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      07-11-2016, 09:08 PM   #1
zachbooze
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Track Day Temps

Hey guys, I got back from my first track day this past Saturday and during sessions I noticed my coolant temps getting as far as a couple of ticks before the 3/4 mark. Any cause for concern? Thinking of getting a SPAL fan setup and eventually a larger oil cooler as well. Any advice or tips/info are greatly appreciated. BTW, the track temps in Cali are always likely to be ~100 F around this time afaik
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      07-12-2016, 01:49 PM   #2
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The coolant temp is heavily buffered. If the needle moves AT ALL you need to be concerned.

Although 100ºF temps shouldn't give the car any trouble. When's the last time coolant was flushed? It should be on a 4 year flush schedule for street cars, 2 years for heavily tracked cars. How many miles on the car?
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      07-12-2016, 05:58 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by The HACK View Post
The coolant temp is heavily buffered. If the needle moves AT ALL you need to be concerned.

Although 100ºF temps shouldn't give the car any trouble. When's the last time coolant was flushed? It should be on a 4 year flush schedule for street cars, 2 years for heavily tracked cars. How many miles on the car?
^This^

Coolant flush for certain. Is the water pump the original? I'd check fault codes for water pump below speed regardless.........
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      07-12-2016, 06:04 PM   #4
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Also, I don't remember seeing a coolant temp gauge on the car. Unless I'm smoking crack and don't know about it, I'm 100% certain there's no coolant gauge. Is this a secondary, aftermarket gauge you installed? If it is I take it back.

There's an OIL TEMP GAUGE, which on a super hot day, being driven the p*ss out of, it's not out of the realm of possibility for the oil temp to climb a little. I've seen as high as 260ºf, which is just a hair north of middle, on a day where ambient temp is as high as 116ºf and tarmac temp as measured by a infrared thermometer at 160ºf.
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      07-12-2016, 07:38 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by The HACK View Post
Also, I don't remember seeing a coolant temp gauge on the car. Unless I'm smoking crack and don't know about it, I'm 100% certain there's no coolant gauge. Is this a secondary, aftermarket gauge you installed? If it is I take it back.

There's an OIL TEMP GAUGE, which on a super hot day, being driven the p*ss out of, it's not out of the realm of possibility for the oil temp to climb a little. I've seen as high as 260ºf, which is just a hair north of middle, on a day where ambient temp is as high as 116ºf and tarmac temp as measured by a infrared thermometer at 160ºf.
Until you mentioned it above I didn't realize the MC got an oil temp gauge. Those of us with lesser models got shafted with the idiot gauge water temp indicator that's not really a gauge.
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      07-13-2016, 12:03 AM   #6
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False alarm. I was looking at the oil temp gauge and it was reading at about 250* F lol. The track temp was well over 100*F and the car was being driven hard, so i'm not too worried. Any aftermarket oil cooling solutions for the z4m or are they not really needed?
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      07-13-2016, 08:35 AM   #7
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The ///M's oil temperature gauge, center of scale is 210'F.

On the track, once in a blue moon, with ambient temperatures around 98'F, I might hit 215'F, if I was really flogging it...

If track temps are less less than 90'f, my oil temps are around 205'.
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      07-13-2016, 09:03 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Shipkiller View Post
The ///M's oil temperature gauge, center of scale is 210'F.

On the track, once in a blue moon, with ambient temperatures around 98'F, I might hit 215'F, if I was really flogging it...

If track temps are less less than 90'f, my oil temps are around 205'.
Thats interesting because most peoples regular street operating temps for s54 powered cars are around 205*F for street driving afaik lol. Are you not usually getting near redline? Are you not at the max mark on the dipstick as well? I heard temps will be lower if you don't fill your oil to the max level, although I haven't done it.

By what I have seen so far, 240-255*F is not out of line for the s54 on track.
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      07-13-2016, 09:40 AM   #9
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In the summer, I normally hover around 200-205'F on the street. In the winter around 195'F.

It has been accepted practice for the last 15 or so years that you do not fill the oil to the max line on the dipstick on the S54.

I also, yearly, pull the front bumper cover and clean my oil cooler and radiator. Almost a 1/4 cup of debris will come out of the oil cooler alone.

Additionally, I do not run Castrol 10W60. I run Redline 15W50. The reasons have been posted here (on this board and others) before and I will not go into this in this thread. But running 15W50 also lowers my engine oil temperatures. It has other positive effects also.
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      07-13-2016, 11:23 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Shipkiller
In the summer, I normally hover around 200-205'F on the street. In the winter around 195'F.

It has been accepted practice for the last 15 or so years that you do not fill the oil to the max line on the dipstick on the S54.

I also, yearly, pull the front bumper cover and clean my oil cooler and radiator. Almost a 1/4 cup of debris will come out of the oil cooler alone.

Additionally, I do not run Castrol 10W60. I run Redline 15W50. The reasons have been posted here (on this board and others) before and I will not go into this in this thread. But running 15W50 also lowers my engine oil temperatures. It has other positive effects also.
I ran 15-50 my last set of track days last weekend. Oil temps were a bit lower than usual.

+1 on that and the halfway point on the dipstick.
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      07-13-2016, 06:40 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by zachbooze View Post
False alarm. I was looking at the oil temp gauge and it was reading at about 250* F lol. The track temp was well over 100*F and the car was being driven hard, so i'm not too worried. Any aftermarket oil cooling solutions for the z4m or are they not really needed?
Aftermarket oil coolers aren't necessary on this car until you consistently start seeing 270+, IMO. On one summer day at Buttonwillow where ambient was 116 degrees, and half of the participants were going into limp mode, I was happily blasting around and only saw 265-ish.

I recall one of the suppliers that used to sell my old company transmission lubricants showing us that for every 20 degrees over 240 degrees in operating temp it effectively HALFS the usable life of oil based lubricants. The 10W-60 has at least 15,000 miles of life in them, so even if you're seeing 270 degrees regularly, if you change every 7,500 miles you're more than safe.

10W-60 doesn't vaporize until like 340 degrees I think. Anyway, given the annual change cycle as required on these engines, a few track days of over 250 degrees oil temp isn't really going to do ANY harm.
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      07-14-2016, 12:10 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Shipkiller View Post
In the summer, I normally hover around 200-205'F on the street. In the winter around 195'F.

It has been accepted practice for the last 15 or so years that you do not fill the oil to the max line on the dipstick on the S54.

I also, yearly, pull the front bumper cover and clean my oil cooler and radiator. Almost a 1/4 cup of debris will come out of the oil cooler alone.

Additionally, I do not run Castrol 10W60. I run Redline 15W50. The reasons have been posted here (on this board and others) before and I will not go into this in this thread. But running 15W50 also lowers my engine oil temperatures. It has other positive effects also.
Thanks for the info. Why redline 15w50 as opposed to redline 10w60? Mind linking the thread please?

Thank you for the info/assistance everyone
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      07-15-2016, 07:43 AM   #13
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i really hate not having a coolant temp gauge ...

we have a 2 stage light up setup...

amber means... chill out, red means ... head gasket failure imminent LOL... but seriously I'm pleased to report I've never seen a coolant warning but i tell you with my blower i can heat up the oil quickly!!
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      08-04-2016, 09:37 AM   #14
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I have a water temp gauge

but yeah my car sees track day temps in access of 40 degress and the oil temp gauge does shift to the right about 5-20 degrees, depending on how i am going and how the track is set up. Ive come to the realisation that 40 degrees OAT is probably enough, and anything over that is good beer drinking weather to talk about track, rather than actually being on it.
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      08-04-2016, 12:23 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by zachbooze
Hey guys, I got back from my first track day this past Saturday and during sessions I noticed my coolant temps getting as far as a couple of ticks before the 3/4 mark. Any cause for concern? Thinking of getting a SPAL fan setup and eventually a larger oil cooler as well. Any advice or tips/info are greatly appreciated. BTW, the track temps in Cali are always likely to be ~100 F around this time afaik
Were u at buttonwillow on 7/30?
I was there and it was 110 degrees. My oil temp stayed around 240.
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      08-04-2016, 06:35 PM   #16
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Originally Posted by AriuSen View Post
Were u at buttonwillow on 7/30?
I was there and it was 110 degrees. My oil temp stayed around 240.
I was at Thunderhill

Any oil cooling solutions for the z4m? Not worried about temps currently but would like to know if anyone is running larger oil coolers.
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      08-04-2016, 06:40 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by zachbooze View Post
I was at Thunderhill

Any oil cooling solutions for the z4m? Not worried about temps currently but would like to know if anyone is running larger oil coolers.
i ran about 25 to 30 laps on 110 degrees
didnt think I need oil cooler so far.
I have motorsport thermostat and oil bypass valve.
seems like its enough for now...on hot weather I try to not use same oil for more than 3 track days.
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      08-05-2016, 06:55 AM   #18
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I am fabbing a secondary oil cooler behind the right fang, but only due to our extended elevated temps here in the sand box.
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