rick,
that is good question and you shall receive a lot of good answers.
for the start use mine:
you want to know how hot the
oil got around the bearings tofind out if they melt or not. unfortunately it is not very practical to mount a sensor st the crank ...
so my best bet is the
oil pan, not at the bottom but close to it ...
here is where the engine builders may add a good spot.
the bearing manufacturer will give you a maximum
oil temperatur that the bearings are supposed to experience.
unfortunately the oil itself may not be capable at all of that temperature.
mineral oil is suppposed to last up to 300°F for a short while.
that is: go on when you are leader in the last lap ...
synthetic oil is supposed to last to 350°F +, but are the bearings?
for the track we try to keep oil temperature at about 230°F to 260°F.
do not cool it too much (below 200°F), water and other residues (sulfur?) will stay in the oil and you do not want that.
engine builders, race drivers, oil and bearing engineers correct my temperature values, but they should be in the ball park!
dominik