To make it easy on you, the bolts you leave on are the 4 for the oil filter and drain plug access and the 4 plastic clips. All of the other ones come off. Plus one in each side of the fenderwell. Good luck!

Hmmmm, I wasnt really paying attention. Im pretty sure it never went over 200.

Oh, you aren't running an oil cooler.

I strapped an A/C to my intake...

installed an oil cooler block off plate today. Can't wait to enjoy the Z's improved performance in the colder temps without worrying about my oil temp being too low.

Did you do a full blockoff or partial? I'm anxious to see how my drive home tonight will be. Its supposed to be really cold....like 30'

I did a partial, there are like 7 rows open. I have pics of it in my albums.

Finally got to drive with evening temps (56 according to the Z) with the block off plate. Got up to 200-205 easily because of traffic which is no surprise. Finally got to cruising and the temps dropped to 185 and almost 180 before I exited. It was 165 or just below last week with no block off plate in similar conditions so it's working out pretty well. Some more cool temp miles and we'll see if it stay above 180 or not. Some, though, say the oil cooler causes readings to be off and it's actually about 20 degrees higher so 180 might be just right if that's really 200 since in traffic it was getting up to 205 which would put me over the ideal 220 range. It was pretty nice ot not have to watch my RPMs because of low oil temps though.

I haven't heard of this, you have a link? The OEM temp sensor hasn't moved, so IMHO it's still "correct" at that point in the oil flow, and thus must also have the same relevance as a rough steady-state measurement of the average temp of the whole oil system. You might be able to make an argument that adding a cooler creates a different differential between measured temps and the temp at a certain point in the cycle (e.g. top of engine) though.

It is mentioned and discussed here. I don't know about the reasoning though. If Nissan put the sensor there before the oil enters the block and is at it's coolest, that is probably when they think the oil should already be at ideal operating temp, not later on sometime while it's going through the block.

http://www.the370z.com/drivetrain-en...ler-kit-2.html

Yeah, it is interesting to think about the difference, since in stock configuration the primary cooling happens via engine block metal itself. Still, what whatever you see on the temp gauge is what's being used to lube the first parts of the engine it hits, and it would be best if it were up to full temp.

great drive home today. Cool temps outside and the oil cooler blocker helping oil temps above 180 (barely, didn't go over 185) so i didn't have to watch revs. Drove in manual mode and the car was responsive and felt great in the colder air.