some people think 212 is too hot, and thats just getting to the right point to burn the moisture off. bill Bill and Jean Demeter
On Sunday, October 8, 2017 11:10 AM, SpeedsterOwners.com <**************> wrote:
Reply By Stan Galat: Quick oil question
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| Subject: Quick oil question Reply By: Stan Galat In: Speedsters / General (Non-Technical) | |
edsnova posted:Here's one for $70 but P.S. a $6 digital thermometer I've used for years to measure beer temps [don't ask] claims accuracy of +/- 1 degree F.More food for thought: Most of us were trained to believe that 230F or above is TOO HOT for oil and so SHUT IT DOWN IMMEDIATELY! But it isn't so, according to the tests I linked—or the race guys who've run 270+ without panic. You lose some film strength, yeah. Maybe a lot of film strength. But it won't kill the engine very quickly.Which leads me to another observation: everyone pretty much runs an oil cooler with a fan that's supposed to kick in at 180F. People get antsy & start making changes if they see oil temps above 200F. This seems counter-productive, as it suggests they're trying to keep their engine too cool. An un-warmed-up engine wears out faster than one that gets to operating temps, so if you're managing 180 or below you might be screwing up your longevity?
Look, I'm just a pipefitter from a hick-town on the rim of nowhere, but IMHO- the sweet spot is a reasonably viscous oil running between 180 and 220*. Hitting that has been pretty good for me so far.The oiling system on a Type 1 would be hilarious if guys wouldn't defend it as the perfect and divinely revealed fruit pouring fourth from the enormous brains of the Sainted German Engineers. It's a Rube Goldberg arrangement barely better than your average Briggs and Stratton. You pick your poison.Too thick (or too cold), and you're not getting oil everywhere you'd like. There are a lot of places where these engines rely on "splash". That's why Al advocates (a lot) for the Hoover mods.Too thin, and you lose the film strength Ed references above. This is bad. Really, really bad.Too hot, and the oil breaks down-- at least it did before the engineers from the hated Big Oil companies figured out how to make it much more heat tolerant. My concern with "too hot" is that it generally means "too thin" as well. I care not what anybody says- I don't want to see single-digit oil pressures at idle. The rod journals don't know whether they're in a VW or a SBC-- they'd like to have a good supply of oil to ride, rather than dropping through to the bearings.Oil temp is serious business. It causes great consternation to me when guys say, "you pay too much attention to those gauges". Ignorance is not bliss with regards to this stuff. The fact that almost nobody monitors oil pressure is one of the great mysteries of life to me. I care WAY more about what the oil pressure is than I do about what a Micky Mouse fuel gauge estimates is in the tank (... full.... full... full... full... full... 1/4 tank... empty).I know the question of the OP regards synthetic v dino oil, but with what we've got going on here, it may be the wrong question.The base-stock of the oil is important, as it pertains to break-down, etc.-- and there's no question that synthetic oil is way better than dino oil.However, in a flat-tappet engine with ridiculously heavy valve-springs, there is a LOT of pressure between the lifters and the cam lobe. Factoring in that there are about 250,000 different lifters on the market, some of which don't play well with the available cam blanks, and that cams seem to go flat with amazing regularity, and the additive-pack in the oil becomes pretty important (at least to me). As Al said above- Jim Ignacio gets away with the Hakuna Matata outlook on vehicle maintenance precisely because his engine is mild, with a mild camshaft, running mild springs.Someday, the hobby may embrace the 1980s and figure out how to put roller cams and beehive valvesprings in these engines, but I wouldn't hold my breath. We're still running cam grinds that somebody copied off old Mopar V8s. When that day comes, I'll be the first in line to buy 8 quarts of Mobil 1 and happily motor around not thinking too much about it any more. Until then, I'm running dual valve-springs with a bazillion pounds of pressure, hammering the valve-seats and trying to wipe off the (splash lubricated) oil film between the cam lobe and the tool-steel lifter.Do as you like. I'm running oil with zinc. I'm changing it every season. I'm hoping for the best. View This Reply
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