Question on engine oil temps

[Jalfonse]

I've just bought a Tamora in the last of couple of weeks and am loving the car so far. The car seems to stabilise at 70c water temperature and takes a long time for the oil to reach the same, I'm guessing it has the early open stat (don't think it has no stat but it's possible) and my question is what temperature is needed in the oil before driving with high engine rpm's? I've read the manual where it says 80c but mine won't get this high without a stat change. Conventional wisdom also says that cooler oil will lead to better oil film protection and longer oil life?

Any advice? cheers, Lee

[ShiDevil]

Hi,

This is from mytuscan.co.uk and is generally viewed as the 'warm up procedure'. An engine oil preheater also helps which some of us have fitted.

It can take up to 10 mins to warm up the engine 65 degrees + is happy days

Warm up the engine

The general consensus among Tuscan owners is that many of the earlier specification cars (and many of the newer ones) suffered unnecessary engine wear and failure due to oil starvation at the top-end of the engine. This was due to a host of different reasons, but most would agree that sticking to a good warm-up procedure will limit or at least reduce the possibility of engine damage.

Leaving the engine to idle from cold is not recommended and never, ever thrash the engine from cold!

Start the engine with minimum use of throttle.
Drive off as soon as possible.

Keep under 2,500 RPM until oil temp is at least 40°C.
Keep under 4,000 RPM until oil temp is at least 50°C.
Keep under 6,500 RPM until oil temp is at least 65°C.
If temp exceeds 110°C, keep revs below 5,000 RPM.

On colder days, some people report their oil temp never reaching above 60°C, so common sense should be applied in all cases.

[Jalfonse]

That makes sense, thanks

[BeillyNoy]

The above temperature / revs guidance has served me well on a Tamora and Tuscan S.

If you're planning to use it regularly over the winter, consider investing in an oil pre-heater.
(Hexham are fitting to my Tuscan S this week).

[Jalfonse]

I do plan to use as a daily driver....did the same with a 911 and even a Mustang GT that I owned and brought back from the USA. How much is pre-heater?, cheers, Lee

[BeillyNoy]

Hexham are supplying and fitting mine for around £160 inc VAT during my 12,000ml service.
Seems like a small price to pay for avoiding the worst of cold start wear to the engine.

[ShiDevil]

Hi,

Type Wolverine Engine Oil Preheater, as mentioned in my post, I use this myself. I have it on a remote control from my house :P

http://www.wolverineheater.com/

http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0...

Its about 60 Quid, from Canada

Steve

[BeillyNoy]

ShiDevil said:

Hi,

Type Wolverine Engine Oil Preheater, as mentioned in my post, I use this myself. I have it on a remote control from my house :P

http://www.wolverineheater.com/

http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0...

Its about 60 Quid, from Canada

Steve

I think it was this post that sold me on the idea, now I think about it. I read a classified ad for a Tuscan that had an oil heater and pre-oiler spray (?) fitted and when researching what the benefits were I discovered Steve's previous posting.
Amazed these aren't more widely used.......

[Robertjp]

ShiDevil said:

Hi,

Type Wolverine Engine Oil Preheater, as mentioned in my post, I use this myself. I have it on a remote control from my house :P

http://www.wolverineheater.com/

http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0...

Its about 60 Quid, from Canada

Steve

remote control is a great idea....how did you do that??

[ShiDevil]

Robertjp said:

remote control is a great idea....how did you do that??

Remote control plug, which turns on and off from house. Turn on 1 hour before you go out 45 degrees straight away

Just be aware you need to let the car warm up throughout eg water etc. it just helps reduce engine wear etc

[BeillyNoy]

ShiDevil said:

Remote control plug, which turns on and off from house.

First of all - for anyone thinking about an oil pre-heater: Just do it.
Oil temperature is up at a healthy level before even turning the ignition. Magic. But do take heed of ShiDevil's earlier warning re ensuring other components & fluids are given time to warm up also.

Now, a question for ShiDevil:
Some remote control plugs have piddly ratings that preclude their use with heaters. Do you have a link to the item that's working for you?
Also, have you considered installing a timer in-line with the plug, so that it automatically switches off after 45mins or so?

Thanks.
Neil

[ShiDevil]

BeillyNoy said:

Now, a question for ShiDevil:
Some remote control plugs have piddly ratings that preclude their use with heaters. Do you have a link to the item that's working for you?
Also, have you considered installing a timer in-line with the plug, so that it automatically switches off after 45mins or so?

Thanks.
Neil

Missed this one. I think any Infrared Plug and remote will work. All I did was connect the cable from the Wolverine Pad, to a Lawnmover Power Connector, stick a plug on the end, plug it into the Infrared Plug. Job Done Mmmm, haven't thought about a timer. I guess you could forget its on, or put it on by accident, so it could be a handy thing to have. Not had a problem so far with the way I do it, but worth a thought

Here are some photos, which hopefully will help:

[NailedOn]

I have the oil preheater which raises the oil temperature to c.80C when I switch on.
What I find is that the oil exchanges heat with the water which may be at only 4C.
After a mile or so, I have the oil at 25C and the water at 40C.
After a few more miles on the open road I reach Oil: 30C, Water 75C. Unless I pull over, the oil will not get above 30C.
I have a new radiator and the North Pennines acting as coolers!

Any advice on how to overcome this? There's very little traffic up here so limiting the RPM to 2500 is a tad frustrating!