Data on oil pressure drop in my Spyder
03-21-2012, 11:57 PM
#1
Nordschleife Master
Thread Starter
Data on oil pressure drop in my Spyder
So I've been playing around with the data I logged with my AiM Solo DL. This data is from my 2011 Boxster Spyder on stock PS2s at Thunderhill. Data was obtained through a CAN bus line connection
Scatterplot oil pressure vs. rpm
Scatterplot oil pressure vs. Longitudinal Gs
Scatterplot oil pressure vs. Lateral Gs
Largest pressure drop is at turn 14
Pressure drop experienced at turn 11
Pressure drop at turn 5
I'm no expert at any of this stuff, so I'll leave it up to you guys to interpret these graphs. Is the pressure drop low enough to cause concern?
Scatterplot oil pressure vs. rpm
Scatterplot oil pressure vs. Longitudinal Gs
Scatterplot oil pressure vs. Lateral Gs
Largest pressure drop is at turn 14
Pressure drop experienced at turn 11
Pressure drop at turn 5
I'm no expert at any of this stuff, so I'll leave it up to you guys to interpret these graphs. Is the pressure drop low enough to cause concern?
03-22-2012, 09:33 AM
#2
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No warning light=no worries.
I do seem to remember a warning in the manual about the use of R compound tires causing low oil pressure in prolonged turns. Maybe your graphs are showing that there is a limit to the stock oil system's capabilities.
BD
I do seem to remember a warning in the manual about the use of R compound tires causing low oil pressure in prolonged turns. Maybe your graphs are showing that there is a limit to the stock oil system's capabilities.
BD
03-22-2012, 12:41 PM
#4
Nordschleife Master
Thread Starter
Bill, are you looking for data on what the pressure is at highway cruising speeds, and slow speed street driving? I can easily do that. Let me know specifically what you're looking for. The only thing I can't do is pull 1+ Gs on the street. 
03-22-2012, 03:42 PM
#5
Well, to my inexperienced eye, that oil pressure fluctuation seems to be mostly based on rpm. I know in a 911 (that has a proper oil pressure gauge), the pressure varies with rpm.
So, to see if the track behavior is normal or not, a baseline of oil pressure with street driving may be helpful. If the pressure drop at a red light or while coasting on a highway is similar to the lowest oil pressure you are seeing on the track, then it's probably fine and nothing to worry about. If the track pressure drops more than in normal driving, then it may be an issue.
Having all those channels of data without knowing what is 'normal' is confusing.
So, to see if the track behavior is normal or not, a baseline of oil pressure with street driving may be helpful. If the pressure drop at a red light or while coasting on a highway is similar to the lowest oil pressure you are seeing on the track, then it's probably fine and nothing to worry about. If the track pressure drops more than in normal driving, then it may be an issue.
Having all those channels of data without knowing what is 'normal' is confusing.
03-22-2012, 04:59 PM
#6
Race Director
Based on observing the oil pressure gage of my Turbo during all kinds of driving (except track/auto-X which I do not do, but I do once in a while take a spirited spin through the twisties...) that oil pressure looks ok.
IIRC between 2K and 3K rpms the oil pressure climbs to 4bar and above 3K rpms to 4.5bar and to 5 bar at 5K and higher. This is with Mobil 1 0W-40 oil and of course with everything up to temperature. Hot idle oil pressure runs between (roughly the gage is just a needle) 1.75 bar to 2 bar, depending upon ambient temp and the miles on the oil. (But never over 5K miles because I change the oil every 5K miles.)
If your engine really had any oiling issues at high rpms on the track (or anywhere else) you'd know it and how.
The only thing I can add is that if you're going to continue to track the car you might consider adding a oil pressure back up system just in case the engine oil pump sucks a bit of air. Accu-sump or something like that? This system will give you some extra insurance and peace of mind so you can stay 100% focused on your driving.
Such a system should do two things: supply sufficient oil and at sufficient pressure (momentarily) to prevent engine damage; and signal it had to do so so you know the engine came this >< close to destruction and you can take further steps to ensure it never gets that close to destruction again.
Sincerely,
Macster.
IIRC between 2K and 3K rpms the oil pressure climbs to 4bar and above 3K rpms to 4.5bar and to 5 bar at 5K and higher. This is with Mobil 1 0W-40 oil and of course with everything up to temperature. Hot idle oil pressure runs between (roughly the gage is just a needle) 1.75 bar to 2 bar, depending upon ambient temp and the miles on the oil. (But never over 5K miles because I change the oil every 5K miles.)
If your engine really had any oiling issues at high rpms on the track (or anywhere else) you'd know it and how.
The only thing I can add is that if you're going to continue to track the car you might consider adding a oil pressure back up system just in case the engine oil pump sucks a bit of air. Accu-sump or something like that? This system will give you some extra insurance and peace of mind so you can stay 100% focused on your driving.
Such a system should do two things: supply sufficient oil and at sufficient pressure (momentarily) to prevent engine damage; and signal it had to do so so you know the engine came this >< close to destruction and you can take further steps to ensure it never gets that close to destruction again.
Sincerely,
Macster.
03-22-2012, 11:09 PM
#7
Nordschleife Master
Thread Starter
If the pressure drop at a red light or while coasting on a highway is similar to the lowest oil pressure you are seeing on the track, then it's probably fine and nothing to worry about. If the track pressure drops more than in normal driving, then it may be an issue.
Having all those channels of data without knowing what is 'normal' is confusing.
Having all those channels of data without knowing what is 'normal' is confusing.
Based on observing the oil pressure gage of my Turbo during all kinds of driving (except track/auto-X which I do not do, but I do once in a while take a spirited spin through the twisties...) that oil pressure looks ok.
IIRC between 2K and 3K rpms the oil pressure climbs to 4bar and above 3K rpms to 4.5bar and to 5 bar at 5K and higher. This is with Mobil 1 0W-40 oil and of course with everything up to temperature. Hot idle oil pressure runs between (roughly the gage is just a needle) 1.75 bar to 2 bar, depending upon ambient temp and the miles on the oil. (But never over 5K miles because I change the oil every 5K miles.)
If your engine really had any oiling issues at high rpms on the track (or anywhere else) you'd know it and how.
The only thing I can add is that if you're going to continue to track the car you might consider adding a oil pressure back up system just in case the engine oil pump sucks a bit of air. Accu-sump or something like that? This system will give you some extra insurance and peace of mind so you can stay 100% focused on your driving.
Such a system should do two things: supply sufficient oil and at sufficient pressure (momentarily) to prevent engine damage; and signal it had to do so so you know the engine came this >< close to destruction and you can take further steps to ensure it never gets that close to destruction again.
Sincerely,
Macster.
IIRC between 2K and 3K rpms the oil pressure climbs to 4bar and above 3K rpms to 4.5bar and to 5 bar at 5K and higher. This is with Mobil 1 0W-40 oil and of course with everything up to temperature. Hot idle oil pressure runs between (roughly the gage is just a needle) 1.75 bar to 2 bar, depending upon ambient temp and the miles on the oil. (But never over 5K miles because I change the oil every 5K miles.)
If your engine really had any oiling issues at high rpms on the track (or anywhere else) you'd know it and how.
The only thing I can add is that if you're going to continue to track the car you might consider adding a oil pressure back up system just in case the engine oil pump sucks a bit of air. Accu-sump or something like that? This system will give you some extra insurance and peace of mind so you can stay 100% focused on your driving.
Such a system should do two things: supply sufficient oil and at sufficient pressure (momentarily) to prevent engine damage; and signal it had to do so so you know the engine came this >< close to destruction and you can take further steps to ensure it never gets that close to destruction again.
Sincerely,
Macster.
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03-22-2012, 11:13 PM
#8
Nordschleife Master
Thread Starter
Take a look at the graphs below the scatter plots. Those are time vs oil P. There is a definite dip in the oil pressure at high G, low speed turns. The question is: is the drop from the low rpm or the high G? How can we distinguish?
03-22-2012, 11:39 PM
#9
Nordschleife Master
Thread Starter
More data:
lateral G vs rpm scatterplot:
time plot of rpm and oil pressure:
I guess the only way to know if it's rpm or Gs that are causing the pressure drop is to shift into second before these turns and looking at the pressure then.
lateral G vs rpm scatterplot:
time plot of rpm and oil pressure:
I guess the only way to know if it's rpm or Gs that are causing the pressure drop is to shift into second before these turns and looking at the pressure then.
03-22-2012, 11:51 PM
#10
Addict
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
I haven't tracked as of yet but typically when I corner at high G's and low speeds I'm not on the gas and RPM's aren't that high either, so the readings would make sense to me.
