High oil temp in trackday!

[kmagvette]

Originally Posted by No Doubt

It's like talking about submarines without ever talking about water.

...or talking about Submarines without talking about Z06's

Anyway, I was not dumping on anyone for the context switch. I tend to be a minimalist and go after the problem immediately at hand. In this case, there was too much heat in the oil and water - so mitigate that issue. Yes, the Oil is very important; but removing heat from whatever oil you are using will only help your oil choice perform better.

I use M1 10W30 (I almost live in Canada) in my C5 Z, the motor is bone stock except for the Radiator. When my oil temp gets to 265, I just turn on the AC and take a slightly easier lap. As for the oil, I probably should go to the 15W50 during the hot summer months - both of them.

LeMans Blue - hope you got home OK, I was the silver C5 across from the black World Challenge C6 in the garage. The vented hood is a great idea, you may want to block off the external air intake for your climate control system to prevent engine heat from entering the cabin.

[racingfast]

Originally Posted by LeMans Blue

I saw 265 F at pocono Memorial day and the heat killed my alternator

I was running in the 250 F range til I bent my middle spoiler- which made the air go UNDER the car instead of up to the rad/cooler. Temps soared to 290 F- bent the air dam back and never saw over 250 F at Memorial Day- Pocono. Cooler is 12" x 6" . I run 15w-50 MOBIL ONE.

Originally Posted by LeMans Blue

I am also going w a vented race hood to extract more heat

Good idea too- and the looks have to be worth another 25-30hp!

[longdaddy]

i was seeing 300+ degrees oil temps and boiling coolant this summer on warmer days as I started picking up some speed. cleaned the radiator (you'd be surprised how packed it gets with little rocks) and installed LPE cooler.

the highest I have seen since was about 260 on 100+ degree day with average temps staying under 245.

LPE cooler is a big investment (almost 1k) and installs in a dangerous location - it attaches to bumper and frame (little parking incident and you're screwed) but damn, it works well.

as far as going 15w50 route - I considered that and even put it in for a couple of days. I am a little concerned since GM obviously recommends w30 oils for a reason. Don't want to screw with that. the cooler just seemed like a safer solution.

[Subdriver]

Originally Posted by longdaddy

...
as far as going 15w50 route - I considered that and even put it in for a couple of days. I am a little concerned since GM obviously recommends w30 oils for a reason. Don't want to screw with that. the cooler just seemed like a safer solution.

They recommend a 5w30 essentially because at the normal driver's oil temp of about 212F, the viscosity of a 5w30 is what the engine needs, about 10-11 cSt. But, at 300F, that isn't the case, and hence why most people that track their cars (apparently including Bondurant at GMs recommendation) go to a higher viscosity oil.

That said, I think the oil cooler is a good idea for the C5 and I have one. Essentially the oil cooler allows me to run a 10w40 vice a 15w50.