Oil temperature gauge - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

XPMC2010 · 02-07-2014, 09:52 AM

The best temperature should be 200 or 210 degrees. Is this correct? I am curious about my four gauge cluster, I have stock, no mods, and I notice I am pushing more like 225 degrees even on cold days! I never noticed last summer, just assumed the needle was midrange on the 200.
And I understand it is nicer on the engine to run a lil cooler but maybe it is normal? And I found out that the coolant runs by the oil and they all have an oil cooler. True? Thanks for any input.

Avenging Orange · 02-07-2014, 01:27 PM

Your fine. Mine has run 230 at times. Yes there is an oil cooler that is a part of the coolant system. If it consistantly stays high you might get it looked at. And be sure to check those oil and coolant levels.

Madness11 · 02-07-2014, 01:33 PM

Mine can get that high if my oil is up to temp and I am just sitting still and idling. It willl usually drop back to 210 after I have been moving a while. The oil cooler on the side of the motor needs airflow moving across it in order to maintain the 210 temp. Even on a cold day.

Anthony @ LG Motorsports · 02-07-2014, 06:27 PM

Oil pressure is key #1...always make sure you have pressure regardless of the temp of the oil.

Remember pressure is going to vary with temp to, and vice versa. The colder the oil, the higher the pressure as the oil is thicker.

Now as for oil temps it can be to hot and it can be to cold. Most will agree you should see 150-175 degrees on the car before you really start to lay into it for proper lubrication. At the same point you can be to hot as well. When you start to consistently see temps over 280 degrees the oil starts to break down and you loose a lot of the additives in the oil and you can see material break down inside the engine. Now that generally comes with long runs at that kind of temp.

For a road racer, you would like to see water temps 180-220 and oil temps 230-250...at that range you should be able to run the 24hrs of LeMans. For a sprint, or weekend racer you could see higher temps, say 200-230 water and 260-290 oil temp, but make sure you change the oil and filter after the weekend to get fresh good oil in the car.

As for your car, they use a liquid to liquid cooler so it should be within 10-20 degrees of water temp during normal operating conditions.

XPMC2010 · 02-08-2014, 10:21 AM

Thank you very much for your replies. It makes me glad to be part of camarofive. What I learned is that I needed more airflow - not driving far or much for that matter this winter like most of us are in this tundra. Let's all hope that our camaros that were assembled in Canada will help us with this kind of weather! PS. And the temperature numbers to look for as well as attention to fluid levels and oil pressure to look for was helpful. Thanks!

02-07-2014, 01:27 PM	#2
Avenging Orange Drives: 2010 Inferno Orange 2SS/RS Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Clermont, IN Posts: 3,297	Your fine. Mine has run 230 at times. Yes there is an oil cooler that is a part of the coolant system. If it consistantly stays high you might get it looked at. And be sure to check those oil and coolant levels. __________________ 2010 Inferno Orange 2SS/RS M6 Black Leather, Sun Roof, OBX Headers, Borla touring axle back, Cold Air Inductions CAI , non synthetic fluids, BMR total bushing upgrade/1" lowering springs, DSE 32mm rear sway bar. GM fe4 shocks/struts/LCA's, AAM 3.91 diff, Vertini RFS1.8 20x9 +30. Conti ExtremeContact Sport 275/35/20. sjm autoprod ABL dash kit. Mike Norris tuned 413/419. Avenging Orange: 43 years of not buying into the Hype........and damn proud of it!! https://youtu.be/9JD9it6SmB8 https://youtu.be/xmelTlEzI34 KICKING CANCERS ASS SINCE 2015!!

02-07-2014, 09:52 AM	#1
XPMC2010 KYKLOS Drives: 2010 Transformers Camaro 2SS Auto Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Fort Wayne, IN Posts: 18 View My Garage	Oil temperature gauge The best temperature should be 200 or 210 degrees. Is this correct? I am curious about my four gauge cluster, I have stock, no mods, and I notice I am pushing more like 225 degrees even on cold days! I never noticed last summer, just assumed the needle was midrange on the 200. And I understand it is nicer on the engine to run a lil cooler but maybe it is normal? And I found out that the coolant runs by the oil and they all have an oil cooler. True? Thanks for any input.

02-07-2014, 01:33 PM	#3
Madness11 086YN Drives: Black 2SS/RS Demon of Madness Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Conroe, Texas Posts: 454	Mine can get that high if my oil is up to temp and I am just sitting still and idling. It willl usually drop back to 210 after I have been moving a while. The oil cooler on the side of the motor needs airflow moving across it in order to maintain the 210 temp. Even on a cold day.

02-07-2014, 06:27 PM	#4
Anthony @ LG Motorsports Drives: 1994 1LE / 2006 Z51 Corvette Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Plano, TX Posts: 2,829	Oil pressure is key #1...always make sure you have pressure regardless of the temp of the oil. Remember pressure is going to vary with temp to, and vice versa. The colder the oil, the higher the pressure as the oil is thicker. Now as for oil temps it can be to hot and it can be to cold. Most will agree you should see 150-175 degrees on the car before you really start to lay into it for proper lubrication. At the same point you can be to hot as well. When you start to consistently see temps over 280 degrees the oil starts to break down and you loose a lot of the additives in the oil and you can see material break down inside the engine. Now that generally comes with long runs at that kind of temp. For a road racer, you would like to see water temps 180-220 and oil temps 230-250...at that range you should be able to run the 24hrs of LeMans. For a sprint, or weekend racer you could see higher temps, say 200-230 water and 260-290 oil temp, but make sure you change the oil and filter after the weekend to get fresh good oil in the car. As for your car, they use a liquid to liquid cooler so it should be within 10-20 degrees of water temp during normal operating conditions.

02-08-2014, 10:21 AM	#5
XPMC2010 KYKLOS Drives: 2010 Transformers Camaro 2SS Auto Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Fort Wayne, IN Posts: 18 View My Garage	Thank you very much for your replies. It makes me glad to be part of camarofive. What I learned is that I needed more airflow - not driving far or much for that matter this winter like most of us are in this tundra. Let's all hope that our camaros that were assembled in Canada will help us with this kind of weather! PS. And the temperature numbers to look for as well as attention to fluid levels and oil pressure to look for was helpful. Thanks!