Oil Won’t Reach NOT After Under Shroud Install?

[Exquisite_Red]

Anybody else experiencing this? Conventional wisdom is that we should let the oil warm up to at least 170° before heavy throttle. However, my oil temps will not reach that point, regardless of driving conditions, city or highway.

Ambient temps have been low, so that’s obviously a contributing factor, but still seems odd the car will NEVER warm up. I coddled the engine prior to the break-in oil change at ~1,500 miles, so I’m not actually sure if this was happening prior to then because I wasn’t really monitoring oil temps as closely. I installed a Z1 under shroud at the same time as the first change. I went with the Z1 because I thought it had the best oil cooler flow vs. other options (and especially over the stock shield). But could the oil cooler now be working TOO well??? It seems silly to blame this on a shroud, but that is the only change point.

I put some examples below, but the TLDR is that I can’t get above ~150-160°. Last night it was pegged at 159° at 44° ambient, but I said screw it and did a couple WOT pulls through 2nd and a little of 3rd and it still only went up a couple of degrees before quickly settling back down to where it was. Is there possibly a thermostat that controls flow to the oil cooler that has failed? Or does the oil always go through it?

Anyone else having trouble getting the oil to warm up?


After about 30 mins on interstate driving, pegged at 154°:

40 miles of 73-78mph interstate driving later, temp down a couple degrees:

A few miles later, after taking an exit ramp and cruising at 60mph, another few degrees lower:

Last night after ~25 mins of city driving, higher ambient temp, still pegged at 159°:

 

[thesilverbullet]

your ambient temp is 29F - all is good…

drive to Huston Tx in summer time for 200F oil temps. lol

 

[FSUZ33]

In the 40's here I'm at about 180-190 degrees of oil temp. What I would call 'city driving,' for me (one-way trip to or from work) is 16 miles at a 25 mph avg. That would be normal/unspirited driving. Not sure if this info helps anything at all.

 

[Exquisite_Red]

your ambient temp is 29F - all is good…

drive to Huston Tx in summer time for 200F oil temps. lol

Agreed, 29F is low, but…

In the 40's here I'm at about 180-190 degrees of oil temp. What I would call 'city driving,' for me (one-way trip to or from work) is 16 miles at a 25 mph avg. That would be normal/unspirited driving. Not sure if this info helps anything at all.

…I am seeing very different results than FSUZ33 in the 40s. My last pic is at 44°. No matter how long I drive, I’m not getting into the 180-190 range. A 30° difference with the same operating conditions seems substantial.

I’m sure it won’t be an issue as the temps rise for summer, but I don’t like the idea that I can’t do any spirited driving any time it’s <50° outside. Surely that’s not normal!

 

[FSUZ33]

There's a good chance there's nothing wrong, but not going over, or much over 160, even when TRYING to seems a little off to me.

Thought maybe a scan tool through the OBDII port may give you live oil temp data, but IF there's actually an issue with the temp sensor/reading I assume the scan tool will just repeat the faulty reading from the car.

Would letting it sit cranked and idling for a while create higher temps than spirited driving? If so, you should see higher temps, but that won't prove anything if the sensor isn't reading/reporting correctly in the first place. Like when the gauge says 155 and it's really 190, then the gauge says 175 and it's really 220, all you know is you CAN make the temps increase, but not if there's an issue.

Crediting AI for this one...
If you have an IR or thermometer, or know someone who does, you can measure the temp of the oil pan and oil filter vs the reading on the gauge. I feel like the plastic oil pan wouldn't be as close to the real oil temp as the metal oil filter, but I could be wrong. Depending on results this may be useless, but if you're seeing 152 on the dash and your pan and/or filter are 185, then you know something's not right.

 

[Zplz]

I'm in Houston and it's gotten fairly chilly here, often and on, with temps in the 40's, at times. I've always seen my oil temp eventually warm up into the 180's - 190. My philosophy is if I have any concerns and my car is still under warranty, take it into the dealer. Even if they say all is good and don't do anything, at least I've documented a concern early, just for worst case situations. Like your engine exploding.

 

[Exquisite_Red]

If you have an IR or thermometer, or know someone who does, you can measure the temp of the oil pan and oil filter vs the reading on the gauge. I feel like the plastic oil pan wouldn't be as close to the real oil temp as the metal oil filter, but I could be wrong. Depending on results this may be useless, but if you're seeing 152 on the dash and your pan and/or filter are 185, then you know something's not right.

That's a good idea, I'll check the temp of the oil filter the next time I drive it and report back!

 

[thesilverbullet]

was @ 190 & stoped to talk to neighbor @ sat idle for 15 min.

 

[5amp5on]

Anybody else experiencing this? Conventional wisdom is that we should let the oil warm up to at least 170° before heavy throttle. However, my oil temps will not reach that point, regardless of driving conditions, city or highway.

Ambient temps have been low, so that’s obviously a contributing factor, but still seems odd the car will NEVER warm up. I coddled the engine prior to the break-in oil change at ~1,500 miles, so I’m not actually sure if this was happening prior to then because I wasn’t really monitoring oil temps as closely. I installed a Z1 under shroud at the same time as the first change. I went with the Z1 because I thought it had the best oil cooler flow vs. other options (and especially over the stock shield). But could the oil cooler now be working TOO well??? It seems silly to blame this on a shroud, but that is the only change point.

I put some examples below, but the TLDR is that I can’t get above ~150-160°. Last night it was pegged at 159° at 44° ambient, but I said screw it and did a couple WOT pulls through 2nd and a little of 3rd and it still only went up a couple of degrees before quickly settling back down to where it was. Is there possibly a thermostat that controls flow to the oil cooler that has failed? Or does the oil always go through it?

Anyone else having trouble getting the oil to warm up?


After about 30 mins on interstate driving, pegged at 154°:

40 miles of 73-78mph interstate driving later, temp down a couple degrees:

A few miles later, after taking an exit ramp and cruising at 60mph, another few degrees lower:

Last night after ~25 mins of city driving, higher ambient temp, still pegged at 159°:

I am getting temps just like yours, I've never seen the high temps some people post in these threads. Im in Oklahoma with similar temps to you.

I've never hesitated to get on the accelerator as long as it's at 120 or higher myself.

 

[KrackaC8]

The stock plastic undershroud and the stock plastic oil pan both retain a lot of heat. Replacing either is absolutely going to cause a reduction in oil temps, especially in cooler ambient weather. It was in the 40's here in Houston this morning and with my enlarged oil cooler vents along with an aluminum oil pan my oil temps were steady in the mid/upper-150's after a ~25 mile drive at tollway speeds. Coming home, ambient temps in the 70's, and the oil temps held steady in the 170's with engine coolant temps in the 180's.

It's hot more often than not here so I am quite happy with the effectiveness of my changes! We'll see how it does it the dead of summer heat this year and that will likely dictate whether or not I add the Mishimoto panel or stay with my modified stock plastic one.

 

[Exquisite_Red]

Good to hear there are others seeing drops in temperature after similar mods. I guess I should just be happy the cooling system is working so well. I will definitely appreciate it when it gets balls hot here soon.

 

[KrackaC8]

Good to hear there are others seeing drops in temperature after similar mods. I guess I should just be happy the cooling system is working so well. I will definitely appreciate it when it gets balls hot here soon.

Install an aluminum oil pan and watch it drop even further in the heat!

 

[saltyz]

Had similar issue after HX and AMS intercoolers mods. I could barely get to 170s oil temp during spirited driving. This is with 5w30 oil…. Had me thinking to maybe swap to 0w20 for winter time. But I had noticed my operating oil temp has increased slightly over the past couple months. Houston local as well.

 

[KrackaC8]

Is half this forum in Houston?! We need to host a mega-meet or something...

 

[Mr&Mrs]

I've tried telling people about this. I had to make a block off plate for my 370z because in the winter in Florida I couldn't even get up to operating temps. It can be an annoyance to put in every winter, or take off if going to the track, but it works. When I say block off plate I mean something that blocks a few rows of airflow from the oil cooler.