Has anyone experienced the oil "dummy light" going on? I experiencd it for the first time last night. It went on after I took a very hard turn around a corner (having some fun with my z). When it went on I noticed that the oil pressure was reading near 0psi. Usually my oil pressure flutters around 60psi under normal driving conditions.

It makes sense to me that the oil light would go on if the pressure is near 0psi, however, I don't understand why the pressure would drop so dramatically when taking a hard turn. I took a couple of hard turns last night just to see what would happen with the oil pressure and each time the pressure dropped well below the 30psi mark.

I thought maybe I was low on oil so I added half a quart of Mobil 1 (I am running synthetic in my engine). Checked the dipstick before and after adding the oil...all I have to say is that dipstick is poorly designed! By the time you have pulled out the disptick it has rubbed against and touched so many things that I just don't trust the oil level indicator.

I would appreciate Z owners' input on this. Explanation for the above? What kind of pressure readings have people been getting (especialy those of you running synthetic oil) when you first start up the car, when riding at constant high speeds (such as highway driving), when the car is warm and you're idling, etc.?

Thanks in advance.

 

I could only guess that the Gs caused the oil to rush to one side of the pan. At this point, the sump could not pull up any oil and the pressure dropped. Again, only guessing. If this is the case, this would be a very, very, very bad design feature. I am going to pull some hard G turns on the way home to see what happens to my oil pressure.

 

thanks peptibond. let me know how your oil pressure responds to those hard G turns.

 

6 AutoX
2 Track Days
20,000 miles of hard driving on twisty roads:

I've never seen my oil pressure drop when going around turns. It's true that I haven't been looking at the gauge, but the light never came on. I've been running Mobil 1 5W-30 , so the synthetic aspect shouldn't be a factor.

My pressure usually varies between 60 and 120 depending on RPM and temperature.

Maybe it's true that your oil was a bit low and the pump had a hard time picking it up.

-D'oh!

 

Interesting. Yeah I was going to go with the sloshing oil theory as well. Especially if it was a little low.

I remember back when Lotus was helping Chevy build the 32-valve V-8 engine for the ZR-1 Corvette. Remember these are Lotus guys. Supposedly they spent a lot of time redisigning the oil pan because they had never seen a "street" car that could consistently pull so many Gs in a turn, and they kept hitting oil starvation situations. Heh.

Of course that was a very different car, but I suppose if you were a bit low and really hitting the corners hard and long, it could happen.

 

You will need to let the car sit for a few minutes (5-10) before you can get a good reading on the stick. When traveling, gas up first and then check the oil.

WayneTN

 

I've tracked my car 4 times, with Mobil 1 5W-30, and NEVER had a problem......

I check my oil in the morning after sitting all night, and NEVER let it get below 1/4 below the full mark.

BTW, check it OFTEN! VQ's break in slowly, so they do burn a bit of oil while breaking in. With practice, the dip stick isn't THAT bad.

 

I appreciate the input everyone. I considered the sloshing oil theory but I found it difficult to convince myself of that theory. This car is designed to take the turns and depriving the engine of oil (even for a second) seems like a major design flaw. I think I am going to have the dealer check it out.

What is your oil pressure reading after the engine has warmed up when you guys are idling (e.g., at a stop light) and when you guys are driving at speeds of about 70-80mph? I get an average pressure around 60psi when drivign on the highway and approx. 30psi when idling...this is after the engine has warmed up.

 

I don't think I've ever seen mine drop below 60psi.

I'll try to double check on the way home from work.

-Scott

 

Mine stays at just under 60psi, and when I accelerate it gets close to 120.

I think you should definitely get it checked by the dealer. Hopefully you can reproduce it again for them to diagnose.

 

During warm up I have seen the PSI get near 120, and after driving for a bit and sitting at idle, around 25-30. The guage is so tempramental, I am not sure if there is or isn't enough oil in the car at times.

 

That sounds about right.