This thread should be totally non-controversial...
 

Like most of you, I tend to scroll through my DIC readings after I start my 'vette, just to make sure that all is well.

When finished, I leave it set to show "Oil Temperature".

My car, with the dry sump system, and external oil cooler tends to keep the oil on the cool side.

Typical temps are about 162F normal driving around town, with moving traffic about 40 mph.
On hot days, with ambient temps around 95 F, in slow moving traffic, I've seen the oil temp as high as 195 F.

As a result I monitor the oil temperature for readings between about 160 ~ 195 F as "normal".

I'm just curious where other folks tend to leave their DIC to monitor their car's systems?

:cheers:

I leave mine blank/off.... that way, any issues or warnings that do pop up will get my attention..

is this another one of your JOKE threads(where do you leave your DIC)....I feel like Im walking into a trap!...

seriously tho, mine prob stays on MPGs when just lightly cruising around town, and I will usually check tire pressure to see if they all come up to pressure evenly and will buzz thru oil readouts, and temp regularly and especially if Im driving rather hard...

I just learned something. I wasn't aware that the blank setting would provide for a warning, if a reading was out of normal perimeters...thanks. :thumbs:

:lol: Guess I deserved that...nope, no trap I promise, just wondering how others monitor their DIC. :cheers:

I leave mine on engine temp reading and then flip flop that with the instant avg mpg. I do run through the tire pressures when I first get in the car. My oil temps will run in the 140's when its cool outside and 160's when it gets warmer. I have been concerned with that but was told since I run synthetic all is good........

I got bored with all the big numbers for instant mpg and so now I leave it on engine oil temp.:thumbs:

Oil temp / avg mpg.

:yawn::yawn::skep: Was looking for a more fun thread from you. :lol:

Totally agree as I do the same.

OK, I'll bite! At 162, your oil is cooler than it should be.:D:D

Mine always displays Competitive Driving Mode!

Oil temp. The big sump and cooler keep it a little low. In the winter I have a cover that goes over the cooler to keep temps up.

I'm sure someone will chime in and correct me but, wouldn't oil temps closer to 212 degrees F be better. My thinking is that one of the things needed is a high enough temperature to boil off any moisture that may have condensed into the pan or, in dry sump systems, the tank and lines. Any good oil (I use Mobil 1 also) should operate without issues at these temperatures. Feel free to flame away as I have my fire suit on now.

Scott

:iagree:

Sorry,...of course, we could always start arguing over which oil temperature is most efficient, that might liven things up for ya. :lol:

There ya go, that didn't take long. :lol:

Some folks feel that anything less than 180 F and they refuse to tach more than 4,000 rpm. Others insist the LS3 is not properly lubricated at temps under 210 F, some want even higher oil temps.

Here's my take....I figure the G.M. engineers knew what they were doing when they designed my car.
Especially since it's a 2013, and they had plenty of feedback by then. The engineering team was well aware of the fact that many of these engines wouldn't see oil temps much higher than 170 degs F, and they certainly didn't want to handle thousands of warranty claims.

Therefore, it stands to reason that the cooler temps are just fine, and I personally never give it a thought. Except here of course. :lol:

Hit RESET and it'll clear that off the screen so you can keep playing with it while leaving it in COMP mode. :thumbs:

I just utilize the oil temperature reading for warmup temps. I don't truly get on it until it hits 120F. At that point the oil PSI seems to normalize. Unless I'm road course tracking the car (which I haven't just yet) for daily drving use that's the extent I use that reading for.

C'mon, we can find controversy in ANY thread...:D:D:D

Oil temp. Have the dry sump too and sometimes have trouble getting to a normal operating range, so this is most critical to me.

:cheers:

Thank you for the info, didn't know that!

You might be right, but I question why my cooling fans are factory programed to come on at 240 deg on my 85? Guess they did not know then what they know now? :lol::lol:

85 runs great once it is warmed up....bad cold start injector GM stopped making them. :(

I tend to leave it on front tire pressure.

If anybody knows a trick to have it tell me all the pressures on one screen you'll make my day.

Since I made the change to non-runflat tires, I keep the DIC set on rear tire pressures.

If it's hot outside and I'm using the paddles a lot and keeping the RPM's up, I'll watch the trans temp.

Was stuck in traffic last week, and 86+ degrees outside, and oil temps got up to 219.

I have the Base Model w/LS2.

Different reason here, but as soon as I start the car cold, toggle to the oil temp gauge, and the motor does not see over 2K rpm until the oil temp hits 165 or greater.

Once it hits 165 and safe to now get on it, then I just toggle the screen back to blank.

With a high stall (4000) converter I monitor trans temp on the DIC. The gauges are enough for the other critical things, however I do cycle through the menu far more often than my wife thinks I need to.

All I've ever read from authorities on the subject of oil and coolant temps is that 200 for oil and 180 for coolant is the sweet spot for performance. For emissions, those numbers get bumped up 10 to 15 degrees now and were 20-30 a couple decades ago.
Oil coolers are great for the track or anywhere the load is high, but not for general street use, since the oil never gets close to the ideal temps. The dry sump cars would be better off using an oil t-stat.

Contrary to popular belief, the oil temp doesn't need to be 212 to get the moisture out of the system. If by the rare conditions that humidity causes condensation inside your closed engine, it'll easily evaporate long before the oil temperature gets to 212.

And now we are prepared for some controversy.

I'll ignore all this "controversy" boiling up.........

I cycle through all the main ones, including tires, while I give it a minute or so to warm up a little. Then it is generally on engine temp.

I agree oil temp is very important before jumping on it, but that is in my HUD on track mode. Comparing the little hash marks on the HUD with the DIC oil temp, I know where I want it before playing.

Longer drives, I cycle through everything periodically. I want to know all of it on long runs or hot summer days.

:cheers:

Oil temp for me. I have gauges for everything else that I need to watch. Other things, like low tires, trigger alerts.

:iagree:..........I routinely check the tires at stop lights......:cheers:

This. :thumbs:

Ya know,....it would be nice if there was a way for the DIC to automatically cycle through all the system info, displaying each statistic for about 5 seconds.

Anyone know if that's possible, or how to do it?

I must not have the oil cooler in my 2006 Z51 convertible. My oil temps stay above 200 F after warm-up.

On my '13 GS, the oil cooler sits just behind the grill, and in front of the radiator.

That's why the oil stays so cool.

Had a GS, IMHO, No worries Fellas:willy:
LS3 Doesn't have enough thump, Too make a difference:thumbs:

DIC

on fuel range

The moisture is going to evaporate regardless of the temperature. You don't need boiling temps for evaporation. A good example is ice cubes in your freezer, they'll evaporate over time just from the defrost cycle in the freezer. Or just put a pan of water on a counter in your kitchen and check it every day, I guarantee it'll evaporate without ever reaching boiling temperature.

I experience the same low temps with the dry sump system. Tend to keep the DIC on the oil temp to at least see it gets warmed up before getting on it. Was thinking about one of those covers but what about any thoughts on it impacting air to the radiator?

I have a GS with auto, the DIC shows Trans Temp and the HUD shows Oil temp...

I don't usually get to read it since it's a garage queen.

I just drive the car; start it up; back out of the garage and driveway, and off I go. It takes me 5 minutes to get to a highway, so I figure things are warmed up enough by then. Mine is always on the MPG-----I do this with my daily driver too---even though it is pretty meaningless............on the 427 it stays at 19.2 forever unless I go on the highway for at least an hour (prior vette, ZO6 had about the same exact reading). On one 2-3 hour highway drive it read around 28. In the cold NE winters I will look at the tire pressure readings before I head out if I haven't tested the tires with a gauge in a while. As for all the other readouts................I rarely scroll through them---maybe 2-3 times a year (mainly because I forget what is there and I get curious). Have done this with my prior 3 corvettes as well. I figure an idiot light or message will come on if anything is wrong-----same as the daily drivers. Never had a problem---twice the idiot light came on to tell me one of the tires was low on pressure--that's it.

I keep the DIC on Oil Temp and generally see 215 to 220. If it is really hot out I have seen 230+.

I have a '13 GS mn6 also and see the same temps as the OP. I generally wait until the oil temp hits 140*F before I start playing with it. It generally runs in the 162 - 175*F range, all warmed up. That is normal for this car, up in these latitudes. I'm sure the oil (M1) is doing it's job. My air cooled v-twins run at 200*F, so it makes sense a water cooled motor, with an oil cooler runs 30*F cooler in oil temp.

Check out DashLogic


http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-c...-corvette.html

:cheers:

I leave mine on oil pressure an speaking of which do anybody know what normal oil pressure is? lately iv been noticing my psi droping into the teens at idle once everything's all heated up the car runs fine no knocking or any noise from the engine but that still seem a little low. I talked to my mechanic about it he says its ok not to worry about it just curious as to what u guys think ?

I do exactly the same, even though we have a wet sump LS3 with no cooler. My oil takes quite a while before it stabilizes at 210-230, depending on outside temp and how fast I'm going on the highway.

My personal choice is to go easy on the power until oil reaches 180, preferably 190. And I can provide expert opinion to support that choice.
What I can't provide is any evidence that lower oil temps hurt the LS3, if you simply let it stabilize at whatever you get, before romping on the throttle.
The LS7 may be different, but I haven't followed that story enough to know.

:cheers:

Typically either instant or average MPG.

:iagree:

Mine too.

I do the exact same thing as the OP, scroll then leave on oil temp until it hits 150, then WOT next chance I get. :thumbs:

I usually cycle thru tires in first few miles, then oil, water on my '08 manual trans. Settle on oil temp, and cycle thru water and tires occasionally. I'll see 205-220 oil temp normally. Cooler days, it takes a long time to warm up oil or water. I can't recall last time I looked at mpg; just clear it after gas up. (altho I write down miles and cost in a book, the last time I manually checked mpg was maybe three years ago, or more.:rofl:)

Mine stays almost permanently on Oil Temp. My Wet Sump LS3 cruises at 215-230 under most conditions. I've seen as high as 259* when driving hard.

DSteck, automotive engineer and tuner extraordinaire told me not to worry about oil temps until 290*+.

And FWIW, the warm viscosity of oil is rated at 200* IIRC. I don't go WOT until 150-160* oil temps, but if the car was previously warm, I've stomped as soon as 120*. Spinning to 7k RPMs.

Palmer Performance Dashlogic.. Now I monitor all four tire pressures on the DIC and I have the HUD set for EOT, ECT, IAT and AMB... There's EIGHT pages of options you an put on your DIC and HUD.. great stuff!

BTW.. 140-160 is too low for operating temp on the EOT... really wants to be at least 185-205 before you get on it. (now.. there's your controversy!)

You dont have chrome wheels. Keep your thoughts to yourself. Aint no place for people like you. :lol:

I cycle thru regularly, and when she's warmed up I also see similar - around 212 to 223. Thanks for post, now I won't freak if I see her 230ish.

I'm WOT at 160. No problems. You're just a trouble maker. :lol:

I'm finding it interesting, that so many people like myself, primarily monitor their oil temp.

:ack::ack: I believe that people monitor whatever worries them the most. On my car it's coolant temperature. When running cool, all is well.

:iagree:

Very good point. When I had my 07 Z, on a cool day the oil temp never got over 162F. Not good.. :ack:

Our 13 GS wet sump gets right to and over 200F in short order. :D

I agree. Needs to be 200+ to work well. 200-260 is best. Higher no good, lower no good.

Moisture won't boil off until 220 +

I love they way you guys make blanket statements...."NEEDS TO BE 200+ TO WORK WELL. Anything more, or less is no good. PERIOD! :lol:

If what you, and others are saying is fact, then one must draw the obvious conclusion, that the G.M. engineers who designed the oil cooling system for my 2013 GS were incompetent and had no idea what they were doing.

The normal operating temps of my oil is 160 to 190 degs., depending on conditions. It's never 200+.

I'd love to be there when you guys like you, tell the design engineers for my oil cooling system, that the oil is too cool, and detrimental to the proper operation of the engine. I'd really enjoy listening to you defend your position. :lol:

:eek: Go get them Tiger!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:thumbs: exactly right!

Paying attention to the Zinc additive (ZDDP) level in the oil is interesting. ZDDP leaves a film on high load metal surfaces and protects them better than not having it there. ZDDP was reduced in oils over the last 10-20 yrs. Older engine designs need the ZDDP additive for protection and some current oils do not have enough ZDDP in the base oil stock for ideal protection. For those of us that use the car as design intended, ergo: run hard, you may want to research this. Mobil 1 makes some M1 variants with higher ZDDP additive.

Most modern oils adequately protect the internal engine metal surfaces after start up, even if it is only 40*F or colder. I just go easy, no high engine loads, until the coolant temp comes up to normal and oil temp gets to 130-140*F-ish. Then I begin to increase engine load.

I think the important part is, to make sure the engine metal components have come up to temperature.... pistons, cylinders, rods, block, heads and are all done with their thermal expansion. If the coolant temp is at normal operating temp, the motor internals are up to temp but the oil temp will lag behind for several minutes. Once the oil starts to get above 140-ish, I think its good to go.

The quickest way to warm the oil, is to drive the car. Warm-up idling, won't do it as effectively.

I have the GS with the dry sump and my oil temps are right about where yours are. I also leave the DIC in OIL TEMP mode after scrolling through things when I start it. I cover the oil cooler in winter but it only makes about a 10' difference in oil temp.

Guys.. Cruising is cruising.. WOT and hard driving is very different. Cruising your oil temp will get up to whatever is normal for your car. You want to see it go higher?? Do a couple of WOT pulls, even short ones and if you oil temp doesn't get up to 200+ then something is strange. My car (Z51 Not Z06 or GS) wet sump gets up to 200 in a hurry when I drive hard.

When running a 20 minute track session, even in cool ambient temps (like 66 deg two weeks ago at LRP) I see oil temps over 260 by the end of the session. In the summer with amb temps in the 90's I've seen oil temps at 285+... This is why I am installing a larger Z06 oil cooler in my car.. specifically for the track days. I expect the larger cooler will make it take longer to get up to temp while cruising, but I know it will. I won't jump on my car until I see at least 185. I will get up to that with in town driving in ten mins or less even in cool ambient.

It is interesting that the various models of C6 seem to have been engineered slightly differently as far as typ oil running temps, but I think most of this is driving style. You guys who are seeing 160-190 (max) are not getting on the throttle and pulling hard on the engine.... that's how I see it. I'm also sure you are not doing anything bad to your engines because of the driving style. If you want to see how high the oil temp will get, then get our on a long straight road, down shift and punch it a few times.. it will come right up.. I guaranty it.. just my ten cents.

No need to defend what SAE already agrees upon and the oil producers base their standards upon. Just because GM produced a car that is highly track capable and you choose not to use it that way, does not make them in error. It'd be funnier listening to you tell them that 160 degree oil is just fine.

Roller cam engines don't require the same ZDDP levels as flat tappet cammed engines do. Unless you have a track dedicated car, you don't drive it hard enough to need higher ZDDP oil.

GM built a car that was capable of being drive hard, not intended to be that way. Their intention was to sell cars to performance enthusiasts who hopefully would not beat the hell out of them.

The highest temp I have ever seen on my oil was on I-15, Baker grade in the middle of the desert at 75mph when it was 116 degrees outside. 237 degrees. I was very pleased that the coolant temp stayed no higher than 205, even with the A/C on.:thumbs:

For those of us that do drive harder than the average owner, more ZDDP in one of M1's other street/race formulations could see benefits from it.

I guess the difference between you and I is the fact that I will readily admit that I am not an automotive, internal combustion, design engineer.

Perhaps you are, but I doubt it.

Therefore, I have no choice but to use common sense regarding an issue such as this.

1) I'm certain you are correct when you say that G.M. designed the Corvette to be driven hard.

2) G.M. is also very much aware of the fact that only a small fraction of the 'vettes they build, are actually raced on a track, or drag strip.
Seems to me I read somewhere that only 15% of all Corvettes manufactured, ever see a track.

3) Taking that to it's logical conclusion, I'd have to ask, would G.M. build a car in which they'd be opening themselves up to a warranty liability on 85% of their sales, because the car was driven normally on the street, and the oil never got hot enough to meet the standards that you seem to think is necessary?

In my opinion, the answer is clearly NO, they would not. In fact, I just got off the phone with my local Chevy dealer, a few minutes ago.

They've sold a lot of 'vettes just like mine, with oil temps that operate in the 160~190 deg. range.
I asked if they've had any premature failures in any of the LS3 internal components, because the cars were not driven hard enough to heat the oil to 200+ degrees? The answer was NO.

I asked if there were any GM bulletins that warned about oil temps under 200 degrees, possibly causing premature engine failures. He said none that he was aware of.

He said that the temps I was experiencing were normal, and he's been the service manager there for 11 years now, and knows of no issues with any of the external mounted coolers, because the oil temps were too low.

That's good enough for me, you guys can believe what ever you want. For me...end of story!

Attachment 47792860
:eek: Chevy Dealer, That settles that :rofl:

Well, I'm happy to have gotten the 'non controversy' started...:D:D:D

Avg mpg! My Vette's my DD so I'm always curious as to what kind of mileage I'm getting per gallon of gas.

Yup, all your fault. :lol:

I leave mine on coolant temp 95% of the time.
I cycle through the readouts in the first minute of running/driving anyway, just out of habit and to check the cold tire pressures.
BTW: my oil temp runs hotter; I have a regular LS3, no dry sump.
Usually about 215-225 under "normal" driving conditions. Varies slightly +/- due to type of driving and season.

The way I see most guys driving their vettes around here I'm surprised the oil gets past 100....:lol:

I don't even move my car until I see the oil temp over 180*. Sometimes it takes 30-45 minutes. When it's cold, I'll sometimes put a blow torch to the oil pan, because it's taken 1.5-2 hours a few times to get up to temp, making me late for work and other events.

I only get 10mpg with all the idling, but at least I know that the oil is warm and keeping my engine perfect.

after reading this did some spirited driving in the hot humid Florida weather. Good couple romps in 2nd 3rd and into partial 4th gear pulls. Got off highway idled down the roadway at 55mph. Oil temps in the high 220s range. Non Grand Sport. Coolant stays under 205.

Humor...it's refreshing! :lolg:

:cheers:

:D:rock::willy::cheers:

:D:D Yes, glad to see that you are being careful...late, but careful..:D:D

:woohoo: :lol: :lol: :lol: :cheers:

bahahaha... I'm like that also...

Front tire pressure

Clif

And I was afraid I'd get laughed at if I admitted to wrapping my engine in an old electric blanket and never letting the oil cool down.

You guys are great.

I'm not an SAE engineer, but I read their papers every time I stay at Holiday Inn. People who feel they have common sense about complex matters, often find themselves being educated through reality. I've had several experiences that way.

Using your 15% number and the annual average number of miles driven by the 6,309 M6 GS Coupe owners, it's pretty apparent why a low oil temp issue hasn't surfaced. I'd guess 20% or more of those owners haven't even gone WOT in the last month.

Now if less than 1,000 dry sump GS cars are driven hard and it's rare to find any with more than 50K miles, then the warranty risk to GM is already small. Compare that to the 31,725 Z06/ZR1 cars that are being driven hard in greater numbers and are, in fact, having engine failures.

I usually check them all and then leave it on the oil temp till it hits 180 and then check the trans temp.