ap3x

Hi,

I'm new to my corvette, and new to a car with an oil temperature 'gauge'. I'm planning on autoxing the car starting next month, and had a question about proper oil temps...

It seems that while driving around the appropriate oil temps are between ~205 and 235, depending on the type of driving. First, I just want to check that this is normal.

Next question, whats the lowest acceptable oil temp level to start an autox run with? The oil seems to warm up VERY slowly at idle... my car just now has been running for around 3 minutes, and the oil was shown to only be at 88 degrees. This seems like it could be hard to get oil up to temp and have the engine ready for first runs at an autox. Can anybody give me input as to what temps its okay to start a run at, and how to easily get it there?

Thanks,
Jason

Vettechris996

My 02 Z06 sees oil temps as high as 250-260 on warm days hot lapping at autoX events, not nearly as high as some road race guys see but getting up there. Right around 200-220 on the street depending on the outside temp and how hard the car is being driven is normal.
As far as warm up I keep the car under 3k rpm until the oil has reached 150 degrees F. Oil temperature is a good indicator of internal engine temps and internal parts, particularly valve train like to be warm to perform properly and deal with the higher RPM. Getting up to those temps from a cold morning takes maybe 10 min of easy driving. If the car cools off a lot after getting to an event I make sure to start it and let it run while I stage for my first run of a session to ensure the oil is above 150.

froggy47

Your temps are normal.

I like to warm the oil to 170-180 before the first run, but I have gone off at 150 with no ill effects.

If you can drive it a bit rather than idle it the temp will come up faster.

ap3x

Thanks for the info!

Now a semi-related question about being in grid between runs...

with my mazda, I kept the car off as much as I felt I could, and kept the hood open, to help deal with temps for the turbo and intercooler. It doesn't seem that it would be nearly as much of an issue with a naturally aspirated car, so when I get back to pits after a run, is it best to:

shut it off immediately?

let it run the whole time?

run for a minute to circulate fluids, then shut off and start up before the next run?

Thrillhouse

Let it run the whole time. Better to keep the coolant and oil circulating than let it cook in the hot engine.

Bakerking31