Dan H.

Good morning Gents,
I have my first event in a couple weeks and I'd anticipate highs in the 50's at best and lows probably in the 30's. I use Mobil1 15-50 to manage heat. I'm not sure if I should be concerned about those 7am startup and 30 degree temps. Am I overthinking it? I'm not sure if there is power in the paddock, should I get one of those dipstick heaters? Anyone use these? Should I be using different oil for an event this early in the year? If different oil is the ticket, do I need to be concerned with how much oil is in stand alone oil cooler and braided lines (probably at least a quart).

C5ZEE06

I use 0w40 for just this reason....and 15w50 in summer months only. For that matter, With highs in the 50s and a stand alone oil cooler, you could probably use 5w30 and be in good shape...assuming stock clearances.
.

ooldguy93

I've been using M1 15-50 in several track cars for the past 18 years

Temp range from 30 - 100 deg.

Zero issues - however, I'd wait until 160 deg oil temp and 160+ water temp before, " GRADUALLY " getting on it

63Corvette

YES!!! Why not? At least warm your engine oil up before your event start. Even drag racers do.

SocalC5Z

I run M1 10-40 in a stock engine C5Z with a stand alone oil cooler. IMHO 15-50 is too thick unless you cannot maintain oil temps below 280 degrees. I know with 10-40 I have to do lots of cranking before I see oil pressure due to the stand alone cooler and thicker oil. I think the 15-50 would be even worse in that regard. That's my .02 on your oil weight.

Even in SoCal the local desert tracks in the winter are usually around 25-30 degrees in the morning and I do a pit warm up idle as soon as I get to the track. Turning the engine off and letting it heat soak for 20 mins or so brings the oil temps up faster than just constant idling. Like others have suggested, I don't run more than 3000 RPM's until I see 140 oil temps. So usually 2-3 warm up laps for the first session of the day. After that, I don't have any problem seeing at least 220-240 oil temps on track.

Bill Dearborn

The 15W50 oil won't cause problems in engines at those temps. It works for cold starts down close to 0 degrees. You can idle your engine to get oil temps up before you head out on track as it can sometimes takes a while for oil temps to get over 150 if you have an oil cooler and are driving in 30-40 degree ambient temps.

Bill

rocsvette

Chevrolet has just gone to M1 0W40 as the standard Corvette fill to avoid the need to flip between 15W50 and 0W30. This will aid cold start and those cold morning warm up issues at the track. BTW Costco has it on sale right now.

RichieRichZ06

Have you confirmed that Costco has the new Dexos approved Mobil 1 ESP 0w40 or just the same 0w40 they've always had?

GM has not officially released the bulletin stating the new ESP 0w40 is backwards compatible, but we've been told it's coming.

Just want to make sure that you're getting the eight 0w40 from Costco because we have not even been able to receive it from GM yet.

RICH

rocsvette

I did check but last year when I was talking to people at Warren Tech Ctr they said in spite of the kerfufle over Dexos, Mobil 1 has always been acceptable and they had oil caps that had both on them but now are going back to just Mobil 1. The whole business goes back about 4 years to an issue over licensing payments actually.

exracer28

Most real race cars have heating pads wrapped around the oil tank. The dipstick heater is not effective. It takes a long time to raise the oil temperature from 50f to 120f with the best practice to leave it plugged in overnight.

Racingswh

This is what I decided to do.

Improved Performance recommended not using a thermostat for the Oil Cooler setup but instead wrap the tank with a heater blanket I plug into the trailer to keep the oil warm.

spearfish25

I was in your shoes a month ago. Just idle her until the oil temps start to come up. I had bigger issues with getting heat in the tires than cold engine starts.

sccaGT1racer

I run 15/50 and I just start it cold let it idle. I wont rev it (over 3000)until the oil temps get over 150 degrees.