The perfect running temp

[dshepp806]

Nice,..and interesting,..I see no worries, whatsoever, in my case,..year-round....

Doyle

[Reiver]

I am a Porsche newbie but have been building cars since '66. The oil limits you guys are discussing as hot, 210/220 are not hot at all for oil. Oil operates better at 210 than at 185...you don't want 185 degree oil, that is a water temp for cooling.
Many oils protect at 100% well past 230/240 with no problem. Here is a comment by a well known air cooled motor makers website
" good oil operating temperature range is 200 deg to 240 deg F. Water condensation and acids tend to build up in the oil if the temperature is consistently below 180 deg F, and oil thickness can become marginal at temperatures above 300 deg F. "
That is from the Harley Davidson website...they make their oil to operate, not degrade above 250 degrees as do many modern oil makers.
The Elephant oil chart is posted by, I'm sure, wonderful people trying to sell you cooling radiators and their numbers are ridiculous.

[Reiver]

OOPs, forgot I was reading a search and resurrected an old thread...my bad

[aleminx]

made for an interesting read though! makes me wonder if my factory front oil cooler fan is even working at all?

[DRACO A5OG]

It sure does at 190-194 degrees the thermostat kicks in and allow oil to flow from the front cooler.

194 degrees SWEET SPOT is the optimal temp. my 2 cents.

[stlrj]

Originally Posted by stlrj

FWIW most thermostats for water cooled engines are calibrated to 195 degrees F.

You might say that would be optimum since that seems to be an industry standard.

[Reiver]

Originally Posted by stlrj

You might say that would be optimum since that seems to be an industry standard.

Could be. But that is the temp to open the thermostat which means the oil is hotter elsewhere. If the factory wanted to maintain a 195 degree temp thruout the then it would open at 175.
Water boils at 212 degrees...you want you oil hot enough to evap any moisture and if you ran the engine oil temp below this you would maintain all of that contaminant permanently generally speaking (why short trips are hard on ac motors specifically). The therm opening at 195 should produce an oil temp in the 210's 220's at the sender and quite a bit higher in heat sink areas (heads).
I also do not trust the gauge accuracy unless tested with/against another source. I suspect a great deal of noted deviation is gauge error. Many sender makers say their unit is good to +/- 10 degrees.

[joeblow]

On my race car I would pre-heat the oil to 200F before ever starting it up! If I did not have 220F the EFI would limit the RPM to 7000 (redline was 9000RPM with my very custom 3.6ltr). Cold oil is bad JoJo

Originally Posted by Reiver

Could be. But that is the temp to open the thermostat which means the oil is hotter elsewhere. If the factory wanted to maintain a 195 degree temp thruout the then it would open at 175.
Water boils at 212 degrees...you want you oil hot enough to evap any moisture and if you ran the engine oil temp below this you would maintain all of that contaminant permanently generally speaking (why short trips are hard on ac motors specifically). The therm opening at 195 should produce an oil temp in the 210's 220's at the sender and quite a bit higher in heat sink areas (heads).
I also do not trust the gauge accuracy unless tested with/against another source. I suspect a great deal of noted deviation is gauge error. Many sender makers say their unit is good to +/- 10 degrees.

[Reiver]

Originally Posted by aleminx

made for an interesting read though! makes me wonder if my factory front oil cooler fan is even working at all?

Since I'm new to the P I'm not sure when the fan (in the 3.2 run) was a stock item. Had a local Porsche shop ( been around a long time) tell me that the conventional radiator works no better than the trombone 'UNLESS' it has the block off kit and operating fan. I was inquiring about a rad upgrade for my SC in our Az heat.
He's tested both extensively and does not rec a change unless you put a fan/fender block off in place too. If your fan isn't working prop you have no better cooling than the trombone.

[Reiver]

Originally Posted by joeblow

On my race car I would pre-heat the oil to 200F before ever starting it up! If I did not have 220F the EFI would limit the RPM to 7000 (redline was 9000RPM with my very custom 3.6ltr). Cold oil is bad JoJo

Hey, Ettore Bugatti would like your procedure. In the 30's his cars came with instructions to pre heat the oil on your stove first, replace it in the vehicle, then proceed....every time you started the car on a new day.

[joeblow]

Of course I had a large aluminum anti-foam tank in the front of the tube frame racecar with internal heating eliments and a thermostatic on/off valve all running to 110V A/C in the pits. She carried 22 liters of oil with three radiators. It was simple, show up to the track and plug it in. Then start her and go (dont forget to unplug

This was the car...

Originally Posted by Reiver

Hey, Ettore Bugatti would like your procedure. In the 30's his cars came with instructions to pre heat the oil on your stove first, replace it in the vehicle, then proceed....every time you started the car on a new day.

[Reiver]

Joe, I'd like to borrow your car so we can test our oil temp theories....

[joeblow]

Well I sold it a few years back...I miss her but my back does not! Rough and violent ride! She was 1600# wet with driver with full underbody tunneling as well as side pod tunnels!

Originally Posted by Reiver

Joe, I'd like to borrow your car so we can test our oil temp theories....

[911pcars]

While good lube oil can provide good lubrication upwards to 250ºF or even more, I think many responses here overlook the fact that as engine parts increase in temperature, so do their dimensions as well as heat-related effects on electrics/electronics and non-metallic parts.

In addition, the oil temperature measured at the oil temp. sensor, oil cooler or tank is an average, a lot cooler than lube oil closer to the combustion process, namely cylinder heads, valve springs, stems and guides, piston crowns, pins, skirts, rings, ring lands, etc.

For street or track? Those are different operating conditions as well as maintenance requirements (stop and go?, WOT/6000 rpm?, etc.). For the majority of readers with street-based cars, keeping max. oil temperature of ~210ºF is a realistic goal. If your operating conditions aren't ideal and your oil temperature is 230ºF and above, I'd suggest improving the cooling system. An oil cooler in the fender isn't ideal; it's placement is necessitated by space constraints. Expect shorter engine service life if oil temp. is compromised. YMMV.

Sherwood

[combatic]

Here is a more direct answer and basis for #'s from elephant--> 180ºF - 210ºF is normal
Oil Temp and Engine Life

(answered my questions as to what and why!