My Durango wouldn't kick the cooling fan to high speed until the coolant hit 230F
Is Anyone Else Disappointed with modern engine oils?
- Thread starter carl1963
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Linn Kastan...Redline
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I learned how to bunny hop on one of those
Patman
Staff member
I had a lot of fun in the 80s racing BMX! I mostly had a Kuwahara (started with a KZ1 and then a Lazerlite) but I briefly had a Hutch. Good times!
Awesome!! My brother had a Skyway growing up.
We didn't race where we lived. We tried to do tricks but mostly hung around trying to look cool
I was more of a Mongoose kid, myself...
Hah!, who am I kidding, our bikes all came from either a department store or a garage sale.
Hah!, who am I kidding, our bikes all came from either a department store or a garage sale.
Carlostrece
$100 Site Donor 2025
I don't know what you were driving, but my 96, 99, & 07 Jeep 4L had 195F stock thermostats. I replaced them with the 205F thermostat that was stock for the older Jeep 4.2L (258 cu in) engine from the 70s & 80s. My J4L engines ran well, had improved gas mileage, and cleaner engines with 205F stat than with 195F stat, but they were also pretty good at 195F. Longevity of one of them with 205F stat was 410K miles on conventional Supertech oil. The others are still running.
My 97 Buick has a stock 195F thermostat. It doesn't like a 205F stat because it's engine is more computerized it expects a 195F stat. So I keep a 195F stat in it.
I had a 76 Dodge Coronet 318 cu in that had a stock 195F thermostat. Being a kid at the time (in 80s) I swapped in an aftermarket 180F thermostat and was rewarded with less gas mileage and dirtier oil and engine.
IME 195-205F thermostat was stock for Chrysler, Buick, and Jeep back in the day and worked well for longevity and gas mileage.
Did your old cars have 160-180F thermostats stock or were those aftermarket thermostats? What kind of cars were they?
Hotter (within reason) is cleaner and more efficient. This means cleaner oil, cleaner engine (bottom and top end), cleaner exhaust (less pollution), and better gas mileage.
As for longevity, I think near ideal is from 195-215F. Ideal is 200-210F IME.
Some (possibly all?) newer engines run hotter than ideal for longevity (to increase fuel economy and decrease emissions). So they need synthetic oil to (try to) compensate and regain some longevity. They also need synthetic oil to (try to) compensate for other issues, such as direct injection and/or thinner viscosity oil, but that's another topic.
So I agree with you that newer engines run hotter than ideal for longevity, but I disagree with your suggestion that 160-180F is better. Too cold just creates other problems. Ideal is 200-210F IMO.
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He really likes Mobil 1 Extended Performance and Mobil 1 Extended Performance High Mileage.
Is that you??
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Meanwhile, our only access to BMX was the "BMX Bandits" (aka Shortwave) movie, featuring bikes a plenty and a very young, very red headed Nicole Kidman.
I hold this movie single handedly responsible for the survival of bike repair shops and iodine antiseptic industries back in the country for years after.
I hold this movie single handedly responsible for the survival of bike repair shops and iodine antiseptic industries back in the country for years after.
Patman
Staff member
Yes, I’m the guy in the lead (I spent most of my BMX career at the front of the pack)
We're talking engine oil here, not hair products.
You and me brother.
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I would guess he runs 40 grade, so it couldn't be any of those.
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