Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
Originally Posted By: -SyN-
A lot of owners are installing these 180*F T-stats. To make their 5.7L run much cooler! Which in turn makes their oil run cooler.
I have not really hit close to 210*F oil Temps. I would like to keep the oil temp between 190-220*F. This all with the Stock T-stat.
What are your thoughts on swapping in the 180*F T-Stat to make everything run cooler?
Someone implied that changing the oil early was second-guessing the engineers who designed the vehicle. I'd hardly call it that since there's no special break-in oil used, and especially not compared to tweaking the T-stat temp. That's one area where I really don't second-guess the engineers. They have the thermal management set up for efficiency and long life, why should I screw with it? Guys who do lower the T-stat temperature do see a little more power output, and honestly 10-15 degrees isn't going to hurt anything. But I don't think its worth the effort personally. My SRT parks the engine oil temp pretty much between 220F and 230F regardless of outside temp and almost regardless of driving habits ("spirited" driving does send it up, but the highest I've yet seen is about 238F just for a few minutes). 220-230F is right in the "happy" zone for minimum cylinder wall wear, and isn't a problem for modern oils. I'd only really worry if I consistently saw over 250F.
My RT charger ran at 213f consistently whether at 70mph on the highway or just normal city type driving on 5w-20.
With 0w-40 oil temps get no higher than 205f driving the same way and only when I get my foot into it and use that 390tq will oil temps get elevated.
As far as early oil changes that might have been required in the old days of cars and engines however with the advancements in bore finishes,metallurgy and so on there is no reason whatsoever to question the oem as far as lubricant intervals.
Any break in debris is easily caught by the oil filter and whatever isn't caught is too small to cause any damage.
If you wanted to you could change the filter early because of possible loading of the media but I think even that is overkill to be honest.
Now an engine rebuilder may not have the ability nor sophistication of an oem,so their rebuilds may require a shorter first interval,as well as a different oil but we aren't talking about a rebuild here,we are referring to an auto manufacturer that produces millions of engines annually,who's owners follow the manual as far as break in procedure and these owners,and subsequent owners if sold,routinely amass 300000+ miles without fail.
So I must ask. What do you think you will accomplish by changing the oil earlier than the manual recommends?
Because by just looking at how long engines run without doing anything special/spending extra money,will you improve on those numbers.
Will changing the oil early net you more when you either try to sell or trade it in.
Because honestly if the added cost doesn't either pay off with either more miles til rebuild,or net more at resale then it's money wasted.
It's your money and I don't care how you spend it,I'm just pointing out the obvious.
