limp mode temp.
 

does anyone know at what oil temperature limp mode gets activated at?

i was considering going to the track completely stock (no oil cooler) just to get a baseline, but dont want to regret it by having to pit every 5 minutes b/c of overheating.

just conservatively driving around on the street in 85-90 degrees ambient, my oil temp. goes up to b/t 220-230. with only 270 miles on the engine, i'm trying to be kind to the engine and not rev it past 5000 rpm.

Personally I wouldn't be going to the track until the car has atleast a few thousand miles on the clock. That being said the car goes into limp mode at 280 which supposedly takes somewhere between 5 and 10 minutes to reach going balls to the wall on the track.

My drive to work is 33 miles each way. My car is not fully broken in w/ a mileage of 570 miles. Well the ambient temperature today at 5pm was 90 degrees F and driving at 65 mph on the expressway the oil temperature reached 215 F (on mark before the 220 F). I will see what the temperature does over the next few days.

If I remember correctly, it's 280 degress. I would HIGHLY suggest you to get the oil cooler before hitting the track. The last thing you want to do on track is embarrass yourself. Also, it's preferable to go to track after 1000 miles (even though some of our members tracked their Z very early and had no problems what so ever).

Damn...230 with conservative driving around down? Scares me. I'm about to pull the trigger this month or next.

I've hit 276 degrees on the street without it going into limp mode... I got to where I was going before it reached 280. :/

Modern oil can handle well over 200F, they run hot because they are more efficient and better for emission

i have tru-cool/ long oil cooler bought years ago for my 240sx, but never installed it due to the 240 being totalled in an accident.

i've got all the parts on order from racerpartswholesale and i should have it installed just in time for the streets of willow event the last friday of the month. by then i should have about 1000 miles on the clock.

i havnt been out to the track in ages. i'm really looking forward to this.

will let you guys know how she does.

I found my oil temps started running considerably lower after about 1000mi on the engine. I'm at 3300 now and even in 80F weather, I rarely go over 220F. You'll heat up on the track though, but on my track day it wasn't a deal breaker. You just have to let her cool down at times.

:iagree: At 6500 miles, it's an "effort" to bring the oil temp up. I'm not sure if synthetic oil helps, but I haven't gone over 230F this whole week. Average temp outside this week 80-90 degree F. I remember seeing the temp gauge climb up very rapidly during first 1500-2000 miles but as things are breaking in, it's getting harder and harder to bring the oil temp up. :twocents:

boosted, pick up some pads too if you can...

The following is a general rule-of-thumb for NON-SYNTH oil and engine life:

Average Temp Range Average Engine Life

180 F to 220 F degrees 300,000+ miles

220+ F to 240 F degrees 200,000+ miles

240+ F to 255 F degrees 100,000+ miles

255+ F to 270 F degrees life <= 100,000 miles

Again this is for non-synthetic based oils. At 180 to 220 F degrees the non-synth oil provides optimal hydrodynamic lubrication meaning the moving parts will glide or float on each other without touching their metallic surfaces to each other. Above 220 F degrees hydrodynamic lubrication begins to "thin-out" and parts are only gliding on each other part of the time due to a drop in viscosity that is in an inverse-proportion to the temperature increase.

Synthetic-based oils are made to retain their max viscosity at higher temperature ranges before hydrodynamic lubrication begins to lessen. What the exact average numbers for SYNTHS are I don't know but I do know it averages around a 25% additional life in mileage. So given this 25% gain teh engines using SYNTHS would average the following:

Average Temp Range Average Engine Life

180 F to 220 F degrees 375,000+ miles

220+ F to 240 F degrees 250,000+ miles

240+ F to 255 F degrees 125,000+ miles

255+ F to 270 F degrees life <= 125,000 miles

This sounds about right as Mobil 1 SYNTH claims engine life up to 400,000 miles. I would expect fully ester-based oils would have the same averages.

Hope this helps those folks who are worrying about the oil temps. :tup:

Are you an oil engineer? Which company do you work for? Where did you get this information?

Engine life is whatever you make of it. THE most important thing is to change the oil when you're supposed to.

No I'm not...but I am a person that does his homework and have been doing it for cars for 38 years. Does that make me an expert? No but compared to some of the folks here I'd say I have more reliable information than the folks who pull crap straight out of their azz or who repeat it as second-hand information.

Irrelevent...period.


in a study conducted by Porsche - is that good enough or does it have to come from some place more or less exotic to your liking?

That's pure :bs: because as the consumers we didn't spec out or engineers the car we are talking about and its oil temp issue for some folks. If you are going to question my substatiated opinion then do it with something factual and not something esoteric like "life it what you make of it".

I agree about changing oil when you are supposed to but thyat is a complete OVER-SIMPLIFIED beg-off of the issue being discussed. Even if you change the oil very religiously, if the car is running hot it can over time if continued to run in that condition shorten the life of the engine. Changing the oil does'nt cure or wash away accumulated wear and tear.

I really suggest you do your homework before the next time you decide to open your mouth and change feet. :shakes head:

what are you using for the track? i've heard that the stock brakes are fine for the z.

on my 240sx and miata, i've always used hawk blues with great results. the only thing is they tend to score up the rotors pretty bad. both both pads and rotors were relatively cheap for these cars, but probably quite a bit pricier for the z.