OIL TEMPS: All you need to know! - 4K - FM Live 10-3-24

[@Slowcarfastbeans]

What’s actually amazing is how a human is holding the camera for so steady, for so long.

[@FlyinMiataVideo]

Travis is a gem!

[@mitchj2791]

Great video. I love this format, it feels like a casual conversation with your own personal Miata guru.

[@FlyinMiataVideo]

Thanks! We hope to bring popular topics to our platform and not always just push our products.

[@iKenFlyPPG]

I was on an engine development team assigned a dyno and techs, we had temps for sump, pump out, cooler in and out, cyl head oil feed temp and then pressures tapped at: pump in, pump out / filter in, filter out, head. Component tests they'll have specific instrumentation all over those. Some thermal tests can have 140 temp inputs at once. These bizillion dollar dynamometer test cells also featured ambient HVAC, intake air HVAC with more power than needed, along with "unlimited" coolant cooling capacity. Some testing you end up holding redline and temps are stable, it's awesome.

[@FlyinMiataVideo]

Very cool! That sounds like a wonderful nerd fest.

[@TheKevinpenella]

I love your videos almost as much as my miatas 🗿

[@FlyinMiataVideo]

💙

[@candycornpeeps]

Really appreciate your videos, keep them coming.

[@FlyinMiataVideo]

Thank you!

[@pututski6968]

Is that FlyWheel Films Ghostie getting that NC turbo in the back there? ;) Excited for that to hit the market!!

[@Kiddingmez32]

Would love to see pics of the NC turbo kit oil feed connection so I can plan out my oil cooler kit. Great video.

[@FlyinMiataVideo]

Shoot us an email at [e-mail].

[@HAZZA24937]

My 96 with retrofitted real OPG is almost always at 50-60psi oil pressure. Not sure what is going on but it did used to have very noisy lifters and back then the oil pressure was ~30psi and a lot more variable. I solved the lifter tick problem for good when I started doing an engine flush every oil change. Using 10W-40 fully synthetic oil, engine is original (I think) with 235,000km

[@FlyinMiataVideo]

The lifter tick fix can be different for others but I'm glad this application worked for you. I finally got tired of mine and went with NB valvetrain. I wouldn't say it was easy but... no more tick.

[@FayizMelibary]

Great Video Brandon, Can you shed light on the Unicorn tears for the NC? is it hyped up or does it live up to its legendary reputation?

[@FlyinMiataVideo]

Mike - our resident captain - has tried both the Redline MTL (we're a Redline fluids reseller) and then the Ford Unicorn tears in his six-speed transmission. He did not notice any improvement in one over the other and still has a bit of gear lash noise when decelerating in gear. Both are definitely good fluids, but we haven't seen enough of a change from one to the other to say that the Unicorn Tears are a magic bullet.

How does oil temp sensor location affect oil temps and what is acceptable? Does the oil temp with a sensor in a sandwich plate at the filter differ and by how much generally from a temp sensor in the sump/oil pan? TIA.

[@FlyinMiataVideo]

All good questions and it varies enough that I can't give you an accurate answer. The most accurate location is submerged in the oil pan but it's a pain to do sometimes. For any other location, it's best to use an infrared thermometer to figure out the delta between the actual temp and what the gauge is reading.

[@evcass69]

What oil pressure psi range is desirable under abusive conditions & high RPM? Does that change with Mazda vs LS engines? N/A vs FI? Stock vs stroked engines?

[@FlyinMiataVideo]

@evcass69 There are a LOT of variables at play here, so we can't really give a simple, straightforward answer. Literally each engine will be different in this aspect. Once you start talking about "built" engines with forged internals, you're adding even more variables to the question. We could more specifically answer this question if you provide more details about the exact car or setup you're asking about.

[@cruzlopez4449]

Naturally aspirated ND, do you recommend a different oil weight for track use?

[@FlyinMiataVideo]

We've been fine with the 0w-20 Mazda recommends whenever we've taken our ND to the track. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the more hardcore folk out there go with a 0w-30 oil, though.

[@AwesomeCREEPER77]

Is there a way to tell if your oil is getting hot by a oil pressure gauge? Would the oil pressure drop if it got hotter?

[@FlyinMiataVideo]

Yeah, if you have a real pressure gauge, but it would still just be a guess of how hot the oil is. On cold starts, your pressure could be close to 70 psi and once everything is heat soaked, you could be down to 15 psi.

[@mrw40]

What other oil brands would you say are also good? My oil change day is fast approaching, and would like to know if I should use the same brand (pennzoil) or maybe try a different one this time. There is usually a loss of about half the oil at the half time between changes (it seems to be donated to the motor gods as there are few drops in the floor, and the exhaust smoke is not black) and maybe a different brand will behave better (hopefully). Thank you for, what for some people it is seemingly a boring subject, but is one of the most important ones for this or basically any car.

[@Striball]

Mobil 1 high mileage 10w30 and now 10w40 is the only oil that has kept my NA engines quiet even deep into the interval. Rotella T6 didn't help much and had ticking into about half the interval, as well as startup

[@mrw40]

@@Striball I’ll try that one out

[@FlyinMiataVideo]

Name brand, full synthetic, oil is probably fine. Modern Pennzoil is fine. Mobil 1 is also fine. If you're losing *HALF* of your oil between oil changes, you really need to check it regularly and get it fixed sooner rather than later. Keep in mind the dipstick only accounts for .8 of a liter on an NA or NB. If you're showing halfway on your dipstick, you've lost about half a liter, which is much less detrimental.

[@mrw40]

@@FlyinMiataVideo oof I really don’t do numbers very well so not sure what you mean there 😅, I meant half by dipstick measure, so probably it isn’t that bad (I hope), but there is a deep maintenance coming this January for that 33 year old tired engine, a well deserved refreshment

[@FlyinMiataVideo]

@@mrw40 Gotcha. These cars are getting to the age that major repair might need to be figured in some of the higher mileage cars.

[@Epiphonech]

10W60 killed the bearings on my stock VVT BPZE engine w/o oil cooler while track driving, probably because wrong viscosity for the oil pump relief valve. Drained half of oil volume incl filter. No oil consuption with 5W40 for 2 trackday seasons. What is too much cooling? My turboed BP4E with 50mm rad and 21row oil cooler gets stable 80C (176F) oil temp on highway, rarely touches 100C on street. On trackdays I set the limit on 130C (266F) for cooldown lap and going to pit.

[@FlyinMiataVideo]

If you have a thermostat in your cooler system, there's really no such thing as "too much" cooling. If you don't have a thermostat in there at all, I'd start shopping for one. You want your oil to be at least 150 degrees F before you really start romping on it. I'd also want to see the occasional 212 F (100 C) to boil off any condensation in the oil. Something something a redline a day (or a few) keeps the mechanic away.

[@boblast5582]

if you're pushing an unboosted car hard on the track you'll still need an oil cooler (if you wanna stay in socially acceptable safe range). In my NC1 with no cooler, 290+ oil temps were the norm. I kept waiting for the engine to blow up so I can swap in a 2.5 but it never did... sold the car and the new owner beats on it even harder at the track.

[@iKenFlyPPG]

For sure, with a thermostat there is no other downsides than cost and complexity (failure points, mostly bad installs, trash hose / fittings). I change my fluids early in my fleet of cars, I think it's a benefit consider again there is no downside except cost while disregarding my claim it's beneficial.

[@3SGTO]

That's pretty warm! I've run my stock motor NB2 on track for as long as an hour in 90-95* multiple times and I've never seen the oil temp get above 260, measured at a sandwich plate, so higher than the bulk temps. I do have a nice koyo with really well sealed rad air inlet.

[@boblast5582]

@@3SGTO NB2, so you have the oem oil cooler thing that was pointed out in the video? My car was an NC1, so it didn’t have that. Coolant temps typically stayed around 210, stock radiator. If I had that cooler, I suspect it’d drop oil by 20-30 degrees

[@FlyinMiataVideo]

That's pretty toasty! I'm sure modern seals are good for a good amount of abuse, but 280 F is a good "maybe I should take my cool down lap" temp.

[@3SGTO]

@@boblast5582 I heard that about the NC1 in the video and promptly forgot it!

[@jmpcrx]

Hi, really good video thank you.. placed the oil pressure sensor on the turbo oil feed from the back of the head (NB) seems to work well too.. daily driver for 40,000 miles now, no probs whatsoever. (240bhp at the crank). Also, when tracking the car, 120 degrees C oil temp had a stutter, possibly a bit of detenation? Due to temp? Maybe not though as you say up to 140 degs is ok. Always try to keep at 115 degrees and seems ok on track, but only about 10-15mins sessions at a time else gets above 115 degs. (I have an oil cooler) I think idles when warm about 14psi oil pressure.

[@FlyinMiataVideo]

Your oil temp probably won't be the cause of a stutter. That said, high IATs can leave you more susceptible to pre-detonation. Where is your IAT sensor? If you're getting some stutters when it's that hot, turning down the boost is one (but not the only) solution to hopefully mitigating something like that.

[@8145dwerdna]

94 was the last year for a real pressure gauge. My 95 is a dummy. Has it or doesn't

[@FlyinMiataVideo]

Unless you're troubleshooting a potential issue, the go no-go gauge tells you everything you need to know. Track cars can be a bit different but I prefer an alarm when I'm on track.

[@adri1leusha]

When talking about coolant overshoot, he advised to park the car with parking brake off... Is that because we assume that the brakes are hot too, and it might damage the brakes putting the parking brake while still hot from track? Can I use my parking brake in a similar situation, if I know the brakes where not solicited as much, but engine is overheating? Can't use 1st gear if the engine is running :p

[@FlyinMiataVideo]

Yep, that was really just a track thing when the brakes are nice and toasty and you risk burning your pad to the rotor. If it was just after driving normally around town, you're fine to use the park brake. If you are at a place where you can't safely use the parking brake, a hammer, block of wood, a big rock, etc. can act as a wheel chock.

[@adri1leusha]

@@FlyinMiataVideo Thank's for clarrifying!

[@agunther08]

Okay Im in a cooler temp area- northern Michigan, should I be worried I'm not often getting oil temps of over 212, should I run some lower gears than I normally would just to make sure my oil has a chance to burn off some H2O? Its ND2, Banks IGuage and temp sensor. Versus AO separator, normally aspirated. Running good oil, Its rare that it runs over 205? And normally 195/200.

[@FlyinMiataVideo]

@agunther08 While it is ideal to get the oil temperature to 212° to burn off the condensation in the oil once in a while, not doing so is not going to guarantee engine failure down the road. We certainly wouldn't recommend changing rear end gears just for this reason. Running good quality oil, and changing the oil on time will help prevent any issues from occurring here, though it sure wouldn't hurt to take a longer drive once in a while to bring the oil temps up.

[@agunther08]

Thanks!

[@jamienielson4340]

This might be a stupid question but I have an oil cooler on my NA because I plan to add a turbo in the next few months. Would it be good to run the turbo feed line directly off the oil cooler or possibly add a small oil cooler between the block and turbo feed. I'm not sure if I'm making sense but would cooling the oil going into the turbo as much as possible be better or worse than the normal oil cooler setup

[@FlyinMiataVideo]

@jamienielson4340 If your oil cooler has a feed port that provides pressurized oil (i.e. the manufacturer says that an oil pressure sensor could be installed there), you could possibly use it for the feed line to your turbo. However, if you aren't sure that this is the case, we'd recommend sticking with our instructions for the turbo oil feed line. Additionally, there's no need for a secondary cooler on the turbo feed line - you want your oil to be above 212°F so that it will burn off the water vapor that builds up in your oil.

[@Vtertdfgwrth5ybdfasgagadfg]

Have any of you guys tried the temp and oil pressure guage mod where you make it work like the old ones with resistors? Did it work?

[@FlyinMiataVideo]

We have not tried that, no.

[@jtland4842]

I drove a 2006 NC a lot a few years ago and that "oil pressure" guage totally fooled me.

[@FlyinMiataVideo]

I'm sure you're not the only one.

[@danielwatkins9816]

I have a 1991 1.6 NA can I replace the oe oil pressure sensor with a Bosch pressure/temp sensor and get an accurate temp reading at that location? I have an aftermarket ecu to wire it to…

[@FlyinMiataVideo]

The most accurate place for oil temp readings is going to be the sump, but getting temp from a sandwich plate or from the stock pressure sensor location is likely accurate enough.

[@GardsFTW]

Lets say I have a turbo nb street car but no aftermarket oil cooler, no oil temp, no real oil pressure gauge (stock). What are some things I may notice that would tell me that my oil is too hot? Any weird noises after shutdown? Any oil properties I may notice? Any ideas?

[@FlyinMiataVideo]

For one: It's unlikely that your oil is getting too hot on a street-only car. Your oil would likely degrade faster if it were getting too hot, so changing it more often is a good idea if you suspect something like this. Check your oil often and change it if it's not transparent enough to see the level marking on your dipstick through the oil.

[@MrTAKIS1984]

Ηere in greece we have very hot summer 40celcius. Do we need it for a naturally aspirated light tuned?

[@FlyinMiataVideo]

It depends! For a naturally aspirated, mostly street driven car, probably not. But, the only way to really know is to put some temp sensors in it and verify.

[@brianclark9654]

ND daily, stooge on weekends whats your thoughts on 0w20 vs 5w30 for a "hot climate" country

[@FlyinMiataVideo]

It depends on your definition of "hot climate". I'd stick to what the owner's manual states, 0w20 unless you track the car. www.mazdausa.com/static/manuals/2023/mx-5/contents/07030402.html

[@gabrielkauak5791]

Thank you

[@johngassett7522]

I have a 2006 NC that I use for street and track. Car is stock. Can I check the oil temp at the drain plug?

[@FlyinMiataVideo]

Totally! Some folks use a bolt that also happens to have a 1/8" NPT fitting for a temp sensor for this exact scenario.

[@ninokri]

I plan running my car in hillclimb events, it's 91' 1.6 turbocharged, 250whp. I was running the 10W50 full synthetic oil so far. What would you recommend?

[@FlyinMiataVideo]

For turbo NA/NBs, we'll typically run a full synthetic 10w40. With higher weight oils, it's important that you have enough room for the oil to get into the bearings. Here's a good chart for a reference. www.enginelabs.com/news/what-i-learned-today-bearing-clearances-vs-oil-viscosities/

[@ninokri]

@FlyinMiataVideo thank you! I might try 10w40 if my temps will stay within 130 degC

[@ugugsol6044]

Max safe coolant temp? Max safe coolant temp to shut car off?

[@FlyinMiataVideo]

What year are we discussing?

[@gordinho_gostoso8175]

Love to see flywheelfilms miata in the background

[@FlyinMiataVideo]

Yep! I think they'll be posting some new things soon. Thanks for watching.

[@44hawk28]

Where in the hell did you get the idea that whatever your coolant temperature is is pretty close to what your oil temperature is?. Maybe in some vehicles, but I found the vastly different in many vehicles

[@FlyinMiataVideo]

At mark 27:00, we mention that you wouldn't know the oil temp by referencing the coolant temp but it could be figured out, pretty close, if one wanted to do some testing. There are lots of caveats in that statement too. I know on my track car, when everything is heat soaked, my coolant is about 20-30 degrees cooler than my oil temp. I would call that "pretty close" but I know not everyone would and, as you mentioned, every platform is different.

[@mikeebuyer1690]

The NC heat exchanger is not good for a spirited driving eve with a street car. The heat exchanger is too small. I have put some sensors (temp & pressure) on my 2013 NC, and on a mountain road spirited drive I was getting around 130°C. I believe the heat exchanger is there to heat up the oil quickly, so the car can pass the emissions test. EDIT: I do have a bigger aluminium radiator.

[@FlyinMiataVideo]

That's pretty crazy for just a spirited mountain run. Be careful! Thanks for the tip!

[@mikeebuyer1690]

@@FlyinMiataVideo that is why we came up with an oil filter housing with integrated thermostat for the NC and ND. Please check your email 😉

[@nickallain]

Great, now I'm worried about my oil temps on the Miata that I'm turbocharging :)

[@ISR403]

well are you racing it or nah? if not, do not worry. If you are, get it

[@nickallain]

@@ISR403 not racing, spirited driving at altitude (5000-9000ft)

[@Striball]

@@nickallain Hottest my oil has gotten in spirited driving was 225 or so. Normal driving is 208-218 or so, all with a turbo.

[@FlyinMiataVideo]

Yeah, for most of us, an oil temp gauge isn't necessary.

[@JonBoehm]

Even the cheapest store brand synthetic (Costco / Walmart) has far superior performance compared to the NA / NB design spec. Boosted or dedicated race cars can benefit from hyper performance boutique synth oil but weekend canyon carvers are more than happy with any synthetic. Just change it religiously on schedule. A good rule of thumb is 1 year or 5K miles. These days synth is more common than conventional oil. It takes extra work to find the conventional oil. Just avoid the trend of using oil with zinc. Zinc will break down the cat. -- my 2cents

[@FlyinMiataVideo]

You're not wrong. Oil technology/formulas have come a long way since the NAs and NBs were new. High zinc is great for engines, but not great for cats or O2 sensors.