Greasy Gabe

So I very impulsively signed up for an intermediate track night at Charlottte Motor speedway on the Roval. I ordered basic stuff I knew I would need like Motul RBF 600, and an oil cooler, only issue is, the oil cooler arrives the day of the race, and I’m worried about my oil getting hot and thinning out. It looks like it’s going to be a hot day too. Maybe 90, so I’ve done shorter track sessions before and have noticed my oil pressure get down to about 27. The cooler should arrive 10 am - 1 pm, I got to be there at 2 pm. So here’s my plan, get the car ready for the install before the stuff gets here, like drain the oil, remove the oil filter, jack the front end up, take the bumper off maybe. Then wait for the cooler to arrive. If it arrived in time I’m thinking I speed run it. Get all the fitting sealed, pre fill the cooler, slap it all in, let it run for a bit and check for leaks. But worse case scenario, if it doesn’t arrive in time, should I reschedule? Or would it be ok to run 5w-40 and hope for the best? What do you guys think? My de is FBO and has a low temp thermostat. It’s a really open track so I’ll be WOT for almost the whole thing.

dkmura

iTrader: (64)

No need to stress about this. It's not a sprint race or Lemans, it's a track night. Instead of stressing about a last minute addition like an oil cooler, try shifting your focus to simply driving and learning the track. Rather than taking it to redline every lap, try using 6000 RPM as an initial redline. If water temps stay down, maybe raise it to 6500 and see if you can be precise enough with your shifts around the course. An open track day does NOT mean you have to be at redline every shift and dropping 500 RPM will not mean your lap times have to be terrible.

Focus on your brake, entry and apex points for this event. Get the oil cooler installed when there's less pressure to make a mistake.

icer5160

iTrader: (4)

Dkmura knows his stuff. Listen to his wisdom.

I would run 5W-40 on the track. I’ve seen many tuners recommend a 50 weight oil even. But that’s more for boosted applications under longer duration events.

Have you upgraded the radiator to a full ALU unit?

Richard303

Sounds like a tight schedule! Your plan to prep the car beforehand is solid and will definitely save time. If the oil cooler doesn’t arrive in time, running 5w-40 could help maintain better oil pressure and temperature, but it’s not a guarantee, especially with a forecast of 90 degrees and heavy track use. If you notice any signs of oil thinning or pressure dropping too low during your session, it’s best to play it safe and cut the session short.
Richard 😁

Greasy Gabe

it’s just CSF oem, but I have low temp thermostat, and manually control my fans

Greasy Gabe

thanks for the advice, I guess I didn’t consider that not every lap has to be at redline.