Re[2]: How Hot is Hot?

[Toby Erkson <Toby_Erkson@ccm2.hf.intel.com>]

The hotter the oil the more fluid it becomes (up to a point).  Since it's 
not just sitting on the cylinder head but spraying/flowing past it the oil 
won't get "burned", especially since you're running a stock engine.  The 
oil is always viscous (it always has the ability to flow), it just has 
different degrees of viscosity.

To be perfectly honest, you're throwing away a good amount of money and oil 
(a natural resource, BTW) by changing your oil every 1K.  It's natural for 
the oil to turn color after several hundred miles (even less).  You should 
use a quality oil -- conventional oils do their job well but if you want 
your oil to be the best in heat resistance then go synthetic (I use Castrol 
Syntec blend 20W-50W).

In college (1641cc engine) I lived in the Cascade mountain range and would 
encounter several steep, long drives in 90+ heat.  Never had a problem with 
overheating (I was using *conventional* Castrol 30W at the time).  
Remember, the oil may be hottest there because it is also facing the 
radiated heat from the road.  The hot oil goes through the oil cooler 
before it splashes on the necessary parts, too.

The T3 engine is a hardy one.  Using a conventional oil, changed as 
recommended by the manufacturer (roughly every 3,000 miles), in it will 
allow the engine to live a long and fruitful life as it was designed to.  
Even your occasional uphill runs.
     Toby Erkson
     air_cooled_nut@pobox.com
     '72 VW Squareback 1.6L modified to 2.0L
     '75 Porsche 914 stock 1.8L


______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: Re:How Hot is Hot?
Author:  type-3-errors@umich.edu at SMTPGATE
Date:    2/4/97 2:36 PM


Hi folx-

I've had a VDO temp gauge and the bottom of the engine case sensor (the one
that screws into
...
(Stupid) Question:  Is my oil viscosity-less at this point (once it gets to
over 300F) and if so does it regain
 viscosity again as it cools? Or is the oil "burned" after it gets this
cookin and in need of changing?
I regularly change oil every 1K or so, but am wondering if I should do a
change after I get the engine cooking
like this (which happens perhaps 3-4 times a year)?  THANKS!

Dave Y.
1968 Sqbk

...