Hello guys, I have a 14 gt with a Ford Racing 624 kit (with various support mods) and live in New Mexico where we already have 104* temps. I haven't even made a trip to the track yet and only get to drove spirited on occasion but. ...this is after about 2-3 minutes of spirited driving.
I can't find any info on relative temps in regards to the stock gauge but I'm guessing the green "should" be 180*-210*. Your thoughts? Time for an oil cooler?
Unfortunately that gauge isn't a real temp gauge, it kinda just guesses based on other factors. If you think you have a problem you may want to consider installing a real oil temp gauge so you can see what's actually happening in real numbers.
But I'd be very surprised if you actually had an oil temp issue on the street unless you have a crazy turbo build or something... Usually only road course guys have oil temp issues
if oil temps are truly high can be a serious problem. Other than the cooling (water) system not working as intended and the actual engine temp being high, which transfers to the oil, the oil could be pressured or sheared hard by too loose or too tight bearing clearances.
If you have consistently high oil temps, you can usually tell by fast breakdown and general dirtyness of the oil.
When we used to turbocharge everything DIY, this was a common problem because of the relatively high friction of journal bearing turbos at the time and a reliance on the factory n/a oiling system. Synthetics and regular changes were SOP.
unless you have a oil/liquid oil cooler installed, upgrading the radiator and/or water cooling system really isn't going to do much.
You're still also limited by how much heat you can physically reject from the oil to the water, so those types of coolers really aren't super effective to begin with. That's why all new manufacturers are switching to air cooled oil coolers.
The gauges in the dash use the same CAN Bus data you read from the OBD port. Unless you suspect the actual gauge mechanism to be faulty you get the same results.
I have run the SSC twice, both in my 97 Mustang Cobra. When I was in the 130mph class I used the stock Cobra oil cooler and the temperature never got over 260 during the entire race. A 90 mile race against the clock can be a lot of fun and hard on the car...especially all of the turns and cut backs...make sure you have a good set of pads on the car before you start...I'm not sure since it's been a while sense I've race but I believe if you've never raced the SSC you will end up starting in the bottom class which is either 90 or 100 mph with a tech speed of around 120...I think. If you've raced before and choose the 130 and over classes I'm assuming you will have a cage in the car as the last time I raced they were required. I've drag raced for some 40+ years and always used a mechanical oil temperature gauge in the sump of the motor and one for the automatic trans. I would never take the car off the trailer until the sump temperature was above 200 degrees and the trans was over 160.
As Voltwings said conventional motor oils start to breakdown at around 275 degrees sump temperature although full synthetic can withstand upwards of 300 degrees sump temperature. A number of years ago I tested some full synthetic that was good up to 350 degrees when I raced SCCA and a number of endurance racers and NASCAR run this special formulated full synthetic although their engines are set up with very specific rod/main/piston clearances to handle it.
I would install an oil mechanical temperature gauge in the sump as I don't feel the electronic OE gauges are as accurate...IMHO
I fitted the Boss 302/track pack oil to water cooler. Oil temps stay at half scale or lower. Before fitting it, spirited driving would show about 3/4 scale. I know the dash gauge isn't a real temp gauge but I think it is reflecting an improvement.
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