Track day oil temps?

[Nickpapzdcr]

First track day with my is38 Apr gti... I have full bolt ons, 6 piston brakes, and suspension work with r888 tires. Only thing I don’t have is a oil cooler. I’m running motul 5w30 oil, brand new just changed. I wonder, what oil temps should I see and then get off the track? I think if i Stay on the track I might Go into limp mode if it’s too hot. It’s gonna be 80 degrees that day, so shouldn’t be too bad. What do you guys see when you track it? Do you think I’ll be fine? I don’t want to break anything.

MOD LIST:
IS38
APR ECU 93Overrun File
APR TCU
APR downpipe
APR Intercooler
AWE Track Exhaust
Spullen Charge Pipes
APR Boost Tap
APR Intake
APR Turbo Inlet
Spullen Catch can
APR 6 Piston Brakes
NGK race spark plugs
RS3 Coil Pack
APR Dogbone
APR Pendolum Mount
034 Engine/Transmission Mount
APR Rear Sway Bar
Euro code Front & Rear Strut Brace
H&R Super Sports
R888 Tires
P3 Gauge
Motul 5w30 Oil (Brand New)
No Rear seats
OBD11
Cosmetics + More

 

[Mini7]

With an IS38 upgrade, you will likely experience high oil temps. I got to 270 on a 75-80F day on a stock powered IS20 and had to back off. So you will need to keep an eye on temps. My 2017 GTi runs 5w40 so I’m assuming you have a newer golf running the 20-weight oil. There are a couple of threads on here discussing cooling and oil temps.

What pads are you planning on running on track with your BBK? What brake fluid? You have great BBK, sticky tires and plenty HP, make sure that you have freshly bled fluid like Castrol SRF and track pads.

 

[Nickpapzdcr]

With an IS38 upgrade, you will likely experience high oil temps. I got to 270 on a 75-80F day on a stock powered IS20 and had to back off. So you will need to keep an eye on temps. My 2017 GTi runs 5w40 so I’m assuming you have a newer golf running the 20-weight oil. There are a couple of threads on here discussing cooling and oil temps.

What pads are you planning on running on track with your BBK? What brake fluid? You have great BBK, sticky tires and plenty HP, make sure that you have freshly bled fluid like Castrol SRF and track pads.

I’ll check with my mechanic on what they used for fluid. Pads are like new and comes with the apr brake kit. It’s more of a street/track pad. Rear brakes are stock. And yes, that is true with is38. I run about 225 driving on the streets and I tend to push my car and the oil never goes up. If I exceed 250 I’ll back off and take a cool down lap or two. When you saw 270, was this a event you did all day to get to that number or were you pushing it non stop. This track I’m going to has a lot of turns so I’ll be able to feather the throttle a lot.

 

[R Golf]

I’ll check with my mechanic on what they used for fluid. Pads are like new and comes with the apr brake kit. It’s more of a street/track pad. Rear brakes are stock. And yes, that is true with is38. I run about 225 driving on the streets and I tend to push my car and the oil never goes up. If I exceed 250 I’ll back off and take a cool down lap or two. When you saw 270, was this a event you did all day to get to that number or were you pushing it non stop. This track I’m going to has a lot of turns so I’ll be able to feather the throttle a lot.

You most likely will see temps well above 250 on an 80 degree track day. On warm days I often hit 270 and don't experience any issues until I get in the 280's which I try to avoid. If temps are going too high I either pit for a very short while cruising around the pits, or if there is enough clean track preferably take a cool down lap to keep better air flow. One lap should do it.

As Mini7 mentioned, it is extremely important that with your setup you use high temp brake fluid. Make sure you check with your mechanic, and if they did not use hi-temp fluid I would pay for the flush and upgrade to MOTUL RBF600 or similar.

 

[Mini7]

On the highway you will see 219-223F for oil temps because that’s where the thermostat will keep it. This doesn’t quite translate when you track the car. At track speed you have high airflow through the radiator.

I got to 270F in a single 25-min session. I would back off going down the straights to get things cooled down 80-90mph while watching my mirrors and pointing folks by if necessary. I maintain track speed through the corners so as to not hold anyone up. Safety first- be very aware of the other cars on track. You want airflow through the radiator.

Definitely put in fresh track temp capable brake fluid. Motul/SRF. I cannot stress that enough. The APR street/track pad is great on the street but it is not ideal for the track, especially if you have some track experience. I did a mountain run last Sunday and I got my brakes to fade on the same pad. Think about getting a dedicated track pad if you plan on tracking regularly. You will wear out the street pads very quickly.

 

[95b14]

You will see high oil temps very quickly with that setup. Last week on a low 80s day (albeit very humid) I was up around 270 before backing off within 15 minutes with a completely stock power train aside from a CTS FMIC running 0w-40.
Also, like everyone else said, make sure you have high temp brake fluid.

 

[AERO]

Same experience here.

APR stage 1 and was getting up to 270F oil temps. Hot day out, but I backed off at 270. I was happy to see that the temps came down very quickly after taking it easy.

The factory spec oil is not good for heavy track duty...

 

[tripleS]

Mine's a stock power IS20 car and I've seen it get up to low 260s on hot days. This last weekend at Buttonwillow was mid/high 80s and I would get be there after about 15 minutes of hard driving. When this is sustained for a couple minutes I've also seen the coolant gauge start to slowly creep up too. I'm unsure if anyone else has had this happen, or even notices/checks?....

Either way when I start to see 260 now, I back off then and let it drop down to low 250s before getting back on it. That's when I start coasting down the straights and pointing [even more] folks by. Running 5w40 European Amsoil FWIW.

 

[Mini7]

Stg1 low torque APR tune on an IS20 with 72F ambients and I got to 275F in 15-mins before I backed off.

Got a CSF radiator installed with an AMS IC.

 

[Gvazquez]

I stayed consistently at 268 with big turbo is 75 degree weather. I never backed off either I just ran it the whole 30 mins like that

 

[Handguns4heaRTs]

Was at the track yesterday, and 2 sessions in a row, my car popped an EPC light (turbo sensor blah blah) the second I saw my oil temp on my Cobb AP hit 260. Cleared it and kept sending it, but I found it (coincidence?) interesting that both times it was right when the oil temp hit 260. hmm...

 

[xXDavidCXx]

Stg1 low torque APR tune on an IS20 with 72F ambients and I got to 275F in 15-mins before I backed off.

Got a CSF radiator installed with an AMS IC.

CSF triple pass?

 

[Mini7]

Yes. Triple pass CSF.
An oil cooler is definitely needed for running on track.

 

[JackRabbitSLIM]

An oil cooler is definitely needed for running on track.

+1
These temps are high. Get an oil cooler dudes. Especially if you drive multiple track days per year. Be nice to your car, it's worth it.
If you don't run one at least change your oil after every single track day and consider getting an oil pressure gauge. Once oil gets that hot, it's not the same after.

Not 100% applicable but this is info I found on 0w20 when I was looking at oil temps and pressures for my BRZ.

100-169F Warm Up Phase, high oil pressures
170-189F Near Operating temps, oil pressures still higher
190-225F Normal Operating Range, oil pressures normalize
225-245F Middle End of operating range for track use, 5% drop in oil pressures
245-255F Upper End of operating ranges for track use, 10% further drop in pressures on 0w20
255-265F Red Zone of operating ranges for track zone, 0w20 starts to thin, oil pressures drop to questionable range.
265F+ Playing with fire on 0w20

 

[victorofhavoc]

Was at the track yesterday, and 2 sessions in a row, my car popped an EPC light (turbo sensor blah blah) the second I saw my oil temp on my Cobb AP hit 260. Cleared it and kept sending it, but I found it (coincidence?) interesting that both times it was right when the oil temp hit 260. hmm...

Got a catch can or baffled oil pan? If not, that's step one for curing epc issues on track. My car without a catch can would flood the pcv and dump oil into the intake which would burn and get oil gunk all over the plugs. This would cause misfires, which would lead to higher and higher temps.

I have a vented hood, oil cooler, and is20 tune. I still get to 270 on oil temp, but I'll take that over 295+. I ran a 10w60 before with good success and this year have been running a 5w40.