Trevor, (also copied to the list for general interest's sake)
Dave Terrick in Winnipeg, Canada.
40 Celcius?!? Ouch. Actually, anything over about 30 is pushing it for
highway use for extended peiods.
A while back I posted a comment of my oil temp gauge story. Essentyially,
sump oil should be the same temp as water, ie 185 or so. Essentiall,y when
the water is running hot or the oil pressure drops "a bit" the oil is hot
too. I've never seen the wrong side of 220 on the oil.
What I have seen though, is a repeatable indication of early oil failure,
at about 2000 miles. At a given cruising speed you have a rev range, oil
pressure, and oil temp. When the oil begins to break down, first it rises
in temp from 5 to 10 degrees, then the pressure drops about 5 psi.
Brief excpetions to the above rule exist after a hard run and then getting
stuck in rush hour traffic on very hot days. This is, of course, an
exception for most of us.
I recommend that if your cold days (<20 deg) exceed your hot days (>32-35
deg) fit a temp gauge in the drain plug hole of the sump (electric style
for simplicity and cost) and change the oil more frequently. This is fast,
easy, and will tell you rapidly if YOUR conditions warrant a cooler. If
you do go for a cooler, a thermostate is almost manditory. Stainless
lines look pretty. Oh, and the modern oil filter is a must even if you
pass on the cooler.
Dave Terrick
Winnipeg, not Winterpeg this year so far
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