[sg335]

I was at Buttonwillow on Friday with the same ambient air temps. With traffic, also pushing the car to +- 8/10th. Oil temps did not exceed 270 degrees, and no loss of power. I guess at this level of driving, the car does not go into limp home mode?

[sg335]

Forgot to mention that oil was stock spec and stock coolant mix.

[2e9x's]

Originally Posted by sg335

I was at Buttonwillow on Friday with the same ambient air temps. With traffic, also pushing the car to +- 8/10th. Oil temps did not exceed 270 degrees, and no loss of power. I guess at this level of driving, the car does not go into limp home mode?

Lucky bastard! I really wanted to go to that event, but my car is not here yet. How was it? The last time the Central CA Chapter was there they hosted a really fun event!

[HP Autosport]

Originally Posted by sg335

I was at Buttonwillow on Friday with the same ambient air temps. With traffic, also pushing the car to +- 8/10th. Oil temps did not exceed 270 degrees, and no loss of power. I guess at this level of driving, the car does not go into limp home mode?

With that kind of ambient temp, it is hard on any car. It is unfortunate that the 335i may go into limp home mode when certain temperature is exceeded.

[MTMnet]

Originally Posted by BMWdrmz

This is such a complex problem. There could be a number of variables, including the weight of the oil you're running. If you think about it, the more friction your engine generates from all the moving parts the more heat it will generate. That's why motorsport oils tend to be higher weight to reduce internal engine friction and hold up to higher engine temps. That in and of itself will not keep an engine cool, but it plays a factor. Also heat is what causes an oil to break down and lose viscosity. Since I've been doing track days this year I've been using 10W-60 Castrol TWS motorsport oil (same oil recommended for my M3 when I had it). Knock on wood, I have not experienced extreme engine temps (that's including 30 mins of hot lapping). I have no doubts that the oil cooler could stand to be a bit larger, but there has to be other factors.
In any case I have a track day scheduled this Sunday. The ambient temp should be around 75F-78F. I'll let you know what I notice my oil temps are when I get back.
Does anyone know what I could use to hook something up to measure coolant temp. I would like to start gathering some real data that I can post for everyone.

Here is a quote from one of the engineers at Redline Oil that I received via email regarding this thread:

"Switching to a higher viscosity oil isn't the answer, it will operate warmer. A lower viscosity has less parasitic loss, less drag and will transfer heat better."
Dave - Redline Oil

[BMWdrmz]

Originally Posted by MTMnet

Here is a quote from one of the engineers at Redline Oil that I received via email regarding this thread:

"Switching to a higher viscosity oil isn't the answer, it will operate warmer. A lower viscosity has less parasitic loss, less drag and will transfer heat better."
Dave - Redline Oil

Thanks for the post. But what is the context of this response. Answer to what. I have to imagine there is a reason that most race engines and cars in motorsports use higher viscosity oils. It would seem logical that a lower viscosity would have less drag.

[MTMnet]

Originally Posted by MTMnet
Here is a quote from one of the engineers at Redline Oil that I received via email regarding this thread:

"Switching to a higher viscosity oil isn't the answer, it will operate warmer. A lower viscosity has less parasitic loss, less drag and will transfer heat better."
Dave - Redline Oil

Originally Posted by BMWdrmz

Thanks for the post. But what is the context of this response. Answer to what. I have to imagine there is a reason that most race engines and cars in motorsports use higher viscosity oils. It would seem logical that a lower viscosity would have less drag.

With high oil temps, one might conclude that going to a higher viscosity oil would help resolve the problem, however based on Redline Oil's response, it seems the opposite is true.

With that said, I have to admit that I have no clue. I find the whole topic interesting but very confusing.