dramarcus

hey guys just had a quick ? how do i know when my temps are high like whats the average temps for the coolant and the oil pressure and oil temp

leesvet

depends on ambient, loads and whats happening at that moment...and how much wear there is on the engine bearings and internals.

Lets say 90 degrees ambient, avg humidity 50%.

Normal eng coolant temp on freeway..............190-210
Normal " " " on surface streets ....210-240(will be highest with a/c in traffic)

Normal oil pressure warmed up idle...15-30 psi
" " " cold idle 40+ drops as it approaches normal eng temp.

Oil pressure warmed freeway speed 30-60
" " cold " " 50-60

Oil TEMPS..........should follow coolant temp more or less except immediately after some hard running, hi rpm or heavy loading like long hills or extreme traffic. Oil temp goes UP during and after hard driving. its slower to return to normal than the water temp is. OIL is also part of the coolant system.. as it collects heat from the engines top end.

To understand what "high" means to your car and area, see the above and add 10 degrees to the ambient and that will mean that your eng temp will likely rise also, maybe not 10 but it will be higher. In winter where your eng temp is less likely to pass boiling, same adjustment, just down.

A SAFE high temp is probably no more than 250 with NO LOADING on the engine. I see 235 daily in the summer with the a/c in traffic @ 100 degree ambient. It drops to 195-200 shortly after moving again at 25mph or more..

The hotter it gets the less stress it should get. I have seen near 300 degrees and had no ill effects BUT I would not advise doing that. If it breaks 250 in an emergency I will try to shut down regardless of where....

Hope this helps, but its really dependent on the condition of the engine and the ambient.

DJvetteWI

My oil pressure runs right at 80 until the motor is a normal operating temp, typically 15 miles or so. Then it'll run at 50 at speed and drop to around 25 at idle.

Should I be concerned about 80PSI?

Thanks

OldCorvetteFan

I have a slightly different experience than Leesvet.

Highway Driving (Steady state >50 mph):
Coolant Temp: 194F
Oil Temp: 204F

City Driving (Stead state <40 mph):
Coolant Temp: <200F
Oil Temp: 210 - 215F

Stop and Go:
Coolant Temp
<205F with AC ON
210 - 220F with AC OFF
Oil Temp >210, but I've never seen it >230F

If I get on it (rapid acceleration from a stop to highway speeds), then my coolant and oil temps both climb, but coolant quickly recovers down to the steady state temp. Oil temp takes significantly longer to recover.

This driving season I had a problem with my thermostat in that the coolant temp was running about 206F at highway speeds, but would drop down to under 200F when coming to a stop or steady state at under 45mph. Since this was new behavior for the car, I replaced the thermostat and the problem went away (confirming my theory that the old one was only partially opening).

This is on a stock LT1 with the exception of 4.10:1 gearing.

Steven

WW7

The thing to remember with your readings is these are mechanical devices that can vary a great deal from one to another.. I changed oil pressure senders just because the one in my block looked like the original , I replaced with an identical AC Delco unit and my pressure on the dash read 8 pds lower with the new unit...The only sure way to check these is with a hand held gauge, so don't put to much faith in your oil pressure/ oil temp, dash readings....WW