Starting LS3 in very cold
 

What happens with oil pressure, when you cold start the 2008 LS3 Corvette during winter season here in Finland? Temperature is -23 C (-9.4 F). No block heater or oil heater, 5W-30 oil with DEXOS classification as recommended.

Nothing. For a minute and a half, according to the gauges and DIC; here is a video: http://penthouse.homelinux.net/fs24/...pakkasessa.mp4

This is what it says in the Service Manual:
Maybe it's time to install at least an oil heater for the next winter...

I have never started my Vette in that cold of weather but a few months ago it was 8 degrees Fahrenheit and I started my truck with the LS3 and oil pressure was immediate up to 60 pounds.
My truck had only been sitting in that temp for 2 days not started.

How long had yours been sitting in that temp before you started it? What you experienced does not sound normal to me.

Two things, and if your playing the the winter game, then block heater is needed to keep even the synthetic oil from freezing to begin with, and you never turn off the motor, until you can get it back on the block heater or heated garage.

The second one, are you out of your mind trying to run the car in that cold of weather to begin with.
The body is all SMC panels, and at that freezing temp, slightest of hit to them is going to have them shattering like they are glass.
The second is the summer performance tires in that cold of weather, will have them cracking in less than a year if subject to that cold of weather, even with the car parked for the winter in storage (read vet needs to say in heated garage).

Bottom line, if you need a winter time car, the vet is not it, and need to get something that has metal body panels that the freezing weather will not effect, and something with 4 wheel drive that will do well in the snow, and maybe one that comes factory with a block heater, designed to be run in that cold weather as well.

If you have to start it you should install a block heater. Really though Vettes aren't cold weather vehicles. Even Mustangs are border line. Best to store it properly over the winter and leave it alone. Just my opinion as I live in freezing cold Alberta Canada. No Vettes on the road here Oct to April. Been -25C/ -15 F with 12"/30 cm snow last 3 days. I agree with Dano523.

I'm sure plenty of 6.2 liter Chevy's have been started at that temp and colder without the benefit of block heaters. If it were mine, at minimum I would use a lower weight oil, a block heater and/or a heated garage. Hope you have good winter tires on it. I won't drive my ultra high performance summer tires below 40F and they will break below 20F.

We used to do cold weather testing with BMW every winter in Finland. Always tried to get some -40 degree nights. The BMW protocol was to crank without touching the throttle and as soon as it fired you drove away at full throttle. Obviously no owner would do that but we never broke anything on the BMW's.

Definitely not normal. Sounds like it’s knocking in the video?

Starting is one thing, driving is another. Vettes aren't BMW's when it comes to very cold temps and streets. I doubt you can even get true winter tires that would work on a Vette and not talking "all season".

0W is your friend. Use it. Whether it be 30 or 40. If you're going to start it in shit cold weather, use it.

We use these Moroso heater pads on race engines and on our Dry sump oil tanks and they work very well. You could stick one of these to the oil pan and plug it in for an hour or so to get some heat. Not sure how the power would work from USA 110v to what you have there. Would be a quick easy cold start solution

https://www.moroso.com/external-heating-pad23996/

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...2239bc8634.jpg

I just pulled my engine from low oil pressure, The rod bearings on #1 were absolutely shot, bit of damage on the mains 1 & 2, melted it seems.

Best guess was previous owner started it cold, and revved it to the moon immediately. For one, never "Dry" rev period. 2nd definitely don't immediately as it does have a long oil pathway back to front.

I would not start this car below 0F ever, below freezing i probably would have a block heater at least 100%

Ls is a great platform, but the oiling system is the weak point. Stay safe, put it in the garage.

If I start it around 0 C (32 F), or some degrees below (maybe up to -10 C), the oil pressure climbs straight up to 40 PSI, which is "normal behaviour".

A few days.

Actually, the block heater only heats the coolant and the oil sitting in the sump stays cold. Ok, it may warm a little, but basically that's minute. The right way is to heat up the oil to get it flowing and lubricating instantly.

No, it doesn't. Where do you base this presumption?

My experience comes from driving my previous C4 for over a decade all year round (ca. 200 000 km, which would be ~125 000 miles, of which a little less than half during winter time, so maybe something like 40 000 - 50 000 miles altogether). And even the coldest weather I faced (-32 C, ~ -25 F) there was no problem with the body panels. And hasn't been with the present C6.

I do have winter tires for this winter... But I drove a few times during the previous winter with the summer tires and there was no problem with them in the spring even though they were a bit dated.

Bottom line, it's my car ;) And I do have pretty substantial first hand experience with Vettes during winter.

It's not knocking, the motor is pretty normal sounding. The cell phone's mic just picks up something and messes the audio.

That is just what I'm thinking. Since the coolant flows and works as it should with or without heating, the oil heating is my main concern.

That particular one won't work here in Finland, since we have 230 V system, but we have similar products here.

Cold start
 

In the past I have seen dipstick oil heaters dont know effective they are
but having lived in places where the wind chill factor is about -45 to -50 at night , the direction your car is facing was a big consideration.

your local truck drivers may have some ideas for you

I was thinking 0W-xx oils at first, but after some research I'm confident that the oil heater is the safest bet, since even the 0W-xx oil would be pretty thick in those extreme temperatures. I do have the pole with timer at the parking lot, so I can use the heater most of the time I need to "get going".

Of course you can. I got mine in the stock sizes, there's plenty of choice.
Had to buy another set of wheels and TPM sensors, but it's just the "starting investment"

Lived 2 years in Fairbanks, AK.
Block heaters are the norm there.
W/ headbolts about everywhere one parks can plug-in.
Bet Fairbanks gets at least AS cold as Finland, maybe colder.
YMMV

Yeah, as Fairbanks seems to lie about 200 miles south of the arctic circle, while Jyväskylä lies about 350 miles south of the arctic circle.

Mobile 1 5w30 is supposed to be good down to -40° which is the same whether C or F. https://www.appliedthermalfluids.com/product/mobil-1-5w-30-synthetic-motor-oil/#:~:text=Mobil%201%20motor%20oils%20offe r,up%20to%20500%20degrees%20Fahrenheit. I’ve had to start cars a few times down around -25C, and what I recall from that was that the oil pressure relief valve shrieked for maybe 10 seconds, or maybe it was the PS pump, but at no point did I get any low oil pressure indication.