JasonS5555

So in an effort to get my oil up to temp faster so I can enjoy dipping into the throttle faster, I purchased the following electric oil heater:

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/mor-23996/overview/

I installed it under the high temp silicone oil reservoir that I already had installed. I plugged it in and slipped a kitchen meat thermometer in between the heater and the silicone cover. The heater was up to about 250 deg in 5 minutes and seemed to stabilize around 280 deg.

So results:

Oil before heating - 56 deg
Oil after 30 min - 95 deg

The area around the reservoir was warm but not hot, so I think maybe I'll try leaving it on a little longer next time. But between the pre-heat, the reservoir cover, and the cooler cover, My oil was up to 160 in about 8 minutest of easy driving (50 deg ambient)

I'm much happier with that, than the ~30 minutes it took before in 50 deg weather.

HTH,
Jason

Unreal

My oil hits that with the dewitts and I don't have to preheat or worry about anything.

JasonS5555

Yeah, but you spent a hellofa lot more $$ and time too and may have voided your warranty.....

Is it a better approach? Absolutely....

Jason

u1arunit

He's got over 1,000-some RWHP. No warranty to worry about.

Pb82 Ronin

LOL! Touche.

OP, good stuff! That's for sure a step in the right direction for oil temp regulation at start up. There is NO DENYING that your engine is much happier at startup with 95* oil than 56* oil.

And while yes the Dewitts is a nice piece of hardware...it does not provide warming prior to start like a dedicated heater does. Unfortunately, the additional wear at cold (at least colder than 95-100*) startup will still be prevalent with the Dewitts.

JasonS5555

Thanks. Did see a 3-4 deg dip in temp about 2 miles into the drive. So I think all the cool oil in the motor and cooler was cycling back through the reservoir. Still has to be a ton better. For those in really cold climates I would do this for sure.

Jason

olddragger

I am in favor of getting the oil up to proper temperature anyway you can. Sweet piece.

Unreal

As is it present with every single car known to man that doesn't have a factory engine heater. I think this is going a bit overboard. Let it idle, don't rev or put a heavy load on it until oil is at temp, and enjoy the car.

I don't think most people operate their Zs in weather cold enough to need this. I guess if you find yourself driving in 35F and cold days then maybe but with ultra high performance tires and 500+hp not many people are getting on it in those temps.

I still think most z06 owners, especially people just daily driving should just get the base block off and run no oil cooler.

rockinSeat

Hey Jason, thanks for posting this - did you find a convenient place to route the AC cord?

Pb82 Ronin

Valid point. But, it's still less harmful to an engine to start with warm oil than cold oil. Heaters rarely come from the factory due to cost/benefit analysis conducted by car makers. Idling for long periods of time is also a frowned upon practice because of dilution and the waste of fuel. Personally, I've always read that it's bad for cars to do that.

Then again, most cars on the planet are not ZO6's that drop valves every other day and can't get oil temps above 8* (sarcasm). This mod prevents excessive wear at cold start. It's a fact. Is it a mod which rewards can be measured? Not really. Is it a bit OCD to do? Sure. But does it function better than how it came from the factory? Absolutely. This is the type of thing that makes us car guys awesome. Ingenuity at it's finest.

Unreal

Agreed that is helps and I guess if you find the urge to drive your Z on cold days it could be a decent idea but it just seems a bit overboard for me. I guess if you daily drove the car you could put it on a timer if you left work at the same time daily and just have it kick on 30 minutes before leaving the house. I know my in-laws in northern Montana have block heaters on their trucks but it is -20F or colder up there so it makes sense.

Despicable Z

Can you post a photo of where you installed the heating element on the tank?

JasonS5555

I think its a question of oil volume. With a 6 quart sump in the block, it only takes a few minutes to get the oil up to temp, and in that case I agree with you. I wouldn't do this on any of my other vehicles.

With 10.5 quarts most of it outside the block, it takes a LOT longer and getting all that oil pre-warmed I think makes a lot of sense. To each their own though.

I sandwiched the heater between the reservoir cover I already had on the car, so you can't really see where it is. There are a few pics of that cover here:

http://www.unbalancedengineering.com...6ResCover.html

I zip tied the cord next to the fuse box on the PS fender. I leave it zip tied there and just run the extension cord up to the heater with a cloth between the cord and fender.

Jason

BearZ06

Despicable Z

Awesome thanks!!

0Anthony @ LGMotorsports

All of our race cars have pretty much the same thing, and yes it helped get the oil up to a warmer temp on colder days....but our engines were built to a much different tolerance than what a street car engine was.

The ALMS car actually had a water recirculation system that you could pump pressurized warm water through the engine plus the heater around the oil tank before you even turned it over....again different tolerances in those and actually starting the engine when it was terribly cold out would be harmful to the engine itself.



This would be a good idea for guys that are going to go track the cars in colder weather and want to not waste as much time warming the car up, but remember you still have to warm the tires, diff, and trans up before you go beat on it.

Dogged

I've thought about doing the same thing. Glad it is working out for you. I am pleased that it heats the oil up in only 30 minutes, I was afraid it would take longer. I will probably be putting one on soon.

Beast5spdGTA

I use this oil thermostat from improved racing:

http://www.improvedracing.com/cooler...80f-p-209.html

Along with a larger LPE oil tank and larger Setrab 925 oil cooler.

Oil temp is around 150F after 15 min on the highway at 75 mph and 37-39F ambient temps (which doesn't happen often in central FL).

Pb82 Ronin

Hey Beast...do you have any installed pics? I'm very interested in going this route on top of the measures already in place.