Keeping cool

The 5 million people that live there and drive there on a daily basis cant be wrong with following the owners manual. I-10 out of Blythe has a long climb which can stress your cooling system. Its about 10 miles long and 75MPH speed limit. Confirm your fans are working and top off coolant.
I lived in Phoenix for a few years. The only thing I did differently was thicker oil in my 2004 GTO. I drove it hard when I wanted to and I didn't like seeing oil pressure drop below 20 psi at idle, which I would get occasionally when hot. I even ran Mobil 1 15w50 in it a couple of times, though that was obviously unnecessary and usually ran 0w40 instead. If you aren't a ham fisted hooligan like me, I don't think you'd do anything to see anything unusual out of a car driven normally with a cooling system in good condition.
 
Making a drive from Southern California to Phoenix this weekend temperatures will be around 115°. Driving my 2018 Subaru Forrester. I changed out the 0W 20 oil for 5W-30. Any other tips on keeping the engine cool? Any recommended additives?
Send it with 0W20. Even in the Texas heat 0W20 handles just fine.
 
The only cars that overheat here in Arizona are the ones with non working fans or coolant leaks. And the ones with broken fans only overheat when you don't move (stop and go or parked) or are climbing hills.
 
I always thought most modern coolants were 50/50 mixes and water wetter would still function to a lesser degree. Is that not the case?
I run VP Cooldown water wetter with a mix of water and coolant. Did this for track use. Don't have any real data to support whether it gives me any improvement in cooling over just coolant+water. It was a ~$12 try at helping in any way I can with cooling for track use when it's hot. Many use it but yes, with pure water will give max benefit. I have noted no issues with the look of my coolant since adding last year. I would not bother for street use.
 
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I run VP Cooldown water wetter with a mix of water and coolant. Did this for track use. Don't have any real data to support whether it gives me any improvement in cooling over just coolant+water. It was a ~$12 try at helping in any way I can with cooling for track use when it's hot. Many use it but yes, with pure water will give max benefit. I have noted no issues with the look of my coolant since adding last year. I would not bother for street use.
For sure. No reason to use water wetter for street use. On my track car I have always run a mixture of an ounce of water wetter per quart of coolant. No particular reason outside of the fact that my uncle did it, so I do it.
 
For sure. No reason to use water wetter for street use. On my track car I have always run a mixture of an ounce of water wetter per quart of coolant. No particular reason outside of the fact that my uncle did it, so I do it.
I baically have a bottle of water wetter with a coolant/water mix that is less than 50:50 now as I sucked out the exp. tank before adding the wetter then topped it off with distilled water.
 
As far as I can tell with any vehicle I've ever owned and measured coolant/oil temp, the outside air temp has little to no effect on the final operating temps if allowed sufficient time in winter to reach operative temp. It can be 30F or 100F and the engine operating temp has always been the same or very similar. Engine RPM and load seem to have a much greater effect. I don't think a properly operating engine will even notice 115F.
 
As far as I can tell with any vehicle I've ever owned and measured coolant/oil temp, the outside air temp has little to no effect on the final operating temps if allowed sufficient time in winter to reach operative temp. It can be 30F or 100F and the engine operating temp has always been the same or very similar. Engine RPM and load seem to have a much greater effect. I don't think a properly operating engine will even notice 115F.
With a properly working cooling system the OP's vehicle on highway flat ground cruise will run if similar to mine:

30 degree ambient 194 coolant 200 oil

60 degree ambient 194 coolant 210 oil

90 degree ambient 194 coolant 225 oil

Plus or minus on the oil
 
With a properly working cooling system the OP's vehicle on highway flat ground cruise will run if similar to mine:

30 degree ambient 194 coolant 200 oil

60 degree ambient 194 coolant 210 oil

90 degree ambient 194 coolant 225 oil

Plus or minus on the oil
Interesting. Is 200 vs 225F significant? Honest question? That doesn't seem significant enough to change anything.
 
Interesting. Is 200 vs 225F significant? Honest question? That doesn't seem significant enough to change anything.
a 25 degree range is the difference between running 1 grade higher at temp. A 50 degree spread is easily 2 grades difference. I think that's significant when considering if an engine runs hotter oil temps with relation to ambient temps. If this engine ran the same oil temp it wouldn't be as relevant to the OPs post.
 
a 25 degree range is the difference between running 1 grade higher at temp. A 50 degree spread is easily 2 grades difference. I think that's significant when considering if an engine runs hotter oil temps with relation to ambient temps. If this engine ran the same oil temp it wouldn't be as relevant to the OPs post.
Really? Shear heating in the bearing translates to that significant of a difference in sump temperature? I've never seen anywhere near that difference, where are you getting this differential from?
 
Really? Shear heating in the bearing translates to that significant of a difference in sump temperature? I've never seen anywhere near that difference, where are you getting this differential from?
This difference is probably from a car with a air/oil cooler (or no oil cooler) that doesn't have a thermostat, so they make the oil cooler small enough that the engine can warm up. This is my guess.
 
Isn't water wetter just a surface tension reliver?

If you don't have the coolant oil heat exchanger on your oil filter then the outside temp really affects the oil temp. I jury rigged one on my Gen Coupe 2L turbo and it would warm up the oil to normal temp, usually 10F over coolant temp, in half the time regardless of ambient temp.
 
As far as I can tell with any vehicle I've ever owned and measured coolant/oil temp, the outside air temp has little to no effect on the final operating temps if allowed sufficient time in winter to reach operative temp. It can be 30F or 100F and the engine operating temp has always been the same or very similar. Engine RPM and load seem to have a much greater effect. I don't think a properly operating engine will even notice 115F.
Oil temp will be impacted by ambient but yes coolant will be steady as it's controlled with a thermostat. Check the data I posted.
 
Oil temp will be impacted by ambient but yes coolant will be steady as it's controlled with a thermostat. Check the data I posted.
So the range is 207F @ 30F to 222F @ 100F.

I guess my question is whether or not this is significant in any really meaningful way. Is there anything about this temperature differential that is actionable? That's really what the OP is asking and I don't see a 15F oil temp difference between 30F and 100F all that meaningful. It certainly wouldn't induce me to make any changes unless I'm missing something?
 
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