godxilla

I am looking for some opinions as to what level on the dipstick is ideal for street driving and autocrossing.

I am refering to a fully warmed up engine.

Thanks

chris walrod

I have the best luck with mid to low end of the stick. Track or autocrossing.

Mike J

I do the same. The idea is that oil expands as it gets hotter ; if you do a "hot" run were you get a spike in the temperature you want to make sure there is enough expansion room. Besides that even at the low point there is plenty of oil in the engine/tank.

Cheers,

Mike

Mark in Baltimore

Mid to low for me, too.

RallyJon

Has anyone tried to "adjust" the sender arm to get the gauge to match up with your ideal level? For me, below half way on the dipstick doesn't even register on the gauge.

Dan in Florida

Ignore the gauge, just watch the oil pressure level. When it comes time to add oil, the dipstick is the only reliable indicator: when hot, fill no more than half way between the dipstick marks.

godxilla

what do u watch for on the oil pressure level? major drop?

Felix

If the oil pressure on the gauge fluctuates engine damage is imminent.

The whole point of the dry sump system is that, assuming the oil level is up to scratch, the flow and pressure won't be affected by cornering forces because the oil supply is coming from a large tank rather the oil pan.

MarkD

+1 !!

My guage is a great indicator that I need to add oil. Actually, on both of my 3.6l cars the guage is very accurate when compared to the dipstick. All depending on oil temp, of course.
I've gotten to the point with both cars that I trust the guage to add proper oil amount, when oil is "hot".
That said, great tips on oil level when tracking... I will definitely use the stick when getting ready for DE this year. Thanks!

pcar964

This is true, although I recall some people reporting sporadic low oil pressure at idle, sometimes even dipping down to 1 bar and the oil pressure light coming on. Not sure if this would mean imminent damage or not...

Mike J

or you can have a bad connection on the sender unit, or a bad sender unit, or....

but I do agree is prudent on a car that has been OK and then starts to fluctuate this much to shut the car down and check it out before proceeding...

BTW I have seen the case of weird oil pressure readings caused by a bad sender unit.

Cheers,

Mike

rconnon

1 - 1.5 bars @idle while oil is REALLY hot isn't that abnormal is it?

The owners manual even states the low pressure light may come on at idle when the oil is REALLY hot. If stuck in traffic on a hot day with with temps hot enough to engage my low speed fan my pressure has dropped to 1.5 bars and i didnt think much of it after reading the owners manual.. once the RPMs come up the pressure is back to 4/5.

I'm still going to install the high speed fan mod..

rconnon

I assume you mean under load and not at idle?

godxilla

what length of running time is enough to heat up the engine to the point where you can accurately measure the oil level?

chris walrod

When the oil thermostat opens and the temperature comes back up to where it was right before the thermostat opened.