250 degree oil temp on the track ...
 

250+ degree oil temp on the track ... normal or too high?

122C, thats getting up there.

These temps and even higher are normal for track use... Not good for over the counter engine oils with their hot viscosity rated at 212F, but "normal" for an M96 engine.

Thanks Jake,

so is there an engine oil that works in my "Daily driver" / "weekend racer" ?
When the oil gets to 250 I see the oil pressure drop :eek:

Hmmm looks like you are headed for an oil cooler

Yep, what I was thinking was to use the LN Engineering oil cooler adapter Superior oil cooling when tracking your Boxster, Cayman, or 911 model Porsche. and mate it to something like this: Derale Cooling Products 15830 - Derale Performance Econo-Cool Remote Fluid Coolers with Fans - Overview - SummitRacing.com
I would put it in place of the existing engine bay fan (passenger side), but really haven't figured out all the details. And we all know the devil's in the details ....

250?! Bloody hell! I could never imagine my car capable of getting that high without some catastrophic cooling problem. But then again, I have never taken my car on the track. :o

Synthetic oils hold up their properties better under higher heat than regular oils, but once they reach their breakdown temp they lose their lubricating properties and the engine is in dire risk of disaster.

Its always good to keep the engine/oil cooler with oil coolers but you are not near the limit for 100% synthetic oils that hold their properties to 400F degrees.
(http://www.synthetic-motor-oil-change-and-filters.com/amsoil_articles/mineral-petrolium-oil-compared-to-synthetic/)

However its the cylinder heads that might reach these temps and if the oil that lubes the piston/cylinders reaches that temp then your asking for trouble.

Since the heads are mostly water cooled I think, the coolant system would need additional cooling capacity as well.

Higher flow water pumps, bigger radiator and additional oil coolers would all help.

I think Jake is reluctant to recommend a oil on a forum, but Joe Gibbs DT40 is flat6innovations approved & now available.

On the street my coolent temp gauge runs just slightly over the 180 mark all of the time and almost never varies. On the track its normal to see the coolent at 220F - and that is the coolent, the oil temp in the engine is likely higher so 250F is certainly within reason.

I don't know what my track oil temp is as I don't measure it but if it wasn't 250 degrees I would be very surprised. My gearbox gets close to 300 (or at least it did prior to fitting a transmission oil cooler). I would not be at all concerned.

First, dumb question here, but how do you guys get the oil temp? I don't have any gauge or computer thingy in my 02 base.

Second, us Vette guys see temps of 280-295F oil all day long. When I first tracked my 06 C6 Z51, I was quite concerned, but after 2 different Vettes and quite a few track days with Hoosiers and no cooling issues, I am not that anal about that anymore.

Maybe some of you engine guys can educate me on differing design engines (pushrod, M96, etc) and why some temps are ok for some engines and others are not?

For everyone of you wondering how I get the oil temp, you can find the description here:
http://986forum.com/forums/boxster-racing-forum/33994-oil-temp-sensor.html

and by the way:
of course the oil temp by itself is not the main issue, the hotter the oil gets the more I see the oil pressure drop ....

By the way: Any of you guys going to Buttonwillow this upcoming weekend?
If yes, please come by and say Hi to me, my number is #179 (car color is seal grey), I run in "Green"

See you there on Saturday, Chris. (After the club race on Saturday, I'm then going to Laguna Seca on Sunday... crazy weekend!)

Hmmmm, seems like the engine already has all the sensors it needs for everything and the Durametric displays stuff that we would want for racing.

What we need is for the Durametic software to run on an Android device so we can mount a 7" Android computer or phone in the car to display all the important numbers.

Just a thought.

Small update:
I talked to a 996 driver at the track yesterday (I noticed that he also had an aftermarket oil temp gauge). He sees the same oil temperatures and loss of oil pressure.
So at least it's "Normal" and not something wrong with my car.

I think you are on the right track Chris. Use whatever tools are needed to identify when the motor is heat soaked and quickly go into cool-down mode. I wonder if I can get accurate oil temp in my climate diagnostic mode.

While it is normal for these engines to see 250*+ oil temps on the track it also causes issues that appear to be starvation. Over the counter engine oils are rated viscosity wise at 212F. Some oils that are advertised at 40wt are less than a 20 grade at 250*F. M96 engines are friction monsters, the oil sees all that load..

so how about Redline 10W60: