STi or WRX's temperatures

[timothyip]

hey all.. .....what's your normal oil & water temperature & oil pressure ?? (GC and GD guys)

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[veightkiller]

180-200 F on my sti

[steve]

I remember the early days of the WRX when it was found that water temps of 225+ were enough to cook an ej20. That seems to be pretty close to the danger zone for all aluminum engines.

[wrxdrvr]

My water temps for my '02 wrx 4EAT are in the range of; Lowest 81*C, Average 86*C, Highest 96*C.

[banman]

Oil: 90C
Water: I dunno - whatever halfway between "C" and "H" is.
Oil Pressure: 6.0kg/m^3 under load

[tora]

86-96 '04 STi

[semaj]

1/3 of the way up from "C", on the way to "H"

[wrxdrvr]

Originally Posted by banman

Oil: 90C
Water: I dunno - whatever halfway between "C" and "H" is.
Oil Pressure: 6.0kg/m^3 under load

Halfway between "C" and "H" is 71*C to 99*C.

[veightkiller]

Originally Posted by wrxdrvr

Halfway between "C" and "H" is 71*C to 99*C.

that thing don't barely move.if you have a guage you'll see it dropping down when the fans turn on.

[wrxdrvr]

Originally Posted by veightkiller

that thing don't barely move.if you have a guage you'll see it dropping down when the fans turn on.

I have never, seen my gauge move when it got to Halfway to "C" and "H" exept when I put in a metal treatment in my oil and now it only gets to about 1/8" up to the 1/2 way mark now, and it still just sits there NEVER moves....

[patr]

some good misinformation in this thread (of course this post is probably considered mis-information by someone else as well, so take the internet for what its worth please)

anyways, you can get serious variance with ANY aftermarket sensor by just installing it in a different place (hot place, cold place, externally cooled place, etc. etc.). Never mind the brand, type, model line tolerances, etc.

the ECU has a coolant temp sensor, stock, so going by that one, you dont want the car much over 100 C. The 2 stage fans kick in at different ECU coolant temps, approx 95C on average. The car is considered "warm" by the ECU after 87. Note that the stock gauge is in the middle well before this...The STOCK temp gauge reads "in the middle" across about 20C of variance. if your STOCK temp gauge is at all high, you are TOO HOT.

Most people will use the oil warning light plug as the oil temp sender, and in this place . oil temps should mimic water, be a big higher and a bit cooler depending on when reading. Oil can go higher than water and still be ok if it doesn't break the oil down leading to low pressure or start heating up the water. Disagreeing with what was written about Ej20s, I have seen many a car driven hard on the track or on stages with oil temps peaking in the o240s (and even higher!), point being oil temp is not important (unless its cold), oil pressure is (oil press will go down as oil temp goes high). But dont take that to mean >210 is ok ! Oil coolers are a good thing.

Oil pressure anything below 2-3bar when revving is bad ! on decel or on hard cornering, you will see why people put in baffled sumps and oil accumulators. Oil pressure "at idle when hot" is mostly meaningless unless its below 20psi (again, depending on the sending unit, unit location, type, etc.). Cold start you can see 100. Oil viscosity and oil temp plays a big role here too (regading the pressure). Subaru OEM uses defi-type BTW.

[Dalton]

I have to say that everytime I read one of patr posts I feel more edumacated.

[semaj]

Originally Posted by Dalton

I have to say that everytime I read one of patr posts I feel more edumacated.

+1

[Dendrobium]

Originally Posted by patr

...
anyways, you can get serious variance with ANY aftermarket sensor by just installing it in a different place (hot place, cold place, externally cooled place, etc. etc.). Never mind the brand, type, model line tolerances, etc.

the ECU has a coolant temp sensor, stock, so going by that one, you dont want the car much over 100 C. The 2 stage fans kick in at different ECU coolant temps, approx 95C on average. The car is considered "warm" by the ECU after 87. Note that the stock gauge is in the middle well before this...The STOCK temp gauge reads "in the middle" across about 20C of variance. if your STOCK temp gauge is at all high, you are TOO HOT.

...

I have an EcuTek Dash Monitor that supposedly monitors the WRX 2.0L ECU's coolant temp reading. I also have a speedmonkee all aluminum rad (the stock rad's plastic endcaps started leaking coolant), and I don't run any high-psi rad caps.

That being said, I can confirm that the stock gauge is really an "idiot" gauge, and often reaches the middle long before the EcuTek Dash Monitor reports anything close to 80/90C. Once it reaches the middle, it hardly moves at all.

FWIW -- I consistently see:
87-89 (High-speed highway, or cold winter days)
89-91 (Normal traffic or normal rainy day)
92-94 (Hot summer city traffic, or stuck in an underground parking lot, fans kick in periodically at this point)

I have a slightly mismatched oil temp setup -- I have the EcuTek Dash Monitor reading my Subaru OEM oil temp sensor at the oil drain plug. I don't know if this sensor is really matched up well as it's made to send to the OEM LAMCO gauges, and may not provide Defi signal levels that the EcuTek Dash monitor expects.
Anyways -- qualitatively I notice that the oil temp takes considerably longer (ie. perhaps 5-10 minutes more) to warm up than the coolant does. My normal oil temp is in the range of 90-100C -- but this could be because the thermistor in my OEM LAMCO sender is mismatched to the one that the EcuTek Dash Monitor expects.

[patr]

I have a slightly mismatched oil temp setup -- I have the EcuTek Dash Monitor reading my Subaru OEM

its "OEM" (note the quotes) - differing model years have differing sensor sending unit "companies", the newer stuff is exact same parts as defi stuff (and even has defi logos on it), the older "lamco" stuff is same signal at least for the "factory" 3 gauge dash cluster (but you pay double) - and feel free to infer whatever you want from my quotes

I don't know if this sensor is really matched up well as it's made to send to the OEM LAMCO gauges, and may not provide Defi signal levels that the EcuTek Dash monitor expects.

they are the "same", in more ways than just "signal"

Anyways -- qualitatively I notice that the oil temp takes considerably longer (ie. perhaps 5-10 minutes more) to warm up than the coolant does. My normal oil temp is in the range of 90-100C -- but this could be because the thermistor in my OEM LAMCO sender is mismatched to the one that the EcuTek Dash Monitor expects.

this is normal, and what it should be. As per above:

oil temps should mimic water, be a bit higher and a bit cooler depending on when reading. Oil can go higher than water and still be ok

its typically a bit hotter if running hard. oil psi is way more important

[timothyip]

thanks all guys........nice informations~~~i will figure it out......haha

[Dendrobium]

Thanks pat. I always wondered whether it would be ok to reuse the "OEM" sensor with my dash monitor.

Sorry this is a bit OT -- but how non-ideal is the oem location (at the drain plug) I've heard it is a poor location to read oil temp and is disproportionately sensitive to ambient air cool-off while driving?

Originally Posted by patr

its "OEM" (note the quotes) - differing model years have differing sensor sending unit "companies", the newer stuff is exact same parts as defi stuff (and even has defi logos on it), the older "lamco" stuff is same signal at least for the "factory" 3 gauge dash cluster (but you pay double) - and feel free to infer whatever you want from my quotes



they are the "same", in more ways than just "signal"



this is normal, and what it should be. As per above:



its typically a bit hotter if running hard. oil psi is way more important

[patr]

Originally Posted by Dendrobium

Thanks pat. I always wondered whether it would be ok to reuse the "OEM" sensor with my dash monitor.

the "dealer option" gauge pack (as opposed to "factory" gauge pack) is geared towards being just that, a "dealer option", so of course the location, installation, integration with other components, etc. is all considered into that

but how non-ideal is the oem location (at the drain plug) I've heard it is a poor location to read oil temp and is disproportionately sensitive to ambient air cool-off while driving?

I would agree, but "non-ideal" in a street type of application where it most likely will never exceed normal temperatures is "probably ok"
I like getting it under pressure, in a non-cooled location, that also doesn't interfere with oil changes, and has a small chance of getting ripped off... like where the warning light is

[shawmacs]

It's just "quote city" in here