So over the summer I installed an autometer electrical oil pressure and water temp guage on my GSR and here is what I am finding at the track (Lime Rock Park to be specific)

Water temp 195 deg and stable - Good

I am a bit worried about the oil pressure though... On the street I idle at 25psi and above 3K its usually between 55-75psi depending on revs. Obviously the higher the revs the higher the pressure. However on the track I have been noticing that at WOT I am only seeing ~60-65 psi and around 22 psi idling when I get off of the track. I use 5W-30 oil mobil 1 and the "old style" Honda filter. Perhaps as the oil temp increases the viscosity is decreasing causing a loss in power? Maybe I need an oil cooler? Do I perhaps need a baffled oil pan? Any ideas?

Thanks!

 

I'm on Hunters pit crew, and he has a mechanical oil pressure gauge on his B16A. This past weekend at the SCCA event at VIR, he had about 20 psi idling at operating temperature in the pits, and 80 psi at WOT nearing redline. He was running Mobil 1 10W-30. Your numbers seem about right.


Modified by Patch at 4:03 PM 11/9/2003

 

But why the drop form 75 on the street to 65 on the track?

 

No other feedback?

 

I wish I had an answer. Do you run a different oil on the street than you do on the track? What kind of filter do you use?

I would recommend the OEM Honda filter, the small one for the K series engines. They are rumored to raise oil pressure. I run it on my B16, and Hunter runs it on his racekaa.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by VTECAcuraGSR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">But why the drop form 75 on the street to 65 on the track?</TD></TR></TABLE>

when you race on the track you are heating up your engine much more than the street. if you switch to 10w30 or 10w40 for the track you should have higher pressure. 65 psi isnt bad though. as long as its above 10 psi for every 1k rpm you will be fine.

 

I noticed a similar drop in pressure after a track session. On the drive home everything would go back to normal. I suspected it was the oil temperature sender getting extra-hot during the session and losing some accuracy. Who knows...
-Adam

 

The oil pressure on the Miata drops a lot as the oil warms up. I think that's just what normally happens as the oil gets hotter.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by manveer &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The oil pressure on the Miata drops a lot as the oil warms up. I think that's just what normally happens as the oil gets hotter.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Thats my assumption as well, but it made me think do I need a oil cooler or baffled pan?

 

if you are running a B series motor at the track, without an oil cooler, then i have news for you:

your oil temps are super high. like, if you install an oil temp guage, it will probably be pegged by the time you finish a session. if you have a healthy B series motor and drive it hard on the track, you need a good cooler.

the reason you are seeing lower oil pressures is because the oil is becoming overheated and thinning out.

get a cooler and a good oil temp gauge.

just my experience; i race in H1 and run a HUGE oil cooler. oil still gets hot but stays reasonable.

good luck.

 

When I say track I was doing HPDE's but when you are at 8K for 20-25mins straight I think the result is the same. It probably is a good investment since the car will be converted into a "weekend warrior" for HPDE's and an occassional race.

 

Water temp in your case looks good. Our CRX runs a bit over 200 according to the Autometer electric gauge. The Oil pressure in my car starts at 80-90 and at the end of a session at idle is about 15 (Autometer mechanical). On-track pressure is around 70 most of the time when on the throttle. My Honda tech says all is good on an engine that may have 175k on it. The car looks to have had very good care and the bottom end is tight-nothing found in the pan. We are using the OEM filter or a K&N and 10W-30 Pennzoil.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by VTECAcuraGSR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Thats my assumption as well, but it made me think do I need a oil cooler or baffled pan?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Hot oil =&gt; low pressure.

On my old car around town oil temp would get to maybe 200F. On the track, before adding the cooler, it was as high as 250F, read: Too hot. Adding the cooler made a Big Difference, and oil pressure came back up.

Oil pan baffling is to help keep the oil pick up from sucking air. It has nothing to do with the above... different issue.

 

Hello Kb58,

You wrote;
"On my old car around town oil temp would get to maybe 200F. On the track, before adding the cooler, it was as high as 250F, read: Too hot. Adding the cooler made a Big Difference, and oil pressure came back up."

Put another "restriction" in the system like a cooler and yes your oil pressure in the likely commonly monitored location on HondaÂ’s going to increase if your pump is up to it and is not dependent on your stated temperatures. At those temperatures the viscosity has minimal effect on the oil pressure and likely not the result of reduced temperature.



Modified by DB1-R81 at 9:37 AM 11/9/2003

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by kb58 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Oil pan baffling is to help keep the oil pick up from sucking air. It has nothing to do with the above... different issue.</TD></TR></TABLE>

No I realize that I am just curious if this is an additional thing potential problem that I should think about fixing. I still hear a lot of people not having problems with stock pans

 

anymore opinions?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by DB1-R81 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Hello Kb58,

You wrote;
"On my old car around town oil temp would get to maybe 200F. On the track, before adding the cooler, it was as high as 250F, read: Too hot. Adding the cooler made a Big Difference, and oil pressure came back up."

Put another "restriction" in the system like a cooler and yes your oil pressure in the likely commonly monitored location on

Modified by DB1-R81 at 9:37 AM 11/9/2003</TD></TR></TABLE>

Wasn't a Honda but I know what you're saying.

 

I installed a remote filter using braided ss lines and included an extra loop up in the front grill area for adding a cooler later.

The highest oil temp I have seen is 211 and I see about 90 lbs of oil pressure at full tilt. While at ide my pressures are about 17-18 lbs.

These measurements are at the remote filter using a SPA gauge on a B18C5 running 11.6/1 compression. And, are during HPDE events in which I am as hard on the car as I am during a qualifying session.

Nash