new engine troubles - HOT HOT HOT

[martylove]

so heres an annoying story. i got a new motor built for my 914.....

its a 2.0l with 96mm pistons (keith black), fully balanced and polished, twin 40mm dellorttos, gas flowed, non standard cam, crane x700 electronic ignition, head work also done....

when i firstgot the car back it ran ok for the first 400 or so miles as i took it easy on the engine, but as soon as i did my oil change and set the valves and pushed it anywhere past 3500 revs it got a little hot, like about 200º...

hmm, so i checked everything.... tinware is intact, all seals in place, flaps operating correctly, nothing stuck in the fan, so i guessed it was the nature of the beast and so proceeded to fit the external oil cooler system as explained in the tech articles.

this worked fine...... till i went to a track day, spun off, cracked the cooler, lost all my oil on the way home and fried the motor. aaaarrrrrgggghhhh.

so after a lengthy rebuild the motor is back in the car.... and guess what... as soon as i get over 3500 revs the temp is climbing again....

what can it be? anyone got any ideas?

martin

[Bleyseng]

From my conversations with Jake, the exhaust duration on the cam if its close to stock will keep the oil temps at around 200-220 degrees. That is ok.
Have you checked the A/F ratios? Could be running lean.

Geoff

[martylove]

i always thought the temp should be 180?

the cam is farfromstock however,,, durations im not sure about.

if 200-220 is ok for temp then im fine. can anyone confirm this?

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

212 degrees F is a great temperature for oil. That will boil the water out of the oil, and it is the temperature used for most oil tests (viscocity, etc.).

Some like 180F, but I feel 180F is a minimum for regular operating temperature.

Anything below about 220F is just fine. Over 240F is generally considered a real cause for worry...

--DD

[Jared at Pelican Parts]

I agree with Dave here.. 200 degrees is fine.. You really should have nothing to worry about.. If you add an external cooler, you'll drop temps about 20-30 degrees, but I dont think you need to

My SC would get to 250 degrees in traffic before i added the external cooler. Now it never gets over 200 degrees

[martylove]

wow. i always thought oil kinda 'broke' and needs to be replaced after getting to 200.....

so i guess my next question is.....

what kinda oil should i put in the motor? people have so many different opinions.

thanks,

martin

[Jared at Pelican Parts]

Castrol 20/50 GTX is what i run

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

I personally have been using Kendall GT-1 20/50; there is a good chance that I will move to a diesel-oriented oil after I use up my current case. (I am spacing on the name, but it's popular with the big-rig crowd. And recommended by a highly reputable local mechanic.)

Frankly, just about any name brand oil should be good enough--provided you change it very regularly.

--DD