oil temp in cool weather

[raybones]

My oil temperature is running low, 75'C at expressway speeds in cooler temperatures (<60'F). Are the oil coolers in Superformance Cobras thermostatically controlled? My water temp also runs cool about 80'C, but that does not really seem strange. Both warm up when driving at lower speeds.

Thanks,
Ray, SP02290

[t walgamuth]

Does not seem too low to me...assuming they are centigrade.

[bobcowan]

75*C = 167*F.

Max oil temp is pretty well known. Minimum temp is a little bit harder to define. But it appears that 180* is about minimum, as best as I can find. Optimal temp is around 200*F (93*C). Below 160*F will cause excessive cylinder wall wear.

I do not believe the Superformance cars come equipped with a thermostat. But that depends on who finished it. You'll have to inspect your car to find out.

But even with a thermostat, it can be difficult to get the oil temps up when air temps are low.

[fastd]

Before you go making a bunch of changes, you sure that you are getting an accurate temperature reading? The positioning of my sensor was a problem when I first bought my ERA second hand...

[cobragene]

In summer time 85+ my oil temp didn’t exceed about 170F so I disconnected my oil cooler, which helped some but not a great deal probably because of the 7 qt oil pan. How does low oil temp increase cylinder wear?

[jwoodard]

As the previous owner of SPF 1938, I can tell you from my experience that the oil and coolant temps tend to run below minimally desired temps when the ambient temperature is cool. Additionally, SPF's do not come from the factory with an oil thermostat. The solution is to install a thermostat and there are several on the market. I chose a canton one and it worked out perfectly.

Here's an image of mine as installed.

[patrickt]

I have an easily removable cover over mine, held taut by springs, and the result is that it keeps the oil temperature in the upper 80's Centigrade pretty consistent with water temperature even on cooler days. You can remove it in a flash by reaching through the wheel-wells should you want the benefit of a full flow oil cooler.

[twobjshelbys]

Bypass the oil cooler or put in a thermostat.

[t walgamuth]

I would not run a car without a t stat. The heat needs to be there to evaporate any water you might have from condensation. The oil cooler was on the original cars because racing was presumed to be a possibility. My car does not have an oil cooler but it does hold a lot of oil, which keeps the temp down.

A Mercedes gullwing comes with dry sump and holds about 14 quarts. One guy who rebuilt a lot of them said he typically runs about half that much oil to allow it to warm up. He says he has a tough time getting people to run their Gullwings low on oil though.