Approaching four years since the last post here, but figured I'd throw my more recent experience in for posterity... There are two reports - the first is for my Camaro:
- Pitt Intl Raceway
- 2013 1LE ~80k miles
- Mods at the time were BTR4, Kooks, Rotofab, Tune
- Stock thermostat and oil cooler
- Three TNIA events (intermediate) on this sample with the rest of the miles beating the snot out of the car on the street and drag strip, and large autocross event (it's just a toy; hadn't changed the oil for over a year
)
Never paid attention to oil or coolant temps - it was brake issues I was fighting
Unfortunately, the excessive bronze noted in the report ended up being the "upgraded" trunnions - put a valve into #7, cracking it and bending the rod. To be fair, the cam swap and its "supporting mods" had around 50K on them, but the trunnions were worn oblong. Tearing everything down, I'd be able to torque them tight, but then they'd "pop" and loosen up. I was planning on replacing the springs right before this happened, but timing is everything. I don't blame this on any oil temps.
So... I have been all over the place with handling oil with this new engine, trying to research all these old threads, etc. Just going with a 379ci LS3 with G6X3 cam and mild bump in compression. For oiling, I'm just going to keep the OE cooler; however, I am swapping to a Z/28 thermostat (pn 12661950; 158*) and adding an oil temp gauge and wrapping my headers with some cheap Summit brand wrap. Also tossed in a IR windage tray for good measure. Engine builder wants me using PennGrade 10w40 partial synthetic, so it'll be interesting to see what the early analyses look like (since I will actually be more proactive this time as I would like to avoid another unexpected engine build). Just going to start with OE DEXCOOL mix, but I really don't anticipate any coolant issues.
The second oil analysis is for my DD which became my track car last year after the engine went in the Camaro:
- 2017 Regal GS AWD (2.0 LTG 260hp/300tq & 6spd auto)
- 4000#+ race weight
- 100% stock
- Dealer oil changes
- One TNIA at Pitt Race and an autocross event at UMIMP.
I had the OE oil temp gauge pegged (reads to 320* - actual temps could have been higher) and ended up hobbling around in limp mode halfway through my second session. Still came back as A-OK
On the other hand... the transmission did not like it and shit the bed about a month later. Since the transmission didn't go at the track - and there was some time between the event and when it went - any good cousin named Vinny could argue it was pure coincidence. Fortunately GM covered a full overhaul and torque converter.
That's all for now - will post back later in the season
Edit: I forgot that I wanted to mention that as I’m reading through the attempts to rationalize GM’s lack of solution for the oil issue - or their emphasis on aero at the expensive of mechanical - I just kept thinking NACA ducts. There’s got to be a way they could have integrated them into the 6th gen and C6+. I’m not an engineer, though, so what do I know… I’m just a program manager that pretends like I know what’s going on with the organized chaos