Minimal-ideal Temperature for Engine Oil and ATF

[Bmj0yp]

Hello stinger owners! I have a question about the minimal-optimal border for the temperatures of oil in the CVVT and in the transmission.

Background:
I’ve set up a cooling system of my gt-line. It now has a completely separate transmission cooler with active fan and a passive radiator for the engine oil. Both of them are connected through thermostats.

After the installing I realised the temperatures seems a little low:
Engine oil in CVVT by OBD scanner: 82c (180F) driving a highway and 88c (190F) driving a city traffic.

Transmission was 68C (155F) on a highway and 73C (163F) in urban traffic.

Are these temperatures normal for regular driving? Am I able to drive aggressively having these temps without increased wear of the car? Or the temperatures are very low for normal working? Will it reduce the recourse of the engine and transmission?

Thanks for the answers and sorry for mistakes.

 

[nhcowboy28]

Teil aus

 

[5tinger]

The oil temperature maintains and slightly exceeds 100C according to the oil temp gauge.

 

[oddball]

Those temps are fine.

(all temps are degrees fahrenheit. Sorry, you "science units" countries")

Engine oil: Breakdown for a high quality synthetic starts around 240 or 250 and is completely stable anywhere below that. The oil needs to get over 180 in order to burn off water and contaminants. Cold oil will load up and turn into sludge quickly. The stock system has a oil to engine coolant heat exchanger which will rapidly heat the oil when engine starts cold and is very effective at keeping the engine oil locked to the coolant temp. As long as your cooling system is in good shape then it's plenty effective for anything other than extended track use.

Trans fluid: ATF is a funny liquid. It has at least four uses: hydraulic fluid for applying pressure, lubricant to keep clutches spinning against steels when not applied, coolant, and quickly *stops* being a lubricant when clutches are applied. ATF is a poor lubricant when cold, and starts breaking down around 210-220ish. So good minimum temp is usually 140. It's still common to use a coolant exchange loop (aka radiator cooler) which keeps the ATF locked to the engine coolant temp. This can be a bit sketchy these days since engines are running hotter to gain more efficiency. But, again, modern synthetic ATFs are pretty robust. The stock Stinger setup uses a dedicated trans cooler with a thermostat (to get the fluid to warm up rapidly). The stock cooler might be on the small side for track use, but is perfectly fine for anything else.

 

[Bmj0yp]

The oil temperature maintains and slightly exceeds 100C according to the oil temp gauge.

Yes, it does in stock. I saw even 112C oil temp in CVVT. Because of it I tuned my stinger 2.0 with engine and tranny oil coolers

 

[Bmj0yp]

Those temps are fine.

(all temps are degrees fahrenheit. Sorry, you "science units" countries")

Engine oil: Breakdown for a high quality synthetic starts around 240 or 250 and is completely stable anywhere below that. The oil needs to get over 180 in order to burn off water and contaminants. Cold oil will load up and turn into sludge quickly. The stock system has a oil to engine coolant heat exchanger which will rapidly heat the oil when engine starts cold and is very effective at keeping the engine oil locked to the coolant temp. As long as your cooling system is in good shape then it's plenty effective for anything other than extended track use.

Trans fluid: ATF is a funny liquid. It has at least four uses: hydraulic fluid for applying pressure, lubricant to keep clutches spinning against steels when not applied, coolant, and quickly *stops* being a lubricant when clutches are applied. ATF is a poor lubricant when cold, and starts breaking down around 210-220ish. So good minimum temp is usually 140. It's still common to use a coolant exchange loop (aka radiator cooler) which keeps the ATF locked to the engine coolant temp. This can be a bit sketchy these days since engines are running hotter to gain more efficiency. But, again, modern synthetic ATFs are pretty robust. The stock Stinger setup uses a dedicated trans cooler with a thermostat (to get the fluid to warm up rapidly). The stock cooler might be on the small side for track use, but is perfectly fine for anything else.

Thanks for such detailed answer!

Am I understand correct: active driving a stinger with CVVT temp around 180-190F is on the edge of wear? Or it’s okay to drive regularly if temp isn’t less than 180f.

Maybe CVVT temps are lover than real working temperature in the engine? Or it should be sometime about 212F to boil water in the oil.

I need to decide: do I need to change oil cooler to less efficiency.

 

[oddball]

Thanks for such detailed answer!

Am I understand correct: active driving a stinger with CVVT temp around 180-190F is on the edge of wear? Or it’s okay to drive regularly if temp isn’t less than 180f.

Maybe CVVT temps are lover than real working temperature in the engine? Or it should be sometime about 212F to boil water in the oil.

I need to decide: do I need to change oil cooler to less efficiency.

180 to 190 in regular use is fine. A little cold, but fine. Might want to use thinner oil (5w-20?) depending on where you live. Regular oil changes are the most important - you can pour water into the crankcase if you change the oil every 100 miles. It appears to me that, in general, the ECU tries to keep the coolant around 200 degrees, so the engine designers wanted the oil around 200 degrees. (*)

Yup, the temp measurement is just a single measurement at one point. The oil is quite a bit hotter when it's pulling heat from the pistons and bearings. That's why a measured temp of 180 is enough to get moisture out of the oil.

Your car is currently set up for hard track use (by daily driver standards). So it'll be a bit cold in regular use. Drive harder and it'll be happier!

(*) In old-school engines without oil/water exchangers, the oil would *always* be hotter than the coolant. Coolant pulls heat from the heads - which is where most is being expelled anyway - while oil pulls heat from the bottom end (pistons, bearings, etc). The oil is then, uh, "cooled" by dumping heat into the engine block which is cooled by the coolant. So coolant of 200 would result in oil around 220 (usually). Synthetic oils are much more heat tolerant than traditional oils, and many modern cars now have oil/water exchangers - although I'd bet a paycheck the common use of those has more to do with raising fuel economy by getting the oil warm and thin as quickly as possible, rather than anything to do with performance or longevity. OEMs are chasing tenths of an MPG these days. Anyway, synthetic oil + exchangers is a big part of the 10,000 mile oil change mentality. Oil coolers only become necessary when the engine is really putting out the heat and the stock design isn't sufficient. e.g., on my Cutlass I noticed with my last 403 build that oil pressure would drop about 10psi after driving on the highway for 20-30 minutes. The oil was getting up over 240 because of how I built the engine (tight tolerances, high compression, thin cylinder walls). Similarly, my new build has the block filled to the water pump holes, which means the coolant isn't cooling the block at all - only the oil is. So an oil cooler is now necessary.

 

[Bmj0yp]

180 to 190 in regular use is fine. A little cold, but fine. Might want to use thinner oil (5w-20?) depending on where you live. Regular oil changes are the most important - you can pour water into the crankcase if you change the oil every 100 miles. It appears to me that, in general, the ECU tries to keep the coolant around 200 degrees, so the engine designers wanted the oil around 200 degrees. (*)

Yup, the temp measurement is just a single measurement at one point. The oil is quite a bit hotter when it's pulling heat from the pistons and bearings. That's why a measured temp of 180 is enough to get moisture out of the oil.

Your car is currently set up for hard track use (by daily driver standards). So it'll be a bit cold in regular use. Drive harder and it'll be happier!

(*) In old-school engines without oil/water exchangers, the oil would *always* be hotter than the coolant. Coolant pulls heat from the heads - which is where most is being expelled anyway - while oil pulls heat from the bottom end (pistons, bearings, etc). The oil is then, uh, "cooled" by dumping heat into the engine block which is cooled by the coolant. So coolant of 200 would result in oil around 220 (usually). Synthetic oils are much more heat tolerant than traditional oils, and many modern cars now have oil/water exchangers - although I'd bet a paycheck the common use of those has more to do with raising fuel economy by getting the oil warm and thin as quickly as possible, rather than anything to do with performance or longevity. OEMs are chasing tenths of an MPG these days. Anyway, synthetic oil + exchangers is a big part of the 10,000 mile oil change mentality. Oil coolers only become necessary when the engine is really putting out the heat and the stock design isn't sufficient. e.g., on my Cutlass I noticed with my last 403 build that oil pressure would drop about 10psi after driving on the highway for 20-30 minutes. The oil was getting up over 240 because of how I built the engine (tight tolerances, high compression, thin cylinder walls). Similarly, my new build has the block filled to the water pump holes, which means the coolant isn't cooling the block at all - only the oil is. So an oil cooler is now necessary.

Thank you very much for the explanation! You’ve cooled my worries . I’ll drop an oil viscosity a bit to meet the 0w30 parameters

 

[oddball]

Thank you very much for the explanation! You’ve cooled my worries . I’ll drop an oil viscosity a bit to meet the 0w30 parameters

I see what you've done there....

 

[5tinger]

180 to 190 in regular use is fine. A little cold, but fine. Might want to use thinner oil (5w-20?) depending on where you live. Regular oil changes are the most important - you can pour water into the crankcase if you change the oil every 100 miles. It appears to me that, in general, the ECU tries to keep the coolant around 200 degrees, so the engine designers wanted the oil around 200 degrees. (*)

Yup, the temp measurement is just a single measurement at one point. The oil is quite a bit hotter when it's pulling heat from the pistons and bearings. That's why a measured temp of 180 is enough to get moisture out of the oil.

Your car is currently set up for hard track use (by daily driver standards). So it'll be a bit cold in regular use. Drive harder and it'll be happier!

(*) In old-school engines without oil/water exchangers, the oil would *always* be hotter than the coolant. Coolant pulls heat from the heads - which is where most is being expelled anyway - while oil pulls heat from the bottom end (pistons, bearings, etc). The oil is then, uh, "cooled" by dumping heat into the engine block which is cooled by the coolant. So coolant of 200 would result in oil around 220 (usually). Synthetic oils are much more heat tolerant than traditional oils, and many modern cars now have oil/water exchangers - although I'd bet a paycheck the common use of those has more to do with raising fuel economy by getting the oil warm and thin as quickly as possible, rather than anything to do with performance or longevity. OEMs are chasing tenths of an MPG these days. Anyway, synthetic oil + exchangers is a big part of the 10,000 mile oil change mentality. Oil coolers only become necessary when the engine is really putting out the heat and the stock design isn't sufficient. e.g., on my Cutlass I noticed with my last 403 build that oil pressure would drop about 10psi after driving on the highway for 20-30 minutes. The oil was getting up over 240 because of how I built the engine (tight tolerances, high compression, thin cylinder walls). Similarly, my new build has the block filled to the water pump holes, which means the coolant isn't cooling the block at all - only the oil is. So an oil cooler is now necessary.

The Stinger 3.3tt is very hot running engine. The engine gets really toasty and it seems to retain the heat for a long time.

For compairson, the oil temp in the Nissan V6TT Infinti runs about 160-180F and the engine makes 400HP.
However its worth noting the Nissan engine specifies 0w20 with much smaller oil sump capacity and the Stinger specifies anything from 5w30 to 20w50 with a higher sump capacity.

 

[oddball]

The Stinger 3.3tt is very hot running engine. The engine gets really toasty and it seems to retain the heat for a long time.

For compairson, the oil temp in the Nissan V6TT Infinti runs about 160-180F and the engine makes 400HP.
However its worth noting the Nissan engine specifies 0w20 with much smaller oil sump capacity and the Stinger specifies anything from 5w30 to 20w50 with a higher sump capacity.

I'd say the nissan is an unusually cold engine! I'm used to seeing nominal coolant temps around 220 these days.

 

[General_Vodka]

How are people getting transmission temp readings? The car only shows coolant and oil. I know the JB4 displays more values, does it show trans temp as well?

 

[Bmj0yp]

How are people getting transmission temp readings? The car only shows coolant and oil. I know the JB4 displays more values, does it show trans temp as well?

I use ODB2 scanner from vgate + car scanner pro app on my phone. Works perfect for me

 

[General_Vodka]

I use ODB2 scanner from vgate + car scanner pro app on my phone. Works perfect for me

There is no such app on the App Store.

 

[Bmj0yp]

There is no such app on the App Store.

apps.apple.com/ru/app/car-scanner-elm-obd2/id1259933623

It might be not able in your country… also there is torque app in the appstore