in slow traffic (not stop, move but slow) at noon. If completely stop/jam, it's much worse.

I would suspect a problem with your oil/air cooling system rather than the BP oil.

Purely coincidence, I'm sure.

Have you checked your oil lines that run up to the cooler in the front? They should be hot to the touch during normal operation. Be careful checking obviously!!

boxster03 · 05-08-2009, 05:50 PM

are you sure your oil level is ok? they are oil cooled you know

dshepp806 · dshepp806's Garage

Mines' never seen "9 o'clock"......that pic looks a bit hot for cruising down the road....

Doyle

rnln · 05-08-2009, 09:24 PM

oil line is hot as hell. The gauge is not that noticeable hoter but I am kind of unsure. Before I switch to BP, I had the same problem (siting in trafic in hot summer).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oh Haha

I would suspect a problem with your oil/air cooling system rather than the BP oil.

Purely coincidence, I'm sure.

Have you checked your oil lines that run up to the cooler in the front? They should be hot to the touch during normal operation. Be careful checking obviously!!

donstevens · donstevens's Garage

Every car and every guage is different.

My bet is that it is simplly higher ambient temperatures and less delta T available that is causing the higher readings.

The BP 50 weight may be at the high end of the 50W viscosity range where your Castrol 40 may be at the low end of the 40 weight range. If so, at operating temperature the 20W50 requires more work to be pumped than your straight 40 weight did so that may be contributing to higher temps. Plus different oils have different degrees of heat dissipation capability. A slight increase in temperature isn't going to do any harm.

Don

Oh Haha · 05-09-2009, 08:54 AM

Post a pic of your gauge at normal temp, if you could.

If it is around 9:00, I feel that is too high under normal circumstances.

Sure, it may be just fine to run it that way but you don't leave much wiggle room.

What type of oil cooler do you have in the front? Trombone or condensor?

mmn710 · 05-25-2009, 11:47 PM

From the pics that oh haha posted...when driving normally it will sit a little above the second line and if its hot out and im in traffic it will sit exactly where the pic thats posted shows it at

Oh Haha · 05-26-2009, 03:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mmn710

From the pics that oh haha posted...when driving normally it will sit a little above the second line and if its hot out and im in traffic it will sit exactly where the pic thats posted shows it at

This was in another post about temps. It appears that based on what you have told us about your temp, it's running in the "normal" range.
87 carrera oil temp numbers??

Opinions vary to what is acceptable but you can at least see what temp yours is at and decide from there.

I would still try to get it a bit cooler somehow. Easy for me to say as mine runs pretty cool all of the time.

175K911 · 05-26-2009, 05:44 AM

My switch from Mobil 1 15W50 to BP 20W50 resulted in lower temps at the track. And significantly less smoking (tired 190K mile 3.2) after startups. Can't speak to street driving with a/c since there is no a/c and the car only gets driven on the street occasionally.

KTL · 05-26-2009, 06:06 AM

Last year my car was showing temps like what's pictured when I had a stuck closed auxiliary/front oil cooler thermostat. This was wide open throttle 30 min. track sessions. During normal street driving in whatever weather, the needle never would get above the second white mark (the typical normal operating temp mark), and remember my car's front oil cooler at the time was basically not working so it might as well have not even been present on the car!

Even on hot days in slow/stopped traffic, my car would never get above 9 o'clock. With a functioning oil cooler, the same 9 o'clock was my max at track days. So I think there's more to it than your oil if you're hitting white line #3.